It's All Good

Bella's view on porch.

I've been enjoying Bob Dylan's new album. There's several goodies on here, including this little diddy. I'm hearin' a lot of New Orleansy blues up in here. Yep, it's all good.

Yep, it's good cooling off in the river.

Cupcakes? Check. Especially the snicker doodle one! Oh yes. Check check!

Fake flowers on little cafe tables. Uh huh.

Bella in any form, but kisses are especially good.

Anything the kid does? You betchya. Check out the dragonfly he painted this morning.

Add downtown Fairhope to the list.

And getting rid of palmettos, any way possible. (Major incident last night--OMG!) But it's all good cause this one is fake, of course. Sick sense of humor. It's all good.

Riverside? Oh yes.

The hub coming back down tomorrow. Really, really good. Check check check!

xo
ro

Bringing the Outside In

Darlene, next door, came by early (early for the riversorry folk, anyway) and we sat and talked and caught up a little. After she left, I sat on the dock and spied this brown thrasher just singing the most beautiful song. There must be a nest about because every time Bella comes out of the porch, two of them come as close to the screen as they can (similar to mocking birds) and just squawk at her. She swishes her tail as if to say "like I'm afraid of you." Silly girl.

Some moss has fallen onto the dragonfly. Pretty.

Dar pointed out the beautiful hydrangea in bloom and a sweet dragonfly resting on one of the blooms. (I didn't have the camera at that time--boo hiss.)

I went out a little later and cut some for the house.

This doesn't even look real, does it?

Beautiful hues.

Flowers always make a house a home.

I'm trying to catch up on visiting and blogging today!

xo
ro

The Good Life

Memorial Day was a nice, lazy day. For the first time ever, I actually took a nap in the hammock!

Bella was right there with me and I have to admit to hoping to throw a bunch more in before we head home. Sigh.

The day started out with a thunder storm.

Then opened to blue skies.

The hub and I headed back out to Bon Secour to get our shrimpers for our annual Memorial Day Holiday grillin'. We did it up this year! (PS, if you're in the area and want the freshest seafood, go to Aquila's rather than Billy's--the better-known merchant down the river. Billy's get their shrimp from Aquila's and then raises the prices to sell!! Word up.)

Not only did we get our usual royal reds,

but we added some rock shrimp, which I had never even heard of!

We had enough shrimp to feed an army by this time, so we skipped the big daddys.

On our way back, we stopped off at Tin Top grocers and got some sandwiches for lunch. Muffuletta? Oh yes! The kid and I shared a half one. As good as New Orleans' Central Market if not more betta. Per-fect. (Guess what we're having for lunch today? Uh huh, leftover Muffuletta!)

Then came the nap and then it was time to get those shrimps cookin'.

I always boil mine in beer with the spices (bag ripped open, of course).

And since I was brought up on the Chesapeake Bay, I always have to add Old Bay. Always--just because, you know.

Oh yes.

Rib eyes on the grill.

The rock shrimp were very very good. You just have to fight a little more with the shell, as it is rock hard.

And they are a little smaller than the RR. But just as good. Different but very good indeed.

To say the least, our feast left us all fat and happy.

xo
ro

Bon Secour, AL

We took a little drive yesterday to Bon Secour. It's so pretty there. It's pretty everywhere down here, really.

"Bon Secour has a rich history. It was originally a French fishing village settlement dating back to the late 19th century. Currently it is a Southern gothic, waterfront community that serves as a safe harbor to a current commercial fishing fleet. Named by Jacques Cook, a French Canadian from Montreal, a member of Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville's colonizing expedition of 1699. He was a participant in the founding of Mobile in 1702. There are several major seafood industry businesses currently operating out of the Bon Secour estuary. Bon Secour Fisheries, Safe Harbor Seafood, Aquilla Seafood and Billy's Seafood all ship large quantities of Gulf of Mexico seafood to all areas of the United States. Bon Secour Fisheries is the oldest and biggest of them all, having been operating since the 1890s. The primary catch for the Bon Secour fishing fleet ranges from Mobile Bay shrimp to deep water "Royal Red" shrimp. Large shrimp boats line the shores of the Bon Secour River, docked at processing plants for packaging and shipment to all of America. One main point of pride within the community is the "Alabama Wild Shrimp Program". Because wild shrimp caught by the local fleet must compete with farmed shrimp from overseas, economic pressures have driven many, multi-generational shrimpers out of the business. As a result, the local shrimpers, along with shrimpers out of the Mobile area have formed an alliance, increased their marketing, public relations knowledge and efforts to brand Alabama, Wild Caught Shrimp. Their efforts have paid off. Marine science has indeed proven that wild-caught shrimp from local waters are in fact less likely to contain contaminates than the farm-raised shrimp that have been imported from other countries. Still, the commercial shrimping industry in Bon Secour is hanging on by a very thin line."

Our neighbor Dar told us the best place to get fresh shrimp and so this is where we headed. Well, the markets were closed on Sunday. Oy. No problem. It was still a gorgeous day to be out, as you can see.

I love watching pelicans and seagulls.

Did someone say oysters? Lotsa oysters have obviously been shucked here!

I loved the old crab pot in the river.

They've got ya covered here, whatever your needs are.

We spied a restaurant down the road, The Tin Top, so we stopped for some afternoon libations and shrimp before heading back home.

Stanley was busy shucking oysters and we had the best time chatting it up. He even passed one (ew) to the hub to try. Fresh in from Louisiana.

The hub said they were so good. Uh, no thank you. The spiced shrimp were very good and we decided to give it try for dinner and came back later.

They did not let us down. This is our new FAVORITE restaurant in all of 'bama. Oh my. (Watch out bubba!) The hub began with some type of cooked oysters with taso. Of course, they were delish.

I ordered the spicy shrimp, of course. Yummy. With Gouda grits on the side, oh yes, for Val. The kid had the best shrimp pasta alfreda we all had ever tasted. Yummmmmm.

The hub ordered the steamed platter. Mmmmmm. In addition, I have to add that they had the very best Pina Colada I've had since visiting Puerto Rico and the triple chocolate pie was just like eating a creamed Oreo pie. It was sinful. It all was sinful and we're still boasting on everything today!

We're all in heaven.

xo
ro