Of Herbs and Roast Mutton, The Labor Day Adventure. Or....Plan C...

[Mistwalker]

Labor Day is the one holiday set aside to honor the working people. I find this funny considering that all of my working life, it has just been one more day of labor. It has only ever been the official end of the summer season for me... and apparently the day after which I am not supposed to wear white. No worries there, khaki is about as close as I get to white, regardless of what some uppity society snobs decided in the 1880s.

This Labor Day was no exception, I have a tight deadline to meet on a project I am working on, and the wife had some plans with friends. There is seldom a time I wouldn't just rather be in the woods anyway, so I loaded up and headed out for work. Plan A had been to do two meals in the field yesterday, one in the morning for the project I am working on, and one in the evening to celebrate the fact that I labor. However I didn't get started quite as early as I hoped, and then I got distracted by checking out the affects of the dry summer on the flora and fauna. So I switched to plan B, to just to the breakfast meal at the end of the day.

It has been much drier than usual this summer. The dirt and gravel roads stay dusty, some plants have produced very small fruit, and some none at all.

There has been enough rain to keep most things alive and green, but I am just now about to mow my lawn for the fist time since the end of May, and the weeds in the fields haven't gotten near as high as usual. Still high enough that I thought the snake boots would be a good idea...

Some of the grape vines have produced decent grapes, others have mostly produced raisins...

Not many muscadines this year either.

Some of the Passiflora is looking a little rough too. When I was checking out these dry looking blooms I was hearing a lot of buzzing. I soon found my self surrounded and being checked out by wasps.

Sow Thistle makes a good addition to a composite tinder material, and the red wasps seem to like it too

I found a few large White Oak acorns, but most were pretty small. Lots of small, very green Hickory nuts on the ground, and it looks the squirrels and chipmunks are trying to eat them anyway.

Not sure what exactly is going on with this Saw Tooth Oak. No acorns on it at all.

It liked 4 days being 6 years to the day since I gathered these from the same tree.

The Black Walnuts seem to be doing ok, though not as good as last year.

 

[Mistwalker]

Across the field I spotted a persimmon tree I love to raid when it's time. As I walked across a few Turkey Vultures came gliding through the area,

Not far from the persimmon tree I found several more Passiflora vines.

Lots of yellow in the fields this time of year.

By this time I had been out wandering and working the hi 80s temps for several hours, and my mind kept wandering back to my cooler, and a bottle of Blackberry Rye ale that was sounding really good. So it was time to head back to the truck with my stuff, and head back down the dusty trail to the area where I planned to cook my breakfasty dinner.

At camp I gathered firewood, and got things ready to go. I was curious how the new cheese I picked up was going to taste. I like port wine cheese occasionally, and I was about to find out how I feel about a sharp cheddar cheese made with Irish whiskey. Plan B was some back-bacon cooked over an open fire along with some fried potatoes, onions, and banana peppers. Served with a nice seed loaf, the whiskey cheese, all washed down with the blackberry ale.

So, I got the fire going, and got the bacon on. Smelling it wafting on the air had me feeling like I was starving, having had nothing but water and a few crackers all day.

And then I felt like I was being watched. I glanced around and realized I was not the only one being affected by the scent of bacon cooking over an open fire. My dinner had caught the attention of a nursing mother who acted as hungry as I felt. She was well mannered and well behaved about it, so I went on to Plan C. I needed to cook the bacon for the grease to fry the potatoes, but I still had other meat I had planned on for the evening meal. I had decided to save it for later, before the change in plans. I ended up feeding an entire pound and a half of some awesome apple wood smoked back bacon to mom.

Then I just fixed my dinner as I had originally planned. In the end we were both happy.

So as the sun was setting, various scents were wafting through the woods on the breeze, and I was getting hungrier and hungrier...and hoping I wouldn't have another hungry visitor...

But there were no further interruptions, and I finally got to enjoy my evening meal.

If you're wondering if I am dumb enough to cut meat in a metal plate with a $300 knife...the answer is no, I cut it on the board

All in all, not a bad way to celebrate the fact that I labor

….

 

[Bmurray]

very cool Mist

 

[tknife]

Always love your pics, and of course the food always looks good! :thumbup:

 

[adequacy]

Excellent post! All the shots looked great. As always, thanks so much for sharing!

 

[willard0341]

Good looking knife

 

[Cwilliamson]

Another great post. Makes me hungry for some mutton but I'm the only one in the family that cares for it...

