Tree trunks in the woods

I really have to get out with the camera again soon. The last two times I was out with Callie it was either raining or cold and windy and I didn't feel like taking the camera. Until I do, you are stuck with pictures of trees in the woods.

Moss covers the bases of these tree trunks, and yes, it's on the north side.

Ken's birthday dinner was good, if not a little scary. We planned to have a fondue bourguignonne, which is cubes of tender beef cooked in hot oil at the table. We had run out of sterno, the heating fuel, the last time we made a fondue. No problem, I thought, I'll just get some of the French kind that I see in the supermarket.

It burned very well. Too well. The flames were reaching up around the sides of the pot and the oil was bubbling and boiling and we were afraid for our lives at one point. Then I couldn't get the flame to go out so I blew on it and, while the flame did go out, I blew the fuel all over the table. What a mess! Still, the beef was delicious.

We ate it with sauces: a blue-cheese cream dressing, a horseradish cream dressing, worcestershire sauce, ketchup, and smoky chipotle tabasco. We also had a macaroni salad and broccoli along side.

For dessert, I made an amandine tarte with pears from our tree that Ken had put up last fall. All in all a good day. We managed not to burn the house down.