Faith, Folklore, and Friends

We have had a less-than-successful year with our flowers.   The best ones were planted by the birds, not us. I don't know the variety.  We buy sunflower seeds in twenty-pound bags at Tractor Supply, and the birds thank us by scattering them all over the yard. Just one can really brighten up a place. This one has about twenty flowers.  The ones at the bottom are different and have matured already.   The goldfinches love them, and cover them until all the seed are gone.  It is so much fun watching the goldfinches hang upside down while eating the seed.  I tried my best to get a photo of that, but Mr. Goldfinch would not cooperate. The bees love them, too.   Maybe next year, I should let the birds do all our planting.

Fried Green Tomatoes  have been a part of our summer eating for as long as I can remember.  Every year, when the tomatoes get abundant enough that I can pick the green ones without feeling guilty, I start making them. Last week during the Handy Festival, while eating at  Champy's Chicken  in Muscle Shoals, we had some Fried Green Tomatoes.  They were so good, I thought I needed to revise my recipe.  I did a little research, and this is what I came up with. Starting from the left: 1/2 cup of plain flour; 1/2 cup of milk and an egg; 1/2 cup corn meal, 1/2 cup of bread crumbs, and, just to make it interesting, 1 Tablespoon Tony Chachere's Creole seasoning.  Beat the egg and milk together, and mix the meal, bread crumbs, and seasoning. Slice some firm, green tomatoes that have been washed and dried.  I usually use one tomato per person. Dip the tomato slice in the flour, then in the egg/milk mixture, making sure you cover it completely. Shake off any

Borroum's Drug Store in Corinth, Mississippi, was opened in 1865 and has been in continuous operation since then. Oh, if those walls could talk! I did a selfie without meaning to.  Can you see me in the reflection of the glass? Antique cash registers sit next to the newest technology. They use every available space to show their artifacts.  Check out that ceiling! The soda fountain was hopping.  The line was long, and we had already planned to be somewhere else, so I can't talk about the food.  It looked delicious, and I'm thinking no one would stand in that line if it wasn't. We've got to go back for lunch.  Soon. Very soon.

The first time I heard of Corinth (we called it Car-wrinth), it was in connection with an elopement.  It seems Mississippi had marriage laws that didn't require a waiting period, unlike the ones in Tennessee and Alabama.  So if you were drunk, with child, underage,  just plain ignorant, or in a hurry for some other reason, you could go to Corinth, get married, and be home in time to feed the cows and chickens. Corinth is about seventy miles from where we live, and we visit there occasionally.  It is a beautiful little city, with a functioning combination of the old and the new. When it was founded in 1853, the name of the town was Cross-City, because it was the junction for two railroads, the Mobile & Ohio and the Memphis & Charleston.  W. E. Gibson, editor of the town's early newspaper, suggested the name be changed to Corinth, after the Greek city that also served as a crossroads. Because of the railroads, Corinth played

He will cover you with His feathers; you will take refuge under His wings. His faithfulness will be a protective shield. ~Psalm 91:4

We were driving down the Natchez Trace Parkway in Colbert County when we spotted this little coyote. It was about 10:30 in the morning, and the coyote was catching grasshoppers and eating them.   He/she (?)  didn't seem to be bothered at all that we had stopped to watch, and carried on with his hunting. I'm guessing grasshoppers aren't too filling, because this little fellow was just skin and bones.  I'm just glad they haven't found my garden yet.

It was a perfect night for a street party, and Tuscumbia was the perfect place to have it. Beautiful town,  Beautiful music, and beautiful people to share it with.  There was lots of foot-tapping going on. This may be the best Handy Festival ever.