Indholdsfortegnelse for October - November 2016 i Country

NEW YORK Fantastic foliage surrounds Heart Lake at the base of Mount Jo in the Adirondacks. WYOMING Mount Moran in Grand Teton National Park looks even more majestic in fall. MASSACHUSETTS A cheerful collage of oak, beech, teaberry, maple and other leaves brightens up the forest floor in New Salem. ILLINOIS Plump pumpkins tempt shoppers at Miller’s produce stand in Bureau County. NEW HAMPSHIRE Even if you three-putt, you’ll score amazing views of the White Mountains when you tee off in Jackson. UTAH Sunlight filters through a stand of aspens on Boulder Mountain in the Dixie National Forest. READER PHOTO Ronald Draper BUFFALO, NEW YORK “In late October, my wife and I were blown away by the beauty of the Genesee River Gorge in Letchworth State Park.” Susan Grove GETTYSBURG,…

Animal Pals: Peep and Hannah Our Gypsy Vanner horse, Hannah, had never seen a chicken until we acquired Peep. When my husband or I head to the barn, Peep frequently accompanies us. On this occasion, Peep was jumping up and down beside me, chattering nonstop and just wanting attention. So my husband picked her up and put her on Hannah. Peep loved it and Hannah didn’t mind. Hannah now looks forward to Peep’s arrival, and she stands quietly while Peep pecks gently through her mane. It’s a beautiful friendship. Sandra Muller Selma, North Carolina One-Trick Mouser WHEN YOU OWN several acres and a big red barn, you inherit the critters that go along with them. A few years ago, my husband invited a feral cat to join the family…

Photography We appreciate a good picture around here. Our readers take adorable photos of country life. If you’re a shutterbug with images to share, send them to us. We might print yours, so please tell us a little about what’s going on in the photo. Themes we are looking for include back to school, birthdays and snow play. Local Flavor Country cooking simmers with yummy recipes, and we especially love any heartfelt stories behind them. Tell us about the cooks in your family whose meals always leave you wanting more. Or, let us know about a local restaurant that does down-home right. Please include photographs and a recipe if you’ve got one. What’s Old is New Again Do you find beauty in treasures from the good old days? Have you…

When times seemed to be at their very worst, you could call my grandma Ida Sands and ask her to pray about your dilemma. Your prayers were always answered. Grandma was the sweetest, most loving woman I ever knew, and she had a very strong faith. Several years ago, my sister Cheryl was diagnosed with cancer and needed a certain kind of platelets to pull her out of her ordeal. No one in the immediate family had her type, and our parents were too old to be put on the platelet-collection machine. The hospital staff looked time and time again but said they had no platelets that were a match. We were all very scared, but Cheryl told me not to fear. “I called Grandma today and asked her to…

I cannot imagine life getting any better than this! Laura Nych Though not getting old by admission, I’ve hiked many country miles and caught enough fish to be considered a fisherman. Spanning so many of those steps and trout was a covered bridge. This historic structure was not only a classroom for self-taught lessons in fly-fishing; my life’s best moments took place on the bridge and the Neshannock Creek. From the time I was a boy dangling my feet into a cool farm pond, fishing seemed as natural and necessary as breathing. I spent more time on the water than on land. Those who knew and loved me fully supported these passions, particularly my older brother, Nate. On my 18th birthday, Nate gave me an Orvis fly rod—a gift he…

Ask any Hoosier where God’s country is, and they will probably tell you it’s the Wabash River Valley of Indiana. The valley sits in the heart of the state, and the Wabash River flows through it. Thousands of years ago, the Laurentide ice sheet receded, forming moraines, bluffs, channels and some of the richest farmland in the Midwest. The Miami Indians called the river Wah-bah-shik-ki, which means “pure white.” They named it so because of the water’s clarity as it moves through Huntington County, where the river bottom is limestone. When French traders arrived in the 1700s, they called it Ouabache. English speakers transformed the name to Wabash. Because I’ve lived all my life in West Lafayette, one of the 22 cities and towns along the Wabash, I have always…

Visiting Millbrook Village is an autumn tradition for our family. Nestled in New Jersey along the Delaware River bank, Millbrook dates back to 1832, when a man named Abram Garis built a grain mill where the turnpike crossed the Van Campens Mill Brook. The village prospered until 1900, when the mill closed and folks left town. Today, Millbrook is part of the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area and is administered by the National Park Service. It’s not an exact replica of Garis’ Millbrook, but it comes close. In the 1960s, the Tocks Island Dam project prompted the re-creation of Millbrook Village. Some buildings were moved, while others were built on site. These structures include the grain mill, church, blacksmith’s barn, post office, one-room schoolhouse, barns, a few houses and…

