Vegetable Gratin – Two Trails One Road

Farewell August

“August rain: the best of the summer gone, and the new fall not yet born. The odd uneven time.”
~Sylvia Plath

August, you have been so much fun! Sweet memories were made.

But August you are bittersweet. Mornings come later and evenings are earlier. We know this time of year is ending… and how we wish to experience more of you.

***A morning sunrise from the kitchen window…***

***A summer night that comes earlier*** ***now…***

September Awaits

September… I look forward to what you have planned. But I am going to slowly ease into you.

So to embrace the change or what Sylvia Plath called “that odd uneven time” we begin to adapt to new temperatures especially the cooler evenings. Boat rides in the evening… thank you to Sweet Man for fixing the navigation lights so we can see the sun go down on the lake. Even though the sun is kissing the earth a bit earlier each day… it makes for earlier sunsets… which means we are still awake! Hmmm… we may be showing our age. What’s the saying… 9:00 is the new midnight? 😄

If we are not on the lake then we are in the backyard where we enjoy campfires. Even dinner is prepared upon the embers.

***Hobo Sandwiches… in this case Patty Melts over an open fire!***

Cloud Watching

Do you watch the clouds? I never really paid attention to them until I began to realize how much they make a photo look more interesting!

***Is this the Pathway to the lake covered in puffy clouds?***

***These clouds are such a beautiful backdrop for this church.***

***As we enter the outlet of the lake… we have Cloud Greeters!***

***They can make for beautiful reflections.***

Have you watched Clouds float across the sky?

Harvest Recipes

With a Farmer’s Market so very close to us we are enjoying the Farmer’s Harvest. With lots of Summer Squash, Zucchini and tomatoes. I made this Vegetable Gratin.

***Layered Potatoes, Summer Squash, Zucchini and Tomatoes.***

I sautéed a half an onion and placed it on the bottom of the casserole dish.
I took two potatoes and microwaved them so they would bake evenly in the oven with the other vegetables.
I sliced the vegetables evenly and then layered all the vegetables.
I covered with shredded cheese and baked it in an oven of 375 for 40 minutes. Time and temperatures depends on your oven.
It was a delicious side dish!

We just love the late summer harvest bounty!

***Fried Summer Squash and fresh cooked beets in our country kitchen!***

Pressed Flowers

I must report back to you about my pressed flowers. To those who did not read about my Pressed Flowers Project… you can read about it here. They came out great and I am pressing more. I am also adding more ferns and leaves.

***I am pleased with how they came out!***

Some I covered with contact paper… especially the more fragile. Some I have glued onto card stock. The black eyed susan I turned into a greeting card. Most of these will be added to my Journal. It’s definitely a learning experience. The coffee filters worked great for absorbing moisture. The flowers and leaves came off the coffee filter nicely. Roses did not come out well… they are too bulky. I enjoyed the whole process and will do more!

***Here are a few that I added to my journal.***

Commenting Problems

Many WordPress Bloggers and others have had a hard time commenting on my blog. I have been reassured that there will be a fix this week. (I am not the only one this is happening too.) I hear it’s a bug of some sort. So if you are one of those lovely friends… thank you for your patience. Let’s hope this gets resolved very soon.

Thank You

I do believe that’s it for this week. As I always try to convey… we sure do appreciate all of you. Thank you for joining us for another Tuesday Tidbits.