MAGIC SEASON

MAGIC SEASON



Autumn sprinkling gold dust,

magic slips into the mountains.

A wedge of honking geese

cuts through cobalt skies.



Golden rod nod their heads,

breath of fall on my cheek.

The air smells like apples,

autumn sprinkling gold dust.



Star-studded asters hug

the banks of Hyatt Mill Creek.

A doe and twin fawns appear,

magic slips into the mountains.



Corn shocks rattle their fingers,

a pumpkin pie baking.

Maple burns like Moses’ bush,

a wedge of honking geese.



Light spins a kaleidoscope

through the patchwork of trees.

Thousands of monarch butterflies

cutting through cobalt skies.

--Brenda Kay Ledford

TRACTOR PARADE

A tractor parade was held in the mountain town of Hayesville, NC on Saturday, September 28.  More than 50 tractors putt-putt-putted around the square on this splendid fall day.  The Clay County Tractor Club sponsored this fun-filled event that honored farmers and agriculture.

This is Ronnie Smith, a farmer who lives on Downings Creek.  He formed the Clay County Tractor Club in memory of his son, Dwight, who was run over by a tractor and killed many years ago in Clay County, NC.

This huge machine is a combine that farmers use to cut corn.  Hub Cheeks owns this John Deere.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH

Wendell and Eula Mae Moore brought their produce to the Farmer's Market in Hayesville, NC last Saturday.  They loaded their pickup with a fall harvest.  The old-fashioned butternut squash grabbed my attention.

Wendell said they had never raised butternut squash until their son, Phillip, suggested they plant it.  The crop thrieved on their farm in Tusquittee.  They made a wise decision.  Wendell said they sold 50 butternut squash on th townsquare.  I bought some before they sold out.

I recall when I was a child, my mama made butternut squash pies from scratch.  Back then she baked on a woodstove in a hot kitchen.  I can still taste that delicious dessert.  Here's Mama's favorite squash pie recipe:

SQUASH PIE

1 cup squash, cooked and mashed
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. cinnamon
3 T. self-rising flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs, well beaten
1 cup sweetened condensed milk
1 9-inch unbaked pie shell

Mix squash, nutmeg, cinnamon, flour and sugar.  Add eggs and milk; mix thoroughly.
Pour into pie shell.

Bake at 350 degrees 40-50 minutes or until done. 
Yield:  6 servings

I didn't realize how much time it would take to make a squash pie from scratch.  Fortunately, Mama supervised each step of the baking.  Now I know how hard the old-time mountain women worked to prepare food for their families.

If you should decide to use this recipe, you might need to bake the pie longer than the time indicated in the recipe.  I had a hard time getting the pie done.  Sometimes I think maybe it's the weather that makes the difference or the temp. of your oven.  You will need to judge for yourself when the pie looks firm and done.

The pie tasted good with vanilla ice cream.  You could also put Cool Whip on each slice of pie.  Some folks just like the pie plain.  Anyway you like to serve it, I sure hope you will enjoy this fall recipe. 

  

WHITE SQUIRREL

The whimsical creature scampers
like a white cloud
at the breath of dawn
through the inner city trees.

Like a white cloud,
he brushes the dew
through the inner city trees
flickering in the light and shade.

He brushes the dew,
foxgrapes crisscross a rock wall
flickering in the light and shade,
only the shriek of a blue jay.

The ghost of autumn appearing
at the breath of dawn
amazes the sightseer--
a whimsical creature scampers.
                       --Brenda Kay Ledford

Brevard, North Carolina is a sanctuary for the white squirrels and they are protected by city ordiance.  Two squirrels escaped from a circus years ago and these whimsical creatures occupy the inner city trees today.

MAJESTIC MULBERRY TREE

Ranger Jason Guidry and Don Schneider pictured with the largest red mulberry tree in North Carolina.  Schneider owns the tree and received a certificate from North Carolina Big Tree Program in 2012 for his outstanding tree.  (Photo, courtesy of CLAY COUNTY PROGRESS).


A special tree,
you tower above the forest,
catching sunlight with
heart-shaped leaves.

More than an ornament,
you amaze our state
with your unusual size
and grace a century.

You lift a 69-foot crown,
toss your hair in the clouds,
offering milky white sap,
and cradle baby birds.

You hold a piece of history
in your wrinkled hands:
windstorms, fires, floods.
Your feet cleave to Clay County.
                   --Brenda Kay Ledford

Don Schneider lives off Tusquittee Road in Hayesville, NC in a historic home built by Captain Moore during the Civil War.  His majestic mulberry tree is located behind his home. 

FEEDSACK CLOTHES

This is my mama, Blanche L. Ledford, wearing a feedsack apron and old-fashioned clothes.

In the mid-19th century, heavy canvas or linen feedsacks replaced many barrels and tins and transport of flour, animal feed, and other bulk goods.  The invention of the sewing machine patented by Elias Howe in 1846, made these bags practical for repeated use.

Blue Ridge Mountain women took advantage of this source of free fabric and turned the feedsacks or floursacks into dresses, rag dolls, dishrags, or aprons.

My mother made aprons from floursacks.  She even created dresses for my sister and me from this fabric.  I recall a pretty, pink-flowered dress she made on her peddle sewing machine.  I wore it to school.  My classmates also had floursack or feedsack clothes.

BIRDS MATTER

The songs and colors of birds fascinate me.  I enjoy watching ruby-throated hummingbirds drinking nectar at a feeder.  Their acrobatic dances and wings rotating like helicopters amaze me.

Birds inspire poets and wordsmiths.  One of my favorite poems is:  "Be Like the Bird," by Victor Hugo:

Be like the bird who

Halting in his flight

On limb too slight

Feels it give way beneath him,

Yet sings

Knowing he hath wings.

The lovely songs of birds also inspire composers.  I love the hymn, "On the Wings of a Dove."  Another favorite is, "I'll Fly Away."

Our feathered friends also inspire painters, craftspeople, and photographers.  Quilters even create patterns after birds such as:  "Turkey Track," "Ducks and Ducklings," and "Flying Swallows."

I know my blogger friends who are very talented, can add other quilt patterns created after birds.

Besides inspiring quilters and artists, why do birds matter?

According to Nikki Belmonte, education coordinator, for the Atlanta Audubon Society, birds matter because:

They help disperse seed

They pollinate flowers

They clean-up dead animals

They are ecosystem engineers

They help control pests and insects

They indicate what's happening in the nature world

What can we do to attract birds?

Birds must have food, water, shelter, and nest sites.  Many of my blogger friends have bird feeders and take beautiful photos of birds.

These are great ways to provide sources of enjoyment and important connections with the natural world.

Birds Matter!