This slideshow features photos from Kew Gardens, including some from the Summer 2010 Butterfly Display in the Princess of Wales Conservatory.
Kew Gardens is a World Heritage Site covering approximately 300 acres with a diversity of plants and garden areas of various types and designs. Throughout the year, there is beauty to enjoy, as well as events and activities that educate and entertain.
In June of 2011, I visited Pebble Beach with my youngest brother and his dog. The dog had a great time, and so did we.
There’s a scenic road, known as the 17-Mile Drive, with many turnouts where you can park your car, stretch your legs, and admire the scenery. Spanish Bay, towards the northern end, has an excellent beach as well as a picnic area and walking paths through mounds of large pebbles and dunes meadows. There are some other beaches as well, but most of the coastline is impressively rocky. Depending on where you stop, you can venture out onto the coastal rocks or view them from a higher vantage point.
At Bird Rock, various seabirds congregate along with sea lions, grouping themselves together by species along both horizontal and vertical lines. At Fanshell Overlook, the beach below belongs to harbor seals, who looks sleek and elegant while sporting in the water, but haul out here and cover the white sands like an array of giant slugs. During the spring pupping season (April 1 – June 1) this area is closed. The pups must grow fast. We came in late June, and all the seals we saw were fairly well grown.
South of Cypress Point Lookout, the coastline has more trees, including the living Lone Cypress* and the dead Ghost Tree. Continuing south past Pescadaro Point, the 17-Mile Drive turns inward and loops back through the Del Monte Forest, habitat for a number of rare and endangered plant species.
The 17-Mile Drive is a private road, maintained by the Pebble Beach Company. While you can freely hike or bicycle into the area, driving along the road requires payment of a toll. At the time of my visit, the fee was $9.50 per car. If you keep the toll receipt, you can get the the fee deducted from the cost of a meal at a number of restaurants in Pebble Beach. We took advantage of this and enjoyed lunch at Sticks, which probably offers the best vegetarian choices.
If you have a chance to spend a day exploring the 17-Mile Drive in Pebble Beach, I highly recommend it. Take along a jacket, as there can be chilly wind and fog, and don’t forget to bring your camera.
*While the Pebble Beach company objects to commercial use of images of The Lone Cypress as infringements upon its trademark, it’s OK to photograph this tree for personal use or artistic purposes. A natural object such as a tree cannot be copyrighted.
This Google slideshow features photos taken during a visit to Pebble Beach in June of 2011. It shows various places along the Pebble Beach 17-Mile Drive.
The 17-Mile Drive is a private road maintained by the Pebble Beach Company, with gates open from sunrise to sunset. There is a gate fee for automobiles and motorcycles are prohibited. As of January 2021, the gate fee was $10.50 per car. There is no fee for those who want to enter and explore on foot or bicycle.
I first made this conserve with Satsuma plums. These have a dark, solid red skin and a dark red flesh, giving a rich color to the jam. Other dark fleshed plums (e.g. Elephant Heart, Black Beauty) also work well with this recipe.
3 lbs plums (dark fleshed plums preferred)
3 lbs sugar
1/2 lb raisins
1/2 lb broken walnuts (less is OK)
2-3 oranges, relatively thin-skinned (i.e. not Naval oranges)
Wash and mince, grate or grind oranges, reserving juice and discarding seeds.
Remove stones from plums and cut into quarters.
Combine oranges, plums, sugar, and raisins.
Simmer approx 90 minutes, stirring to avoid scorching.
Add walnuts and cook another 45 minutes or so until “thick” (i.e. 222-225 degrees).
Pour into sterile jars and process 10 minutes in boiling water bath.
For a custom touch, try adding a bit of cinnamon, nutmeg, or cardamon.
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 3/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 large egg
1/2 cup molasses
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest (optional)
Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves until well blended and set aside.
In a mixing bowl (e.g. KitchenAid) beat butter and brown sugar until creamy, then add egg and mix at medium speed until well blended. Add molasses, vanilla, and lemon zest and continue to mix until well blended, scraping down the bowl if needed. Gradually stir in dry ingredients until blended and smooth.
Divide dough in half and wrap each half in plastic and let stand at room temperature for at least 2 hours or up to 8 hours.
(Dough can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 4 days, but in this case it should be refrigerated and then returned to room temperature if you plan to roll it out for cut cookies.)
Preheat oven to 375°. Grease or line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Roll dough into balls and place on cookie sheet 2-3 inches apart. Flatten the balls for a thin crisp cookie, or leave them as they are for a cookie that is crunchy on the outside with a softer center.
-OR-
Place 1 portion of the dough on a lightly floured surface, and sprinkle flour over dough. Roll dough to a scant 1/4-inch thick, dusting rolling pin or keeping the dough between two sheets of parchment or waxed paper. Use additional flour as needed to avoid sticking.
Cut out cookies and space them 1 1/2-inches apart on the cookie sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes for flat cookies or ~12 minutes for round cookies. Cool on a rack and then decorate (or not) as desired.
From the zest and juice of citrus fruits, the glaze can then be made in an amount that will ice about 30 cookies by combining:
Thin Glaze
1/2 c. powdered sugar
1 T. juice
1 t. extract
~1/4 – 1/2 t. of the zest
Combine the powdered sugar and juice in a small bowl and stir until well mixed. Stir in the extract. Stir in the zest. The icing should be of a consistency that will spread slightly when applied to the cookies so that it forms a thin, smooth glaze. If the icing is too thick, add juice in small amounts to correct.
