Trends from Hawaii streaking to MI at a geologic pace over 41 years.
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The beautiful azalea caterpillar. Red head and feet, black body that typically has yellow markings.
Also, snacking on candy corn and black licorice with this pumpkin spice soda I saw. In the last 3 said I’ve already worked 39 hours and so I decided to get candy and soda while watching some new African horror movie. It was filmed mostly in USA I think but the director was from the Congo and it’s predominantly an African cast. Focused on African folk lore. My cat is the same colors as my snack. She was smelling, not allowed to eat even if she wanted too. My favorite way to relax is watching films with my cats or listening to a podcast or reading a book with them. I’ll probably get another third one soon. Though I’m also thinking maybe it’s a good time for me to go ahead and get a smaller dog. Then later on I’ll get a larger dog again. Though I may get a rat xd.
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Great share about rock stacks. I appreciate that for some it is a bit of fun and for others, it is a way to connect with nature, and I am all for both of those things, for sure. And yet, every one of those rocks is a microhabitat. When they are removed from the river, the microbial life on the stone dies and the river water sweeps away the nutrients trapped under the stone.
Not to mention it is one less place for inverts (like dragonfly larvae) to shelter. If someone flattened a village or burned down a cornfield there would be uproar, but it is not that much different when someone pulls a bunch of rocks out of the river.
And of course, as you said, after rock stack number 178698629845692847659823475 it does start to get a bit old.
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I agree with every word you said here.
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What a glamourous, elegant caterpillar! Excellent fashion sense (red is classic with black and white) and such flexibility!
Great photos as always!
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(Was it okay that I skipped a few rocks on Loch Ness? ; - )
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uh oh–remember what happened to Pippin (I think) at the pool in front of Moria!
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That’s funny. It was at the shore below the Urquhart Castle ruins and there was a presumably BBC crew taping a children’s show of some sort, because there were people in silly costumes and cameras and lights. One of the crew called down to me and said “Be careful, you’ll wake up Nessie!” 
I haven’t gotten the impression that Nessie was supposed to have tentacles though.
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Speaking of okra, was out picking and snapped a few pics. Okra has pretty flowers, much like its relative cotton. Here in full farmer mode. The okra this year has really grown, tallest stalks over 9 feet tall.
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I love okra plants…those are beautiful! Thanks
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I’ve never seen okra growing like you and @randy, but I sure love to eat it. It really is my favorite vegetable.
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Boromir tossed the stone in the book, and Pippin in the movie. The result is equivalent.
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Thank you! I was wrong in the first place–I wrote Sam at first, then stopped at Pippin. We read the series together again last year, but I’m getting rusty. Wonderful book.
Thanks.
Randy
Wow. I only use it to make gumbo. Got a favorite way to prep it?
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I grew up on it breaded with corn meal and fried in the good southern tradition of my maternal grandmother from Arkansas. It’s exquisite that way, but deadly. I deep fry nothing.
Using fresh okra, I love to roast or grill it whole with a little olive oil and sea salt until it’s starting to brown a bit. I can’t express how utterly delicious (and not slimy) it is. If you’re in a hurry, you can split it lengthwise.
Since it costs at least as much as beef around here, and I have to go pretty far to get nice quality okra, we don’t have lot of it, but it’s absolutely delicious.
And then we can move on to the virtues of it in gumbo and many other stewy dishes. I was at an Indian restaurant once, and it was cooked in a tangy, tomatoey stew, that was gorgeous, too.
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We eat it fried, but really like it roasted. Take small tender pods, toss with olive oil, a little sprinkle of Cajun seasoning to taste and kosher salt then in a hot oven (we use convection and a roasting pan) until a little crispy, usually 15-20 minutes. Also like sautéed with onions and bell pepper, then cooked down with tomatoes, seasoned with garlic, Cajun seasoning.
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Oh, I gotta try that sauted version!
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Have you tried growing them here, Kendel? I did a couple of years ago–they were monsters, even in Michigan, surprisingly–kind of like tomatoes in vigor. I wish I liked eating them better. I agree that cornmeal is a good way, and I also like pickled okra… but I have never tried roasted. That does sound good! Thanks for the ideas.
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Oh, yeah. Forgot to mention pickled! I have not tried growing it here. I’m pathetic with growing actual useful plants. Did you just stick ‘em in the ground or use containers? I’ve seen your rototiller, though. You’ve probably done them in the ground.
Did the deer eat ‘em ?
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I just stick them in the ground in a line, starting about 4 inches apart, and then thinning them as they get bigger. I have a fence around the garden, so I’m not sure if deer would go after them or not, unfortunately. (thanks to my father in law, who is a farmer and helped me put that fence up before going back on the mission field). I was amazed at how vigorous and heavily bearing they were, though–they outperformed everything else. I didn’t know they were that expensive! I couldn’t find anyone who wanted them. I like the flowers, too. Okra is a big food in Africa–they put it in the “miya” sauce, in which they dip their millet and sorghum porridge (“tuwo”).
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