westseventhfreelance

Dylan the Tabby

Dear WordPress furriends, we wanted you to know that our beloved Tabby cat, Dylan, died suddenly yesterday. It was discovered that a sudden onset of lethargy and change in his breathing was the result of cardiomyopathy. We will share more about this at another time. His brother, Bagheera, is searching for him and we are loving him up. The photos below are the last I took of my sweet Dylan. We love you Dylan.

Dylan Saturday morning before we rushed to emergency hospital ❤💔

Uncategorized

Fall-OUT!

Ugh. An October snow has officially ended Fall. (Before the final garden chores could be accomplished!)

The bright spot was a quick visit from Cousin Bob’s daughter, Lisa, en route to Portland, OR. We were able to score a night at the historic, floating B&B, The Covington Inn in downtown St. Paul, MN- still pretty in the snow!

Before: a walk just a week or so ago

Now: Welcome Lisa!

Hiking, Mississippi River, Saint Paul

Fall-ing

We went in search of Fall; a local junket to Lilydale and Pickle Lake, parkland adjacent to the Mississippi in St. Paul.

#Notmypresident, Black Cats, VOTE!

Anger Management

The only way, some days, to assuage my anger at my government….well, one trigger specifically, is to take cat pics. Breathe.

baking, Hiking, Minnesota, Nature, Photography, Uncategorized

Getaway!

View toward ‘Yurt Village’ Afton State Park

We decided it was time to take a break from all the insanity and Afton State Park Minnesota was a perfect respite. Fall is definitely in the air!

The park is gorgeous with plenty of places to hike and birdwatch- also spend a night or two in a cabin, tent or yurt.

If apple desserts or just plain good eating crosses your mind, a quick trip down the road will suffice. Whistling Well Farm Minnesota is a perfect place to pick apples or purchase them bagged.

The dessert pictured above is Apple Crumble Slab Pie from King Arthur Flour recipes.

Human rights, Social Justice, Uncategorized, Unites States, VOTE!

Flowers for RBG

Flowers, Gardening, Photography, St. Paul MN, Wildflowers

Busy day in the garden!

There are quite a variety of bees hanging out in the garden…

Bee life

Of note, a few more blooms to report 🌞

Adirondacks, Family, FOOD

Remembering Dad through Food and Letters PART 1: Blueberry Muffins

My current research and writing project is a continuation of something started a number of years ago— transcribing letters Dad sent home to his family during WWII and capturing my own memories of summers spent in the Adirondack Mountains.

An aspect of this relates to food— snippets Dad wrote about and things I recall as favorites. These posts will carry the header— as noted above— and all the recipes will be included in their original form. Enjoy!

Blueberry Muffins

One of the traditions at North Lake (Adirondack Conservation area) was a frosty morning dip and a canoe trip to Blueberry Island to pick, of course, blueberries! These berries are the tiny, wild variety and the designated pail would be filled to the brim for pancake and muffin making.