Thick Glaze
3/8 c. powdered sugar
1/2 – 1 T. juice
1/4 t. citrus oil
Place the powdered sugar in a small bowl and work in the juice in small amounts until there is just enough to dissolve all the sugar. Add the citrus oil and stir. Food coloring may be added at this stage, but do this very carefully as adding just one drop directly from the bottle may produce a color that is too intense (try using a toothpick instead).
Notes:
A. When you remove the zest from the fruit, you want to just skin the surface, without taking the white pith. Using a microplane with a light touch works well for this.
B. It may seem like you are adding a lot of extract or oil, but you will need this to allow the citrus flavor to emerge over the sweetness of the sugar.
C. This citrus-flavored glaze works well on sugar cookies or gingerbread cookies.
D. This glaze sets up quickly, so if you want to use sprinkles for additional decoration, shake onto each cookie right after spreading on the glaze.
These are less sugary than most, so they can be decorated with icing or chocolate without becoming overly sweet. Alternatively, you can add 1/4 cup of brown sugar to the recipe and leave undecorated.
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoon vanilla
3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla and mix until all ingredients are well combined. In another container, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Gradually add dry ingredients to the mixing bowl, mixing until well blended. Cover bowl or wrap the dough and chill for 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 400°F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Form dough into ~1 inch balls and flatten on parchment paper to about 1/8 – 1/4 inch thickness -OR- on a lightly floured surface roll out the dough into about 1/8 – 1/4 inch thickness and cut use cookie cutters. Arrange the cookies ~2-inches apart and bake 14-16 minutes until moderately browned all over. After the cookies have been cooled, apply cookie icing or chocolate.
NOTE: If you bake these cookies just until the edges start to turn brown, they will taste mealy. These turn out best when the are rolled thin and baked until crispy.
1 cup unsalted butter
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 large egg yolk
2 cups all-purpose flour
Beat the butter, sugar, salt and vanilla together until smooth and creamy. Mix in the egg yolk until well incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl at least once. Add the flour and mix just until incorporated. Scrape onto a lightly floured board and knead a few times to smooth out the dough, taking care not to overwork. Turn onto a sheet of plastic wrap and roll into a log, wrap up and refrigerate for several hours.
Preheat the oven to 325°F. 7 Line baking sheets with parchment. Slice the dough into slices about 1/8″ thick or roll the dough out and cut with cookie cutters. Place cookies on sheet about an inch apart. Bake until JUST beginning to turn golden around the edges, about 16-17 minutes.
During trips to London, I’ve had the opportunity to see many works by J. M. W. Turner. The Tate Britain, which has an extensive collection of works by Turner, provides a unique opportunity to see the range and evolution of style for an individual artist. The National Gallery on London’s Trafalgar Square also has a good sampling of Turner paintings.
In a poll conducted by the BBC in 2005, The Fighting Temeraire was overwhelmingly voted the greatest painting in a British art gallery. It was also a favorite painting of Turner himself, who painted it in 1839. It is one of many paintings bequeathed to the British nation by the artist.
As if often the case with oil paintings, online reproductions do not fully capture the range of colors or luminosity of the original works. In the case of this painting, it’s interesting to look at a few other examples to get an idea of the limitations of such online reproductions:
The two works below were presented by Turner as a complementary pair at a Royal Academy exhibition in 1842. A computer screen cannot do justice to these paintings, which provide examples of Turner’s ability to evoke mood as well as his use of imagery to represent abstract concepts.
Although London provides enduring opportunities to view Turner’s works, I first came to appreciate his significance during a trip to New York. In 2008, I saw a special exhibition of works by J. M. W. Turner at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which included over 140 paintings and watercolors by the artist. Most of the works in this exhibition were on temporary loan, but the one shown below is part of the Met’s permanent collection.
Again, it is instructive to look at the variation across online reproductions:
Ohio has many rural areas in which folks practice farming on a small scale, more for enjoyment than for profit. In addition to being able to harvest your own vegetables is the dream of some, a small farm will often have space for some animals. For those so inclined, keeping a small flock of sheep can provide satisfaction in various ways. It also can bring a mixture of both joy and sadness.
While I was visiting my brother’s farm in March, two new lambs were born on a cold morning. My niece, who had gone out to tend to the farm animals, discovered them right after they had been born. We allowed some time for the mother to be alone and bond, then went out for a look.
The lambs were lovely, but they had not been born at a lucky time. The temperature had dropped the day before and the air had a sharp bite. As we approached the barn, a lamb that had been born several weeks earlier during mild weather was frisking about, kept warm by her new growth of wool. The new lambs, however, looked very cold, and one of them looked distressingly fragile.
Work commenced immediately to help these cold little lambs. Extra straw was placed in their stall. Warmed water and enriched food were provided for the mother. The lambs were bottle-fed a supplement. Additional heat lamps were installed and other animals brought into the barn to generate additional warmth. Even so, one lamb did not make it.
The picture you see here was taken during that morning visit to the barn, when the lambs were no more than a few hours old. The one you see here is the lamb that lived.
