Rumor Has It

I love vegetables fresh from the garden! I like them raw, but I like them even better cooked. Many people say that cooked vegetables are bland. Not if you cook them correctly. If you overcook them, they certainly are. The best way to cook them is by steaming them in a steaming basket or by cooking them in a sauce pan with a small amount of water. All you need to do is bring your water to a rapid boil, add a dash of salt (some people don’t..I think it is a must), your favorite herbs that compliments the veggie and cook over a slow boil until tender crisp. You want your vegetable to retain it’s color, or actually it should even become a bit more brilliant, and to be to your desired crispness…the crisper, the more nutrients and flavor it retains. You can add any number of herbs, seasonings, oils, or other vegetables to compliment the flavor of your main vegetable. There  is no reason to ever think of your garden fresh vegetables as being a bland dish…the combinations are as endless as your imagination.

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I have been having a bothersome day with yellow jackets, I think one in particular has been out for me! I am at a friends house while she is at the beach, so I am doing her everyday tasks, which includes her gardening and flowers. Well, come to find out, there is a yellow jacket nest under one of her bird baths and I seem to have upset the dear things. I suppose I understand why. As I was filling the bath, one flew into the bowl and I proceeded to attempt to drown it..to no avail. It escaped and it seems for the rest of the day it has been able to find me, no matter where I have been! Honestly, I think it must be the same one or it’s mate. I have been sitting on the back deck every evening for the past 3 evenings and have not seen one yellow jacket. Tonight I could not sit down without this single yellow jacket making a beeline (lol) in my direction!!!

I know that yellow jackets are not bees, but are actually in the wasp family and are a very aggressive specie of the wasp. They will sting you, will follow you if you disturb their nest, but normally they follow you from the nest only as far as they can see you. They are also known to sting you without provocation. They are most aggressive at the summer’s end, normally after they have quit tending to their young. What seems unusual is they are less agressive while tending to their young, possibly because they are busy or pre-occupied. Though, if you disturb their nest during this time they are fierce defenders of their young and their nest and will aggressively attack. Unprovoked attacks seem to be more common after the young have left the nest.

I think I upset one that just kicked her kid out! She sure did come after me this evening! I moved out of her way, she was very persistent, to the point of sending me inside. Now, I thought, is this fair? I deserve to sit here, enjoy the evening and relax. Well, I eventually stood my ground and defended my rocking chair. I found that streaming spray in the green can…this Yellow Jacket will no longer be a problem.

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