Suddenly Summer

We waited a l-o-n-g time for spring this year in the Black Hills. I know a lot of you did, too.

But look what happened! We skipped over spring and went straight into summer!

Only four weeks ago, we were still in the grips of late winter/early spring. We took a trip with friends up to Spearfish Canyon and visited Roughlock Falls. Not surprisingly, we were the only ones there in light snow and freezing temperatures.

May 9, 2020

But we were thrilled to see the signs of the coming spring.

And only a month later, we are surrounded by green and beautiful flowers!

The perennial garden in front of our house is beginning to unfold. Since we moved into our new place at the end of the summer last year, every new flower bloom is a surprise.

This is what the garden looked like last fall:

Is it any wonder that I love seeing every new plant growing this spring?

And the wildflowers are beginning to bloom, too! In the front of our place (which doesn't face the road) we have this meadow-covered hill.

Almost thirty years ago, before our house was built, a forest fire passed through this area and destroyed most of the trees. As a result, we have a few tall Ponderosa pines around (which we love) and we get to enjoy this beautiful meadow. We often see a herd of deer grazing in the morning, or bedding down for the night. We're keeping a close eye out for fawns this time of year!

Those tree stumps are left from that long-ago fire.

And it's interesting that purple/blue are the wildflower colors for early June.

Will red, orange, yellow and pink show up later? Maybe...especially if I buy a packet of native wildflower seeds and scatter them through the meadow...


Another announcement is that Jack had a birthday on Saturday!

He's one year old now!

And Sam has discovered flies (aka, "sky raisins.")

How is summer at your house?

Jan Drexler is an author by day who is addicted to counted cross stitch and sauntering through the Hills with her dear husband and their puppies - goofy corgi Jack and growing-fast border collie Sam. You can find Jan's books and other fun things on her website: www.JanDrexler.com.

It's Finally Spring!

Spring has finally come to the Black Hills!

Jan here, taking you on a visit to Wind Cave National Park.

We went before the rain showers showed up late last week, so the grass is still pretty brown (it's last year's dormant grass,) but you can see the new green shoots in places, like in this prairie dog town.

No, those aren't prairie dogs...

This time of year, the bull bison hang out together in small groups while the cows are off in their own large herds having cinnamon-colored babies.

Isn't this guy impressive? He's filling out on the fresh green grass and shedding his winter coat. He's building his muscles, getting ready for the rut that starts in late July. But until then, it's wallowing in the dust, sleeping in the sun, and watching the occasional tourist.

We went hiking on this lovely spring day, and chose a trail we've driven past but have never hiked. No puppies this time, though. Dogs aren't allowed on the back country trails in the national park.

Our hike took us from the national park service road and trailhead parking lot, across rolling meadows (where we saw plenty of bison in the distance) and up to the top of this ridge.

We had topped the ridge and began walking down the other side, when we heard a sudden snort and scramble.

We had surprised one of those small groups of bull bison.

You never, never want to surprise a bull bison.

I zoomed in on one of them. See that raised head? Those ears turned our way? The eyes zeroing in on a couple foolish people who dared to invade his space?

We were at least 200 feet away from them (a safe distance is 100 feet,) so we turned around and walked back down the trail toward our truck, talking all the way so they could hear us leaving.

We didn't have any problems with them, but we didn't continue any farther along the trail. And I wouldn't even say it was a close call...but it could have been.

Later in the week we came across this guy walking along the road in Custer State Park.

As we got closer to him, the top of his shoulders reached nearly to the top of the window on our truck. I wanted to get a better picture of him on this narrow road, but as we drew up next to him, he turned his head, backed up a step, and looked at us with that huge, dark, intelligent eye.

And I got a very good look at the set of very pointy and very large horns that were tilting toward us menacingly.

No picture. No chatting. We just drove on by.

Man, those are formidable beasts.

But with all of this, we did get our first glimpse of South Dakota's state flower.

