Datil Peppers

UPDATED FEBRUARY 5, 2014:
EVERY THING ABOUT ORDERING IS THE SAME AND I HAVE PLENTY OF SEEDS FROM A BUMPER CROP THIS SUMMER.

 THE POST BELOW IS AN OLDIE, BUT A GOODIE.
I DO SUPPLY DATIL SEEDS.
THE PRICE IS $5.00 BY MAIL OR PAYPAL AND FOR THAT YOU GET 2 RECIPES AND A PACK OF 20 FRESH DATIL SEEDS.
MY PAYPAL ACCOUNT IS NATCOAST@MSN.COM WHICH OF COURSE, IS MY EMAIL. FEEL FREE TO EMAIL ME WITH ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT DATILS.

NOTE THAT THE PAY BY MAIL ADDRESS HAS CHANGED TO:
FC
3150 NW 50TH AVENUE
CHIEFLAND, FL 32626


This pepper runs through my family almost as strongly as the DNA we share. This is a Datil Pepper. Don't go grab your seed catalog, 'cause you won't find it there.

Growing up in St. Augustine, we were told that the Datil was OUR pepper and would not grow anywhere else. Well, it is our pepper, but it will obviously grow in other places if the conditions are right.

We of Minorcan heritage proudly claimed this hot fruit as our own. Our indentured servant (slave) ancestors had brought it with them when they came to work Mr. Turnbull's indigo plantation in the New Smyrna colony on Florida's east coast. In the late 1700's the colony failed and our ancestors walked up the beach to St. Augustine to settle. They carried their datil peppers with them.

This is not just a hot pepper. It has a unique flavor unlike any other. In "The Pepper Garden", by Dave DeWitt and Paul Bosland, the datil's true origins are nebulous.

"In 1768, according to legend, Minorcan settlers in St. Augustine, Florida, introduced the "Datil" pepper, a land race of the chinense species . Supposedly, this pepper was transferred from the Caribbean to Africa and then to Minorca in the Mediterranean, from which it was brought to Florida.Some historians believe that this story is all bunk and that the Datil peppers were introduced into Florida by trade with the Caribbean islands, a simpler explanation that makes a lot more sense."

What is definite and known is that this pepper has been grown by St. Augustine families for over 300 years, passed down from generation to generation. It is a required ingredient in chicken pilau (perlow), Minorcan style clam chowder, datil pepper relish, datil pepper vinegar, etc.

My Papa was THE datil pepper grower in St. Augustine during his lifetime. He would start thousands of datils from seeds he had saved and grow them to seedling size in styrofoam coffee cups. When they were ready, he'd put a sign out in front of his big white house and the cars would start stopping.

For their money, his customers would get vibrant healthy datil plants and free advice from Papa. He loved growing those plants. He loved visiting with his customers. He loved taking his grandchildren through his tiny greenhouse packed with white cups and green heritage.

Later, when Papa got older, my dad (Papa's eldest son) picked up the torch, got a greenhouse, and before he knew it, his was the house people stopped at to buy their peppers. Eventually, he too had grandchildren to take into the greenhouse to water the peppers and dibble in the compost. Dad is 76 now and still grows datils each year, but not as many as before. He has cut back on the volume, but still supplies family, friends, and those who seek him out.

I am shopping for a greenhouse...

REAL DATIL PEPPER CHAT,... NOT A RANT, ... A CHAT.

It's been a remarkably warm fall here at PFHQ. The official start of Winter is about 20 days away and I have Datil pepper plants blooming in the pepper patch!
In December ...
It is a fitting weird gardening end to 2018 since the Spring was remarkably cool here and it took forever for the Datils to grow and start blooming.

See? That was a chat, not a rant.

Blossoms and tiny pepperlings in North Florida on December 1, 2018.
I used to be happy to still have peppers hanging in October, but unprotected plants were almost always toast by November.

Hot Christmas Tree

I picked the fully ripe peppers below this morning.
They will provide the seeds for both my next planting and for the folks who buy real Datil pepper seeds from me.

