For several years I have had creating a garden totem on my “To Do List”. This summer I made the totem my creative priority. For several months I created woodland creatures out of clay. Today we installed it in the front yard. It is secured below ground with a large flower pot filled with concrete. The pole is in the ground permanently, but the animals can be removed for winter care or to be replaced by other creatures. All of the pieces have holes that slide over a tall pole. There are balls and squares in between the animals. I still have space for another creature, maybe a red bird. Here is a larger view of the animals.

All together it is about 6 ft tall.

Clay Houses

When I have clay left over from clay projects, I make miniature clay houses. They range from one inch to three inches.

Blackberry Cobbler

Ingredients:

• 1 double pie crust recipe

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 to 2 TBS cornstarch
• 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 cup boiling water
• 4 cups blackberries
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1 TBS cold unsalted butter
• 1 large egg lightly beaten
• coarse sugar for topping

Instructions:

• Prepare a double crust pie pastry and refrigerate until needed
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper, set aside. Lightly grease an 8 to 9-inch or oven-proof skillet with vegetable cooking spray. Set aside.
• In a medium saucepan mix together 1 cup of sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon and boiling water. Bring the sugar mixture to a boil over medium heat. Boil 5 minutes stirring occasionally until thickened. Remove from the heat and add the blackberries and any accumulated juice. Stir gently until the blackberries release some juice. Set aside.

• Cut one of the pastry disks in half and roll out on a floured surface to about 1/8th inch thick. Cut the pastry into a square roughly the same size as the prepared pan. Reserve any pastry scraps. Place the pastry square on the parchment lined baking sheet and bake until firm, lightly browned with bubbles starting to form on the crust, about 10 minutes. This will be used for the middle layer of the cobbler. Set aside.
• While the pastry square is baking, roll out the remaining whole disk of dough to at least a 12 X 12 inch square, about 1/8th of an inch thick.Gently ease the dough into the prepared dish without stretching.
• Spoon half of the blackberry mixture. top with the pre-baked pastry square, then add the remaining blackberry mixture. Dot the blackberries with butter.
• Roll out the remaining dough to a 10-inch square. Cut the dough into 8 to 10 strips and weave a lattice crust on top. Trim the excess dough to the same size as the overhang. Fold the excess up and over the edges of the strips to seal. Crimp the edges with a fork.
• Brush the pastry with the beaten egg and sprinkle with coarse sugar.
• Place the baking pan on the parchment lined baking sheet to catch any juice that might bubble over. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes then reduce the heat to 350 degrees and continue baking for 45 to 55 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and the juices are bubbling. If the crust is browning too quickly, tent the cobbler with foil as needed.
• Cool to room temperature or serve warm topped with icee cream or cool whip.