Critters and Gardening and Apricot Compote

For folks who live in the middle of the city, we see our fair share of wildlife.  A couple of weeks ago on my way home I saw a coyote sauntering down a yard toward the rail road right of way.  Not a scrawny, hungry looking coyote, but one who'd found his fair share of prey.  Annie was not amused.  Of course, Annie is never amused by anything - animal or human - intruding into her space.  And, that space includes MANY feet around the vehicle in which she's traveling.  We went up to Lafayette to visit our friends Donna and Phil and took Annie along.  She went nuts over the cows and horses along the way.  Wooof, wooooof, wooooof.....  Annie, pipe down!  Like that'd help :-) 

A couple of days ago we saw a line of cars stopped at the same rail road right of way and I was puzzled.  It's normally only used for the state fair train so why was everyone stopped?  Turns out there was a large snapping turtle heading across the road.  Lots of folks were leaning out their car windows taking photos.  

Then, on the way home we saw a line of traffic stopped on one of the really busy thoroughfares we cross.  Mama Duck and about ten ducklings were hustling to the other side of the road.  Now, you'd think with all of that going on that we'd have problems with deer nibbling our hosta.  Hang on while I knock on my head... Ok, now I can say it.  Thus far we've had no issues with deer.  Now, wouldn't that send Annie into a tizzy - lol. 

So, you have to picture this.  I have two boxes of paperwork on my back seat.  They are between Annie and one of the windows.  Out of the window Annie can see another dog.  OMG, it's in her territory!!!  Alert!!  Onto the boxes she goes to get as close as doggly possible to the offending critter.  Woof, woof, woof!!!  Whew, it went away.  Or, maybe we got far enough away that she can no longer see it.  Now, she's stuck in the box.  And, terribly embarassed.  What is a dog to do?

As I'm typing this, there's a whole line of cars on the parkway waiting for a line of Canada geese to wend their way across the street.  What most drivers don't realize is that if you just keep moving forward the geese will move.  I'm convinced the geese consider horns honking to be a great sport.  Ah, that car's trying to sound just like me they say!  They have figured out that Annie WILL eat a goose and that she is not scared of their hissing and spitting.  She's not actually scored a goose (seeing as how they're a protected species, we discourage it) but she has gotten a mouthful of feathers when they've charged her.  And, there is no longer goose poop on the front walk of our office building.  They see either of our cars and they all take off. 

On another note, we've had some gorgeous flowers in the garden recently.  I thought I'd show you a few photos.  The yucca made it to the top of the window.  I think it should be called a tree rather than a plant!  Connie's 5'10".  Look how much taller this plant is than he is!!

A small start of the cactus came with me from my old house and was divided again two years ago.  The new batch is just incredibly happy. 

The lilies were planted in the wrong spot and were transplanted and are pretty daggone happy now.  They're ready to be divided this fall - again...

My favorite lily has buds that are fat and about to burst forth with color.  The hosta are getting ready to bloom - and a couple already have. 

A few daylilies are blooming but we'll have a riot of color soon. 

The astilbe looks wonderful as do the bachelor's buttons. 

Love the bee on the bachelor's button! 

Then, there's the yarrow and the coneflowers...

What does all of that have to do with apricot compote.  Absolutely nothing.  I just wanted to chat about the other stuff.  The apricot compote was one of those recipes I kept meaning to try.  We saw some lovely apricots at Jungle Jims so I bought half a dozen. 

What did we think?  Well, this was ok.  It's probably something I'll never make again though.  There are too many other recipes out there to try.  I mean I could just use my friend Liz's blog for dessert ideas and never run out.  I make dessert about once a month.  Maybe more like once every two or three months.  When I do make a dessert odds are about even that it'll be fruit of some sort.  Cakes are merely ok.  Cookies are nice.  Pies are a notch better - particularly if they're fruit.  What I really loved about this was the rosemary honey.  Now, that I may put on some grilled peaches with a little blue cheese crumbled into their centers.  That's my idea of a perfect dessert!

Apricot Compote Yogurt Parfaits
2 servings

Ingredients:
1/4 c honey
5-6 ripe apricots, pitted and coarsely chopped
3 T water
pinch coarse salt
1 T honey
2 T Greek yogurt

Directions:

Simmer the honey, apricots, water and salt on medium heat until the fruit is nice and soft.  It'll take about 10 minutes. 

Remove from the heat and pour the compote into a heatproof bowl.  Refrigerate until it's well chilled.  Serve with a big dollop of Greek yogurt and a good drizzle of honey.

adapted from Everyday Living