The Lucky Dog Blog

HEADING HOME

Ben, Ian and Max left for their home yesterday about 9:45 AM. We all were sorry to see them leave, they weren't here long enough.

    

We are sure they had a good time and are looking forward to their next trip here.

   

They arrived back in Minnesota last night about 9:00 PM.

Now I have a problem; with the boys gone what will I write about!

Lucky

OUT TO LUNCH WITH RELATIVES

Yesterday, Marilyn’s son Ben and his sons, Ian and Max spent time visiting with relatives.

They went to lunch at the Undercliff restaurant with Joyce, Zella, Marilyn and Al. Al thought the boys would enjoy eating in a cave. Besides, the food was good. (Yes, the boys thought it was cool.)

    

After lunch it was a trip to Zella’s house. She gave the boys more Indian artifacts and a book about them.

    

Ben and his boys will be leaving for their home in Minnesota this morning. I’m sad.

Lucky

GARAGE CLEAN OUT

Marilyn and Al’s house in town has been sold and they will close the deal this coming Friday. Yesterday, they went to clean out a few things from the garage. Ben and the kids went along to help.

 

Some of the things they removed from the garage included antique wagon wheel hubs, an old Bunny Bread sign and other stuff.

            

The “stuff” was important to Marilyn and Al, but it looked like junk to me!

Lucky

Fireworks

Marilyn’s grandsons, Ian and Max had a good time yesterday on the first day of their vacation at our Guest Cabin.

They spent some time wading in the creek –  it was cold and wet, they said.

They also spent time exploring the area. They are hoping to find some arrowheads or other treasures.

Since the state of Minnesota has very strict rules about fireworks, they had to wait until their trip to Missouri to enjoy their fireworks. A little late to celebrate the 4^th of July, but they didn’t seem to mind.

    

The bangs from over at the Guest Cabin were a problem for Brutus, who spent most of the time under the bed. He is such a weenie.

Lucky

BEN AND KIDS

Marilyn’s son, Ben and his sons, Ian and Max arrived last night at our Guest Cabin. It was just getting dark when they arrived.

It was around 9:00 PM. The trip takes about 12 hours, so it was a long, long trip for them and they were glad to get to their destination. Vicki couldn’t get away from her job at this time, so it is a boys outing. They plan to spend a lot of time in the creek looking for exotic things and swimming.

 

 

 

 

    

I know that I will spend some time with them while they are here. They like dogs and cats so I am looking forward to some serious play time for me.

Lucky

FARMER'S MARKET

Marilyn and Al were gone yesterday to the Farmers Market in Anderson, MO.

    

They brought breads, jams, radishes and eggs and cantaloupe, but no cucumbers. We have enough cucumbers around here to start a pickle factory.

    

There even was one vendor selling baby quail and guineas. Did you know that baby guineas are called keets?

When they got home, I saw that they did not buy any dog food.

And I don’t need a quail to room with. Besides, the cats would think baby quail were a snack. 

Lucky

CUCUMBERS UPDATE

I don’t have much to write today. Yesterday Al went out to the garden and brought back a couple of cucumbers.

          

Based on the size, I would say he should go out to pick them more often.

Lucky

TOMATO PIE

Marilyn had some ladies over to the Guest Cabin yesterday. For their lunch she made a Tomato Pie. She got the recipe from her sister, Zella, who is a good cook. Since the frozen pie crusts come in pack of two, Marilyn decided to make two pies – one for the guests and one for Al and “left overs”.  She used our home grown tomatoes and basil in the pies.

The recipe is:

1 frozen pie crust, 9” size. Bake according to directions on label 10 minutes at 400 degrees. Cool

Prepare filling:

2–3 fresh tomatoes, peeled and sliced (about 1/2 inch slices)
Salt & Pepper to taste
1 tsp chives (or to taste)
2 tsp fresh basil (or to taste)
1/4 cup of crumbled bacon or bacon bits
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Bake pie 30 minutes at 350 degrees on a cookie sheet. Cool slightly, cut and serve

The first thing was to bake the pie crust. (Don’t mention it to Marilyn, but I think she got it a little toasty.)

                                

Then add the tomatoes and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add the fresh basil, bacon and chives. Cover the top of the pie with mayonnaise and top with sprinkled cheddar cheese.  Pop the pies into the pre-heated oven

                                          

 30 minutes later, out come the hot pies.

                                     

The ladies enjoyed their lunch of Tomato Pie, salad, crusty bread and sweet iced tea, or so I was told. They both wanted the recipe, so they must have been sincere.

Lucky

CROPS

Yesterday Marilyn saw corn growing in town someone a planted next to the telephone pole in their small back yard. Al took a picture of the corn crop. It looked like they would soon be able to harvest roasting ears.

Al also let me use a picture of his tomato crop for my Lucky Dog Blog post. He is turning into a pretty good farmer, but he wouldn’t let me taste any of the bounty. He said he has other plans for the tomatoes and they didn’t include a little black dog. Humph.

As you can tell, there is not much news for the blog today.

Lucky

HISTORY AND MOUNDS

Last Sunday afternoon Marilyn went to a historical society meeting. The speaker was Bob Horton who talked about growing up in eastern McDonald County in King’s Valley or Holler. His family had a store and saw mill in the Simcoe area. Marilyn’s grandfather and his brother also ran saw mills in the early part of the 20th century. His talk included how early merchants extended credit during tough economic times and supported community projects. The Horton School was named for his grandfather because he donated the lumber to build it. He also talked about the “flying saucers” that he and others have seen in the county. Pretty interesting stuff, she said.

         

After the meeting, Marilyn went with Frankie and Jim M. to photograph the Caddo Indian Mound that is on the National Register of Historic Places. It is the only so designated site in the county. I must say that the photo Marilyn took isn’t very dramatic. She said it is a large round area that is about 3 feet above grade. It is a “priest’s mound” and was used for rituals that took place on the day of the winter solstice. Each year a structure was built that faced the sun and on that special day, the building was burned and a stomp dance was held. Baskets of earth were added to the mound and tamped down by the dancers. Marilyn got a grant for archaeologists to survey and document the site in the late 1990’s, so it is special to her. So far as she knows, it is the only undamaged mound left in the state of Missouri.

I have never seen the Mound myself but not so sure what I missed. I suspect I only missed getting some tick and chigger bites.

Lucky