Here in ThimbleannaLand we live in the corn belt. Most of the corn grown around here is field corn, but there are local farmstands that grow the good people corn. (And btw, if you live in a country that considers corn only for pigs and other animals, you have my sincere condolences!)
I know that strawberries and blueberries and raspberries mean summer to a lot of people, and while I do love them, summer is all about the corn for me. I patiently wait until the day that I open my mailbox to reveal the card from my local farmer to tell me that the corn is finally ready. This week was the week!
Yum oh Yummy Yum! Look at those luscious yellow kernels. And slathered with butter, salt and pepper? Heaven. How could I possibly be expected to resist? By the end of summer, TheManoftheHouse and the kids have always been sick of corn on the cob. But not me. Never! (Btw, in case you’re currently lucky enough to have fresh corn, the fabulous Ms. B has FINALLY posted and it’s for a delicious corn salsa recipe.)
So, while we’re munching on our corn, can we talk traffic? I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately. Mostly because TheManoftheHouse and I drive to work together. Every morning we pass through an intersection that has a right turn lane with a yield sign. TheManoftheHouse maintains that the yield sign means that you can turn right on red without stopping. (There is a dedicated lane for just such a thing.) Every morning, there is a car in front of us that stops to wait for oncoming traffic. And Every Morning TheManoftheHouse yells at said person and honks his horn. AND Every. Morning. I’m the only one who can hear him. One of these days I’m going to jump out of the car and run up to the stopped car in front of us and ask them to please get moving ’cause I’m sick of the complaining!
But, I digress. I read in the paper that our local authorities are planning on re-vamping a local freeway interchange by using the Diverging Diamond pattern. Have any of you ever heard of such a thing? It’s a cool new traffic concept where traffic actually ends up on the wrong side of the road for a brief time. The first interchange of this type in the US was built in 2009 and there are quite a few more being planned. (All of you blog peeps in Utah are scheduled to get two of them in American Fork, if they’re not already finished.)
The US version was developed by a college student. While I think it looks pretty darn amazing, I can’t help but wonder what kind of drugs he was on to come up with a goofy plan for shifting traffic all around like this! Anyway, you can see a visualization of how the traffic moves in this short video.
And one last thing on the topic of roads — check out this cool map I found via Anglotopia: (click to enlarge)
I love it! That map was possibly another drug induced event!
Have a good weekend!
XOXO,
Anna
Your corn looks so good!! Enjoy the delicious summer food – I can’t wait to have a BBQ again.
The diverging diamond traffic concept looks cool. I remember the first time I drove around the freeway system in Houston – with roads on so many levels – it was quite scary (particularly as I am used to driving on the left hand side).
boy, your corn sure does look delicious…i just picked up some at the grocery store…my son loves it!
will be interesting to see if anything comes of the diamond traffic concept…im so fed up with road construction right now i could scream!!
The corn looks amazing…my mom grew up in Iowa…and would never say any corn was as good as Iowa corn…but I’ve had some pretty good Utah corn…although it doesn’t usually become widely available this early. I’m going to have to try that corn salsa recipe too! Enjoy summer!
I didn’t ever have corn growing up, but I have become addicted to the stuff grown at one of the local farms. I always make my corn chowder recipe in corn season, which is over, here, until October. It’s on my recipe blog. You should try it. It’s scrumptious! Brigitta’s corn salsa sounds yummy too!
hmmmmmmm CORN!!! Love fresh corn :)
And that road interchange is certainly different! Thanks for sharing!
SheilaC
I am so with you on the corn!! For me the perfect summer meal is corn on the cob and a fresh tomato salad with sesame semolina bread to dunk in the fresh juices!! YUM!!! I could just eat that every night and never get tired of it. As far as the new traffic patterns, I agree probably drug induced.
We live near/in the country. We have a tract home but are in a little town with farms and dairies all around. There are tons of produce markets around. One of the closer ones now sells their sweet corn for 10/$1.00!!!!!!
Now, about the Diverging Diamonds road. I don’t get it. I just do – not – get – it! What am I missing!?!
We just had the first of our sweet corn tonight!!! Yum yum yum – that’s hard to beat. I would hate to admit how many ears we ate.
That diamond thingy is pretty wild – it looks confusing at first glance and yes, how in the world did anyone come up with that!
you must tell me when you’re planning on posting so that I CAN BEAT MOLLY TO THE PUNCH!!!!
I’m terribly scared of those intersections! My darling daughter, bless her heart, would then start doing it at EVERY intersection. She pulled into an intersection one time and stopped in the MIDDLE because she didn’t know she could pass through “both” lights without stopping again. It’s true. We almost died laughing. She must move from Utah before this happens, or we’ll lose her for sure!
