Another shop hop block....

The inner block is called Swamp Angel.

Who's Guarding Who???

Is Chiana guarding the gargoyle? Or is the gargoyle guarding Chiana? You decide....

Recycled Trellis

One man's junk is another man's, er, woman's treasure. Do you like my homemade trellis? It originally came from an outdoor gazebo. I got it for free from someone after a tree had fallen on it. The four corner posts were still good and I thought that they would make good trellis'.

Took zip ties and put two of the corner posts together, added a plastic fence around the bottom half, and dug a small level trench so that it would sit flat on the hillside. Then I added some top soil and planted some Blue Star Morning Glories and some white Moonflowers. The Morning Glories came up but the Moonflowers didn't do so well.....will have to try them again next spring.

See the trees on both sides of the trellis. The one on the left is a Sumac tree and the one on the right is a Sassafras tree. Took them both out. I don't care for the Sumac trees and I didn't want the roots of the Sassafras tree interfering with our waterline. Have you ever smelled a Sassafras tree? They are so fragrant especially when you cut a branch. There is one another one that has been cut down, but it will be allowed to grow back. The plan is to keep it short like a bonsai, otherwise, the light company will send someone along to butcher it anyway.

Rocks, rocks, and more rocks

This is just some of the rocks that have been uncovered as I go along and clear off unwanted vines and unwanted trees trying to get the front yard to resemble some order of decency. I've added to the two piles of rocks since the pictures were taken. At one time someone dumped some used bricks off along side the road and that has been added to the collection. And no....the beer can is not mine. LOL!!! The larger rocks are going to be used in flowerbeds and the smaller rocks are going to be used for filler or whatever else I can come up with. If you look closely, you can see rocks in the pic on the right along with vines. That has been cleared off since then.

Hamburger Vegetable Soup

This recipe was given to me by someone that I used to work with. I've changed it and made it my own. It originally was supposed to have cabbage in it. I've changed the veggies in it and added macaroni. It kinda reminds me of a minestrone soup in a round about way. You'll need:

1 lb. hamburger
V-8 juice
1 medium onion, chopped
1 celery stick, chopped(optional)
2 c. water + 1 beef bouillon cube or 2 c. beef broth
1 can kidney beans, drained
1 can rotel or diced tomatoes juice and all
green beans
peas
carrots
macaroni
garlic powder(optional)

In a large soup pot, brown your hamburger along with the chopped onion and chopped celery and drain. My SO doesn't like garlic, but I do. I sprinkle a generous amount of garlic powder on the meat mixture when it is browning. He never says a word. I try to leave the hamburger in chunks instead of crumbling it up like you would for spaghetti sauce.

Put the hamburger mixture back in the pot add the V-8 juice, water, bouillon cube, veggies, and macaroni. Bring to a boil and then turn it down to a simmer. It's done when the macaroni is tender.

Note***We like our soup on the spicy side so once in awhile I use the spicy V-8 or add the rotel. I normally use the frozen veggies when adding veggies. I don't have a set amount of veggies that are used in this soup because most of what I cook has no recipe. You can use canned veggies(drained) if you wish. Since they are already cooked I would wait until the macaroni is about done cooking and then add the canned veggies. You can season this soup however you want. I normally don't add salt since some of the ingredients have salt in them. Or I add very little. You can add whatever veggies you want. Sometimes I add spinach for a change of flavor and potato chunks instead of macaroni. Zucchini would be good in this too. BTW--make sure that the pot that you cook this soup in is not aluminum. Aluminum and tomatoes do not agree with each other and the soup will pick up a funky taste. It's the acid in tomatoes that cause this reaction.

Cheesy Potato Hamburger Soup

It's about that time of year to start eating soup....Some people don't eat soup unless the weather is cold.....My SO being one of them. Myself, I can eat soup anytime of year. It's kind of like coffee some people drink more of it in the wintertime and less in the summertime. I drink it all year 'round. I get tired of eating the same thing over and over or cooking it the same way all of the time. Anywho, this is my latest concoction in cooking.

You'll need a little bit of hamburger. I didn't want much in this soup so I stole some out of the HB that I was cooking for his spaghetti. Shhhhh, don't tell him. You'll need:

hamburger
5 or 6 lg. potatoes peeled and chunked
1/2 of a medium chopped
1 celery stalk chopped
1 can cheddar cheese soup
1 can condensed milk
water
salt
pepper

Boil potatoes until tender and drain. In the meantime, you will need to brown the hamburger along with the onions and celery. Oops, forgot, I added garlic powder to the brown meatlike substance while it was cooking. Drain. Hopefully, you cooked either the meat or the potatoes in a big pot. It will save you on having to do lots dishes. I don't know about you but doing dishes aren't number one on my list. Don't worry I did the dishes afterwards.

Put the potatoes and hamburger mixture in the pot. Add the soup, milk, and 1 can(12 oz.) of water. I use the can that the milk was in for the water. It equals 1 1/2 cups of water if you don't use canned milk. Salt and pepper to taste. Heat thoroughly....Enjoy!!!

Note***You can substitute whatever kind of milk that you normally use for the canned milk. I like the creamy taste that canned milk gives the soup. You might be able to substitute Velveeta for the canned soup. Don't know how that would taste. Never tried it yet.

Waterfall at Lost Valley

This waterfall is located at Lost Valley which is southwest of Harrison, Arkansas. Several years ago, I took a class in Plant Biology. Part of the class was for us to take pictures of plants and identify them for a grade. This waterfall runs out from a cave up above the fall. That was a fun hike to the cave. We got to learn what the different plants were and get our exercise at the same time.