I’ve been watching the lilac buds grow and unfold and today noticed the purple flowers.
This bush by the house has small blooms of deep purple…
…enough to entice a hummingbird!
And completely unrelated … Auggie on top of the woodpile.
Saturday evening, under gray and cloudy skies, watching my step over wet rocks and sticks in the woods…
Two Calypso Orchids! The small blooms are about 1/2 the size of my thumbnail and they are turned over so they tend to hide under grasses and greens.
Violets are starting to bloom now so there are other purple things in the grasses.
I have read that conditions of soil have to be just right for the orchids and they can be dormant for years. There had been a small patch that had a few orchids every spring but I’ve not seen them for several years. These two were in an entirely different area. I had only my phone the first night and could not get a clear photo.
Last night, I took the big camera – gorgeous and unique!
And speaking of unique… Saturday, returning on a high from finding the orchids, I saw near the house what looked like two Glacier Lilies blooming practically on top of each other.
It was two and they were on top of each other, on one stem: a double!
A combination of beef and lamb makes for easy and delicious meatballs with just a few simple additions.
The basic recipe:
1 package lamb
1 package ground beef
1.5 T lemon pepper (T = tablespoon)
1.5 T Italian seasoning
1/2 cup finely diced onion (about 1/2 of a medium onion: yellow, white or sweet onion)
1/3 cup breadcrumbs (you can also use cracker crumbs)
1 egg
Mix all together. Refrigerate for an hour if possible but no problem to cook immediately.
Form meatballs golf ball sized.
To cook, you can bake them on a sheet pan, or “fry” them in a fry pan and then cook in gravy or tomato sauce.
For baking: 425 oven for 15-20 minutes to internal temperature of 160 or until they are NOT pink inside.
Below are the step by step instructions:
The meat.
The rest of the ingredients.
Mix the meats, spices, onion, breadcrumbs and egg.
Your hands are the best tool for this!
Roll mixture into golf ball sized meatballs.
See recipe above for different cooking options.
I baked at 425 for 18 minutes. Internal temperature was 178 and…
If you don’t have a meat thermometer, cut one open. It should look done with no pink inside.
Serving options:
You can make a gravy from the drippings and serve over rice or noodles.
OR
Add the meatballs to tomato sauce and serve over spaghetti or any pasta OR in a roll for a meatball sandwich.
OR
Split them and serve on small rolls – Sliders!
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May 1, walking with Bear and Auggie…
Those tire marks are from the woodsman who worked in my woods and then obtained a permit to cut wood on the state land adjacent to my woods. It is hard to tell from the photo, but it is a bit of a downhill to the lower level of the state land.
We walk down that little bit of hill and out a little ways before turning left (south) toward the house.
In those tracks…
I saw the first Glacier Lily.
Beautiful little flowers, one to a stem with pretty leaves at the base. The flower is turned down, but with the front camera on the phone I didn’t have to lie down on the ground to see the blossom – yea!
Arriving back home, I had to laugh, because there in my own yard, just by the front porch was another.
May flowers from April showers: the first and second Glacier Lilies on May Day!