We live in corn country too. And we LOVE IT! Our yellow & white corn isn’t ready in the valley yet, but it should be coming soon. Sending you a corn recipe.
Jody
wow that corn looks great………….I love corn on the cob…………
not about to tell you have to drive on those roads cause you drive on the wrong side of the road as it is…………lol………..
Oh how yummy that corn looks. It reminds me of when we were kids and dad used to grow it in the garden and we would pick it and eat it straight away. One of my favourite ways to cook it in summer is to lather with butter and garlic, wrap in foil and cook it on the bbq!
I love the map! I love maps – being a geographer – this one must be based on the concept of harry Beck’s schematic London Underground map – clever.
Corn – my aunt lives in New Hampshire and when I’ve visited in the summer we’ve gone to the store everyday for fresh corn – with the name of the local farm it came from being advertised. Delicious!
OMG we just love Sweetcorn, which is what we call the people corn here in the Southern Cross area. I never get tired of it, and luckily we can usually get it most of the year. Another favourite of mine is fresh asparagus. Just heaven!
That Diamond idea looks very compliated.. I am not sure it will be well received? Or is it just me?
I grew corn last year and it was amazing… but didn’t get around to it this summer. Seeing your pics I wish I had. You cannot beat the flavour of cutting it and pputting it straight in the pan. That intersection looks seriously scarey!
mmmmmm – that corn looks delicious!! I spent two years driving through major roadworks to visit my Dad – at the end he was in hospital for three months and I went to see him every day …… and yes, the work finished the day he died!
I love corn (sadly, I’m the only one in my 2-person-household…) and I didn’t even know that in some countries it isn’t considered to be a delicious food (for humans)…
The map of the interstates is pretty cool…I always liked those subway maps and I once had a map of the London underground pinned to the wall of my room ;o) (‘cooler’ than the map of the Berlin U-Bahn, of course…).
I love corn too, but not the way it get stuck between one’s teeth. So I fear that most of our corn-eating is done from packets of frozen kernels. Is this sacrilege? (Sorry. Am Scottish. Can’t get it fresh from the plant anyway because we don’t have the weather.)
Ooh that corn looks good! Our local farm sells corn and I love that few weeks when it’s in season. I refuse to buy the supermarket stuff that’s flown half way round the world as nothing can match the corn grown just a mile away.
That road system looks far too scary!
xx
Mmmmmm, corn on the cob. It will be a while before ours is ready but I think I could probably live on fresh corn for quite some time!
Diverging diamonds? I need to lie down, that’s way too terrifying for me.
You are making me hungry!!! I really miss proper eating corn…something that just isn’t as good on this side of the pond.
As for the traffic thing…looks interesting…can’t be any more confusing than our roundabouts :o)
We are enjoying yummy corn on the cob here to, we joke about corn eating contests (see who eats the most ears)its so good. I’m going to check out the salsa recipe. I don’t want to learn about traffic diamonds until I have to LOL the circles aren’t bad though. Have a great weekend Anna!
OMG that traffic diamond would have everyone here nuts…people here have huge difficulty with roundabouts! Your corn looks YUMMY!
Oof, the image of that corn has made my mouth water. Goodness, I do love it barbequeued. I have to go and buy some.
Love the corn, but I don’t know about the diverging diamond thingie.
S.W.A.K.
I was going to check the farmers market this weekend to see if there was some corn. I’ve been craving it and your post just put me over the edge ;0
Have a fun weekend.
We have a divergent diamond in Columbus and it scares the hell out of me! I always feel like I am about to be in a head on collision (rather than the rear end collision I was in on Monday)!
My ManOfTheHouse cuts the corn off the cob. Sacrilege!
The corn made my mouth water! :) We always used it as a sign of summer, in the midwest, too: knee-high by the fourth of july. :) My family has “sweet corn” ready in their gardens, now, as well. Yum!
The diamond traffic pattern looks more confusing than all get out. Wow!
I have visions of you getting out of the car and telling the person ahead of you to move along and that person letting you know you still have corn kernels on your teeth. I chuckled to myself at the vision.
Now on the traffic video – looks great for traffic, but all I could think of was “wouldn’t this make a great quilt”?
I don’t know how to quilt. Yet. Are there some machines that are better for quilting than others? I have a passed down sewing machine (Elna), can I quilt with that? Help me out, Anna, I want to make a traffic quilt. Carolina.
I misplaced the comment on another post of yours, it belongs here.
That last map is really cool. And your corn looks delish! But don’t shoot me… I DON’T like corn on the cob! I loved it as a kid but I don’t like it as an adult. I’d rather have canned corn. Sad but true.
