Monday Meme: Catnip PSA

General Robert E. Lee's Orange Pie

 

Orange Pie is one of those old Southern desserts that I love to make around the end of summer and early autumn when the mornings begin to get cooler and the summer heat begins to drop -- though here in South Carolina it pretty much stays in the upper 70s and lower 80s for highs until about mid-November.

Its one of those desserts for that time of year when you're ready to say goodbye to sweltering hot Southern summers, but not quite ready to jump onto the upcoming pumpkin spice craze that comes with the autumn holidays.

Would you believe that none other than General Robert E. Lee was a huge fan of Orange Pie? It was reportedly one of his favorite desserts -- among a couple others -- and his came with a certain recipe that I would like to share with y'all.

I've tried it out and its pretty good. Here's how to make it.

 

Ingredients
 
3 egg yolks, beaten
1/2 cup (2 oz.) white sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1 tablespoon grated orange rind
1 cup orange juice
3 egg whites
6 tablespoons white sugar
1 large orange, sliced into 1/4 inch round halves
1 9-inch unbaked piecrust (graham cracker crust preferred)

Preparation and Cooking Directions

Preheat over to 450 F.

In medium bowl, beat together egg yolks and 1/2 cut sugar until mixture is thick and lemon colored. Add flour, melted butter, melted butter, grated orange rind, and orange juice. Mix thoroughly, then pour into unbaked pie crust.

Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 F and bake an additional 10 minutes until custard is set.

In a large mixing bowl, beat egg whites until foamy. Gradually add 6 tablespoons sugar, continuing to beat until firm stiff peaks form. Spread meringue over pie covering completely. Return to over for 10 minutes until meringue is golden brown. Garnish with orange slices and serve.

I would also add that a scoop of french vanilla ice cream goes wonderfully with it, as well as a nice glass of sweet iced tea when you're sitting on your porch watching the sunset.

Night Sky Photography -- 09-13-2025 -- The Moon With Uranus & The Pleiades In Late Evening Sky

Greetings & Salutations, fellow amateur stargazers!

I stayed awake pretty late yesterday evening to capture some really good photos of the Moon with the Pleiades Star Cluster (also known as the "Seven Sisters") and the very faint distant planet, Uranus, in a near triangle in the eastern sky just above the treetops.

Uranus, the 7th planet in our Solar System, is currently 1.78 billion miles (or 2.86 billion kilometers) from Earth and you really have to know where to look to spot it. Even then it only appears faintly through a good pair of binoculars, or a telescope. I was fortunate enough to catch Uranus in the close-up photo of the three heavenly bodies. In my other photos I marked the approximate place Uranus sits.

In my second photo is a close-up shot of Luna with the Pleiades where I was able to capture all of the major stars of the Seven Sisters cluster and many of their companion stars. This one came out beautifully with the Pleiades just past the bright glare of the Moon.

In my wider shots, I captured most of the nearby major stars of the Constellations: Taurus The Bull, Auriga The Charioteer, and Perseus The Hero. I caught the more open Hyades Star Cluster (the "head" of Taurus) just above the trees -- y'all can see the reddish tint of the red giant star, Aldebaran.

I labeled all the major stars of each constellation, as well as outlined the constellations themselves to put them in relation to the current positions of the Moon and Uranus in the night sky.

If any of y'all want to try and locate Uranus for yourselves, she will be close to the Pleiades for a good while since her orbit around the Sun is slow -- it actually takes about 84 Earth years for Uranus to complete a single orbit around the Sun!

Look for Uranus about one degree (or the length of the tip of your pinky finger on your outstretched arm)  southeast of the Pleiades as they rise in the eastern sky.

Another good opportunity to see all three of these beautiful night sky features together again will come next month on the morning of Friday, October 10th, when Luna will actually occult -- or cross in front of -- the Pleiades. Uranus will still be relatively close and should appear just outside of the Moon's glare.

I hope y'all enjoyed this post and as always keep your eyes to the night skies, y'all.

Night Sky Photography -- 09-08-2025 -- Full Corn Moon & Saturn

Greetings fellow stargazers!

Late last night I captured these wonderful shots of the planet Saturn with the September full moon -- also known as the Full Corn Moon here in North America.

The Full Corn Moon is the last full moon of summer and this year the September full moon falls before the fall equinox. When the full moon arrives in September after first day of autumn in the Northern Hemisphere, that full moon is the Full Harvest Moon. This year's Harvest Moon will happen in October.

The planet Neptune, the 8th planet in our Solar System, presently lies near Saturn in the night sky -- though it is much too distant for the naked eye to see without a very good telescope and an idea of where it might be.

I labeled the approximate location of Neptune in its relation between the Full Corn Moon and Saturn in the evening sky. At present, the large blue gas giant planet, Neptune, sits about 2.78 billion miles (or 4.475 billion kilometers) from Earth; with the much larger giant planet, Saturn, at about 881 million miles (or 1.42 billion kilometers) from Earth in its present orbit around the Sun.

Once again I hope y'all enjoyed my late-night photographs. I hope to have more soon, so stay tuned and keep watching the night skies, y'all!

Monday Meme: In Honor Of Star Trek Day -- September 8th

Me: "Darmok when the walls fell."

 

Night Sky Photography -- 09-01-2025 -- Venus and Jupiter In The Early Morning Sky

Hello fellow stargazers!

Early this Labor Day morning at about forty-five minutes before sunrise, I captured a couple of really good shots of the planets Venus and Jupiter just ahead of the rising sun in the eastern sky.

Venus can be seen through the trees shining brightly with Jupiter overhead above. Nearby are a couple of the brighter stars still visible: Procyon in the Constellation Canis Minor (the Lesser Dog) and Pollux in the Constellation Gemini The Twins.

A close-up shot of Jupiter shows all four of the giant gas planet's largest moons: Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto -- all in a nearly straight line. At present Jupiter sits inside the Constellation Gemini near the star Wasat (Delta Geminorum).

Well, that's all I have for now, but I will have more planetary and night sky photography coming later this month. Until then have a wonderful Dixie day and a happy Labor Day, y'all!