Procrastination

I could talk a lot about procrastination as I'm good at it but my morning encounter with my monarch tells me I'm not the only one! I think it enjoyed the nice vistas of Brighton too long and missed the migration period. They nornally migrate to Mexico in late August as the monarch butterflies have difficulties flying when the weather gets colder, 13 degrees celcius and it was maybe 1 degree more this morning. Our meeting this morning was brief: it flew aways when I approached too close; it flew high but circled the house and I hope it will flip his wings towards the right direction to find its way south safely.

The Elusive Corn Dog~part 2

Here it is! Very difficult to come along though: I showed up at the stand at 11:30am but the owner was not there, and the week-end help does not know the secret recipe!! After expressing my dissapointment that this was my 3rd unsuccessful visit, the owner/chef cook was dispatched and arrived with a displeased attitute(??) and then proceeded to make the "secret batter" ~ which I witnessed 2 of the key ingredients: cornmeal and No-Name brand Old-Fashioned pancake batter. I just LOVE bothering people!! Why are they promoting their Homemade Corn Dogs if it's too much trouble making them?????
Anyway, she made a batch of 10 and asked me if I only wanted ONE? How can I commit to more than one if I don't know what they taste like???!!!
In her eyes, I was just a pest instead of an eager customner. Got the first one off the fryer half hour later; it was indeed delicious, almost as good as the foot long ones offered at the Canadian National Exibition in Toronto. The wiener was nice and juicy, surprising since she defrosted them in the microwave a few minutes ago, and the cornmeal was coarse and tasty. Good but hardly worth the 3-day wait. Oh well, maybe it was, just because they are so hard to come by with! I might decide to show up again late this morning at the stand to annoy her into making her batch of batter??
I'm now off to the pancage breakfast at the Lion's Club, all part of the Applefest festivities.

More Visitors!

Perfect morning to connect with nature! When geese are coming into the bay like this morning, I know the water is cold (or colder as it's ALWAYS cold!!) and fall is here! Now I'm off to the Applefest!

Morning Visitor

Nature at its most beautiful!
Only a few front my door, camouflaged perfectly with the fall weather, even invisible to my cat who walked less than one foot from it!

The Elusive Corn Dog

I LOVE corn dogs! Really love them and only friends who've visited a fair with me would know that. I might be somewhat ashamed of my love for them but every summer, I buy a box of 20 of the Pogo ones and warm them on the BBQ for solo lunches on week-ends. They're ok but there's nothing like a freshly make one! This week-end, the fair midway is in town for Applefest and I stopped by last night to survey the "corn dog" situation. I was thrilled to see a vendor with advertisement for homemade ones for $3.50!! Grabbed the investement from my mallet, lined up only to be told "no corn dogs tonight, just this week-end". ??? And as an explanation, I got the "they're home made you know, hand dipped so, they take a long timne" ???? Who are they trying to fool??? It's only a wiener, a stick and cornmeal pancake batter. So I raised an eyebrow to the dubious explanation and walked away devastated!
So I was back on the site tonight again only too happy to part with my money. Well can you beleive that the owner is the only one who know the secret batter recipe and she was away for an hour! But I was assured they are the best and are worth the wait. I'll have to report back if I can finally put my mouth on one of those gems over the week-end!
In the meantine, I direct you to this intersting article on corn dogs with a delectable-looking recipe for Lemongrass Shrimp Corn Dog: http://archive.seacoastonline.com/news/10112006/entertainment-f-o11-corndogs.html

Powerscourt Estate & Gardens - Ireland

This is Powerscourt Estate & Gardens in Co. Wicklow, a heritage property just 20km south of Dublin.
The walking tour starts with the Italian Gargen, walking down towards the Winged Horses and the Triton lake. A short walk in the woods and we are at the Pets Cemetery, one of the largest of it's kind. Then we're at the Dolphin Pond with its fountain and then the Walled garden (no pics, sorry) and finally the rose gardens
just beside the main house. It was just beautiful and I wish I had more time to spend there to enjoy the serenity and beauty of the surroundings.
The first picture is from their official website but all the others are mine.

Doors of Georgian Dublin

Sorry it took me so long to share pics from my recent trip to Ireland! I don't know where the time goes and I can't believe we're already in fall.... This first slide show just below, is of doors of Georgian homes in Dublin city centre. There's postcards at all the souvenir shops in Dublin showing the same so I thought I'd take my own pics and share with you all!