Summer arrived here in North Central Texas on Wednesday, 15 May 2019. A little later than usual but unmistakable with its rich blue skies, high altitude clouds, brisk breezes, and heat index (temperature & humidity) that makes you want to stay indoors most of the day.

This followed an unusually long, wet, and colorful Spring. All of the local lakes are overflowing. I hope the ground water supplies are replenished as well. The Texas Blue Bonnets, which always begin the wild flower parade, were spectacular. Then their neon pink sisters were more numerous than I had ever seen. Next were the purples, pink, and reds of such flowers as the Blazing Star, Indian Blanket (my apologies to the Indigenous Peoples), and Thistles. Finally came the yellows varying from butter to golden. I don't know the names of most of these flowers but they are spectacular and the mix of color in the highway medians is breath taking. Topping off most of these is the white Milk Weed and another ruffled white flower with hostile foliage.

Those of us in North Central Texas have been able to enjoy these blooms for a couple of months now but soon they will go. As the heat of summer increases and the rains disappear only to return in Winter, the highway department will mow all of this abundance down to decrease fuel load in the event of wild fires. Yes, with wind gusts up to 60 mph, temperatures in excess of 100F, and high ozone levels not uncommon, wild fire danger is high most of the six months of Summer. So, no outside burning of any kind until after Halloween. It's Summer!!!

A lot has happened since my last post.

1. The Green Poodle's Attic has been opened at the Westside Antique Marketplace in Fort Worth Texas to help Mom, Dad and I purge the collections that threaten to overrun the house.
2. The family has added a new member -- GInger Rabbit (no photos yet). She's a pedigreed New Zealand Red born Christmas Eve 2018 and, when mature, should max out at about 11 pounds. That's significantly larger than my Muppet (Maltese), nearly as large as Dad's Rowdy (rescue Terrier mix), but no where near as large as my mixed breed Lucy. We've only had her for a couple of days and so far, all is well. But, of the dogs, only Lucy seems to be much aware of her presence and she is a bit frightened. Going to have to work on this.
3. Removed my POD designs from ShopVida and Zazzle. Just didn't feel that my designs fit with their way of doing business.
4. Hit the 200 follower mark on Instagram. As I don't actually know 200 people, this is significant for me, especially as this is my preferred social medium for advertising The Green Poodle.
5. George and Martha (the geese) have begun laying, a bit early. But something is getting most of the eggs before I do. I've set a trap, but the little stinker managed to get the bait without triggering the trap. Going to set my backyard camera out and try again.
6. The fountain has begun working again. Explanation: It is powered by a solar panel. During the winter months, the sun doesn't hit the panel and the fountain doesn't run. Just this last week, the water began flowing again. YEAH!!!!

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The 2018 Holiday Season is effectively over here at the home of The Green Poodle. Here's the recap:

• Thanksgiving featured a smoked Turkey from Greenburg Smoked Turkey, Inc. in Tyler, TX. Without question the best turkey I've ever had and I look forward to another next year.
• After the Thanksgiving feast, I made stock from the carcass. I rendered nearly 3 quarts of the thick fragrant liquid and froze it for later use.
• Thanksgiving also featured a fruit cake from Collin Street Bakery in Corsicana, TX. Again, the best I've ever had. We've done this for a couple of years and I plan to continue the tradition.
• Between Thanksgiving and Christmas I used one quart of the turkey stock to make a rice dish and another to make a pasta dish. Here's the deal: neither rice nor pasta have much taste on their own BUT they will pick up flavor from the liquid they are cooked in. I try to use a good stock for this. You could almost eat the rice or pasta on its own.
• When I did the pasta, I of course, didn't want to toss out the stock I'd boiled the pasta in. So, chop all the onions I had in the house and let them simmer in the stock for a very long time to make my version of French Onion Soup. YUMMY!!!
• For Christmas, we did a pot roast and pecan pie. I used a new pecan pie recipe this year and I love it. It's called Pioneer Pecan Pie from 12 Tomatoes and uses no corn syrup. The result is a pie that is less sticky, less sweet, and has a better pecan taste. I'll never go back to the old corn syrup recipe again.

As for New Year's Eve, a good movie.
As for New Year's Day, the tradition is this part of the USA is black eyed peas, which I will never eat again as long as I live no matter how hungry I think I might be. BUT, I might do a pot of pinto beans with some ham and cornbread.

Hope you enjoyed the 2018 Holiday Season and hope you have a very Happy and Prosperous 2019.
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For Thanksgiving this year, I bought a wonderful smoked turkey from Greenburg Smoked Turkey, Inc. in Tyler, TX at gobblegobble.com. After we enjoyed the bird, I cooked down the carcass-- bones and skin -- to produce 3 quarts of wonderful thick stock which I froze. I used one of those quarts Friday.

I like to use stock, especially home made stock, when I cook rice or pasta. Neither rice nor pasta have much flavor of their own but will absorb a lot of flavor from the liquid they are cooked in. So, Friday, I used a quart of my precious stock with another couple of quarts of water to boil pasta for a quick lunch. (The pasta had a great flavor!) I kept the pasta water. I chopped all the onions and garlic I had in the house, added them to the pasta water, and reduced it to about a quart. The result, some of the best onion soup I've ever had. Mom and I enjoyed bowls tonight for dinner with croutons and cheddar cheese on top. Got to do this one again!!!

The Farmer's Market is new to Mineral Wells and has really taken off due to the amazing work of its board of directors. But the vendors deserve some credit as well. In some ways a family, the collection of small and local businesses that setup each weekend at the FM are everything you hope to find when you hear the term "Farmer's Market."

I've been a vendor at the MWTXFM twice. The first time was a testing of the waters. This last time I was better prepared. These are my observations and comments as a small business trying to sell at the FM.
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A must see for true aficionados of suspense, psychological thrillers, and edge of your set terror.