 As I picked, a light rain was falling ahead of a cold front, but I think these plants will make it through the cold air to follow.
Forecast temps are in the 30's, but we've already had two nights of near 32 F and the plants were unphased by it.

Without consciously meaning to, my Grandfather, my Dad, and I may have slowly selected for cold tolerance over our 3 generations, as we saved seeds from surviving plants late in the season.
Couple that with a warming climate and ALL of this year's crop may overwinter for a second round.
Usually, I get one or two plants to overwinter for the second year of production, but in the past, that has involved running them in and out of the house as cold fronts slide over us.

I may not have to do that this year.

If you skipped the video, here's the Cliff Notes:

• I grow Datil Peppers handed down from my Grandfather to my Dad and now to me. 
• I grow them in isolation from any other type of pepper to avoid even a chance of hybridization.
• Datil Peppers are HOT, not "sweet" aka mild.
• Ripe Datil Peppers are orange not red when ripe.
• The 2 bullets above may have been a rant.
• You can buy REAL Datil Pepper seeds from me by clicking on the sidebar ad or the Datil Pepper seed page on this blog or you can zip over to eBAY and look for PURE FLORIDA DATIL PEPPER SEEDS.

Eat More Datils!

Datil Pepper Seeds For Sale

Once again I am loaded with genetically pure, real heirloom Datil Pepper seeds grown here on my isolated farm site deep in the Florida woods.



















These are real St. Augustine heirloom seeds handed down through generations of my family and nurtured here away from any other pepper varieties that might cross pollinate, and thus dilute the Pure Florida Datil power of this unique and flavorful pepper.

If you've visited St. Augustine and tasted bottled Datil pepper sauce on a restaurant table, or perhaps bought a bottle of ... (shudder)... mass produced Datil sauce, you MUST grow your own and taste the difference.

Yes, the store bought stuff is tasty, but the homemade sauce is FANTASTIC!
I'll send you two recipes, one for a tomato based sauce and another for a quick Datil pepper vinegar. Both are easy recipes and they will outshine any store bought sauce full of corn syrup, soy products, and preservatives like sodium benzoate.

Plus, once you have your own pepper bushes, you can experiment with fresh Datils and come up with your own awesome recipes!

My goal is simple, to spread the hot and delicious flavor of the Datil pepper. They will grow anywhere peppers can be grown and they are started and cultivated the same as any pepper. My germination rate is usually 90+% , but be patient, they take about 10 days to break the soil.
They are crazy productive so you will get more peppers than you can use from even a few plants.

So, now you're thinking, "HOW DO I GET SOME?!!!"

Like this:
Either mail me a fat 5 dollar bill to:
FC
3150 NW 50th Avenue
Chiefland, FL 32626

OR

Use PayPal to electronically pay the 5 dollars.
My PayPal account is natcoast@msn.com
PayPal is the fastest way to get your seeds as I am notified immediately.

Either way, I send you 20+ real Datil pepper seeds and 2 recipes usually by the very next day.

Let's do this.



 

Datil Pepper Seeds For Sale. Get The REAL Thing!

Look at these beauties.

Pure Datils from seeds handed down for generations and lovingly grown here in isolation from ANY other kind of pepper ... including the ridiculous "sweet datil" ... ugh, I can hardly type the words ...

Datils should knock your taste buds silly with great datil flavor and rambunctious heat!

I will never be convinced otherwise, so save your breath.

A pile of datil awesomeness on a slice of cypress.
It doesn't get more Floridafoodelicious than that.

Datils will go  from green to green with a purple blush and then finish with a gorgeous orange.
You don't have to wait for orange though, they are good at any stage.

This picture was taken a few months ago when I harvested the last of the 2014 crop and seeded the peppers.
These seeds are all dry and waiting to do amazing things in your garden now.
They will grow anywhere you can grow tomatoes or other peppers.

...And they are super prolific as well as beautiful.

