Innehållsförteckning för September 2017 från Country Extra

PICKED FRESH It’s September, and the McIntosh, Gala and Granny Smiths are ripe and ready at Apple Hills in Binghamton, New York. applehills.com The Apples of My Eye My parents were migrant farm workers. Every summer, they drove this big truck from Arkansas to the tomato harvest in the Midwest. I just loved it when they drove back from Michigan and Ohio. Somewhere along the way, they picked these big, red, luscious orbs—the best apples I’d ever eaten. I can still taste them now. Before Dad returned the truck to whomever he had borrowed it from, it was parked in our yard. I’d scavenge underneath the benches and dig into every nook and cranny for all the stray apples I could find. I gobbled them up and…

I love driving down this country road in Somerset County. On this day, I shared the view of Compton’s Mill with a young Amish couple out for a ride. CAROL SAYLOR Meyersdale, Pennsylvania Angels in the Gristmill My father asked if I would go with him to his family’s old home place. Dad wanted to see if his father’s old mill was still standing. When we arrived, he paused to gently touch the hand-hewn logs and then entered the musty building. “It was my job to gauge how much corn fell into the millstones,” Dad said, showing where he’d stood. “More corn meant coarser meal.” We stared into the hopper for a moment before he added, “When poor folks brought their nubbin corn to be ground into meal,…

“ I gaze upon the endless horizon with a tinge of doubt. What a large piece of prairie for two small boys. Are we safe? Is this right? ” – JACKIE HOSTETLER We used to live in a busy suburb of Kansas City. I awoke to the steady hum of traffic on the road, mere feet from our front door. Car alarms and sirens lulled me to sleep for years. I ran to the market on a daily basis to purchase our groceries; a quick dinner was just a block away, with no planning or preparation needed. Nothing is far when you live in the city. Three gas stations were within a stone’s throw, and my house was just five miles from the hospital where I brought two…

Buffalo National River nps.gov/buff Buffalo River Outfitters buffaloriveroutfitters.com Ponca Elk Education Center buffaloriverchamber.com Buffalo Outdoor Center buffaloriver.com 1. BOXLEY VALLEY This is the best spot to observe Arkansas’ elk herd. Rutting season extends from mid-September until about mid-November. At its peak, bull elk bugle during mornings and evenings. buffaloriverchamber.com 2. LOST VALLEY TRAIL This 2.2-mile round-trip trail is popular and scenic in all seasons. Look for wildflowers such as rue anemone (top) in the spring, and don’t miss Eden Falls, which cascades over cliffs and then flows down into a cave. buffaloriver.com 3. TYLER BEND VISITOR CENTER The main national park visitor center, open year-round, includes useful information on outdoor recreation, the…

Unforgettable images of time spent on my grandparents’ farm in Mount Pleasant, North Carolina, fill my childhood memories. The house stood in the curve of a narrow dirt road, with lush woods and rolling green pastures wrapped around it. The front porch’s lazy white swing and rocking chairs invited a respite from the long day. On hot summer days, we sat on the screened back porch and my grandmother Etta Elizabeth Cox taught me how to churn butter. Like Tom Sawyer whitewashing the fence, I soon learned that churning was boring, and I would run off to the weathered gray barn a short distance from the house. When I got there I didn’t bother to saddle my favorite chestnut horse. I just climbed on her back and rode through the…

Critter Commotion As I was driving the other day, I saw a sign on a business that read “Whistlepig Alley Antiques.” It reminded me of an event that happened many years ago when I was living in the community of Granny Squirrel, near Andrews, North Carolina. While watching TV one day, I heard strange sounds. I tried to not overreact, but in my mind I thought it could be ghosts, or that maybe I was hearing things. The noise was the craziest high-pitched whistling sound. That went on for a week; then one day my landlord told me three groundhogs had crawled under the home. Now I know why Appalachian folks call them whistle pigs. Once you hear groundhogs "speaking," you will never forget it. GREG PASSMORE Bryson City, North…

A SPUR-OF-THE-MOMENT decision led to an experience of a lifetime! We packed our bags and drove across the monotonous dry plains of West Texas until we entered the lush green beauty of Hill Country and the Silver Spur Guest Ranch in Bandera. Tucked into rolling hills on nearly 300 acres, the Silver Spur’s iron gate opens onto a gravel road that winds through pastures of grazing longhorns and leads to a beautiful three-story ranch house. Off to the right, 22 horses wait to take the next aspiring cowgirl or cowboy over one of the many trails crisscrossing the panoramic hillsides. Boots thud across the wooden porch, past the chuck wagon dinner triangle they use to call everyone in for meals. And from the moment you cross the threshold, you are…

