Sunday, January 27, 2013

It Has Been a Busy Week

The past week was a busy one in our household.  I have said that sports and school play a huge part in our "country" lives and this week proves that.

We started the week with a journey to extreme north Mississippi and a trip to Corinth to begin our trek to State Championship.  The trip was a long one and the weather was extremely cold but, it was very much worth our time and effort.  The boys played together in a  way that is indicative of champions.  They started strong and finished strong pulling together a 6-1 victory over a good Corinth High School team.  That set us up to play again  yesterday.

FHS boys huddle up for prayer and  then  their pregame ritual chant to get them fired-up for the game against Amory. 
This time we were to play at home.  Our girls team had also won their first game with their second game  played here yesterday as well. They won against a good Lewisburg High Team advancing them to the North State Championship game.  When our boys got the chance to get on the field they were ready.  Amory brought a good team to play and scored first.  We bounced back and scored within a minute of their score.  We then scored again and kept them out of the goal for the rest of the game.  Our boys are playing a good Pontotoc High team Tuesday night here in Florence.  We are peaking at the right time of the year and our boys are hungry for a State Championship.  When they move past Pontotoc on Tuesday they will have their chance.

Since Monday, the weather has warmed up considerably and we have been experiencing almost spring like weather.  I have seen the occasional daffodil and iris blooming...almost a month too soon.  I haven't had the time for my standard walks in the woods so I have not taken many photos this week.

Yesterday I arose early and began chores.  I worked on small odd jobs and hauled hay for the horses and donkey.  They were appreciative of the big round bale.  We have been feeding them square bales and while they are more nutritious they prefer to be able to "graze" on the big bale all day long.  This year's overall mild winter has been easy on them.  They have lost almost no weight and look great.

Today I will be adding wood to the woodpile.  If we are lucky this will get us through the remaining cold weather.  I will be paying bills today...always a pleasure. But once that is done I will be able to relax about that for another  month or so.

I have been looking for a good used tiller so I can enlarge our garden this year.  I have big plans and hope that I will be able pull from my memory some of the gardening skills my grandfather and father taught me.  I am continuing to browse the seed catalogs and plan for the upcoming growing season.  We have been eating broccoli and collard greens from our covered gardens and soon we will be eating spinach, too.  This week I harvested the last of our cherry tomatoes and I have to tell you eating them was like tasting summer in the middle of the winter.

I need to go and begin the bill paying so I better get to it.

Until next time...John.


Saturday, January 19, 2013

An Easy Saturday

Today has been one of reading, taking a few photos and writing a few words. I have barely ventured out of the house except to survey the raised bed gardens and think about my spring plantings that will be here sooner than we know it. It is a great day for just enjoying life. I think I will keep doing just that.

Until next Tim...John

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Snow Falling in the Pines


This morning we awoke to snow falling in the tall, lanky pines around our home.  Though the temperature is not very cold the falling snow is beautiful.  Schools are closed and work is delayed for a couple of hours so I decided to post a few photos to my blog. 


As I said earlier, winter weather in the south is unpredictable.  Last week we were wearing shorts and tee shirts and this week boots, hats and jackets.  I love living in the rural south.  There is never a dull moment.

When I went outdoors to take some very early photos I could hear the call of a red tail hawk as it hunted over the new snow fall.  Just another day in the natural world.





Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Readers from Philippines



We have added readers from another Country.  Today I had visitors from the Philippines who took the time to a look at my blog and read a little about the country life we live. They dropped by http://acountryjournal.blogspot.com . That is 27 countries' citizens that have visited my blog since its inception. It is really rewarding knowing that people from all over the world are reading the words I am writing on this blog. 

Catch what I have to say by following me on Twitter @acountryjournal 

Thank you for reading what I write.  I hope you will share them with your friends and families.

United States
Australia
Bangladesh
Canada
China
Costa Rica
Czech Republic
Denmark
Egypt
France
Germany
Hungary
India
Jordan
Lithuania
New Zealand
Philippines
Poland
Russia
Romania
Rwanda
Slovakia
Sweden
Turkey
United Arab Emirates
United Kingdom
Venezuela

Until next time...John

Here is the address for you to pass along: http://acountryjournal.blogspot.com

Little Ever Done about the Weather

It is another rainy, cold January day.  It is amazing how different two weeks' weather can be here in Mississippi this time of year.  Mark Twain said, " A great, great deal has been said about the weather but very little has ever been done."  That is all too true.  That is enough about the weather for today.I am hoping that I will have a few minutes later in the day to take a short walk in the woods myself.

