Bread

Since early April of last year we have bought, maybe, 5 loaves of bread from the grocery store.  At that time we were stocking up to avoid having to go to the store every week. Baking our bread would be a good idea. We checked the recipe box and dug out Andy's Aunt Jane's recipe for Scotch Oatmeal Bread.  It has been a family favorite for many years.

It took a couple of tries to get the routine down again.  Baking bread is something we did when we were first married.  I made Swedish Rye Bread from a recipe from my hometown.  It was so good...but it took a lot of time to make.  We decided that oatmeal bread was quicker.  And it was.

I love making bread.  Getting the kitchen warmed up.  Scooping out the flour.  Adding the oatmeal and sorghum and yeast.  Mixing and mixing until your arm is tired.  And then the best part, kneading.  I love to knead bread.  Andy says that I attack the dough like a wrestler attacks his opponent.  Down for the count.  Just another smash to the floor.  I knead and knead and knead until the dough calls out for mercy.  Luckily this bread can take a lot of pounding and still rise magnificently in the bowl.

I love to see that golden mound as I take it to the counter and divide it in two.  It rests for a ten minutes and then gets stretched and formed into loaves.  

The loaves usually rise pretty quickly.  I guess they know I mean business.  No lolly gagging around in my kitchen!  You better do the job right if you are going to go into my oven.  I pop them in and set the timer.  I try not to peek but I can hardly resist sneaking a look to see how things are going.

When the loaves come out I tip them out of the pans on the cooling racks.  Bread really needs to cool some before you try it.  But it is hard to wait.

I get out the butter.  Make sure my bread knife is good and sharp.  Our ancient cutting board is ready and waiting.  Oh....how long will it be...hurry,hurry.  

The beauty of baking bread is that first slice, warm from the oven.  The smell is overpowering.  It makes your mouth water.  Quickly I put the warm slice on the plates and we slather it with butter.  The first bite.  I am hard pressed to describe it.  Heavenly.  Sweet on the tongue. And just about the best taste on earth.

Needless to say we usually consume at least half of the new bread the first day.  Lunch, snacks, and a little mouthful now and then.  Hot tea to go with it.  Just the best  of the best. 

If you have never baked bread, you really should try it some cold wintry day.  It will put a smile on your face...and joy in your heart. 

    

 

A Peaceful Escape

A few days ago we had a skiff of snow here in Luna.  But we could see the tips of the hills over in Caney covered with white.  Bundling up in warm coats and hats to ward off the cold wind, we jumped into the pickup and went to see what we could find.  

The Refuge is a favorite place of ours, no matter the season.  Spring brings wildflowers and mushrooms. Summer brings birds and sparkling streams, springs bubbling up under the gravel. Fall shows us brilliant colors of yellow and red and orange...and all the spectrum in between.  But winter... winter is a different story.  When the cold weather arrives, the trees shed their finery and present stark branches and trunks of grey and black and deep brown.  Only the sycamores shine with silver down by the creek and along the shimmering water.  

This day we were ostensibly searching for sheds.  It is the time of year when the bucks lose their antlers and leave them in the fields and margins along the hills and valleys.  We knew a few places to go and dutifully stomped around, seeking a glimpse of white bone there in the bronze leaves or among the turnips in the wildlife plot.  Armadillos, skinny and hungry, were all we saw, their poor red noses seeking a bit of food to keep them going.  Truthfully, I intensely dislike armadillos, but even I felt a little sorry seeing them frantically scouring the field for a meal.

The snow that lay on the ground, shadowy lumps of leaves beneath, caught my attention.  And the quiet.  No birds, no squirrels, no rustle in the grass.  Up high above the fields below, the sentries of the forest stood tall.  Their comrade trees that had fallen lay covered with white blankets.  It always amazes me how different forests look in the snow.  In the rain they are wet masses of dripping bark. On a cloudy day you pass them by with scarcely a look.  But when snow-covered , they make a statement all their own.  I looked beyond and down the hill and away.  And still they marched.  The silent soldiers of the earth. I could close my eyes and almost hear them sighing.  Guarding the hill until the warm weather arrives.  Keeping it safe for the next season.

 

 

Bluebird Sky

When I took my walk yesterday I headed up the road to a favorite spot.  Pine trees shade this path.  The shadows are always impressive.  Moving from bright sunlight to shade, I felt

 the comfort of the season. Winter is not dreary here in the Ozarks. We have our share of freezing temperatures and ice followed by snow.  But after all, it is winter.

I had a smile on my face while I trudged along on my way to the end of the road.  What made me smile?  The beautiful blue sky.  There were a few clouds but they were those wispy kind that seem to trail along with any good weather.  I stood there and gazed up and up, tilting my head and walking around so I could see the sky from every angle.  The sun was behind me and the light was perfect in bringing out the blue above me, the green pines beside me.

I love these first days of the new year.  Most animals are hiding in their burrows, dens, and nests.  They know that the pleasant afternoon will turn to frigid night.  The scurrying hunt for food goes on when the sun comes up and the temperature rises.  I see a few squirrels hopping along in the grass, looking for a nut they might have missed.  The crows gather on my driveway, pecking in the gravel for seeds or some scrap of food that might be hiding in the rocky ground.  I do not have a bird feeder.  It is just too breezy up here on the hill.  The seed would soon be scattered to the four winds.  And I can't imagine any bird who would want to feed while being blown around, sometimes at an awkward angle.

No, rather than looking for animals, I look up and out.  Across my neighbor's field, up into the Refuge.  The sky spreads above me.  Just as a friend said when she saw this picture.  "A bluebird sky".

Yes, indeed.  And may we have many more.

 

Opening the gift

At long last we have left 2020 behind.  I could feel the sigh of relief all the way up here on the hill.  

And as we look ahead what do we see?  What do we plan to do with the next 365 days and nights?

I have a few ideas which I will share with you.

1. I will spend less time trying to solve the problems of the world.  I am a doer.  I don't like to not give my two cents worth about anything....food, politics, how to raise your children.  But I am going to rein in my "here's my advice" habit.  It will be hard, but I will try.  If you ask me for my opinion,

  I will say "What do you think?"

2.  I will spend more time outside.  Or looking outside, depending on the weather.  I live in probably the prettiest spot in Ozark County.  Yes, I am bragging.  I do concede that your place is probably just a pretty.  And I'll allow you those beautiful pictures of the lake, and the hill, and the flowers and trees.  We have so much beauty here I think it would be selfish not to share.

3.I will think of at least one thing I can do during the day that will benefit not only me, but others.  I need to get out and walk.  I need to write a letter.  I need to read a good book.  I need to do at least one thing that I have been putting off, until a better day.  Better day?  How about...today.

4. I will treat this year, this day, this hour as a gift.  There are dozens of sayings on this theme.  But that doesn't make it any less true.  Think about it.  I wake up in the morning.  I have food to eat.  I am able to take care of myself and my husband.  I can go out and enjoy myself doing things that I want to do.  What better gift than the life that lies before me?  That is my question.  I will be opening that gift for the next 365 days.  Stay tuned for my progress report.  

Happy New Year.