A Beautiful Fall

It was predicted to be a lackluster Fall with mostly brown leaves due to our rainy summer....so much for that!

We had a gorgeous Fall and I managed to get out to get a few pictures.

Priest Lake

The Sheep are Gone

It is always sad to me when the sheep leave the ranch. What it really means is that winter is just around the corner and they are moved to a lower elevation for winter grazing. The leaves are mostly gone from the trees, flowers are frost bitten and my favorite time of the year - summer - is over. It is back to wearing heavy clothes, sweaters, boots, coats, scarves, etc. Since this summer was so rainy it seems as if we didn't have summer at all. Weather predictions are that we will have very heavy snow this winter. I will keep you posted with some of winter scenes as the snow starts to fall.

One of my last posts regarding the sheep went out without photos. Oops...don't know what happened, but here are a few.

A black sheep with all the other sheep. Wonder how that feels?

Took this photo driving home from work one day. I love this kind of traffic jam.

Is this sheep smiling or is my imagination?

Peach Tart & Corn and Tomato Gratin

As promised, the following are two recipes made with the freshest of ingredients.The Corn and Tomato Gratin is a bit labor intensive, but well worth the trouble.




Peach Tart

2 eggs, well beaten
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup shortening(make sure to use trans-fat free)
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups all-purpose flour
4 cups sliced peaches
1/4 cup butter
cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Generously grease a 14 x 9 x 2 inch baking sheet.
2. In large mixing bowl, blend together eggs, 1 cup sugar, shortening and salt until fluffy. Gradually beat in flour.
3. Spread dough evenly over bottom of prepared pan using hands. Dredge your hands in flour in order to smooth out the dough as the dough is sticky.
4. Arrange peach slices evenly over dough. Dot with butter. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup sugar and cinnamon.
5. Bake for 35 minutes.

This recipe works well at sea level or at high altitude since there isn't any leavening ingredients.



I never said it wasn't fattening...but then it is dessert and isn't supposed to be low calorie!

Unbaked

Baked

The Sheep are Back

I am always happy to see the sheep back for the summer. They have been grazing on the ranch for the past several weeks, but with the amount of land they have to cover it has taken them awhile to get to our side of the ranch. I am sure there are some of you that don't see the fascination, but I think they are so picturesque. I doubt the herders and sheep owners see it the same way as I do, but I really think they are cute. Just recently I learned from #Cristine Aldasoro Mitchell that black sheep in a herd help to identify the total number of sheep in the herd, The ratio is approximately one black sheep per one hundred. So if there are 5 black sheep in a herd it is safe to assume that there are 500 sheep total.

My Kitties

I love my kitties, or should I say my kids? Most of the time they chase each other around the house and act as if they hate each other, but I know they really love one another as is evident by these photos.

Andy is in back,
Acey in front. They are 6 years apart in age, but look like twins.

A lot of people think it is crazy to walk cats on leashes, but it keeps them alive and they still get to be outside. There are plenty of predators on the ranch that will eat a cat for lunch! This is me walking Acey and as usual when I tell him it is time to go inside, he protests with a "lay down".  

Z's Farmers Market in Telluride

Saturday's are a favorite of mine for many reasons, but the most notable reason is that #Z's Orchards brings their produce to Telluride every Saturday during the summer growing season. I am a regular and usually come home and start cooking or baking with my fresh produce. On the menu today is a Peach Tart and a Tomato Corn Casserole.

An old fashioned farmers market with a beautiful view.

They grow their own flowers as well. 

Everyone shops here including Golden Retrievers.

Kendra, the hard working owner,

My next blog will be my Peach Tart and Tomato Corn Casserole recipes.

Yula Mae's Flowers

I am always impressed that these flowers continue to bloom year after year. They were planted by #Yula Mae Anderson Aldasoro well over 25 years ago. She and her family spent their summers on this same location on this ranch. While her husband and the sheep herders tended their sheep, she gardened and tended to their three daughters. She was an avid gardener and a wonderful lady that we all miss very much. The flowers are around the perimeter of my yard, but were originally within the fenced boundaries of the yard when Yula Mae lived here. I don't know the name of the purple flowers, the others are fragrant yellow roses that typically bloom around the 4th of July. The wagon wheels are the REAL thing. They were used on wagons on the ranch in the very early days.