Memorial Day 2020 was pretty subdued at our house, what with the quarantine and social distancing, with plenty of time and peace and quiet to reflect on the true meaning of the day. It wasn't the big cookout that it usually is for us. Still, we managed to grill hot dogs for the first time in years.
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Fully Loaded Dog: Mustard, Onions, and Chili
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About a month ago, before I lost my job, I finally invested in a propane grill. Before leaving Virginia in 2017, we sold our previous grill to a neighbor. Because finances have been a bit shaky ever since, we've done without a grill. It's been torture ignoring all the neighborhood grill smells over the past couple of years. Truth be told, we've both been salivating for a great grilled hot dog.
I try to get to the grocery store about every ten days or so to limit my exposure to other people and when I was last there, they had a big display of hot dogs from Hill Meat in Pendleton, Oregon. They were labeled Old Fashioned Frankfurters and while they looked pretty decent, we have been deceived by good looking franks before. I took a chance.
Ann and I both lust after a great dog with good flavor and a great snap when you bite in to it. To say that we have been disappointed more times than not is an understatement. On a scale of 1 to 10, these were a good 8. I wanted more seasoning in the dog, more coriander and more white pepper or even spicy paprika. I would buy them again, but they were not enough to halt my search for the ultimate hot dog.
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Rippers: Dogs with Real Casings
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Annie Ready to Attack Her Dog
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We sat out back on the rear patio and ate our hot dogs, while the two real dogs alternated pacing through the garden and begging for some of our hot dogs. While we were out there, I took a few photos. The photos are untouched except for cropping, which is to say that these colors are real.
We planted Earliglow strawberries in the bins below the living wall on the side of our garage, mainly as a way to shade the bins to help preserve moisture, but also because, well, strawberries! We've been eagerly awaiting our crop this year, but as each berry has started to ripen enough to consider picking, it has disappeared.
Skunks? No, I trenched along the fence and buried hardware cloth 12 inches down to keep those rapacious bastards out. Coon? Could be, but we don't have great coon habitat. Slugs and snails? No trails and no leaf damage. What could it be? And then, as we were sitting out eating our hot dogs, we saw the culprit, perhaps one of two culprits.
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Furry Strawberry Thief in Flagrante Delicto
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Yellow Grandiflora Rose
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Edible Calendula
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| Campanula: So Purple it Hurts |
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Westerland: Unimaginable Fragrance
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My Favorite: Darlow's Enigma
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