 I keep my little advertisement for seeds up all year,  (over to the right side of this website).
 Even so, I like to put up an extra datil seed post this time of year to show up in search engines and get seeds out to those early season gardeners.
Speaking of that, I need to get going and start MY 2015 datil crop.

There is a datil pepper seed tab at the top of this post that you can click to find out more datilly stuff.

The main thing you need to know is how to send me your hard earned $$$.
You get a packet of seeds (20+) and a letter with 2 recipes and growing advice for $5.00.
That $5.00 can get here by mail:

FC
3150 NW 50th Avenue
Chiefland, FL
32626

or by PayPal:

For PayPal, my account is my email:
natcoast@msn.com

These are the real thing. Beware of some sellers selling habanero seeds as datils. I've had a couple of customers complain about this happening on Ebay and Amazon.
Mine are real.
I have years of happy datil customers from Alaska to parts south.
Get 'em while they're hot!

Datil Pepper Update

This is my grandfather "Papa" and his dog Smoky.

Papa was the datil pepper master.

These are my baby datil peppers with their first true leaves. This picture was taken about a month ago.

 

Here are those same peppers and me just last weekend.

Both the peppers and the pepper planter are grandchildren of Papa.

For years, he started and sold thousands of datil pepper plants from his backyard greenhouse in St. Augustine. People came from all over to walk up on to his porch, knock on the door, and inquire, "Arthur, you got any peppers?"

And he usually did.

The seeds I sow are the seeds of his plants, harvested, and kept safe each year for planting in the next.

Now with the wonder of the internet, I get to spread datil joy and heat around the world.

I think Papa would be both amazed and happy to know that.

I hope so.

Last week, while searching for just the right word to make a witty comment on Zick's blog, I stumbled across this word, "picadillo".

Turns out, it's a Cuban hash ... with olives and raisins in it!

What the heck? 

Olives and raisons in the same dish?

So, I found a recipe and made piccadillo.

It was surprisingly tasty, but not something I will make often.In the picture above it is the brown entree on the left.

The black beans were spectacular as always and I should have just made a giant pot of them.  I minced up 3 datil peppers in the food whacker so the beans had a wonderful flavor and really nice heat.

My black beans always are made with  garlic, oregano, one beer minus a few sips, onion, bell pepper, salt, bay leaf, and sometimes a chorizzo all whacked up.

(This batch was meatless.)

AND OF COURSE ... DATIL PEPPERS.

Datil Pepper Seeds For You!

UPDATE: AUGUST 19, 2012

THE DATIL PEPPER HARVEST HERE AT PURE FLORIDA IS COMING ON STRONG AND I ALREADY HAVE HUNDREDS OF SEEDS CLEANED, DRIED, AND READY TO GO, WITH PLENTY MORE TO COME.

THE PRICE AND ORDERING INFORMATION BELOW REMAINS THE SAME.

TIME TO GET YOUR DATIL ON!

(Note: The post below was originally published in March of 2012, but the info is good!)

Yes, I still have them.

My plants are up and sporting their second set of true leaves. Soon, I will take them from the starting flat and pot them individually. In another week, the chance of a frost becomes almost nil here in North Florida, so this first batch can move completely outside around March 15th.

I will probably start a second round of seeds as insurance ... 'cause you never know.

If you found this site looking for heirloom datil pepper seeds, you came to the right place.

If you are a regular PF reader, please bear with me while I go all capitalist on ya.

Seed searchers, the seeds you see are what I have left. It is March 10, 2012, so time to start those seeds for those of you stuck north of the Saint Marys River.

$5.00 gets you two recipes and I toss in 20+ datil pepper seeds so you can grow your own.

You can mail your hard earned cash to:

FC

3150 NW 50th Ave

Chiefland, FL 32626

Or, if you want to skip snail mail all together, you can use PayPal.

My email address, natcoast@msn.com is my PayPal account also.

Shoot me an email if you use PayPal so I know where to send the datil seeds.

