Just a random picture I took of leek flowers in my garden. The reason I am posting is to thank all those who post nature, landscape, animal, bird and food pictures. I certainly appreciate them in these dark days, and I am sure others do as well.

I haven‘t posted in months, like a lot of us, I am overwhelmed by the insanity, which seems to get worse every day. But it is a beautiful fall day and my Thai chili peppers did their best to restore my optimism.

Did we all take organic chemistry & the MCAT & miss the social part of our early 20’s and work 80 hours a week for 3+ years for the brain worm guy who doesn’t know what a p-value is to destroy our nation’s public health system? No. Time to lean into our expertise and speak up.

First Margherita pizza of the year. #gardening #homecooking

Good garlic harvest this year. #gardening

My second, and hopefully last, political post.

Unusual winter combining frigid temps and lots of snow. That one icicle is 5’ long. Time exposure lit by our neighbor’s lights.

Inauguration Day schedule: TV off, radio off, news feeds off, and baking Swedish rye bread from a recipe I got from my Swedish grandmother. #homecooking

First real winter in years. We have had about 18” of powder show in the last week.

Our local, family-owned diner attracts a diverse clientele. #birds

Big squall line came through today and killed the electricity. Thunderstorms on New Year’s Eve? But we have a gas range so I could make my New Year’s red beans and rice. Picture and dinner by candlelight. Romantic if we were not in our 70’s, lol.

I love this place and have been here since the early days. I love the artists, photographers and lovers of nature, including dogs and cats. I love people who are philosophical and talk about existential issues. But my feed is now 99% politics, often repetitive reposts. So I will be muting a lot.

You can tell times are tough when even a red bellied woodpecker visits our food bank. #naturephotography #birds

I always enjoy the first snow of the year. The rest, not so much. It must be a drag to be a school kid these days. No more snow days.They are now “non-traditional learning days,” where they are expected to go online and get assignments from their teacher. A remnant of the covid years.

I have taken pictures of this tiny oak since it sprouted from a squirrel-planted acorn 3 years ago. It is particularly beautiful in the spring and fall.

My first and last political post, then back to nature and food pics. I no longer understand anything about my country and its politics. I am going to fast and flush the political poison out of my body. So, simplify life, enjoy the time left and hope against hope for the future of our children.

Grilled wild venison backstrap.

One of the joys of being retired is that you can have brunch any day of the week. Today I made fresh corn tortillas for huevos rancheros. The smell of corn tortillas cooking on a cast iron griddle is wonderful! #homecooking

Pickling the last peppers of the year. Mainly Jalapeños, Fresnos and a few Serranos. 🌱

Well, I planted 25 fall crocus bulbs this year. The squirrels got about half of them and the rest were hampered by our drought, but we had about a dozen flowers. This is my saffron harvest. I figure in five or so years I should have enough for a serving of saffron rice. 😉🌱

If you keep your eyes open, there is beauty in your own backyard. 🌱#naturephotography

I planted fall-blooming crocus for the first time. Those are three strands of saffron. Now I see why it is so expensive.

Near the end of outdoor growing season: maple leaves are falling, the ghost peppers are finally ripe and the jalapeños have all turned red. I see hot sauce in my future. 🌱 #homecooking

Chillin’ with my favorite grand dog.

Huevos Rancheros with roast Hatch peppers. 🌱 #homecooking

Peppers I grew this year ranging from super hot to mild.

I grew lots of different peppers this year and had bumper crops. I have been busy trying to use them all, so when my son showed up with a bag of Thai chilis he grew (like father, like son) I wasn’t thrilled. But, I made sweet Thai chili sauce and it is great! 🌱 #homecooking

Made hot sauce today with my remaining Red Caribbean Habaneros. 🌱

I got a some ‘mystery’ seeds this year. It has been fun to identify them. The yellow pepper is a Fatalli (hot!), the red is a 7 pot chili at over a million scoville units. So named because 1 pepper will spice 7 pots of chili. I blend it with other chilis. It is way too hot otherwise. #garden

Three pics I took last night in low light show the amazing iridescence of a Ruby-Throated hummingbird. His neck looked red to my eye but the camera showed it can vary from black to orange depending on the angle of light. There is no color processing, only noise reduction. #naturephotography #birds

My chipotle powder came out better than expected. Light but pleasant smoke and pretty decent lingering mouth heat. Mainly jalapeños, a few Fresnos and one serrano. 🌱#homecooking

When you are retired and have a garden, every day can be a new adventure. 🌱

Smoked some jalapeños and a few other hotter peppers today. I have them in the dehydrator now. Should have a nice batch of chipotle peppers soon. 🌱 #homecooking

Bumper crop of jalapeños this year. Time to smoke and dry some so I’ll have chipotle peppers this winter. 🌱

My most photogenic plant in my garden. Three types of habanero, the Red Caribbean being my favorite for salsa. 🌱

Immature Downey woodpecker freeloading at our thistle feeder. This new generation of woodpeckers doesn’t have the work ethic of the last. 😉 #naturephotography

It’s always cool when your garden comes up with something unexpected. The San Marzano style tomatoes were expected. The Aji Amarillo peppers were not and were part of a ‘mystery’ pepper seed packet. Looks like Peruvian chicken with green sauce is on the menu. 🌱

Chili crisp egg on toast. #homecooking

Margherita pizza with fresh San Marzano style tomatoes, basil and arugula from the garden. #homecooking 🌱

I have no idea how they get the thistle seeds out of this feeder but it goes down about 4 inches per day. Mainly different finches and the occasional Downy woodpecker. #naturephotography

Pick your poison…🌱

Grilled chili shrimp, wild and brown rice and stir fried vegetables. #cooking

Grilled Peruvian chicken. Not the greatest pic, but it was gone before I cold take another. 🙂 #cooking

There is always one showboat in every crowd. 🌱

When things are ripe in your garden, as the song says, “you got to move.” On a roll today—pesto next. 🌱

Yesterday, pickled peppers. Today sauce from fresh San Marzano style tomatoes and basil. 🌱

The first batch of peppers is in early this year. I’m going to pickle these and let the next batch fully ripen and turn red. 🌱

First Margherita pizza of the year with garden tomatoes. Plus two types of basil, Genovese and Globe.

I was sorting through stuff from my family home in Paradise, CA., that we saved when my mother died. I am slowly going through her paintings and other things. Found this old grinder. I used to turn the crank for her when she ground meat and vegetables. Put it to good use today. #homecooking

Macro pic of a leek flower cluster. #naturephotography