Clark

 

[Mistwalker]

Always love your pics, and of course the food always looks good! :thumbup:

Thank you T, I'm glad you liked it!

Excellent post! All the shots looked great. As always, thanks so much for sharing!

Thanks man, glad you liked the post!

Good looking knife

I think so too. It has a classy look that seems to not upset the general population when I use it when I am out and about in the urban world

Another great post. Makes me hungry for some mutton but I'm the only one in the family that cares for it...

Clark

Thank you. Yes, that's why I am so comfortable cooking it over a fire. In my youth no-one else at home liked it, so I always took it camping with me. My wife and daughters will eat it, but aren't as fond of it as I am.

 

[sasha]

awesome pictures .. But I got to ask where did the she come from?? I cant see her being far from her pups.
Great combo with the veg for the side with some mutton. I love well made mutton with the right combo of spices and lots of fresh air.

 

[Mistwalker]

awesome pictures .. But I got to ask where did the she come from?? I cant see her being far from her pups.
Great combo with the veg for the side with some mutton. I love well made mutton with the right combo of spices and lots of fresh air.

Thanks man. At that spot I was closer to the edge of the forest. There are houses just over a mile or so through the woods to the south. But it's a hollow populated by folks who aren't really all that well off, that sometimes struggle just to pay property taxes on land their great grandparents first bought. She was really well behaved, but probably not been fed enough. I couldn't count her ribs, but I could see a few of them.

 

[Fiddleback]

Woods bumming and gourmet meals. Only you my friend. I'm sitting here at 7:15, getting ready to grind for the day and salivating over that lamb.

 

[Mistwalker]

Woods bumming and gourmet meals. Only you my friend. I'm sitting here at 7:15, getting ready to grind for the day and salivating over that lamb.

Lol, I'm just carrying on my father's tradition. Life is too short to eat boring food

 

[hasco]

What a great post Mist! Those shots of the camp with the sun going down and the last shots of the food are just gorgeous. Very cool of you to share your meal with a hungry mama. Thanks for teaching us on so many levels.

 

[Mistwalker]

What a great post Mist! Those shots of the camp with the sun going down and the last shots of the food are just gorgeous. Very cool of you to share your meal with a hungry mama. Thanks for teaching us on so many levels.

Thanks man, glad you enjoyed it! All in all it was a good day Yeah, I have some personal experience with real hunger over prolonged periods. It's not something I'm good with seeing others dealing with. I had plenty enough to share, and if not I had more food at home. She clearly did not...

 

[59Bassman]

Showed this to She Who Must Be Obeyed. She wanted to thank you for taking care of mom.

Fantastic story, great photos, amazing looking dinner.

 

[Tekton]

Awesome thread! Great pictures, thank you for sharing them with us. And that meal looks delicious.

 

[Mistwalker]

Showed this to She Who Must Be Obeyed. She wanted to thank you for taking care of mom.

Fantastic story, great photos, amazing looking dinner.

Thanks man, glad you liked the post. Tell Swimbo I said it was my pleasure. There were several instances in my youth when I made it through a lean period only because some folks took pity on a hungry stranger. I try my best to be worthy of their kindness. I always do the same when I have the means.

Awesome thread! Great pictures, thank you for sharing them with us. And that meal looks delicious.

Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed it! Oddly enough, it looks a bit more rare in the photos than it looked to my eyes, but I enjoyed it very much

 

[lambertiana]

All around great outing. Good location, good food.

 

[NoFair]

Sweet pics. Lucky dog though

Now that fresh lamb meat is coming into the stores here (and sometimes directly from the farmers) we eat mutton quite a bit. Wife and kids like it too

 

[Mistwalker]

All around great outing. Good location, good food.

Thank you. That 27,000 acre wood is often the most homelike place of all to me. I have roamed it for most of the last 40 years.

Sweet pics. Lucky dog though

Now that fresh lamb meat is coming into the stores here (and sometimes directly from the farmers) we eat mutton quite a bit. Wife and kids like it too

Thanks man. She seemed pretty content when she left, and she was a pretty smart dog from what I could tell. After she ate the bacon, she sat and stared at the fire as the rest of the food cooked. I told her she had eaten enough, and that it was my turn next. When I fixed my plate and started eating, she didn't beg or anything, she just headed back down the hill, I assume to her puppies. I am really looking forward to the more fresh lanb this autumn. Most of what I have now has been in the freezer since last winter. We have a couple of organic farms locally, and I really like the flavor of their meats and vegetables.