WHAT A DIFFERENCE A DAY MAKES....

A misty morning...warm air was moving in.  Normally I wake up on my own (no alarm) between 6 and 7.  This morning I was totally out until 7:35 when the dogs barked at Barb driving in.  Needless to say, she got a major jump on things before I got out there.

We are quite a team, and get chores done with gusto.

Back in the house by 9 and got ready to go to Java for breakfast.

They always have an art show going....year round.

The village was very quiet today.  The only people I ran into were Kathy and Stewart...the owners of A Different Path Gallery.

Next stop...the Farm Market.  It will close on October 31st.

When we got back to the farm I was in a cooking mood...decided to make (again) one of a blogger friend's favorite meals....that would be Susie from Susie's Big Adventure (she lives in Saudi Arabia).
There was still a lot of eggplant in the garden and I did not want it to go to waste.

We did not have any onions, so I decided to use leeks.

Cut them up and sauteed them in olive oil.  Added a clove of garlic (minced).

next... green and red peppers.

after that, ground beef...

Got some fresh parsley and basil from the garden...added a little sea salt and fresh ground pepper...and lastly....chopped up a couple of tomatoes.  (Susie does not include the peppers and tomatoes).

I sliced up two eggplants and put olive oil on each side (salted them and they sat for awhile first).


I had to get Pony's haycubes ready, so I went out to the barn.  The horses thought it was feeding time.

In the meantime, Sidney, Seymour, Phoebe and Gucci were enjoying the "balmy" temperatures (70).  All this, while Gary and I were moving wheel barrow after wheel barrow of brush out near the road for a pick up this week.

It was light when I went out to feed the ponies, so I picked a couple of pastures.

The sun was starting to set by the time everything was done for the night.

Seeing that I had a head start on dinner ...it was a piece of cake.

The salad - romaine, walnuts (from our own trees), grated extra sharp cheddar cheese and two (the only two) pears from our very young pear tree.  Dressed in Italian.....

I baked that eggplant in the photo above at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes or until it was soft and browned.  (turn over in the middle).  To serve....set 2 or three pieces of eggplant on your plate, cover generously with your meat mixture and top with a sauce made of plain yogurt and dill.  It tasted great, and the leeks added to the flavor...I think I liked it better than when I did this with regular onions.

You are a real trooper if you made it through this "monologue."  Enough.
Night all.