"Blue" the Late, Great, Chicken Chaser

Last evening, while enjoying the late afternoon, sipping on a nice glass of Chardonnay, our Dog "Blue" decided he wanted to play with a mean ole' Dark Cornish rooster! This rooster absolutely despises "Blue," as do his other two cohorts. Because of "Blue," these three roosters chase everything and anyone.

So "the Man" and myself, watch this pup tear across the yard with keen alacrity, nip the tail feathers of this rooster, turn on a dime and land back at point of beginning.........all with a smile on his face! You could just see him say to himself, "self, nice job, caught that darn rooster right off guard." This went on for about two seconds when rooster decided he wasn't going to play. "Rooster" runs, wings pinned to his side, head down (I gather to lower the wind resistance), and chases the pup........around and around the yard.

I am chiding the pup for disrupting our tranquility, as I'm laughing and snorting over the hilarity of this game. "Blue" was not to be cajoled to stop! Back the pup goes to resume the game with a hint of circumspect (kinda.....remember, he thinks he's Bolt), the rooster is lying in wait along with two of his buddies. The same thing happens, "Blue" tears across the yard once again with keen alacrity, ALMOST gets the tail feathers, turns on a dime and lands back at point of beginning. He's not smiling this time, in candor he realizes he has missed his mark.

While this goes on for a few rounds, the rooster is starting to get some licks in. He has managed to spur the dog not once, BUT twice. Tongue hanging, thirsty, wearing down, the pup gives it a few more shots...........to no avail, rooster is done playin'. So...... with a supercilious stance, said pup meanders into the orchard, where "the man" is watering fruit trees, leaving the game for now, and pounces into the tree well (full of water) and attacks the water coming out of the hose.

It's just another evening on the ole' ranch......................!!!!

Peaches and More Peaches

I have to tell ya, canning in the hot summer months is something else! This ol' house certainly DOESN'T have A.C., nor did it ever! One really notices how HOT it can be while canning over a stove, with an oven on low temperature, and NO windows open.

Now the reason you can't have any ceiling fans whirlin' around or windows open while canning you wonder? You'll blow the bottom out of a hot jar in an instant. Cleaning syrup from the cupboards, floor, and legs (instant waxing), isn't a whole lot of fun.

However, the task is behind me now for this summer. I've made peach halves in light syrup, peach freezer jam, and peach fruit leather, I'm "peached out." They will look nice tomorrow when I can wash the jars, label them, and store them in my cellar house. They will sit in the dark, cool cellar until I'm ready for a peach cobbler, peach halves with cottage cheese and a smidgen of grated longhorn, or just a bowl of cold peaches.

Used to be, when my kids were "wee ones," I would tell them we couldn't touch the canned goods until the "first snow fell." They would saunter off, head down, and sigh.........they knew it was summer, winter was a long ways off. It meant more to them then, they used to go with me to glean the orchards (with permission of course), my son Jared, would scale up a large peach, cherry, or apple tree like flint. His sister Jessica, was the "grounded one," she would catch his gleaned goods. Oh yes, those were the days............................I'm happy though, the smell of a good ripe peach is hard to beat and the memory of two little kids helpin' their mamma is priceless.

Peach Cobbler

1/2 cup butter

1 1/2 cup sugar

1 cup flour

3/4 cup milk

2 teaspoons baking powder

3 cups peaches

Melt butter in a 9x13 inch baking dish. Mix 1 cup sugar, flour, baking powder, and milk. Pour over melted butter. Cover top of batter with fruit.

Sprinkle remaining sugar over fruit. Bake at 350-degrees until batter is golden brown, about 30 minutes. Serve hot with whipped cream or home-made vanilla ice cream.

* You can use any berry, any variety, for this dish.