Walking Towards December ~ A Beach Walk

Hi everyone! All the leftovers from Thanksgiving should be finished by now and it's time to get out and enjoy the brisk late fall/ early winter beach. Some of these photos were taken earlier in the month, before we had the shocking and anomalous deep freeze last week. Oh and that snow!

Beautiful November colors in the dunes....

Could these green leaves in the center be the velvet leaf weed I am searching for?

All fall we have been watching the dredging boats, working on H Sandy beach repairs, an ongoing somewhat sporadic project done by the US government? and the Army Corps of Engineers.

The boats used are multiple---one very large barge with suction pumps and hoists and who knows what all. This ship siphons up sand from the seabed and sends it through a 12"? diameter tube, a quarter mile long, up onto the beach.Then there are large but a bit smaller boats, plus each has its own tugboat! These smaller boats are in charge of setting the suction tubes and the flotation devices that hold the tube in position. There is also a strange superstructure on the beach, called The Crab, which is a lookout post and a site evaluator, and a surveying tool.

Meanwhile back on land huge equipment came and pounded large pilings into our dunes. It was pretty awful, my house shook like an earthquake for weeks and Mo was scared. The constant rumbling and shaking was oddly upsetting or nerve wracking, even when one knew it was not indeed an earthquake.

Not thrilled with these pilings, they are ugly and much taller than any natural dune formation. They also spoil my view! Will they help collect sand as the years and even eons go by, or will they be expensive eyesores? I don't think anyone really knows. 

So anyway, the sand sucked from the seabed will be moved with, again, giant machines to form faux dunes. The dunes they built a few years ago have settled in nicely, so that may be okay. Will sand be pushed into the piling forests mechanically? We don't know, yet another mystery.

All this background is because....the dredged sand is already yielding up new and interesting beachcombed treasures. The lure of the beach hunt has returned.

Here is a large patch of rare pink sand!

My friend found this  very large, fortunately used, old brass gun shell. A 20 mm round marked USA 1943. You can see how big it is.

Research shows us that this WW2 shell was an anti-aircraft round, from small ''cannons'' used on US warships. More info HERE

How? Why? When, where? It must have quite a story to tell.

Then seaglass has returned, but for now at a rather far away beach near the surfing beach.

My daughter came home one morning with quite a haul.

Some beauties, a cobalt bottle neck:

A green milk glass or Jadeite shard with fluted edges.

The beach is too far for me to walk there and back especially after my recent fall and thrice daily Mo walking duties. If we get a warm gorgeous day I think I'll get a lift over to the surfing beach, then I'll walk one way home, maybe three miles?

Sunsets have been long and so beautiful. Very much ''of Autumn"; not a winter-y sky.

Mo was happy to don his coziest fall plaid jacket that frigid 19* day.

But mostly he'd rather just lie in bed on cold grey days.

I'm excited to welcome December soon. My holidays have evolved since my kids were wildly excited Santa believing toddlers, but every year is wonderful because we are together. New memories, new ideas, new traditions.  (Money not Legos!)

"Simplify"?

Your thoughts?

love

lizzy 

gone to the beach...

A more technical description, with wonderful photos!,of a similar ongoing operation, from this past summer HERE  The main difference is here they are adding to the dune structure, filling areas that they believe are flood channels [ooops, no, guys, maybe NOT! Here is the flood break, about 50 feet east of the piling installation, sigh]

and in the other project they are widening the beach. If they widen MY beach I am going to buy a golf cart, my beach is huge in recent years.

Back to the Farmers Market, What Did We find?

Hi!I think a big part of a farmers market's charm/ appeal is the treasure hunt aspect of it.

Just like when I go to the flea, at the farmers market, I never know what I might find to make a delicious meal for me and my family--or who knows what? And unlike a trip to the supermarket, there is no point in going list in hand with a set notion of what I must buy this week. I walk around, take in the choices, admire the colors, breathe the fresh scent and excitement.

And finally make a choice.

This week I was still looking for berries, raspberries or blackberries, But no. Cukes for pickles, no. And the Italian delicacies I mentioned last time were all sold out. Probably just as well, because who really needs fried blueberry ravioli with chocolate studded mascarpone?

I was tempted to do a little early Christmas shopping! One year I gave everyone flavored olive oils and herbed vinegars. This year I'm intrigued by the silk scarves at the India fair trade booth.

The ''wellness'' booth keeps getting bigger, and though it is not local produce, I love the things they sell and will not complain. These silk scarves are handmade with sari scraps, then finished with large stitch Kantha quilting.

Oh robin's egg blue, my fave.

Surely some of my girlfriends will love these too?
The earrings are cool too. Am I past the age of wearing rather life sized filigree gold leaves earrings? Maybe not!

As usual I was very short of cash so I stuck to things I knew we'd actually eat. The Long Island corn was glorious. Tiny sweet perfect kernels. Beautiful, especially considering it is organic, which often implies flaws and bugs, especially on corn. The tablecloth is a faded cheddar cotton Provencal textile, from Pierre Deux, in NYC. c.1980?

Onions, yellow squash, tiny tomatoes.

I made a fresh pasta sauce which I froze; I also steamed the summer squash with cauliflower, lots of black pepper, a sprinkle of parm, Yum. With brown rice it made a lovely light summer supper.

Bigger green and red heirloom tomatoes for Fried Green Tomatoes. I'll make the  seasoned flour version [salt black pepper, paprika, onion salt, garlic powder] instead of Southern cornmeal fried, because I just cleaned my baking pantry and I know I'm out of cornmeal.

I wish I has an inkling of how to make turnips taste better. They sure are pretty! Taste like mud though, a rare veg we do not eat at my house. EDIT : I think I meant beets!? :

Early melons, lumpy but sweet.

The kale was lovely for a farro, kale and squash w/ feta salad.

And a big bouquet of field flowers. So colorful!

 
And look, green zinnias! I must have them next summer, in my deck planters.

recipe for Fresh Veggie/ Pasta Toss Sauce

In a large heavy pan saute sweet onions, coarse chop, with halved miniature plum tomatoes or  mixed baby heirloom tomatoes. Stir on medium heat til all begins to wilt and the onions look transparent. Add whatever fresh veggies you brought home. Usually I put zucchini and/ or yellow squash, sliced thinnish, cauliflower, mushrooms. In the spring you can use new peas and asparagus.

Add fresh minced garlic, to taste, maybe 2 teaspoons? Chopped fresh parsley and basil.

Add a little water or white wine, 2 T of butter, 3 T of sugar, salt, pepper , oregano to taste. Add enough liquid so the mixture won't scorch but not a lot, not wet. Stir a few times, bring to s good simmer. Then cover and either turn off the stove entirely or leave on very lowest heat. I usually let it sit for an hour-ish?

Stir again, add a little more white wine of needed. Add some parm.

Toss with hot fresh pasta, I often use it with simple ravioli, but even shells or spaghetti is fine. Add more parm on top and a couple more basil springs. Mm mm.Smells so delicious, tastes great too.

But the plain, steamed, just picked corn is just as good. Feast of summer.

PS These oh so cute stripey sweet peppers were a my grocery today. New to me. A sausage and peppers night soon, sounds delish!

Mo was bored to tears, he's not a veggie dog.

Mo is sulking in the upper right hand corner here.

Have a great weekend!

love

lizzy

gone to the beach.....