Sunday, July 10, 2016

It happened!

 
3 for him

2 for her
 
 
A light breakfast for a hot summer morning.  By 8 am we had moved to the front porch for coffee and breakfast. That sun felt like an iron running across skin.  Give me my cool mornings.   Crepes are easy to make and one of our favorites.  Today they were filled with peaches that had been canned from last August.  Time to get the jars emptied and ready for canning season.  I put the jar in the refrigerator last night so they would be nice and cold for morning.  While I was making crepes I drained the juice off and simmered it with a couple tablespoons of raspberry jelly reducing it to about half and making a light syrup to pour over the peach filled crepes.  A little whipped cream on top and there you have it.  Warm crepes, hot peach/raspberry syrup, cold peaches and whip cream, what a combination. 

Crepe recipe-in a bowl put 1 cup sifted flour, 1/4 tsp salt, beat in 2 large eggs, 1/2 cup of milk, 1/2 cup of water until smooth.  Heat a greased skillet and add 1/4 cup of batter turning the skillet to spread batter out thin.  Cook about 2 minutes and turn leaving for about a minute.  Stack the crepes as you make them and cover with towel to keep warm.  Fill with desire fruit, you can put a syrup over them or just whip cream.

I am now up to 3 bear sightings in the past week.  We were just discussing over coffee this morning that we haven't seen or heard of a bear around Cook'n by the Creek.  Off Dick went to "town" which is Shinglehouse.  As usual when he can he takes Quincy with him.  My job for the morning was to call PA 811 which is the place that sends the gas and electric companies out to mark their lines when someone is going to be digging for construction, etc.  It is a little time consuming with all the questions they ask.  About half way through the "interrogation" I said, just a minute there is a bear in my lawn.  Well that little city girl was yelling so loud.....don't go outside!   I'm sure Mr. Bear thought he was getting double teamed by two screaming women.  I was yelling "get out of here bear".  He was right by our front porch headed to the back lawn.  I stepped out on the back deck to stop him from going through the property to my..........chickens and horses.   He was not the least bit concerned and it took about 4 bursts of yelling and clapping my hands for him to turn around and lumber back to the hill and woods in front of our house.  By the time I got back to the gal on the phone she could not complete and sentence without saying, "my God, I can't believe this" .  She wanted to know if  I am scared to live around wild animals.  No, but I don't like bears or coyotes that close to our house.  We continued the reason I called and then she said, "I am going to highlight...............Beware of bears on the property.............  I can't wait to hear what the guys think of that warning considering they are local fellas.  So, there is the morning excitement for me. 

Our niece likes to walk the back road with her dog after work.  Last week she came upon a nice sized bear standing in the middle of the road.  She stopped, kept her dog close and then the bear made a funny grunt.  Out from the bushes came two little cubs.  That is not good.  The mama stood up on her hind legs and my niece turned around with her dog and ran never stopping until the got near home.  That mama bear could have done some something serious thinking her cubs were in danger.  A few years ago I read of a women and her dog being attacked on a walk path near Williamsport, PA. 

One thing to remember, they are wild animals, no matter how cute or fascinating we think they are they can be dangerous.  I am amazed at the number of people being injured or killed in Yellowstone National Park this year.  When we were there 6 years ago driving through we saw several cars pulled along the roadway.  There was a grizzly bear within easy viewing distance and a woman with a kid walking through the field to get a better picture!  Stupid and dumb is how we labeled her!  Thankfully Park Ranges came by and got on a loud speaker telling her to back away slowly immediately.  It took her what seemed like a long time to obey but obey she did.  I would loved to have listened to what the Ranges told her!  She deserved to be fined.  There are signs all over warning to stay away from all wildlife. 

About the rain, it didn't come on Wednesday  at 4 am like predicted.  Dick heard on the "Pig" (it's a radio station) that chances of rain Thursday and Friday are slim and probably not going to be.  As I type Dick is watering the blueberries, young maple tree, grape vines, tomato plants and flowers.  Corn leaves are curled, garden dirt is like brown powder and nothing seems to be growing like it should.  I picked a few more peas this morning along with butter crunch lettuce and some spring onions.  The farmers had a bumper crop of hay this year which will help immensely considering without rain the second cutting will be iffy.   Have you noticed what is always on my mind?  Rain

If the lack of ticks and fleas is a result of no rain, that is a huge plus and welcome.  Since the end of May not a tick or flea has been found.  I keep waiting thinking one of these days the hatch will happen and we will be on tick alert.

And then it happened.
Storm across the valley....reminds me of John Denver.


Then the wind started, the tree branches were bending with
their leaves fluttering in circles.  It happened.....rain!