a good library haul

Took the girls to the library today, and we found some super books for them (including Maya Gottfried's hysterical "Good Dog" poems), but on the way out I found three that inspired me too! It is garden season here in Central TX, so I am excited to read and learn from Doug Welsh's Texas Garden Almanac, and was thrilled to find fellow blogger Amanda Soule's guide to family creativity.

On a side note, the photo at the top is of Aurora at her school, giving us a guided tour of all of her lessons (a rare treat which occurred at the school picnic last Sunday). Cool! Laurel is moving toward even greater maturity too; she is becoming more verbal and making clear requests with her words, like "up" and "more." She is also cruising to beat the band. Walking should come any day now!

beautiful

Okay, this is a bit derivative as Sara sent me a link to somebody else's blog with these amazing photos on it. But here are some shots of Obama addressing folks at a rally in Chester, PA, in some seriously grisly weather, on Monday. I think they are just incredibly, incredibly moving. And oh so Shakespearean.

persimmons!

Persimmons, along with blackberries, are my new horticultural obsessions. They have so many varieties of them at the Natural Gardener and Aurora just adores eating the non-astringent ones right from the tree. It is almost impossible, sadly, to find them at retail (even at the Natural Gardener), so I may need to order my two favorite varieties (Fuyu and Chocolate). They did have a couple persimmon trees at the Lowe's a few weeks ago and I just knew I should have bought them, had that gut feeling, but then hesitated over cramming them into the Toyota Echo. That'll teach me to trust my gut in the future, because I have not been able to find persimmon trees anyplace since then. They are just utterly gorgeous, with their fruit hanging like ornaments from their bare branches, apparently pest free, and delicious. Below is what Travis County plant expert Skip Richter has to say about persimmons. I'm on board!

In Praise of the Princely Persimmon
By Skip Richter, Travis County Extension Horticulturist
Persimmons may well be the Rodney Dangerfield's
of the fruit world. They seldom are found with apples,
peaches, plums and pears in nurseries. Most catalogue
sources either don't offer them, or relegate them to a back
page status. Their place in the supermarket produce section
is off in a corner with the kumquats, plantains and other
obscure fruits. For most people they are either the golfball
sized wild fruit of childhood that taught you in no uncertain
term what the word astringent meant, or the bland, tasteless
baseball-sized varieties commonly sold in grocery stores
(and unfortunately recommended for years for home
planting).
Alas, I am here to defend this maligned fruit and
hopefully rekindle some interest in its virtue as a valuable
addition to our gardens and landscapes. Several ethnic
groups adore persimmons giving them the place of honor
they deserve. Why they have never made the jump to the
mainstream of the American palate is a mystery to me. Even
their genus name, Diospyros, means "food-of-the-gods"!
The recent arrival of numerous "new" persimmon
varieties has greatly expanded and improved our options.
Many have excellent flavor and aromatic qualities and most
offer a pucker-free experience even when not fully ripe! The
rich, subtle flavors and aromas of a fully ripe persimmon are
something to experience.
Persimmon varieties may be divided into 2 groups;
astringent and non-astringent.
Astringent types must be fully ripe (jelly-like) before they
are eaten. Some people are a bit turned off by the
"messiness" of a truly ripe persimmon, but don't seem to
mind the texture of pudding, jelly or any other similar food,
so what's the big deal? Perhaps we need a national
persimmon board who can take up the slogan, “ Persimmons
– the fruit you eat in the bathtub”!
The second type of persimmon is the nonastringent.
These may be eaten after turning fully orange
without waiting for them to get soft. Many of the new types
are non-astringent, and as such are very popular. I think
even the non-astringent types should be allowed to soften
before you eat them for the best flavor.
Persimmons are virtually pest free. About the only
significant pests seen are the twig girdler, which occasionally
shows up to prune off branch ends and a leaf spot fungus.
Neither requires spraying.
There are two persimmons native to Texas. The
first, Diospyros texana, is a shrubby bush/tree found in the
western portions of the state, and is plentiful in the Austin
area. Its dime sized, black fruit is hardly palatable although
some make jelly from it. It is a valuable, drought tolerant
landscape plant.
The eastern persimmon, Diospyros virginiana, is
native throughout the eastern U.S. including much of the
eastern third of Texas. This wild persimmon’s chief culinary
Native Eastern Persimmon Trees in Austin contribution to our area is its superior performance as a
Oriental Persimmons
Persimmon - Page 2
rootstock onto which the larger Asian varieties (Diospyros
kaki) are grafted.
Persimmons ripen in mid to late fall. Their bright
orange fruits hang on the tree on into early winter after the
leaves have fallen for a beautiful, ornamental effect. If your
neighbor has a tree it may be time to bake them a pie and go
visit...get the idea? Maybe they'd trade persimmons for a
loaf of holiday persimmon bread. Delicious fresh,
persimmons may be used in a variety of holiday recipes
including pudding, custard, cake, sherbet and a wonderful
holiday bread made with black walnuts.
For more information visit our website:
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/travis/

halloweeeeeeen!

