Summer is here – and the temperature is up! If you need a vacation to a warm destination. I have room at my place!  Check Photo Friday!

Today on my walk  we encounters a cute little boy, about five I think. He was into Dash and Dash was into him so there was some play  Here is a snippet of our conversation.

Me: What’s your name

Cute Little Boy: Cowboy Arkansas Guy

Me: Well Cownoy Arkansas Guy this is Dash and I’m Marika…

More conversation and play with Dash  till his Dad calls him.

Me : Bye Cowboy Arkansas Guy

Cute Little Boy : See ya later …. TURDS.

!!!!

 I think what made it truly special  was that he went with the plural addressing it to me AND Dash … Oh, and that I had pocket dialed my Mom  with the cell phone in my pocket  and left the entire conversation  on her voicemail.  Guess who has a new nickname?

Basically,  I opened some cans , mixed some oil and vinegar with some sugar and poured it over the beans.   Now that’s my kind of cooking!

But that’s not gurkensalat, and that  you do have to put a tad of effort into. Germans like a salad that requires a tinge of labor.

Here’s my bowl of gurkens!

Yup, gurken is German for cucumber.  So here’s what you do:

Peel and slice 4 big cucumbers – and slice them as thin as you can.

Spread 2 teaspoons  of salt over your cucumbers, and mix it in there really really good.  Then cover and put in the fridge  for 1 hour…

Hey, our hour is up!

Now  it’s time to drain the cucumbers – the salt pulled out all the extra liquid. Thanks salt!

Then put the cucumbers in your fancy fashion show luncheon  bowl.  The recipe calls for onions. I don’t like onions, so I don’t usually put them in, but this isn’t about me is it?  I had some left over from the bean salad. So I threw  some in, usually I don’t.

Now mix up the “dressing”  You’re going to need 1 1/2 cups of sour cream,  1/2 cup of vinegar, and throw in 1/2 teaspoon of pepper … you can use any kind of vinegar, but I use Salata – which I have to order by the case and share with my Mom.  We likes our German vinegar.

Boy that looks gross!  Trust me, it gets better!  When you have it all nice and creamy, dump it on your cucumbers.

Mix, mix, mix some more!

Trust me, DELISH!  Pop it in the fridge to serve the next day after everything has mixed in and absorbed and gotten all yummified!  Serve cold – and it’s great with anything you’d serve at a cookout .. especially steak!

This is Dash asking for a bone I brought over to my parent’s house.  I had errands to do today, and he went to visit his Oma and Opa. Please know he was begging for this bone.  Once he got it, he totally ignored it, probably because being at Oma and Opa’s is a treat extravaganza… as it should be. 

The park service did a controlled burn  to get some of the underbrush – but you can see some of the green peeking though.  Next weekend there is a BassMaster Elite Tournament  so the campgrounds are getting packed and the lake is going to be busy – there were some guys getting in some practice in.  By the way, I like fisherman. They are men of patience and storytellers, what’s not to like. Also fish aren’t as cute as deer, and taste good deep fried so “hunting” them doesn’t bother me.  Hypocrite, thy name is Marika. 

Everything is starting to bloom.  By the way, even though I was there early I did not get to be a Pip like I usually do, too many BassMasters along the way. Fishermen get up early. And God forbid I be a character in one of their stories.

Dogwood!  And since we are speaking of dogs… 

He runs through every pile of leaves there is. EVERY. SINGLE. PILE.   We walk 3.6 miles on this walk, do you know how many piles there are? And if he’s dived in before, he’ll do it again. It doesn’t matter.  But — it’s his walk as well, so we go with it. 

And of course, listening to the Closet Kitten Playlist did give me an idea, for a whole new adventure – not what I’m working on.  I’ll still take it. 

Taken in the front yard today.  Check out more Photo Friday

The best thing about going for a walking at 8am, is that there’s no one to hear you sing the Pips part on Midnight train to Georgia.  Oh please, like you can resist superstar but he didn’t get far  

And look it is starting to get a little springy!  I love seeing the leaves starting to sprout and the grass getting greener.

And of course there’s Dash.  He loves going on a long walk and he doesn’t mind my singing. At least not that I can tell, and for the most part he is a very good boy.  It’s his walk as much as mine. So if he stops and smells something we go with it.  Sometimes his friends Lucky, Lincoln and Sue show up and  then there is a party!  When we are on the last leg of the walk  Dash gets a little jerky.  Don’t be fooled by his sweet face – Dash can be an ass.  He knows when we are almost done, if I’m not walking fast enough for him, he takes his leash in his mouth and pulls it over and over again, trying to get  me  to go faster. What’s the rush? He gets a yummy when we get back to the car.  I know what you are thinking “Marika, you’re rewarding bad behavior”  I’ve been rewarding bad behavior for a long time,  and since he is 13 now it doesn’t seem time to stop. Besides, he’s a great dog and deserves every single treat he’s gotten.

Besides, I can’t resist his ‘Gimme a treat face.’

Easiest. Photo.Friday. Ever