Poetry

April Rain

by

Viney Wilder

The wild sweet rain of April spills

On golden - throated daffodils,

On garden wall and new green bough,

On earth fresh - turned before the plough.

It scrubs the pansy's small  shy face

And shines each blade of grass in place

To leave the springtime world aglow,

And lift my heart to walk tiptoe.

April

by

Sare Teasdale

The roofs are shining from the rain

The sparrows twitter as they fly

And with a windy April grace

The little clouds go by.

Yet the backyards are bare and brown

With only one unchanging tree--

I could not be so sure of Spring

Save that it sings in me.

Kite Flying

For my family, flying a kite was  a wonderful traditon for the month of March for my family. We made and flew kites from March until the early part of summer. As long as the wind blew I was out there with a kite running and watching it soar and dance in the sky. Making a kite meant spring was here, a well anticipated break from the freezing cold weather of winter in New York.

I found a web site that gives extensive directions for making three types of kites:

-Diamond kite—the usueal or traditona kites

-Delta kite—well decorated and colorful V shaped kite

-Paper kite—i.e. using brown paper bags to make a kite.

Paper bag kite: Make 4 reinforced puncture holes at the corners of the bag opening.  Loop 2 lengths of string through holes to support all 4 corners then pull down to one string for a handle.  To finish, decorate bag and add streamers.

This makes wonderful family activity. Just click on the link below:

http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Kite

Have fun!!

Date Chews-delicious and easy!

 

Date Chews

Courtesy of Raw Food Recipes

10 Medjool Dates (pitted - the softer the date the better!)

 

¼  Jar Raw Almond Butter (preferably smooth, but chunky will work too)

 

¼ Cup Shredded Dried Coconut (for rolling)

Flatten each date with fingers into a coin shape, or leave the date in its natural shape. Cover date in smooth Almond butter and then roll into shredded coconut and place onto a plate lined with baking paper.

Place into the freezer for about one hour to set and then refrigerate for a delicious caramel tasting ‘wholefood’ raw snack, or eat them straight up without freezing.

 

 

Fresh Mint Tea

I have a large mint plant in my herb garden that produced beautiful mint year round. It needs to be trimmed regularly, so I cut off several branches at a time and pull off the leaves.  Below is a recipe for fresh mint tea. I has a very different, mellow taste than tea steeped from dried mint. This is great on a cold day.

Fresh mint tea

In boiling water drop 5-7 large or 8-10 leaves to three cups of water. Boil for 1 minute, then let steep for 30 minutes. Add your favorite sweetener.

Note: fresh mint tea is sweeter than from dried mint so you may not need to add sweetener.

Family traditions

This is the time to bring out family traditions we treasurefor many years.

My family celebrates what we call First Night. It is the first Saturday in December when we put up our artificial tree and decorate the house. That night we keep the tree lights on, bundle up and sleep under the tree with the fireplace warming the room.

It is a wonderful way to celebrate the beginning of a special month.

November

Vegetarian Stuffed ACorn Squash

with wild rice and pecans

2 acorn squash, halved and seeded

1 (6 ounce) package dry corn bread stuffing mix

2 teaspoons butter

3 green onion, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 cup chopped fresh mushrooms

1 cup long grain and wild rice mix

2 sprigs fresh sage, chopped

2 cups vegetable stock or water

1 cup whole or chopped pecans (optional) 

 

	Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease 2 baking pans, and place the cleaned-out squash, cut sides down, into the pans. Bake in the preheated oven until barely soft to the touch, about 25 minutes.
	Make the stuffing mix as instructed on the package, and set aside.
	Melt the butter over medium heat in a saucepan, and cook and stir the onion and garlic until the onion is translucent, about 10 minutes. Stir in the mushrooms, and cook and stir until they give up their juice, about 5 more minutes. Add the rice mix and sage, and cook and stir the rice and vegetables until the vegetables begin to brown, about 5 minutes. Pour in the vegetable stock, stir to combine, cover, and reduce heat. Simmer the rice mixture until tender, 30 to 40 minutes.
	Lightly mix the cooked rice mixture with the stuffing in a bowl, and pile the mixture into the centers of the squash without packing it. Return the stuffed squash to the oven and bake until the squash are tender and the stuffing is hot, about 15 more minutes.   Serve with pecans on top.

The Headless Horseman

The Headless Horseman Pursuing Icabod Crane by John Quidor (1858)

Being a native of New York, the story of the Headless Horseman is a regular tale told during Halloween. There are many adaptions of the Washington Irving’s Legend of Sleepy Hollow, but did you know the original tale was a Celtic folklore. He was a headless Iris Fairy that rode a black horse. Whenever he stopped, someone died.

          Brothers Grimm had two versions, both featuring a headless horseman wearing a long gray coat, riding a large gray horse warning riders not ride or meet certain death.

          The American version is Geoffrey Crayon, Gentleman. He was a Hessian, one of 51 who were hired to suppress the American Revolution. He was killed, decapitated by an American cannonball during the battle of Chatterton Hill, Long Island, New York and was buried in a church yard.

One must wonder if he was buried with his own head or someone else’s?