Chris knew going into this marriage that I am only good for an hour at a time working outside in this wretched heat. I still think that he is surprised by my lack of tolerance for outdoor labor. I remind him that in some ways we are the weaker sex. Energized by the delivery of his new shredder, Chris braves the heat to do a little mowing around the cabin. I never knew that cows were too snobby to eat any weeds – imagine that!

Nothing quite like a good lookin’ man on a shiny blue tractor.

Even with our 1980’s air conditioning unit chugging away at full blast, I find myself feeling stuffy. Excuse me while I blow, I mean snuff out a few candles. Look at this creative gift we received from Rosemary, a candle snuffer – too much fun!

Who do you think you’re fooling? Cows are not allowed on the porch with the geraniums. These ladies are the snoopiest neighbors that I have ever seen. Notice the sweet smelling phlox in the milk jug. Dr. Welch snipped it for us as we were leaving College Station the other day!

Lycoris incarnata in Louisiana

Lycoris across the South are beginning to bloom, but one in particular that we are now growing on the farm is Lycoris incarnata.  I was able to give one to a friend in Lafayette this last spring, and here it is blooming in his garden.  Thank you for sharing!

Garden in Lafayette, Louisiana

Remeber, the trick with Lycoris to help insure a fall bloom, is to plant them as early as possible and not allow the bulbs to dry out too much.  I personally think the best time to plant them is in late April/early May, immediately after their foliage has died down.  They will put out roots under the ground all summer long, and then will send up their blooms that fall.  If Lycoris aren’t happy being transplanted, they can take up to two years to bloom.

Rebecca and I are back in the cabin preparing for the fall.

1-2 lbs squash

small to medium onion

cup of low fat sour cream

1/3 stick of butter

cup of graded cheese

Progresso seasoned bread crumbs

Topped with more bread crumbs and graded cheese, bake at 325 for 30 minutes.

Squash Casserole

I took it upon myself to record our squash conversation verbatim:

“Yeah, I just made it up, but you can make it up too. I’ll tell you the ingredients,” Dr. Welch began.

“Ok…how much to use.  Uhhh, I don’t know. How many people do you want to feed with this?” Dr. Welch asks.

“I wanna feed…four.” I say

“You want to feed four. O.K. I would do probableeeee a pound and a half or two pounds of squash,” was the thoughtful response.

“OK…that’s a lot of squash.”

“Squash. Yellow, straight necked squash is what I use.”

“Two pounds?” I ask again, not getting an answer.

“I think that’s about right.  You need to make a fair amount. If you have a little left over it’s no crime,” he quips back. “It won’t stay left over for long. And maybe a medium sized onion, chopped up.”

“O.K.”

“And then I parboil all of that in just a little water.”

“What does parboil mean?” I ask as a novice

“With just a little water with it’s top on it and you just kind of steam it ‘til it’s tender.”

“A little water on the top of it?”

“Yeah, on the top of the squash, maybe with that much squash [add hand measurements] add a cup to a cup and a half of water,” Dr. Welch’s patient response.

“So you don’t completely submerge it; I see what you’re saying.”

“No, I don’t want to loose too many of the vitamins. So, you do that until it’s tender maybe 12-15 minutes, and then you set it off the heat.

“So this is the whole squash right now?”

“No! It’s a…you didn’t listen,” he says with rising inflection

“Cubed,” I respond, deflecting the rising tone.

“It’s cubed”

“O.K.”

“And the onion is chopped. O.K…this, this recipe all kinds of variations can take place. I’ll tell you how I made that batch, o.k. And the onion and the squash and then you can put in, maybe you can put some butter in, you need to put some butter in at that point—a third or a half a stick of butter. And then you put in a cup of, a cup of ….seasoned bread crumbs you know that come in a little container.”

“Mmm, hmm.” I agreed not really knowing what he was talking about. “Did you say half a stick of butter?”

“A third, or something like that…put as little or as much as you want on it,” he says becoming annoyed at my persistent questions.

“An then the uh, bread crumbs, what is the brand that is so good? There’s a particular brand that’s so good, but any way, seasoned breadcrumbs. It will usually have a little…you’ll buy it in a little can. Then I put about maybe a cup of low fat sour cream.”

