AVOCADO SALSA AND A SWEET SUMMERTIME WALK IN THE WOODS!

My exercise of choice is walking--I can walk and walk and walk and never get tired of it. See my poor old New Balance running shoes here? I think they've put on at least 500 miles! Time for a new pair soon, I suspect. Normally, Wee Willie and I walk into  town, because I like to grab a cup of coffee and maybe chat with a few friends I've run into along the way, but today, well, I needed the peace and quiet that only a walk deep in the woods can provide, because I've got these guys in my front yard......

See, they're digging trenches, sort of like this one......

to prevent this big fun from happening again  (from this spring).....

Because it's a tad, shall we say, NOISY on my street,  we took off, down our dirt road.........

Hey--remember this same road this past winter?.............

Is our neck of the woods seasonal, or WHAT?? Next, we jaunted across the bridge over the Moose River..............

To a fantastic trail, called "Lock and Dam"............

Wee Willie just LOVES trails in the woods....I think in his past life, he was Daniel Boone or Grizzly Adams......

Here's what we saw, on our litle hike.....super dense forest.....

Ferns are the ground cover, throughout the Adirondacks.....

The canopy of trees, providing a lovely shade.....

Moss covered logs..........

I love the sunlight on these green, green leaves..........

Somebody's campfire sight from the night before.......

Beautiful peeks of  river, all along the trail...

Gorgeous wildflowers and grasses.....

And this duck! She saw us, and just zoomed over....I swear to you I did not use my zoom lense......

She was so adorable.....I think I'll name her.....hmmm....Lady Gaga?  Because she's bold.

Such a beautiful, restorative walk on such a beautiful day....oops, here's one more that I forgot....love the way the blue sky contrasts against this tree.....

TOTALLY changing the subject here....one of my favorite things to do, when I'm feeling creative, is to create recipies, using JUST what I have on hand. Last night, we were grilling some salmon, and I wanted some sort of topping for it, and these ingredients needed to be used up, lest they spoil (which avocados are notorious for!).....

I mean really, when you get one of these cut open and it's NOT all black and rotten inside, you've just gotta use it--avocados are probably my all-time favorite food! I know they're expensive, but boy are they delicious, and super good for you.....

So here's what I came up with--an Avocado Cucumber Salsa. I chopped up 1 / 2 of one peeled cucumber, 1 whole avocado, about 1 / 2 of a red onion, some fresh basil, then added salt and pepper, a pinch of salt, a little wine wine vinegar and a pinch of cumin.........

 Adjust the seasonings to your taste.....well, in the end, my family just LOVED this salsa on top of our grilled salmon....with a little cous cous on the side. The perfect summer dinner!..............

Here's my recipe.....

LESLIE'S AVOCADO AND CUCUMBER SALSA
Serves 4

1 / 2 of 1 cucumber, peeled and diced
1 avocado, pitted, peeled and diced
1 / 2 of 1 red onion, finely chopped
2 tblsp. freshly chopped basil
2 tblsp. white wine vinegar
1 / 2 tsp. ground cumin
pinch sugar
salt and pepper, to taste

Combine all ingredients and let sit, unrefrigerated, for at least 30 minutes before serving. Excellent on grilled fish or chicken.

TODAY I'M SO THANKFUL FOR......

*The beautiful weather we're experiencing--I need to remember this, for January...

*The beautiful area of the world we live in

*The restful 8 HOURS of sleep I've been getting lately---priceless!