Thank you for your interest in a true Pure Florida pepper, the datil.

Baby Datil Pepper Plants! Super Germination



It's DATIL TIME !

A rock solid, healthy, baby datil pepper seedling.
Planted on February 18, 2013.
Sprouted on February 27, 2013.

Right now,(March 4th), it's far too cold for datil pepper planting outside in North Florida. Temperatures were near freezing last night and the Florida winter is not over yet.

This little guy and lots of siblings will grow inside under lights for a few more weeks until I have at least two sets of "true leaves" and seedlings strong enough to transplant.

By that time, mid-March, we should be past a killing frost.




As an experiment, I opened one of the datil pepper seed packets that I sell and planted the contents.
I got almost 100% germination!

I still have plenty of seeds Chili Heads so check out the datil pepper seed tab at the top of this post or the ad to the right if you need some authentic  Datil Pepper seeds.

As for me, I may try my hand at a larger planting this year and spend a few Saturdays at our local Farmer's Markets.



Hodgepodge Hoopla of Perennial Peanuts, Delicious Datils, Cozy Cabins, and Dead Deer

Dave and Tami's log home is progressing nicely.


These photos were taken a week ago, so you can imagine that much has changed. I got there just as the sun slipped behind the very tall trees surrounding the home, so I had to use flash for these shots.





I photographed the well, because I remember how stoked I was to have my own water well, back in 1988.


It looks like Dave and Tami went with a submersible pump, which should give them great water pressure.





My next pump will be submersible, when the current above ground pump bites the dust.







"Figley"





When I was a kid, my Dad had a giant fig tree that covered a huge chunk of yard. It didn't grow UP so much as OUT.


I like fig newtons, so I suppose I will be searching for a fig newton recipe soon ... well, not soon, the new tree is just a baby.





My Mom made use of the abundant figs by creating a faux strawberry jam that used strawberry jello and figs as I recall.




Perennial Peanut is an agricultural forage crop down here that is used as a soil improving legume while it also provides a nutritious hay for grazing animals.





The DOT has begun using it in highway medians, which turn yellow during the peanut bloom. Now the nurseries are offering it for ground covers, so I thought I would give it a try. You don't get peanuts from this variety, just green forage and nitrogen added to your soil.

Lord knows, my sandy soil could use some improving.





Last weekend, I planted collard plants in my elevated buckets where datils and tomatoes formerly grew. I have some lettuce seeds that I will sprinkle in those buckets after the collards have a chance to get a head start.





Let me tell you how nice it was to walk into the feed store and NOT have to buy bags of Show Pig feed at 20 bucks a bag.


As much as I enjoyed each FFA pig my kids raised, I must confess that not having to buy a pig or hundreds of pounds of feed for the next 4 months, coupled with not having to worry about pig illnesses made me positively giddy as I walked out of the feed store with $3.00 worth of collard starts and a teaspoon of lettuce seeds.





I donated our pig shelter, feeder, and waterer to the school FFA program so they can loan them out to a kid who wants to raise a fair animal, but doesn't have the money for those items.









The Southern Sisters have been making lots of datil pepper sauce lately as this is their big gift basket season and they make truly wonderful gift baskets that have hand selected high quality and unique items, plus the basket REALLY is full of goodies ... unlike those store bought ones that have lots of backing and filling with a few items on top.


They have customers from last season who have requested "more of that datil stuff!".





I am proposing that we, (I am an honorary sister/slave/cook/gofer/gardener/toter of stuff) start producing the stuff commercially as a stand alone product. They have the licensed certified kitchen and I have the datil growing expertise ... plus the family recipe.





It seems like a no-brainer to me.


This is just simple datil vinegar.
Stuff a bottle with a pepper of your choice ... I chose datil ... pour vinegar over it and let it sit.
Dribble it over greens, pilau, whatever floats your boat.
Recharge with fresh vinegar ... seemingly ad infinitum.
I have some 2005 in my fridge that I used just last week.


