Author Archives: DCG

Remember on Memorial Day: “They Gave Up Two Lives”

DCG

Majestic Beauty: The Grand Canyon

One place I’ve always wanted to visit is the Grand Canyon. I’ve only seen the Grand Canyon from an airplane and it is so stunning from that view! I can’t imagine what it is like to be on the ground and witness the true beauty of it all.

Located in Arizona, the Canyon was carved by the Colorado River and is 277 miles long and the carvings began millions of years ago. Here’s some fun facts about the Grand Canyon, from The National Park Foundation:

  • The Grand Canyon creates its own weather
  • There are no dinasour bones in the Canyon
  • There are only eight fish species native to the Grand Canyon, six of which are found nowhere outside of the Colorado River
  • There’s a town in the Grand Canyon called Supai Village, within the Havasupai Indian Reservation. It is not reachable by road and mail is still delivered by pack mule!

Supai Village

Here’s a bit of history about the Canyon and how it came to be a national park:

Here’s a video that explains the formation of the Canyon:

Have you ever visited the Grand Canyon? And if you have been, did you walk the Skywalk Bridge (see below)?

DCG

Thursday funnies!

DCG

Penguin escapes killer whales by jumping into tourist boat in Antarctica

Kind of nerve-wracking to watch yet the penguin safely avoids being a treat that day. Watch all the way through to see the happy ending!

DCG

God’s amazing paintbrush: Woman captures stunning Texas storm photo

This photo made the rounds on social media on Monday after a storm blew through Texas on Sunday. A gal by the name of Laura Rowe tweeted the following:

She’s now selling prints of this amazing picture. Here’s how she was in the right place at the right time to capture this image, via her Smugmug page:

“Hey y’all! I was out for a Sunday drive with my boyfriend. Small town, nothing else to do. We were over in Muleshoe checking out the salt lakes in the Muleshoe National Wildlife Refugee when we saw a small tornado touchdown close to Earth, Texas.

We looked at each other and knew we had to check out this crazy storm. We followed it for about three hours down county dirt roads until we set up in the spot where I took this shot that has now gone viral. 

I knew that God’s creation was beautiful to witness, but I had no idea that it would explode like this on social media. I was just a girl with an iPhone and nothing else to do on a Sunday afternoon, in the right place at the right time.

Thanks for checking me out, and I hope you enjoy your purchases! As a broke college kid, everything goes a long way!”

If you desire a print, order one here.

DCG

Would you eat “sustainable” Cicadas?

Wired came out recently with an article entitled, “The Cicadas Are Coming. Let’s Eat Them!

Never heard of a Cicada? Here’s what this insect looks like:

And YES, they can be that BIG. Trust me, I’ve seen ’em in Oklahoma. And I’ve heard them. This is what Cicadas sound like when they emerge from the ground to terrorize us for a few weeks in the summer:

From the Wire article: “They’re like crickets with musical-theater degrees—dramatic, loud, committed to a splashy outfit change. And while some people will delight in their natural spectacle, others will just want to be rid of them. There is, however, another reaction: Grab a fork and knife.

You want to “dig in” to this?

The Wired article claims that Cicadas are “a source of free-range, no-cost, eco-friendly protein.”

Well, that may be true but there’s NO WAY I’m eating these creatures. My cats have captured and released Cicadas. Even the feline predators wont eat ’em! 

If my cats are smart enough to not eat these creatures, there’s no way I’m eating them!

DCG

Saturday funnies, southern style!

DCG

I finally got around to making “frickles”

Frickles, aka fried pickles, are quite popular here in the south. I don’t eat them a lot but when I do I really, really enjoy that treat!

So I finally decided to take a stab at making some. There are a ton of recipes on the web, of course. Here’s how I tackled my first batch:

I decided to use pickle spears instead of chips. I placed them on paper towels to remove excess moisture:

I soaked the pickle spears in the wet mixture (egg, buttermilk and hot sauce) for several minutes before giving them a coating with the dry mixture (flour,  cornmeal, pepper and chili powder):

I fried them in vegetable oil (350 degrees) for about three minutes. The end result (served with ranch dressing, of course):

They turned out pretty good as we consumed the whole plate of ’em!

There are an endless amount of ways to flavor your frickles, starting with the pickle  you choose, then the flavors you add into your wet mixture (egg, milk or buttermilk, hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, spices, etc.) and dry mixture (flour, cornmeal, cornstarch, salt, pepper, garlic salt, caynne, etc.) . For a few recipes to get you started, try here, here or here.

Here’s a video of an easy recipe if you want to give frickles a try:

DCG

Thursday funnies!

DCG

Running buddies…

So cool!

DCG