These are pasque flowers, or prairie crocus. They bloom around Easter every year (hence the name) and are so beautiful.

Closer to home, we have at least a dozen western meadowlarks nesting around our house. Their song is thrilling!

Turn the volume up!

Yes, spring is finally here.

Jan Drexler is an author by day who is addicted to counted cross stitch and sauntering through the Hills with her dear husband and their puppies - goofy corgi Jack and growing-fast border collie Sam. You can find Jan's books and other fun things on her website: www.JanDrexler.com.

Old Fashioned Strawberry Shortcake

Jan here, with an age-old problem.

Spring fever. Every year it hits me! Sometime in April I get antsy, watching for the first greengrass to appear.

Not green yet, but no longer winter-brown, either!

Watching for the orange baby bison (they have started arriving, but we haven't seen any yet.)

And longing for delicious spring foods - Asparagus! Rhubarb! Strawberries!!!

But this year...with everything that's going on with the virus and quarantines and short supplies in the grocery store...I'm going to have to wait.

Until then, enjoy this post I shared back in 2013. This is still my favorite strawberry shortcake recipe. I'll have to make some and top it with the frozen berries I keep on hand for my morning smoothies!

Old Fashioned Strawberry Shortcake

I must be coming down with a bad case of spring fever. The first symptom is a craving for strawberry shortcake, months before strawberries are in season.

It all starts with an innocent trip to the grocery store...and there...right in the produce department...it begins.

Oh, they're so beautiful! (I say)

But it's too early... (my pragmatic self tries a counter argument: reality)

I just want to smell them!

They're way too expensive... (my frugal self goes for the throat)

Look! They're on sale!

They're probably spoiled... (my pragmatic self tries again)

No! Look! They're beautiful! sniff...sniff... I can smell them through the plastic!

Every time you buy those, you're disappointed in how bland they taste... (that's the Mom me...I should learn to listen to her)

(But then I lay down the final blow...) I could make SHORTCAKE!!!!

.....and the strawberries jump into the cart!


And now I get to make shortcake :-)

My shortcake recipe came from my grandmother...but was never written down. You know the kind of recipe I mean: "Start with biscuit dough, put it in a pie plate, add sugar."

That's the way I always made shortcake, thinking Grandma's recipe was unique and wonderful.

Then I got married, and for Christmas that year my mother-in-law copied some family recipes for me. Imagine my surprise when I saw her mother's shortcake recipe!

It was almost exactly the one I had always used!

That's when I knew I had married into the right family - that, and the fact my mother-in-law loves chocolate as much as I do.

Maybe more.

And she raised at least one wonderful son (I only married one of them, so I can't vouch for the other three!)

Over the years I've taken Grandma Crumrine's recipe and Grandma Ebenhoeh's recipe, combined them, added a few touches of my own...and we have the perfect shortcake.

Strawberry Shortcake

Ingredients:
2 cups flour (either all-purpose or 1/2 all-purpose, 1/2 whole wheat)
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 cup sugar (you can substitute other sweeteners, or leave it out)
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, plus 1 Tablespoon butter (save for later)
2/3 cup milk


Preheat your oven to 325°.

Stir together the dry ingredients, then cut in the 1/2 cup butter (just like you're making biscuits) until the dough is crumbly. Stir in the milk.

Grease a 9" pie plate (or you can use a similar sized baking dish) and put in the dough. Pat the dough into the edges of the pan, and then dot the top with the 1 Tablespoon butter.

Last of all, sprinkle the top with 2 Tablespoons sugar or 1 teaspoon stevia or other natural sweetener.

Bake for about 25 minutes, or until the edges start browning and the center is done (I use the spring test - touch the center lightly. If it springs back, it's done.)



Now comes the best part.

While the shortcake is still warm, cut it into six or eight slices. Split the slice in half and layer quartered strawberries between the halves, replace the top, and then spoon more strawberries over the top.

What's that, you say? Whipped cream? Ice cream? No way!

