Granny Smith

Today Otto and I have been enjoying views of a doe with two little spotted fawns. Unfortunately they were at angles that were unaccessible to the camera without disturbing them. This is an older picture of a doe with two almost grown fawns. Today the doe was busy demolishing every flower on my pyracantha bush, probably precluding any lavish display of red berries later in the year. Since we prefer watching deer to maintaining a perfect garden, I guess we have no cause for complaint.

Mothers' Day made me think of my own beautiful mother. It's hard to believe that, were she still alive, that she would be 104 years old! On Mothers' Day she made a practice of going into the garden and choosing a red flower for me (signifying that my mother was still living), and a white one for herself. I feel almost guilty on Mothers' Day when I ignore the custom. Last Sunday I should have chosen to wear something with which my white rose necklace would be appropriate (instead of a dragon tattoo!). This snapshot reminds me that there was a time when one wore gloves even to shop at the grocery store! Although in this pic, Mama seems to be holding the left glove in her bare hand.

Recently I tried to duplicate one of her recipes from memory. I haven't got it right yet, but, in general, she parboiled an eggplant until just soft enough to scoop the center, leaving a shapely shell. This she sauted in butter along with about a cup of chopped onions, a handful of broken walnut meats and a cup of soft bread torn into shreds. She cooked these until the onions were transparent and the bread golden, then stirred in some chopped parsley and packed it all back into the eggplant shells, sprinkled them with fresh bread crumbs and baked until the shells were fork tender. All my measurements are guesswork. And I forgot to say that she seasoned the mixture with salt and pepper. Mine didn't taste as good as hers, so maybe I have it all wrong. I was sparing of the butter, given our current concerns with health and waistlines; maybe that's the difference.