He went on,“And then maybe a cup of graded cheese, probably cheddar. And then you just stir all of that up, season it to taste—salt and pepper. Spray the casserole with Pam, and then you put it in the casserole,  and then you can top it with some more of the bread crumbs and graded cheese, and just bake it ‘til it’s browned a little bit…maybe 30, 40 minutes at 325, 350…something like that.”

“O.K.  Now, you were just going to tell me the ingredients in the beginning. I’m really glad you told me the rest. You’re giving me a look right now, but what were the ingredients?”

“O.K. let’s see [list all of the ingredients here] and PROGRESSO seasoned bread crumbs.” As thus the breadcrumb riddle was solved and we have a recipe, and they’ve already loaded Rebecca up with plenty of squash.

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And a walk through the garden revealed some beautiful plants and plant combinations:

1) ‘First Love’ Dianthus blooming in the garden.

2) This ‘John Fanick’ Phlox has lasted three days as a cut flower here.

3) A couple of plant combinations for crinums.

4) We were working at Twin Oaks today just outside of Brenham, TX

From the first time my sister, Amy, saw Chris speak at The Arbor Gate in Tomball, Texas she knew that Chris would be a perfect match for me and worked hard to convince him of this fact. Amy went so far as to exclaim in the break room to other employees, I just met the man that my sister is going to marry!”  It took a little stalking on Facebook, but Amy is nothing if not convincing.

The first time Chris called me from the cabin, a bluebird dove into the room, circled his head, and left. Something inside told me that Chris and I might just be perfect for each other, but I discredited those feelings as being my ultra romantic female sensibilities at work. His peculiar way of life and love for flowers fascinated me, and I couldn’t wait to meet him in person. During the several weeks leading up to our meeting, my stomach was in knots. Until I saw his face, that is. Although not love at first sight, it came pretty darn close.

Engagement day about nine months after our first date.

Even through the cigarette smoke and greasy atmosphere at The Café Texan in Huntsville TX, Chris’ genuine smile and twinkling eyes captured my attention pretty much right away. Our first date was just long enough for me to see a glimpse of his strong character. My heart sank when it came to an end. We said our good-byes, and I secretly hoped for a second meeting.

Showing off the ring!

Perhaps as old as Cain and Abel is a woman’s need to install contact paper in cabinets. I never quite understood this before, but after Rebecca completed this task, the results were remarkable. When you live in a fifty plus year old cabin, the dust, and critters are very difficult to control. Contact paper does seem to help.

I snapped this picture of her in action. We would like to officially introduce you to the newest member of the cabin that we are most excited about, Mr. Hot Water Heater.

Never before in the history of the cabin have two people been able to enjoy luxurious hot showers one after the other. If you haven’t noticed, we are just a little excited about this new addition. The bathroom, besides adding a few picture frames, is just about ready.

The shower curtain, towels, cabinet, and love bird hardware are all gifts from some of our friends and family!

To conclude the tour of the bathroom, I leave you with the beautiful view we have from one of the most important seats in the house.

Even after a long, busy day yesterday, we still found the energy to harvest these crinum blooms.

The stink bugs were having a hay day crawling over every inch of the stems.

Rebecca made sure that I shook the flowers clean before bringing the blooms into the car. Dinner didn’t happen until after eight in the evening, but the lilies sure added to the ambiance of our little table.

Before turning in for the night, I noticed this beautiful moth resting in the eaves of the cabin near a nest I have been monitoring, and it looks as if these baby birds are about ready to leave home.

I found myself handling bulbs even before breakfast this morning. My associate, Michael Hardy and I have established relationships with contract farmers in Texas, Virginia, Mississippi and other states. These individuals purchase small bulbs from us, grow them until they reach a sellable size at which point we buy them back. This is done in addition to the growing we do here on the farm. For more information on this program, please contact Michael at info @ southernbulbs . com or visit our contact us page and shoot him an email.

This little guy was working hard alongside me in the heat of summer. Not sure if he ever made it back home with his prize.

Here are some before and after photos of the building project from yesterday. Our plan is to slap a coat of paint on it over the next couple of weeks.

Picked up this friend at my brother’s place in Tyler, and we are hoping to hatch a big, beautiful butterfly. John, my brother, insists that we are breeding a strange new life form that will take over the cabin. We’ll see who is right on that score.

Rebecca loves using this antique Pyrex bowl left here at the cabin by the sweet potato farmer before us.

As you can see we are still not quite set up for regular work here. So glad Rebecca insisted her little milking stool came along in our first load from her old home.