oooooh!

Isn't this the prettiest thing you have seen today? I am off to get some watermelon and try this recipe out. I am also going to pick some figs and make some fig confiture! Something to do with figs besides giving them away! You need to look at the story on NPR about canning- you will be joining me in the kitchen, I just know it!

Watermelon Slushie

I like to freeze the watermelon for this recipe, but you don't need to. You can use unfrozen watermelon and throw 6 or 8 ice cubes into the blender instead. Also, the kids love to make melon balls using a melon baller to make the garnish for the drink. You can top with any fruit they like.

Sala Kannan for NPR

Makes 4 servings

4 cups diced watermelon, frozen (freeze fresh watermelon, if possible)

2 tablespoons runny honey

Juice of 2 lemons

Mint leaves and watermelon balls, for garnish

Freeze watermelon for about 6 hours or until it is frozen through. Remove from the freezer and allow to thaw for about 10 minutes.

Mix the honey and the lemon juice together. Place the watermelon and the lemon juice-honey mix in a blender. Puree. If the drink is too thick, add a little water or your favorite juice. Check for sweetness. Add additional honey if needed. Pour into 4 tall glasses and garnish with the mint and watermelon balls.

Plum Jam

Because of Martine's regularity and kindness at the Farmer's Market, the fruit lady gave her 3 crates full of unsellable plums. It is good to have friends that share-so Monday we sorted and pitted and boiled and stirred, and by the end of the afternoon 30 beautiful jars of plum jam were sitting on the counter, ready for being enjoyed over the coming fall and winter. It felt wonderful to take something that was headed to the landfill and create something delicious. The too ripe plums went to the chickens and only the rotten ones, which turned out to be maybe a third at the most, of the total plums went into the dumpster. The jars are ones that I have used many times so we can say with honest pride that we recycled, reduced and reused. It was a great day!

Summer Hikes

There have been two hikes this summer by the Trail Ticklers, and that will do for the time being. It is too HOT around here! Earlier in the summer Martine and I hiked the Telegraph Canyon Trail via Rimcrest. Despite our early start the temperature reached at least 100' on the trail, with no trees to provide shade. We did see bobcat and snake tracks, other than that we just tried to finish the hike as quickly as possible! It was so bad that I forgot to take photos to document our plight. Our favorite part of the trip - cold drinks at the Trader Joe's at the bottom of the hill. My suggestion is to do this hike in the snow:]

Our next hike included David and was on the Santiago Trail off of El Toro Road, just past Cook's Corner. It was a bit tricky to find the turn-off road as the street sign was covered by a tree, and the trail head is not marked, just a big steel gate up the road from where you can park. Be prepared, it is about a half mile steep hike just to get to the gate. The trail is very popular with bikers-much to my chagrin- as something, sounding like a mountain lion about to eat us, approached from behind. I squealed, ran up to Martine, (we were on a very strenuous up hill part, me at the back of the line) grabbed her pack in an effort to protect her (how that would do anything I don't know, but hey, I was frantic) and then realized it was just a biker. Ha ha, that was funny...errrrg. I had a small desire to kick his back tire and shout "use your bell" but I refrained. Trail Ticklers are always under control. Still, I'm sure it was pretty funny for the observers, luckily nobody had a Flick-Vid device so I won't be on you-tube.

The view was quite stupendous from the top, we could see to Catalina Island. But it was terribly hot and unprotected. This trail had been a fire road and is in the process of growing over to a more natural state. Our one bit of wildlife was the horned frog you can barely see in the above photo. I had never seen one before, so there you go, another first. This hike has the dubious reputation of being the hike where we decided that Orange County is too hot in the summer for enjoyable hikes. We will resume with our last three hikes (yes, that's right, only three more left in the book!) in the fall, or when the weather turns cool, whichever comes first.

Wasps

Today, while doing some work in the back yard, I was stung by a wasp. Yes, I too thought it very rude. It was also quite painful. I am doing much better now, thank you and it made me think that I should post my treatment for a wasp sting, just in case you come across an unfriendly one in your yard.

*Wasp stings are base-they are neutralized with an acid.

Vinegar works well
Bee stings are acidic- they are neutalized by a base.

A baking soda and water paste works well.

*Benedril reduces the swelling and lets you

have a nice nap for a complete recovery.

I hope this helps!

Weir are the bees?

Last month Martine and I went on an amazing hike in Anaheim Hills called the Weir Canyon Trail Loop. As you drive into well manicured neighborhoods with gigantic homes, it seems impossible that there would actually be a trail where development was not evident. But there was the trail head, right where it was supposed to be, and after a short ascent we dropped down into this incredible valley of rolling hills and unbelievable views. The effects of the rain were beautifully evident in the vast array of wildflowers and grasses. Lizards of several varieties were everywhere, really- everywhere! Everything was so pretty that it took us quite a bit of time to complete the first half of the trail, actually, the second half too! While there were no mountain lion tracks, we did meet with a new danger never before seen by a Tickler. As we began our final descent, the trail was quite wide open, with grasses along both sides of the trail and a large tree next to the trail about 30 yards from where we were. A very spry hiker quickly, and I will add, a little noisily, passed by us and then the tree. As I watched her go, I noticed a strange cloud emanate from said tree. This darkness spread across the path and sort of hovered there. Martine was ahead of me talking about something important, I'm sure, when I grabbed her arm and pulled her back. I realized we were heading into a swarm of bees. "Oh, please don't be killer bees" ran through my head. Gratefully they stayed where they were, but we very quickly headed back up the hill. I had stopped, but Martine kept increasing her distance from the bees (she is very cautious when she is not breaking a federal law). I joined her at the top (almost) of the hill where we watched and waited and tried to come up with a plan B. When retracing the whole trail seemed like a good option, the bees decided they had seen enough of the world and headed back to their tree. I wish there had been a video of us trying to silently pass that tree. Running made too much noise with our water, compass, snack filled packs, but walking was just too slow! I'm not sure how you would describe our escape from danger, but it did make for a good laugh- at a safe distance. Once again, the Trail Ticklers faced danger, and conquered it. It is good to be a Tickler.

Letting my joy show!

Can I take just a moment and express my pride for Lindsey and her rugby years? I can't help but get a bit emotional when I think of her running around the field, knocking over women twice her size, and scrumming with the best of the NCAA for 4 years with the Womens Cougar Rugby Team. This team has gained great recognition this year due to forfeiting their chance to be U.S. champions because they would not play on Sunday. Their decision was difficult and honorable, and I am grateful for their example to thousands of people who understand the power of Sabbath day observance. I truly feel that they were able to make that decision because of the years of similar decisions to not play on Sunday that had been made by the players who came before them. Lindsey was one of those players. Thank you Lindsey, for putting character in front of fame and obedience before pride. That's my girl!

Your can still see some photos of Lindsey at the team web page-womenscougarrugby.com

:]

It is Friday evening, seminary is over for the year and I have this glorious chance to lie on the trampoline, read my hike book and look up into the apricot tree at the hummingbirds zip around. Aaaahhh. This is contentment.