You take a couple tablespoons of heavy cream (aka whipping cream) and pour it over the top, just like your farming grandparents used to do.

Heaven.

Or, at least it would be if this was June and the strawberries had some flavor.... I need to learn to listen to the Mom me.

* * * * * *

Yes, I definitely need to bake a batch of this shortcake!

Recipes like this one are memory triggers, aren't they? When I make this shortcake, I'm transported back to my grandmother's kitchen in Indiana. Windows open to the fresh air, flour sprinkling the red formica table, the heat radiating from the oven on one side of the room... Her many fruit trees blooming, Grandpa's bees buzzing, and the overwhelming fragrance of an eastern spring.

I'm so thankful for those memories of time gone by! And the opportunity to make new memories.

Like this ancient cottonwood tree.

Located on the Wildlife Loop in Custer State Park, this tree is amazing. It is growing next to French Creek with its roots in the damp loamy soil of the creek bed.

Every spring, I make sure we drive by this tree. It has withstood fires, drought, deer, elk, bison, insects, wind, blizzards...you name it. It has to be more than one hundred years old, but is isn't as tall as some of the big cottonwoods in town. Instead, it spreads out, with broken branches resting on the ground around it. (It reminds me of a big Live Oak tree from Texas!)

And every spring, before any green shows up, it's branches are tipped with gold. It reminds me of the Robert Frost poem, "Nothing Gold Can Stay." Be sure to look up this short poem to read it. The first lines are:

Nature's first green is gold, 

Her hardest hue to hold.

What are some of your favorite spring memories? And what new ones are you making this year?

Jan Drexler is an author by day who is addicted to counted cross stitch and sauntering through the Hills with her dear husband and their puppies - goofy corgi Jack and baby border collie Sam. You can find Jan's books and other fun things on her website: www.JanDrexler.com.

Spring and Spices

Missy Tippens

First, I wanted to share a little more spring with y'all. As I took a walk in our neighborhood yesterday, I snapped several photos. Hope none of the neighbors thought I was being weird photographing their houses!

Pansies are fall flowers around here, but they're still going strong this spring.

And here was my favorite.

I hope you enjoyed your walk through my neighborhood!

And a quick recipe to share. I decided to make hamburgers the other night and went looking for ways to perk them up. I found a website that shares a copycat Fuddruckers secret seasoning and decided to go for it.

I didn't exactly follow the amounts. I mixed together mostly paprika with salt, pepper, dark brown sugar, garlic powder and onion powder. (I skipped the cayenne pepper.) I made the patties first, then sprinkled this mix on both sides.

It gave the burgers great flavor! Hope you'll give it a try!

www.missytippens.com

Cuteness and Tranquility at the Ranch

Okay, so things aren't always tranquil when you've got little ones around.

They're busy. They like to help make muffins.

And take selfies with Grammy's phone.

They like to create.

But here on the ranch there's always someplace to escape and unwind, surrounded by nature's beauty. You know I love all the little calves. And this time of year, there are so many of them dotting the landscape.

Perhaps water is more your style.

Things are lush and green around the ponds.

I could sit here and drink-in this sight for hours.

Even little dogs like hanging out there. 

But this is one of the sights that thrills me most.

 There's something about horses.

IMHO, they're one of the most beautiful creatures God made. And watching them is very soothing.

Sigh. Now that we're all nice and relaxed, how about dessert?

That's a recipe for another day. In the meantime, what are you doing to escape this crazy turn life seems to have taken?

Three time Carol Award finalist Mindy Obenhaus is passionate about touching readers with Biblical truths in an entertaining, and sometimes adventurous, manner. She lives on a ranch in Texas with her husband, one sassy pup, countless cattle, deer and the occasional coyote, mountain lion or snake. When she's not writing, she enjoys spending time with her grandchildren, cooking and watching copious amounts of the Hallmark Channel. Learn more at mindyobenhaus.com.