Almost 20 miles from Columbia, Louisiana, on an unpaved road inside the eastern boundary of Jackson Parish, you’ll find Hickory Springs Church. Though regular services are no longer held and the building is preserved as a National Historic Place, the church is more than a distant memory to those who are dedicated to it. Established in 1841 as a Methodist Episcopal church, the original log building served the congregation as church and school, carrying on as a school into the 1920s. The “new” building was constructed in 1898 and is a perfect example of a turn-of-the-century country frame church. Today there may be fewer than 10 remaining churches of this type in northeastern Louisiana. Each year on the first Sunday in October, former church members gather for a reunion and…

Halloween night found us kids scurrying along the dark, heavily wooded roads. A full moon peeked around tall oaks and maples, sometimes illuminating the path before us, other times casting eerie shadows that both scared and thrilled us. Trick-or-treating was difficult around our rural Pennsylvania farm because of long walks between houses. Kindly local farmers knew this. Instead of a quick exchange at the door, they invited us in to warm up around the woodstoves. They fortified us with big helpings of homemade goodies and fussed over our costumes. The longest haul was along Hollow Road, from my house to the Kulp farm, but it was my favorite. In those days, though the road had no official name, we knew it as Hollow Road. Dad called it “Skunk Hollow” to…

I glimpsed a crooked tail waving at me as the squirrel disappeared through a hole chewed in the side of the pumpkin. A seed-infused strip of paper disappeared from my garden one summer. Days later, when I heard some chattering in the cedar tree, I looked up. A crook-tailed squirrel scolded me from its nest of tattered sticks, leaves and…seed paper. This was the year the critter claimed my yard for its playpen. Whenever I let the dogs into the yard, the squirrel teased them. The dogs would bark, the neighbors would complain and I’d move the dogs back into the house. This wasn’t entirely bad. The dogs got more walks, and I lost some weight. But the next summer, the antics escalated. My flower beds were under constant attack.…

I live in Porter, Minnesota, a quiet and friendly farming community with a population of less than 200 people. In 1984, our residents got together and volunteered their labor to build a nice cafe right along Highway 68, which runs right through the middle of town. This restaurant made such a difference in the community. But we had a hard time finding a good cook recently. After trying out a few people who didn’t work out, the cafe had to close, and our town just wasn’t the same. So a committee approached my daughter-in-law, Becky Noyes, to manage the Porter Cafe & Grocery. She said she would need a lot of help but decided to try it. First everyone thoroughly cleaned and scrubbed the cafe. Then we painted the kitchen…

The statistics of success aren’t runs and hits but rather bushels per acre. You may not think that baseball players and farmers have much in common, but their shared earnest wishes for a fruitful season make them quite similar. Tending to business in the offseason helps both of these professions achieve their dreams. Ball clubs use winter to make trades to fill up holes in their lineup. They might go after a powerful hitter or a strong arm in the bullpen. The groundwork is needed to produce a title in the fall. Farmers begin planning for the future while snow still covers the ground. They decide which fields will be planted and what soil needs additional work or fertilizer. Always thinking things through—along with a little extra help from Mother…

While other kids their ages dabble in video games, watch TV or text, brothers Jonah and Grayson Riddle write songs. Jonah, 17, and Grayson, 12—along with their dad, Benjie—form the bluegrass band Jonah Riddle & Carolina Express. They’ve performed at bluegrass festivals throughout North Carolina, appearing with such artists as Doyle Lawson and Ricky Skaggs. And they’ve played in the courtyard of the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. “They always put the Lord first, but this is what they want to do for a career,” says proud mom Bethany. The band was Jonah’s idea. He persuaded Benjie, who also plays the banjo, to learn the bass. Grayson is on guitar and sings lead vocals. Ever the showmen, the boys dress like their bluegrass idols Jimmy Martin and Earl Scruggs—in ties,…

Family Photo! “My 2-year-old grandson, Jacob, felt the warm, slobbery affection of the family dog, Samson, during an ATV ride with his parents, Bonnie and Jeremy Robillard,” writes Gary McKenzie of Kerrville, Texas. A Pair of Pups? My neighbor has a dog named Gus. He brought home another dog and named it—get this—Gus. I asked him why he wanted two dogs with the same name. He said, “So I can have asparagus.” Wendell Thede Shiocton, Wisconsin Any Car in a Storm We just had our first child, and the lack of sleep left me a little distracted. My husband parked the car at the pharmacy while I ran in. It was raining, so I hurried back to the parking spot, opened the door and sat down. I started to…

“My pet Pekin ducks love to play hide and seek in the hay bales,” says Kammie Reile of Beatrice, Nebraska. “This picture includes Shaq, Lulu and Jackie. During the day they have the run of the acreage and at night I put them away in the Poultry Palace.” Country readers what do you think? Come up with a clever caption that makes you chuckle and enter it online at country-magazine.com, or send a postcard to “If Only They Could Talk” at the address that’s in the Submission Guidelines on page 66. If we choose it, you’ll win a 1-year subscription to Country Extra! Congratulations to the winner from our last issue: Well, you gotta play it where it lies. Karen McGuire Shelton, Connecticut…