In late summer, when birds’ chatting is still loud and soft breezes soothe, nothing is urgent. I can sit in the yard serenaded by sparrows while the sun tans my faded complexion. My corner spot by the back porch must have been designed just for me 150 years ago. Years of simple bliss come with plenty of critter entertainment. A visit by a red-tailed hawk looking for his lunch isn’t my idea of a noontime show, but an amusing incident with a rather plump chipmunk definitely deserved an encore. The chipmunk didn’t see me, so he continued his exploration for food and maybe a mate. He sped over tree roots (these guys can really move) and bounced into planters still lush with summer blooms. When he spotted me, he stopped…

When I was about 6 years old, I asked Mrs. Ealy, my beloved Sunday school teacher, a question about the church service. “When the preacher says ‘tithes and offerings,’ what does the word ‘tithe’ mean?” Mrs. Ealy took 10 pennies out of her purse and explained that one out of those 10 belonged to God. Then my teacher added the words on which I have patterned my life: “Even a little girl can tithe her time. Strive to give 10 percent to serving others.” Each day thereafter I wondered what I could do for someone else. Living across the street from my school, I found it easy to tarry and offer to clean the blackboards and shake out the erasers. As an adult I continued my service, establishing a church…

“To me a lush carpet of pine needles or spongy grass is more welcome than the most luxurious Persian rug.” HELEN KELLER Whether they are planted for their beauty or for their nourishing seeds, sunflowers are adored. While roses represent romance, sunflowers represent happiness. These bright blooms are not so different from people, and we can all learn some valuable life lessons from sunflowers. 1. Just because you start out a certain way does not mean you will end up that way. A sunflower starts as a seed. It is small, not the most attractive color and gives no hint of special ability. But we all know these seeds will grow into beautiful flowers that contribute to our world by creating beauty, purifying the air and helping all kinds of…

OUR 4-OLD-GRANDSON Dustin’s favorite pie is pumpkin. So his granddad planted pumpkin seeds in the hopes that I’d have some to make pies for Dustin. The seeds produced big beautiful vines that died one by one as they bloomed. Regretfully we told Dustin, but we promised him we would get pumpkin somewhere and he would still have pies. Then one evening in late September my husband called me to come outside to see something. To my surprise, there in the tall weeds near the edge of the field behind our house was a big vine with one beautiful orange pumpkin! This was very strange because we hadn’t planted pumpkins anywhere near this field. While the others died, this lonely vine grew under the watchful eye of a loving God who…

CORN DOGS The origin story of corn dogs is as messy as your fingers after eating a funnel cake. Several people claim to have made them first, but Stanley Jenkins of Buffalo, New York, actually filed a patent in 1929 for an “apparatus in which a new and novel food product may be deep fried.” Jenkins went on to say that many foods, including wieners, could be “impaled on sticks and dipped in batter.” Dec. 7 is National Cotton Candy Day. FUNNEL CAKES This crispy, delicate treat is the result of pouring batter through a funnel into hot oil and deep-frying. Though funnel cake recipes appeared in medieval Europe, the Pennsylvania Dutch get credit for taking them mainstream during the Kutztown Folk Festival in 1951. Emma Miller, who had made…

It sounded like a great idea when I booked my trip: I would visit the Ozarks in Arkansas and paddle along the scenic Buffalo National River. But now, I stood at Buffalo River Outfitters in St. Joe as guides loaded boats, paddles and life jackets into a van, and my nerves kicked into overdrive. What in the world was I thinking? I had never sat in a canoe or a kayak before, let alone paddled down a river. It took all my willpower not to beg a ride back to my cabin. But I’m no quitter, and I couldn’t wait to spend a picture-perfect afternoon on the water under brilliant blue skies. As we stood by, watching, I chatted with a fellow writer and more experienced outdoorswoman, Danielle Taylor, who…

Kathy, our company’s receptionist, lived in the country. It was a 45-minute drive on a good day. More often than not, she was late, and the switchboard would be lit up and buzzing by the time she arrived. On one particular Monday morning, our CEO couldn’t get through to the switchboard for a conference call, and I had to tell Kathy that if she was late just one more time, I’d be forced to let her go. She promised she would be on time from that day forward. The very next day, Kathy didn’t show up until 11 a.m. I called her into my office. Tears rolling down her cheeks, visibly shaken, Kathy said she had a good excuse and asked me to hear her out. She lived on a…

We envision time on our bench on the bank, and warm spring nights spent relaxing to the songs of tree frogs and peepers as the golden sun settles beyond the Bristol hills. – LAURIE GIFFORD ADAMS If you want a surefire way to get to know your neighbors, we have an answer for you: Build a pond. That’s what my husband, Jim, and I discovered after hiring our Mennonite neighbor, Javin, to dig a pond for us. Jim, a volunteer firefighter for almost 40 years, was concerned about the lack of fire hydrants out in the country. Early on, his personal vision of our property included a pond as a water source in case of a fire. The spot we picked for the pond was always so wet…