This is different ...
In my refrigerator is a datil experiment that is meant to mimic a Tabasco type sauce using datils.


I took bright orange, ripe datils and chopped them in a food processor. Then, I combined the caustic orange goo with a little vinegar and salt.



I don't have oak barrels, so it's aging in a glass jar, but it smells wonderful when I pop the top to check it.





Months from now, I will process it again and then strain it for an orangey liquid that I hope will be amazing.

I will let you know.


If you want datil pepper seeds, I have a zillion of them right now since I save them every time we make sauce. So no need to panic or order early, unless you just want to do so. I should have plenty later in the winter when you start thinking about gardening again.


And finally, ... it seems we have another dead deer in the yard again.
Tis the season.

The buzzards told me it was there, and sure enough, they were right.

I won't be photographing the process this time, since we did that already ... remember?

Newbies can search this blog for dead deer posts.

Now if I can just keep Bear from rolling in it.

Hey Pepperheads! Yo Capsicum Craniums! Datil Pepper Seeds For Sale!

Datil Pepper seeds for sale!
Don't delay!
These babies will produce all summer and into the fall down here in paradise, but my seeds are growing as far north as Alaska, so join the long list of satisfied customers and grow a rare heirloom pepper!

The details are in the Datil Pepper page tab above this post, but just to make it super easy to send me your hard earned dollars, here is the deal:

For $5.00 you will receive 20+ datil pepper seeds (I always count 20 and toss in a few more) PLUS a letter with 2 different datil pepper sauce recipes.

Payment through the mail:
Send $5 to:
FC
3150 NW 50th Avenue
Chiefland, Florida 32626

or
Send it via PayPal (faster delivery) using this email address:
natcoast@msn.com

I'm transplanting my first round of seedlings to larger
grow-out pots this weekend.
Can't wait to see those first promising blossoms!

This has been a reminder commercial on behalf of the most awesome pepper variety on the planet.

We now resume our regular Florida nature posting.

I'm thinking a minnow post ...

Triple D: Dad's Datil Doom

Last November, I wrote this ...

"In my refrigerator is a datil experiment that is meant to mimic a Tabasco type sauce using datils.

I took bright orange, ripe datils and chopped them in a food processor.

Then, I combined the caustic orange goo with a little vinegar and salt.


I don't have oak barrels, so it's aging in a glass jar, but it smells wonderful when I pop the top to check it.
Months from now, I will process it again and then strain it for an orange liquid that I hope will be amazing.
I will let you know."

Well, it's time to let you know.

The fresh peppers on the right were just picked. THEY were off my best, most vigorous datil plants and they are the source of the seeds for the upcoming 2012 gardening season.

I didn't waste the fruits of course, they will be used to make some of our traditional tomato based datil pepper relish.

This post is really about the jar to the left.

It contains ripe datils from last year that were chopped in a food processor before being placed in that crock with vinegar and salt.

It's been curing in the fridge since November, and with a new crop of peppers pouring in, I chose yesterday to finish it off.

The photo above shows half of the aged pepper mix already reprocessed into a smooth sauce. On the right you can see the remaining half awaiting  a turn in the food whacker.

I had thought I would strain it through cheese cloth, but cancelled that idea in favor of just giving it a heck of a puree ride in the processor.

I'm not afraid of the extra heat those seed will provide.

This sauce is going to stay in the fridge, hence the lack of canning equipment and boiling water.

I have a long list of things to add it to ... seriously considering wings as my first experiment.

Don't let the "DOOM" part scare ya'.

I dipped out a spoonful to taste test it and it was pretty damn wonderful.

Certainly good enough that the Pure Florida Crock Of Datil Fermentation will soon be curing a new batch in the fridge.

I have peppers coming out of my ears.

Not really.

That would be weird.

Datil Pepper Jerk Chicken

My Jerk Chicken Jones was Jonesing me earlier this week and I was home alone for a few days, so it seemed like the perfect time to experiment.

First, I checked my available ingredients ...

From the garden I was able to gather a handful of possible ingredients.