I don't know that I have ever mentioned it in this blog but I  am an avid reader.  Dre' sometimes thinks I am crazy (for many reasons) because I am often reading four or five books at a time.  I will read chapters from one book and switch for a short time to another one and then another.  Then if the mood hits me I change back to original book I was reading. Because of this, I often take as much as two months to  finish a book.  That won't be the case with the book I am reading now and honestly wasn't with the one I just finished reading.

Day before yesterday I started reading "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson. I got the book because one of my passions is hiking and have always had the dream of walking the Appalachian Trail.  This book is the story Bill's preparation and through hike up the AT.  I have hiked small portions of the AT here and there and armed with that small amount of knowledge and his words and creative writing style, I am riveted to the book's pages and can't wait until my work day is over so I can pick it up and dive back between the pages.  I will tell you more about the book as I get deeper into it but, let me tell you it is not what I expected.  I was expecting a book full of nature and all of the technical jargon and romance involved in hiking and backpacking.  His narrations are excellent and they make you feel like you are on the trail...that was expected.  What wasn't expected was how dang funny this book is.  I was in the bed reading, laughing out loud after only a few pages into the book.  I am about a fourth of the way through it and look with anticipation to the evening hours when I can get back to reading it.

 For now though, lunch is over and I have to get back to work.



Until next time...John

Monday, January 14, 2013

New Countries Viewing our Blog


We have added readers from another European Country and one from Central America.  Today I had visitors from Costa Rica and Slovakia who took the time to a look at my blog and read a little about the country life we live. They dropped by http://acountryjournal.blogspot.com . That is 26 countries' citizens that have visited my blog since its inception. It is really rewarding knowing that people from all over the world are reading the words I am writing on this blog. 

Catch what I have to say by following me on Twitter @acountryjournal 

Thank you for reading what I write.  I hope you will share them with your friends and families.

United States
Australia
Bangladesh
Canada
China
Costa Rica
Czech Republic
Denmark
Egypt
France
Germany
Hungary
India
Jordan
Lithuania
New Zealand
Poland
Russia
Romania
Rwanda
Slovakia
Sweden
Turkey
United Arab Emirates
United Kingdom
Venezuela

Until next time...John

Here is the address for you to pass along: http://acountryjournal.blogspot.com

Sunday, January 13, 2013

Nice Night For Comfort Food

A day that was warm and rainy went downhill fast as a strong cold front blew through our area this afternoon. I went from watching rain while sipping coffee on our front porch to seeking refuge from the cold and needing some real comfort food. What is more comforting than a hot Shepherd's Pie on a cold and rainy night? In my opinion, not much.

The pie I prepared was so easy and quick and our family enjoyed it so much that I thought I would share into with you.

Shepherd’s Pie Recipe

Prep time: 10 minutesCook time: 50 minutes

INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 lbs ground round beef
1 onion chopped
1-2 cups vegetables - chopped carrots, corn, peas
1 1/2 - 2 lbs potatoes (3 big ones)
8 tablespoons butter (1 stick)
1/2 cup beef broth
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Salt, pepper, other seasonings of choice

Preparation:

1 Peel and quarter potatoes, boil in salted water until tender (about 20 minutes).

2 While the potatoes are cooking, melt 4 Tablespoons butter (1/2 a stick) in large frying pan.

3 Sauté onions in butter until tender over medium heat (10 mins). If you are adding vegetables, add them according to cooking time. Put any carrots in with the onions. Add corn or peas either at the end of the cooking of the onions, or after the meat has initially cooked.

4 Add ground beef and sauté until no longer pink. Add salt and pepper. Add worcesterchire sauce. Add half a cup of beef broth and cook, uncovered, over low heat for 10 minutes, adding more beef broth as necessary to keep moist.

5 Mash potatoes in bowl with remainder of butter, season to taste.

6 Place beef and onions in baking dish. Distribute mashed potatoes on top. Rough up with a fork so that there are peaks that will brown nicely. You can use the fork to make some designs in the potatoes as well.

