Feeding the (Humming) Birds...

We have a hummingbird feeder hanging from a decorative hook just off the screened porch.
Right where we can see the amazing little creatures when they come in to drink. Love their little chirrup sound as they swoop in!

Don't buy a prepared mix - it usually has food coloring that the little guys can do without - plus making it yourself is cheaper and "greener."

The proportions are always 4:1 (water: sugar) I usually microwave 1 cup of water for about 35 seconds (enough to make the water hot enough to dissolve sugar, but not blasting hot).
Then mix in 1/4 cup sugar til dissolved. That's it!

You can rinse out the nectar bottle with plain water with a little cider vinegar mixed in (not soap).

Did you know that new research shows that a few hummers spend the winter in the Carolinas? So some people are leaving their feeders up. Read about it at Carolina Bird Club. They say we who live by the lake have a greater chance of seeing a few winter over.

See you on the lake,
Eloise

Aww...shucks

Lake Norman is more than just a lake.

Some of the people who live here still have farms.
Just down the street from our lake home, people lease farmland from another neighbor every year to grow the most awesome corn you have ever tasted. Juicy & sweet.

You know it's ready when their sign goes up by their garage: $3 a dozen.

The farmer's wife gave me a great recipe for when you just can't wait for dinner & have to try a single ear for yourself, as a snack:

Shuck the corn and roll it into a twist of wax paper. Microwave on high for one minute.
Butter it - or not. Enjoy!

Secrets of the Tomato Whisperers

Hey Bloggerson the lake,

I can't believe this really works - but it does.

Hot humid weather makes it difficult for tomato blossoms to pollinate themselves - mostly because the pollen gets too sticky - it needs to be able to travel and waft in the breeze enough to reach other blossoms.

You know you have this problem when the blossoms drop - or just fail to start producing a tomato.

A horticulturist shared this tip with me - and I have tested it.
I have the ripening tomatoes to prove it - where before I had blossom drop.
I now have the dubous distinction of actually saying that I have performed reproduction on my own tomatoes....

All you do is this:
Head out to the garden in the early AM, before any heat has started to build.
Gently shake the plants, making sure that you are shaking stalks containing any blossoms that you see.

That's it. That's all. And it works.

Happy tomato shaking,
Eloise

GRILL, Baby, GRILL

Who doesn't love grilled stuff in the summertime?

And grilling is not ALL about the meat.

I have a restaurant friend (Troy Gagliardo - at Gagliardo's Grill Express in Mooresville) who grills EVERYTHING. If you have never had lightly grilled iceberg lettuce with one of his dressings, ya haven't lived.

But most impressive are the roasted vegetables. He is the one who taught me how easy this is, using good quality olive oil and seasonings. And ya gotta season them - and he has a seasoning mix that is killer. It includes pepper, lemon, garlic, and other things that he prefers to keep nameless - but you can approximate it.

He grills corn on the cob, and he grills pizza. Eat his food to see how it's done.

Try it. I know you'll love it.

See you at the grill -on the lake,
Eloise

Kayaking My Stress Away

Slipped down to the lake ahead of the thunderstorm. And into the kayak.

Wind was picking up. But it was still nothing like Monday when a cold front zipped in from the Northwest to refresh us.

Now THAT was kinda funky for kayaking, cause it was more like sailing: the wind pushed me, kayak and all, my body as the sail. Look ma, no hands, no paddles!- and I was down nearly to the rairoad bridge in a twinkling. What a great ride.

Of course, that meant I had to paddle back...

Waves jumping up the bow. Totally soaked.

God I love this lake,
Eloise