Nature and Life Notes

Sugar (Cut-Out) Cookies

We moved to Pennsylvania almost 40 years ago and I discovered that the local tradition at Christmas is making a wide variety of cookies. Where I grew up in south Arkansas, we would make pies and cakes but I did not know about the Christmas cookie tradition. However, I gladly embraced the Christmas cookie tradition…

Multigrain Bread

While most people think of the day after Thanksgiving as Black Friday, for me it is “Cook the Carcass Day.” After enjoying the turkey on Thanksgiving Day, Friday means pulling the extra meat from the bones, placing the carcass in a big pot along with water, celery, onions and cooking for several hours. The result…

Making Pies in Jars

I first heard about baking pies in canning jars through a blog post from my local orchard. With a freezer full of summer fruit picking, and some empty jelly jars, I decided to give it a try. I searched online for additional information and found great directions at Our Best Bites. I headed to the…

Lehigh River Gorge State Park

In early October we spent a week on the Pine Creek and enjoyed the rail trails in northern Pennsylvania. We continued our enjoyment of the fall colors and rail trails in late October with a day trip to the D & L Rail Trail which goes through the Lehigh River Gorge State Park. The trail…

Favorites

My favorite month of the year is rapidly slipping away as I write this. October means cool enough for a sweatshirt but not bitterly cold, the summer haze is gone and replace by clear blue skies, grilling gives way to chili and soup, college football is in full swing (Go Southeast Conference!), and of course…

Early Education Twitter Updates

Do you tweet? Twitter is a quick way to communicate and stay up to date on news, events and other items of interest. I mentioned in a previous post that I coordinate a community wide school readiness initiative called PEAK. You can follow PEAK on Twitter @PEAKPartners for the latest information on early education for…

Tioga County in October

Pennsylvania’s Tioga County is a rural county that borders New York state. The county is full of beautiful scenery including: The Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania Abundant wildlife – bear, eagles, elk (largest herd in the northeast) State forest lands Farms dotting the hillsides Roads that include creek crossings Pine Creek Rail Trail Colorful seasons Covered…

Simple Apple Dumplings

Since I live in an area where apple dumplings are taken fairly seriously with apple dumpling festivals and apple dumpling queens, I hesitate to call this recipe apple dumplings since it is not the traditional apple and crust. This is a recipe I got at a family reunion and like a lot of “family reunion…

Pine Creek Rail Trail

We spent a week in the mountains of north central Pennsylvania enjoying the change of season and taking advantage of the great rail trails. Pine Creek Rail Trail in Tioga County goes through the Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania, is 57 miles long and runs along the Pine Creek. In the early morning, the mist rises…

Early Education Info and Resources

In my other world know as “work”, I coordinate a community wide school readiness initiative. The school district partners with community early learning programs and supports them to improve quality and engage families so when the kids arrive in kindergarten, they are ready for success. The initiative is know as PEAK (Pottstown Early Action for…

Apple Coffee Cake

I have been away from the blog for awhile as the business of work, summer gardening and general activity took precedence. Now it is September and in our area September means fresh apples from the many local orchards. I love the smell of apples baking and am always looking for a new baked good using…

Local Sightings

There is always something interesting to see as you drive round Lancaster County and the adjoining counties such as a farmer preparing his fields for planting. Or a Mennonite woman heading down a county road on her bicycle… Or a covered bridge… Or corn starting to grow in a field… Or a peaceful stream at…

Blueberry Coffee Cake

It will be another month or two before our local blueberries are ready. But while we wait for our local berries, here is a recipe that uses fresh blueberries (or you can use frozen berries) that is good as a dessert or as a coffee bread. Blueberry Coffee Cake 1 large egg 1/2 cup milk…

Understanding

“Don’t worry about what you do not understand…Worry about what you do understand in the Bible and do not live by.” ~Corrie Ten Boom

Wandering the Country Roads

I spent some time last weekend driving around the countryside and enjoying the farms and the scenery. After the drabness of winter, it is so wonderful to see all of the “green” and the farmers working the fields once again.

Gardening in the Woods

One of the challenges of living in the woods is that it is difficult to find a spot that has enough sun for growing vegetables. This year we decided to try raised beds in a clearing up the hill from the house. My husband and son built two beds and we have planted tomatoes, peppers,…

Photo Blog

Earlier this year while reading some updates from WordPress about photo blogs, I thought “Why not?” I decided to set up another blog to feature photos as another way to focus on improving photography skills. The nice thing about photo blogs is that they do not require writing – just posting photos. Some of the…

Great in All the Earth

“Great in all the Earth is Your glory oh God The universe declares how amazing You are Over history, and eternity, You alone are Lord and King” ~Great in all the Earth – Starfield

Rural Church Tradition

I grew up in rural southeastern Arkansas and lived way out in the woods. The small church I attended until it disbanded was also way out in the woods but only a couple of miles from our house. Although the church stopped being active many years ago as the families who once lived in the…

Broccoli Slaw

With the beautiful weather, we are taking advantage of the grill for many of our evening meals. Looking for something to go with our pork kebobs, I remembered broccoli slaw. It is easy to prepare ahead of time and provides a crunchy and chewing contrast to the grilled meat. I enjoy a little “tang” in…