7 Cook in 400 degree oven until bubbling and brown (about 30 minutes). Broil for last few minutes if necessary to brown.
Yield: Serves four.

I hope if you try this recipe you will enjoy it as much as we did tonight.

Until next time...John


Seed Catalogs and Dreams of Spring Gardens

Egg squash photo  from
Gurney's
It is that time of the year here in Mississippi. The holiday season is over, we have begun thinking about Mardi Gras, daffodils and the coming warm spring days.  Winter is not long in our part of the deep south and while there is still a lot of firewood to bring inside and burn before we start planting our spring gardens, warm spells like the one we have had for the best part of this past week impel us to pull out the seed catalogs.  Yesterday's temperature high was in the upper 70s and though I love all that fall and winter bring, as soon as the holidays pass I find myself ready for spring, flowers and gardens full of fresh vegetables.

I still get seed catalogs in the mail and sit for hours browsing through their pages for the perfect seed varieties to fit our soil, climate and taste. While those catalogs provide me hours of entertainment and dreams, I am extremely aware of all of the seed and plant "catalogs" available on the internet. On the web there is http://gurneys.com/, http://parkseed.com/, http://www.burpee.com/ and scores of other purveyors of seeds that afford you the opportunity to not only browse and dream but do a little more research into the decisions that will lead to the purchases you will make.
Thyme photo from Gurney's

These catalogs and their www cousins on the internet are fulfilling their purpose...spurring dreams with images of warmer days, sunshine, green plants and me sitting on the front porch eating a tomato sandwich while drinking a tall, cold glass of ice tea. As I sit here on this rainy January afternoon that is a pretty good image to hold safely in my mind. As we get closer to spring...spring weather in our case here in the deep  south where spring comes weeks before the calendar says it does, I will write more about my progress in the area of gardening.

For now throw, I have to go and bring in firewood for the cold snap that is forecast for the week and then sit down with a cup,of coffee and my seed catalogs.

Oh yeah, catch me on Twitter @acountryjournal. See you there.


Until next time...John.
This is not my garden....just wish is was.






Saturday, January 12, 2013

A Week of Rain

I have been absent from this blog for the past week.  Even though we live in the country, I spend most of the week like everyone else working in a job in the city.  Jackson is just a few miles away but this time of the year the shortened light of day makes it more difficult to do many of things that we do around our home.  That means there is very little time to take photos to post in my blogs.
Add caption


Monday, my  old Jeep turned 180,000 miles.  It is 18 years old and I don't want any other vehicle.  It is a great old mode of transportation and I love it. I stopped on the side of the road to take this picture and commemorate the occasion.  On Tuesday I sat in my Jeep waiting to carpool into Jackson.  The photo of the rain on my windshield pretty much sums up the entire week. It has rained every day this week, even when it wasn't forecast to.

I photographed our front yard Wednesday morning.  The old saying "red sky in morning, sailor take warning" was exemplified by this photo.  The color in these two photos is exactly as it appeared around sunrise that morning. It rained almost all day.


 It rained almost all day just the natural signs had said it would.

The next day it rained again almost all day.  I did get out and walk during lunch and took a few photos of downtown Jackson in the rain.

Because of the warmer than normal weather we have had for the past week I have made the time during the day to take a few photos as I have walked around during lunch











The flip side of red sky in morning is "red sky night, sailor delight." Thursday night the sky ignited into  a molten red and from the rooftop of the garage at the building where I work was ground zero for folks photographing the spectacle with their cell phones.  Below there are a few photos of what I saw from the roof on Thursday night.








I guess that sums up the week.  It was days of rain., mornings and night
 of beautiful sunrises and sunsets and me enjoying every minute of every hour of the day.  

Until next time....John








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Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Sailor Take Warning

The old saying is "red sky in morning, sailor take warning. Red sky at night sailor delight." That adage is almost always true and I think it will be today. The day started with a glorious red sunrise that set the sky ablaze where the railroad tracks that bisect the land where we live disappear into the horizon. The temperature warmed to over 60 F today and it has become increasingly cloudy all day.

I am about to leave the house to watch a high school soccer match and I checked the radar and we will see rain before it is over. More than four inches of rain is forecast to fall before this rain passes so I am readying the ark just in case.

Until next time....John