Lakeside Lunch

64°f/18°C, clear and cool. 

We stopped in Point Pleasant on our way back from Huntington on Wednesday, to have our lunch by a little lake in Krodel Park. Lake is really a misnomer; it's more like a large pond, but the idea of eating by the water appealed to us both.

So we stopped at McDonald's,  of all places. We rarely, rarely ever eat McDonald's food, but Point Pleasant doesn't offer many places for take-out. It was so odd to actually order a hamburger, and fries! But that was what I wanted. And a Coke. None of these are ever on our menu at home, so it felt downright sinful.

This mallard duck family seem to be veteran panhandlers, but we did not encourage them by giving them any scraps.

I am not sure what bird that was that photo-bombed the above picture. A swift, perhaps? I never even saw it until I was looking through my pictures.

Mama was quite a lovely lady. We never saw the mister.

These 2 young ladies captured our attention. 

I am not sure what they were doing, but at one point it looked like they were washing their hair.

Down from us, a young man set up his fishing pole.

Ironweed was already in bloim by the lake. Seems early for it.

We call these flowers hibiscus, but my phone says it's swamp mallow. I like hibiscus better. These bloom in the wild all over our area, and there are pink and red varieties too.

So peaceful. There is a large campground here, but it was quiet while we were there.

There is a replica of Fort Randolph on the park grounds. The original fort was built in 1776. 

Here is what Google says about it: "Fort Randolph was a key American Revolutionary War outpost in Point Pleasant, West Virginia, built in 1776 at the confluence of the Ohio and Kanawha rivers to protect the Virginia frontier. It is infamous as the site where Shawnee Chief Cornstalk, his son, and a Delaware chief were murdered in 1777, and it withstood a major siege in 1778 before being abandoned and later rebuilt. Today, a replica of the fort stands in Krodel Park, about a mile from the original site, hosting historical events and tours."

The state park Tu-Endi-Wei (too endi way) is located on the original site of the fort, and you can read about one of our visis there in the above link. We have never toured this replica at Krodel Park, but plan to do that this fall. Hard to believe I have lived so close to it and have never done that.

I do not know this history of this old cabin either, so we need to learn about it as well.

This was a nice break in our 2-plus hour drive home, and I hope we do it again. Maybe not with a hamburger lunch, though!

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Tomatoes, Tomatoes, Tomatoes

65°f18.3°C, clear and low humidity. Perfection!

You know how we all long for the first fresh, ripe tomato? And how heavenly that first bite is, every summer? 

And then, here they come. Lots and lots of them! From the sweet little cherry ones

to the pink and yellow and black and red, suddenly there is a glut of tomatoes!

And then our friend sent a text: come get all we want from the greenhouses.

Today was picking day. We brought home less than usual--about 4 bushels--and set to work immediately.  These photos are what we have left at the end of canning today. 

We made 44 quarts of juice today; now, what to do with the rest?  I don't need salsa or pasta sauce or ketchup or bruschetta or pizza sauce, as I still have plenty from last year that we need to use. I think I will dry some, can some whole tomatoes, then probably give away the rest.

We met this gentleman at the greenhouses. He is related to our friend Mark who owns these greenhouses, and he had come after hot peppers. (Mark only grows peppers and tomatoes in the greenhouses.) This man actually lives just over the hills from us, and he is 85 years old. You would never guess it from the way he worked and talked. He was quite the talker, but very entertaining. 

He sure picked a lot of peppers. I have zero interest in hot peppers, but he planned to make several different things from them.

This is inside one of the greenhouses. Morning glory vines have overtaken the plants now that Mark's picking season is over. There are 7 of these large buildings: 3 for peppers, one for yellow tomatoes, and the rest are red tomatoes. Mark also grows 20 acres of pumpkins; he sells his produce at the Charleston farmer's market. In addition, he raises hay, field corn and cattle. 

Time for bed. We planned to do booths tomorrow, but that is not happening. I need to catch up on other things, but I will have to get started on drying the tomatoes too. At least that will be easier than canning them. 

Almost Wordless Wednesday

Good morning! It's noisy on the porch this morning. The woodpecker is drumming, the goldfinches are squabbling, the doves are chasing each other through the trees, the nuthatches are racketing around and the hummingbirds are flying their usual Blue Angels daredevil loops. All's right in bird world. I've had my tea, now let's see what photos  I haven't shared yet, before we leave for the long drive to the Huntington VA.

Window view yesterday morning.

Taken last year on my porch

Out in the garden 

I used to cross this bridge every time i subbed on one mail route. I used to stop here and eat my lunch, as there was never much traffic.

Seen in Lowe's on Tuesday. For a mere $429 these scary guys can be yours. They move too. Very creepy; the tallest is about 10 feet tall.

An auction win, probably made in England 1930-1940.

Another from the auction.

We saw this scary repair job in the hotel parking garage last week.

Definitely didn't make me feel safe!

Sculpture at the Clay Center for the Arts in Charleston,  where the Vince Gill concert was held.

Some ridgetop evening views.

Um, ignore the crack across my windshield.  We have got to get that replaced, soon.

Saw this beautiful guy along Joe's Run last week.

Or maybe the week before.

And finally, just a thought:

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.