Please do not picture a Southern Living magazine type garden when I use that term here at PFHQ.

It's more like some hippie permaculture experiment crossed with bubbaquaponics.

It's messy out there.

But things grow ... sorta.

I checked the basic Jerk procedure found in one of my favorite MAN cookbooks, "How To Grill", by Steven Raichlen.

I had most of what I needed, but there would have to be a few substitutions.

This is life.

Above, from left to right:

Datil peppers

Cilantro

Greek oregano

Basil

Rosemary

Into the food processor went the fresh stuff listed previously, plus a long list of other ingredients in  Steven Raichlen's recipe.

The original recipe called for Habenero peppers of course, but this is the land of the datil and I have a blue million of them out in the pepper patch right now.

The chicken was "jooked"  with holes to allow marinade to enter, and then marinated in the fridge for the afternoon.

This is not slow, off the heat southern BBQ cooking.

This is grilling on hot coals.

The marinade is a green goo loaded with all the flavors of those fresh herbs plus the off the shelf seasonings from the kitchen pantry.

I savoried up the smoke by tossing some water soaked Allspice berries and leftover fresh herb stems on the hot coals.

Bless this chicken, may he rest in pieces.

It's important to let a piece of meat, hot off the grill, rest a bit before you dig into it.

An easily removable wing says, "I'm ready!"

I'm glad he was ready, because I know I was.

Look Ma!

No French fries, no baked potato loaded with butter and sour cream, no macaroni and cheese ... no high fat and high calorie starchy stuff.

Green carbs and lean protein

(You can skip the following rant by scrolling down to the part where I talk about how the Datil Jerk Chicken actually tasted).

DANGER RANTING ZONE!

Did you see the report a week or so ago about how the USA is in the top ten list of fattest countries on the planet?

And, the south is the fattest part of the 9th fattest country on the planet?

Just ballparking the figures here, but about 30% of southerners are obese... not a few pounds overweight, but obese.

We do love our fried foods down here.

And sweet tea (which is essentially a flat soda as far as sugar goes)

Toss in a restaurant industry that seems hellbent on creating the cheapest, unhealthiest kitchen creations possible, mix in our bacon greased, pan fried southern traditions,  wash it all down with sweet tea and soda ... and you've got the perfect recipe for a culture of obesity,diabetes, and heart disease.

Oh, and don't forget to be almost completely sedentary ... why, that's the icing on the cake.

(Cake, did someone mention cake?)

Man, I love cake... just not every night.

Statistics like those in the Fat State List sadden me, because I work with kids and I see the situation getting worse, not better.

It's frustrating ... which, I guess, is why I interrupted this food post with a mini-rant.

My apologies.

Let us get back to the healthy and inexpensive meal above ...

END RANT ZONE

RESUME NORMAL EATING HABITS

So, how was the Datil Jerk Chicken?

Delicious!

How would I improve it?

Up the datils!

 I cautiously used 4 or 5. I think I would up it to about ten for a fiery hot JERK.

(... or maybe, just use them whole without seeding them)

I would also plan ahead so it could marinate longer and allow the Jerk marinade to infiltrate the interior more thoroughly.

Otherwise, I wouldn't change a thing.

Fall Colors In The Datil Pepper Patch



YES! I have plenty of datil pepper seeds for you. Check out the add over on the right side of Pure Florida.
This morning is breezy and the chilliest day so far of Fall 2012, so my datils may just decide to stop blooming today.

I let a lot of mine go totally ripe so I can be sure the seeds are mature and viable, but they are ready for eating when green ... and, like most fruits, picking the ripe ones keeps the blossoms coming.




Datils usually get a purple blush as they mature, but each plant is a little different.



A bonus!
The last (probably) tomato of the season.
This little tomato vine has been deer browsed, bug bit, and generally neglected, but still it perservered.

