Super Sonic Lavender!

Here is another flowering plant that my wife Amy purchased and potted this weekend:

According to the tag, this one is a "Super Sonic Lavender" New Guinea Impatien.  I decided to go in for a Macro Close-up of one of the blooms:

I don't think this plant would survive the winter outdoors, so we plan on taking it inside as soon as the cold
weather hits!

Pansies

This past Saturday while my Father-in-Law and I were pigging out at the Squealin' on the Square BBQ festival, my wife Amy and her Mom went to visit a local nursery.

They purchased a bunch of Pansies and transformed one of our flower gardens into an impressive display of Pansy color.

The great thing about Pansies is while most flowers stop blooming in the Fall, these will continue to display their colors throughout the Fall, Winter, and Spring.

Here are a few close-ups of some of the blooms:

Instant Delay

I like to participate in the weekly 2 things challenge

It gives me an excuse to try and get a little creative and take a photo of something I normally would not have thought to take a picture of.

2 Things Challenge Rules:

Interpret the 2 weekly subjects any way you wish, in a photograph, collage, painting, poem, song, or whatever you can dream up and post on your blog. When done, leave a comment here to let us know.


Instant

Delay

These are the two words I had to work with this week. 

I was watching some NFL Football yesterday afternoon.  A few years ago they implemented Instant Replay in NFL football, where questionable calls can be reviewed and possibly overturned.  While I am definitely a fan of Instant replay, as I hate to see the outcome of a came changed because of a bad call by the refs, it definitely can cause unnecessary Delay

During the short time I was watching the game, this happened twice:

In this first case, Philadelphia was stopped about a foot short from the goal line, which is exactly what the refs called on the field.  I was hard to tell for sure, especially if you were watching the play at full speed, so they called for an Instant replay review.  For me it took one viewing of the Instant replay to know they made the right call.  However, the game was Delayed for about 5 minutes before the refs finally confirmed the call on the field.

 In this second case, Philadelphia obviously fumbled the football and Washington recovered the ball.  However the refs blew the call, said the player down before the ball came loose, and Philadelphia would retain possession.  So Washington called for an Instant replay challenge.  So again the game was Delayed as the refs reviewed the Instant Replay.  After the Delay, the call on the field was eventually overturned and possession given to Washington. 

 
So my submission this week is the above screen shots of the Instant Replay Delays!

Piglet Enemy wins The Best Butt Award!

I am pleased to announce that my buddies Jeff, Steve, and Ron of the award winning Piglet Enemy BBQ team took home 1st Place in the Pork Butt category at the annual Squealin' on the Square BBQ competition!

Pitboss Jeff being congratulated by Sue E. Pigg team

Piglet Enemy Team with their ginormous, awesome, super-turbo, amazingly incredible first ever trophy

Note:  These are not my photos.   Photo captions written by Steve!

Over the past few years I have had many opportunities to sample their tasty Butts!  And I have said on many occasions that this is the best Butt I have ever tasted! 

Professional cooking teams from all across the country come to compete in these competitions.  Some come with smokers that cost well over $10,000.  My buddies butts beat them all using home made smokers crafted out of empty beer kegs and scrap metal!  I am proud to call this bunch of beer drinking rednecks my friends!

The Visitor

My wife Amy and I were doing a little yard work today when a visitor arrived

It doesn't appear to be a stray since he (or she) appears healthy and well fed.  I assume he belongs to someone in the neighborhood, however there was no collar.  He seemed a bit skittish at first, but before long he warmed up to our charms.

Me with our new friend

Amy giving him some love

I'll be curious to see if this was just a one time deal, or if he will be back again for another visit!

Squealin' on the Square
Annual BBQ Festival and Competition
October 2nd, 2010
Laurens, SC

My buddies Steve and Jeff took their Piglet Enemy BBQ team down to Laurens, SC to enter in the annual Squealin' on the Square BBQ Competition.  Also joining them was my buddy Ron!

The Piglet Enemy BBQ Team

L to R:  Steve, Ron, Jeff

Even though it is only 35 minutes from my house, I have never been to Laurens, SC before.  Joining me was my father-in-law Chris who found himself right at home in downtown Laurens.

My father-in-law Chris at The Redneck Shop 

There was a lot more than just BBQ going on at Squealing on the Square!

There was an Antique Car Show:

An Antique Tractor Show:

Some Live Entertainment:

The Antique Tractor Parade:

And the worlds largest Pinball Machine:

But now, lets return to the BBQ

There are (4) categories in the competition:
1.  Chicken
2.  Ribs
3.  Pork Butt or Shoulder
4.  Brisket

Steve pulling off the Ribs

Ribs contest submission

Jeff prepping the pulled pork butt

The Brisket contest submission

Chris and I filled our tummies sampling some of the leftovers.  My favorites were the ribs and the pulled pork butt!  Since I wanted to get home in time for the 3:30 VT Hokie game, we left before finding out the results.

It was a beautiful day!  Chris really enjoyed himself and got some good ideas for the home-make smoker that he is working on.  And the day got even better as my Hokies got the victory with a come from behind 41-30 win!
 

Daddy Long Legs

I noticed a bunch of these guys hanging out under the eaves of my house.  I thought, that is interesting enough to be my photo of the day:

Daddy Long Legs!

I wonder, is this how baby Daddy Long Legs are made?