www.flickr.com calyxdanceco's halloween! photoset

it's the great pumpkin, charlie brown!

We watched this one of Charles Schulz's masterpieces last night, and Aurora really enjoyed it. She hasn't been able to get into it in previous years, but now she is amused by the witty banter between the kids and by Snoopy's strange adventures with the Red Baron. There is no other character (none other than Charlie Brown) that so perfectly exemplifies the beauty in dorkiness.

morning light, the daily drop-off, and frisky chickens

The title speaks for itself. I think the brisk weather makes the chickens frisky. Me too!

punkins all over the place

It's pumpkin time! And squash and cider! All that delicious stuff that comes along with the cool stiff breezes and yellowing leaves. I am roasting acorn squash with rosemary tonite.

go go craigslist swingset

Found a lovely free swingset on Craigslist, Tim went into town and dismantled it, and then re-mantled??? it on our property. Yay! It is fun to swing out over the field and look to the houses perched on the far horizon. Someone carved the letter "S" in the top of the swingset--for swing of course! And they also carved some lovely vines up the supports. Sweet.

Had a little photo fun today, so here are some shots from around the place, as well as of the swingset--

guess what i did today!

I took both the ladies to the library after picking Aurora up from school, and what did I notice but signs that said Vote Aqui! So early voting has begun!

I took the girls upstairs in the elevator and cast my ballot with Laurel on my hip. What a rush! We need Obama in the White House to turn this country around!

bob ross

It is rare, when you have been with a man as long as I have been with my husband (over ten years now!) to discover that you have something in common that you had not yet realized. And yet that is just what happened to hubby and I recently. We both love love Bob Ross. Yes, that PBS painting guy that you used to watch and fall asleep to when you stayed home sick from school. The dude with the happy trees. I am telling you, this guy is a zen master. In fact, Tim tried to start a Bob Ross club when he was in high school (where everyone would paint along with Bob) but it was nixed by the art teacher who said that Bob was not a "real artist." Elitist snobs! We love Bob!

Incidentally, for those of you in Austin, Bob Ross is on the PBS CREATE! channel a couple times a week. Go ahead, indulge!
http://www.klru.org/

what a relief

RAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!! The earth is finally feeling a little friendly and spongy again, like things could live in it and off of it. We had a full day of rain and our pond is liquid again. The air has that crisp empty feeling of fall--full of possibility. I planted a new fig tree and a bunch of wildflower seeds. Fingers crossed for them!

We went out to Pedernales Falls with the Guilford Glascoffs on their last full day here and it was just gorgeous, if a bit crowded. There is something that happens when you get about half-way out there on Fitzhugh. The land opens up in this dramatic way, like a book, full of sweeps and crooks and crevices and bold stretches of openness. I am falling in love with it. I'll include a shot or two--

Just returned from my brothers B-day celebration "Will-toberfest." He was decked out in lederhosen and all. Adorable. We got him a dancing gnome and a Lowe's gift certificate for the renovation of their new house in town. They are leaving their spot on The High Road. It is just gorgeous, four acres and a view of downtown--but from their new place they can walk to cafes and the like. Good ol' city living.

obsessive about real estate

I've been driving about the hill country looking at properties for sale for my parents. Here is a flickr badge with some of the spots I've previewed.

www.flickr.com Go to calyxdanceco's photostream

billy goats and dosie doats

We've got the Guilford Glascoffs here in TX! We went out to the Austin zoo today and the little ones adored feeding the livestock!

practicing for halloween!

Dress-up has been a big theme in our lives for the last few weeks. Aurora says she wants to be a pink kitty, so we ordered her pink tights and leotard and ballet slippers, as well as some furry pink fabric. We've already made some ears from the fabric and they are adorable! We also attended a little bit of a costume party in town where we practiced our princessing skills.