Note to self: "Heatmaster" is a pretty awesome Florida tough tomato. I've posted before about how Florida is about the worst possible place to grow tomatoes. The commercial farms around the Everglades are only able to do it with massive amounts of fungicides and pesticides since the tomato plant is not a creature of warm, wet, humid climes.

I don't use poisons in my garden, so I choose plants that can take it and accept some damage from bird,deer, and insects.
(I don't take those attacks lying down, I just use other methods that admittedly are not as effective,but also not as destructive as traditional pesticides)

All that aside, I like hybrids.
Most heirloom "pure" tomato varieties can't hack it here in Fungusland, so enjoy them if you are in the right climate, but I'll take a hybrid that allows me to grow tomatoes and NOT resort to poison.

Of course when it comes to my beloved Datil Peppers, I get all IRONCLAD PROTECTIVE and don't even grow other peppers.

SHIELDS UP MR. ZULU!
LET NO PROMISCUOUS NONDATIL  PEPPER POLLEN PERMEATE THIS PLANTING!

A quick pick yesterday morning yielded these orange beauties for seed and consumption, as well as some ready to use, but not fully ripe green datils for sauce.

I decided to make a little batch of datil pepper relish last night, because I wanted to try freezing it, instead of labor intensive traditional canning.
I also wanted to make an FC batch that used peppers that were not seeded as the recipe calls for.
I like it hot.
I mean really hot.

So I graded tests at the kitchen table as a simmering pot filled the house with the tang of datils, vinegar, and a host of other good smells.
After it cooled, I spooned it into these freezer canning containers.

I know you want to lick the pot, but I wouldn't advise it.
Well, actually I WOULD advise it, 'cause I love this stuff and the hotter the better, but for you nonpepperheads, ... you had better pass.

So, now the experiment continues.
I have some freezing right now and later this week, I'll thaw a cup out and test it on some awesome Mayport shrimp.

Results to come.

Fence Lizard

Why, Yes, I AM an example of superior camouflage.
Had I not moved, you would have walked right by me.



Fence lizards are wonderful, wonderful critters who are so confident in their disruptive coloration that they tend to sit still and pose in the most cooperative ways.

This one was out at Dave and Tami's home site on a visit about a month ago.

Let me do some catch up since I last posted on Monday ... ack! That's horrible. I thought this first empty nester year would be a year of plenty of time to post, but alas ... I am setting some kind of PF record for spotty posts lately.

Catch'n up ...

• Thank you for the prawn disaster comments. Unfazed, I am ordering more prawn larvae.
• Bear is spectacular and silly. I gave him a bath last night and a Bear hug is now the usual warm, soft, experience with the added scents of cocanut and verbena creme rinse.
• I painted the porch floor boards a brick red this week and rebuilt the front steps. Our little brown house is now red, white, and blue.
• We picked the last datil peppers yesterday, a full mixing bowl that will become datil sauce, datil vinegar, and I am thinking of experimenting with a datil version of Tabasco. This will involve datils, vinegar, and salt curing in the fridge for a long time. We'll see.
• There is rumor of a chicken pilau in the kitchen.
• P90X is still rocking FC's willing, yet mature body. I am extending the current 3 week segment one extra week to make up for failing to truly "BRING IT!" on two nights last week.
• I have already started Christmas shopping ... thank you Amazon for freeing me from the mall.
• I think I get to go to the movies tonight ... God, I love movie popcorn ... salt yes, buttergoo no.
• I have a care package of datilly delight ready for a certain person with too many homes, the most recent one with a great alpine view and bear naked neighbors. I just have to find the 15 minutes a day that THE US POSTAL SERVICE ACTUALLY OPENS IT'S OFFICES!!!! Gee whiz USPS!
• Thanksgiving is approaching and Mrs. FC is the host this year ... a generational change, since my Mom has always hosted. This year everyone is coming to us so Mom can relax. Apparently we have to CLEAN everything before they get here. Family, we have a Lab, he sheds unimaginable amounts of hair. We will keep it out of the food, but there will be some on the floor ... even if I mopped them as you walked up the steps. Okay?