I’m with you on the love of corn. Our town even has a Corn and Apple Festival every year so there are many here who feel the same.
The traffic idea is unusual. I assume it is more efficient if it is being utilized…
I lurve corns too.
Btw, the traffic diamond pattern has been implemented in my homecountry(Malaysia) for years actually.
We must give this college student a break, he probably lives in an area with constant road construction and just thought it was the norm.
I do long for some great mid-western corn…the corn roasts back home are in full swing about now.
The corn looked amazing.
Anna, I’m not sure that the people I see driving here in Indy can handle the diverging diamonds.
What intersection is getting this? Keystone and 465?
Your corn pics are fabulous, they’re making me hungry.
Yum, that corn looks delicious. I’m a big fan of corn on the cob, too, and love to buy it from the farmer’s market in the summer. It tastes so sweet.
I’m with you, Anna! Corn definitely means summer to me, too. :)
That is one crazy traffic concept. I’ve never seen anything like that before.
Oh I love summer corn, Anna. SO MUCH. And I, too, wait for the stand by my mom’s house (which is just some local dude with a huge yard in the country who chooses to grow corn rather than lawn – love him!) to put the sign out.
I just wish WE lived in a country that considered corn to be only a food for humans. And only in whole form. I don’t need my corn in syrup form, thankyouverymuch – the cob is just fine.
Oh, boy! That corn looks so incredibly good. I’m salivating. (That sounds better than drooling, right?)
I had to watch that video for quite a while before I could see how the flow of the traffic really works. I dare say, if you are not dizzy going into that Diverging Diamond you’ll certainly be when you come off it ;).
I know this is gonna sound corny… (had to say it)…
But do you realise you are driving on the RIGHT side of the road? like the AUSTRALIAN WAY??? shame your steering wheel is on the wrong side still :O)
I love corn, we get corn on the cob all year ’round here.. I LOVE IT.. my friend whenever we go to markets she sniffs out corn on the cob stalls every single time!!!
Yummm, although you will think I am weird, I just pick up an ear and eat it raw right of the cob.
I had you laugh about your hubby because mine makes me INSANE we he drives. I truly hate to get into the car with him !!! xoxoxoxo Clarice
Yum, that corn looks so good. I’m a city girl and didn’t even know about field corn, I thought it was all for me to eat! That traffic thingy was way beyond my comprehension – maybe because we drive on the other side of the road so I had trouble getting my head around it!
Love fresh corn – can’t wait for summer.
CORN, CORN, CORN!!! I can hardly wait!!!! The only bugger is that I have to cut it off the cob for my braces wearing children… but I still LOVE it! and about the roads… I think there is one of those diamond thingy’s in Sandy UT at 106th already .. takes some gettin’ used to but now I think it’s pretty slick!
My husband concurs with your husband about the “yield” issue. The problem here is that there are those atrocious cameras at every signal that will ticket you for any minor error, so the result is that drivers are paralyzed with fear and just sit there because they don’t want a ticket.
I love that bottom map!
That diamond thing does look interesting but I’m not sure what they are trying to accomplish. Seems like traffic would flow the same as it does without it. But if it works … we need them here in the CA Bay Area!!! Our traffic is H.O.R.R.I.B.L.E.!!!!! By the way, loved your previous post on organizing your cupboards. Are those jars airtight against bugs? Where do you get them? Have a great week, Thimbleanna!
I can only assume that these new intersections are male-only, correct? If women tried to navigate those, the road would be a much scarier place.
hmm so we are scheduled to get 2 of these? wow
Love the corn. We had it for dinner Saturday.
Love fresh corn, here in Il. ours is excellent.
That traffic thing looks like a disaster waiting to happen, I’m guessing a man designed it.
Ok…my mouth is totally watering with the corn photos. I LOVE FRESH CORN. We like to soak our corn in water in the husk for about an hour and then put on the BBQ and cook for about 20 minutes…turning every few minutes. Remove husk, add butter, salt, and pepper….So tasty. Thanks for the link to the corn salsa!!!
I watched the video and looked at the map….an now my brain hurts.
:)
C
I heart corn too! We are enjoying good ole Utah corn right now which is oh so fabulous.
My dad raised alot of corn on our farm at home….our family would make an assembly line and freeze it for the winter….dad would always cut the corn off the cobs with an electric knife. I still do that for my family….sweet summer in the deep freeze!
I’m afraid to drive in American Fork now…why does everything have to be so complicated?…what happened to the good ol days here in Utah when we could ride our bikes down the middle of Main street?…lol
x
lori
mmmmmmmmm. corn! how could ANYONE get sick of corn on the cob? that’s disgraceful!