1. Cool air moved into the Silver Valley overnight. Gray clouds covered the sun. The conditions were perfect for me to grab the Pulaski and a couple or three waste cans and head back to the round planter built out of North Fork River rock that Dad built about twenty-five years ago and clear out the stubborn grasses, worn out tubers, and other stuff growing in them.
I dug, yanked, and cajoled enough unwanted growth out of the planters to fill two waste cans, but I divided the contents into four so that I could more easily lift them into Everett's pickup and dispose of the waste at the compost bin at the transfer station. As is often the case, Nicholl was working at the entry station. I rolled up. She strolled out.
"Hey. How ya doin'?"
"Oh -- it's been kinda slow this morning."
"Too bad. Must be kinda boring."
"Not really. I can read. Watch YouTube videos. I've just been on Gaia. You know what that is?
"No."
"Yoga videos and stuff. It's really good."
"Great! Hey, I've just got yard waste back there."
"Okay. You know where to go."
"I do." I smiled. "And I've got no bags."
Nicholl laughed. "You're learnin', aren't ya?"
"Sure am. Ha! Have a good one."
"So long."
2. Christy and Everett returned home this afternoon after three nights at Elkin Resort. Their house is in temporary disarray because of rooms being painted and their bathroom being not quite finished. The Deke and I invited them over for dinner. We thawed out four pork chops -- this is meat from the load we picked up Wednesday at Double E Meats. I got out our cast iron Dutch oven, turned our hottest burner up as high as it will go, heated oil almost to smoking, and seared the chops, seasoned with garlic powder, oregano, and salt, for about three minutes on each side.
I put them on a plate, poured some of the oil off the Dutch oven into an empty tuna can, and cooked sliced onions until they began to carmelize. I returned the pork chops to the Dutch oven and covered them with pork stock I had made a while back and let the pork chops simmer in the liquid and onions until we were ready to eat. The Deke made a superb cabbage salad and steamed a head of cauliflower. Everyone enjoyed this dinner a lot and I was especially happy that our first dinner with our fresh pork tasted so good.
3. Patrick was going to be arriving around 10:15 or so for a weekend visit, but my day of being up at 5 a.m., wielding the Pulaski, hauling the yard waste into the pickup, going to the dump, cooking pork chops, and visiting with Christy and Everett left me bushed and I went to bed at around 9:00. I went to bed happy that we are making modest progress toward sprucing up the back yard a bit, making it look a little better, but not trying to work miracles. I just don't have it in me anymore to work any way but slow and steady.
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