Live music with ribs -the way it should be

We ended our weekend at Tail O the Pup with the only band that should ever play there, called Blues Noir. We have been quite disappointed this summer with the live music (2 jokers with a drum machine, bad melodies, and fake reggae), but these guys have been our perennial Tail o the Pup favorite and we finally figured out what days they play. Some of the lyrics are decidedly not PG and you can imagine that maybe one (or two) of the guys did some time in the slammer. Now that's some good blues.

Tough Mountain Chics

So Sunday morning, we sent the men folk off for golf at Saranac Inn and Ann and I decided to go canoeing...with Harlan. Do I even need to continue? We started out great, Harlan was a bit nervous. The echo quality is so good that he was convinced he was surrounded by a pack of coonhounds who kept repeating what he barked. About midway, something made him very jumpy and next thing we knew we were all in the water and the canoe was completely capsized. Harlan was a little shocked and swam back to the capsized boat to get back in but Ann coaxed him to shore (luckily we were not in the middle of the pond at the time). I then gathered our paddles and dry bag in the water, we regrouped at shore, and emptied the canoe. Needless to say, the ride back was a little less leisurely and Ann held tight to Harlan. It was 5 minutes of chaos, and a day of giggling at our adventure.

Weekend Recap - Recipes

Saturday breakfast:

• egg strata (recipe courtesy of Whole Foods). I substituted artichoke for asparagus, used wild mushroom mix instead of portabello, added ham, and fresh rosemary and didn't use garlic.


• ginger muffins (recipe courtesy of FoodTV.com)


• fresh tangerine juice


• melon

Afternoon snacks: Our guests brought treats from Fairway, including great cheese, olives, hummus.

Saturday Dinner:

• Skirt steak, marinated in garlic, lime, soy sauce, a dollop of maple syrup and dash of cayenne pepper. (ok, we also grilled ny strip and thank god we did because Clarke aka skinny hendrix decided to eat his weight in beef that night)


• Fingerling potatoes with white balsamic, olive oil dressing and fresh cilantro


• Heirloom tomatoes, fresh basil, and fresh mozzarella on a bed of chicory


• Corn on the cob with jalapeno, lime butter (from epicurious)

Sunday breakfast:

• Pancakes with fresh, wild berries


• Bacon

Weekend Recap

So much to cover! I'm going to break this up into a few posts to capture the Best Of. Our guests arrived Friday night and Saturday morning we started the day with our adorable dog guest Harlan checking out the place and having a morning conversation with the neighbor rooster. The kitties showed some initial bravado but quickly learned that coonhounds aren't messing around in their love of the hunt. We didn't see Rex or Roxy for the rest of the weekend, except to glare at us from upper rafters. We then narrowed our choices for days activities and decided to try another waterfall hike, Deer Brook Falls. This one was 2 miles south of Keene Valley. Heading from Saranac Lake, park on the northwest side of the East Branch of Ausable River Bridge and start at the trailhead of Snow Mountain. Follow the path along the brook all the way up. (if you want more specifics, email me. Lovely setting, beautiful day, Harlan had a blast. The falls were not dramatic like our earlier hikes to see Beaver Creek and Rainbow Falls but about 80 foot up and still worth the short hike of about 1 mile. We met a really mean family with a cranky mom. She yelled at Harlan and yelled at us and her husband cowered in the corner. We then amused ourselves on the way down with the rhetorts we could have said if we were more clever. Geez, I could stay in Manhattan for that treatment.

We then tried in vain to find Split Rocks Falls in Elizabethtown, which are supposed to be almost roadside but to no avail. We consoled ourselves by planning an alternate late afternoon activity consisting of camp chairs by a fire, cold beer, and treats from Fairway.

Garden

So this year I planted a very modest garden, as I wasn't sure what the climate would accommodate or if my years in the city had made me incapable of keeping plants alive. Nevertheless, my little square is in its heyday and I checked this morning to see dozens of green tomatoes, a pumpin plant that looks like it could take over the yard, basil, cilantro, rosemary, enough lettuce for a few salads. Very exciting -I've already found a 10 x 30 plot for next year in which I'll do some real damage. On the other hand, my flowers stink. The deer ate my hydrangea to stubs, my peonies failed, and my astillbe, echinacea, lavendar etc. are anemic. Here are a few pics of garden and nightfall at barn (trying out the new camera!)

Canoe Trip

We are starting the planning for our 3 day canoe trip next week in the St. Regis Canoe Area, a chain of pristine lakes with no development or motor boats and very few people. Here is our packing spreadsheet work in progress. I am noodling with the menu so we won't be carrying everything listed there. We have amazing memories from our trip a few years back where we had a site on our own island in the middle of a lake with our own beach. Under our tents were a foot deep bed of soft pine needles which both smelled terrific and provided a most comfortable mattress. Canoe camping is my preferred vehicle as you can be way off the beaten path but don't have to carry everything in. We also love the small creeks and inlets between the lakes where you can almost imagine you are touring the Amazon circa 1910.

daddy's coming home today