Natural Designs Studio

Forgiveness is the fragrance the violet sheds on the heel that crushed it.  Mark Twain

I have a wonderful childhood memory of picking spring violets at my Great Aunt Sally's home.  As the grownups visited on the second story porch overlooking the yard, the children picked violets by the springhouse.  The stems were especially long which made them easy to gather.  Our saucer-size-bouquets required two hands to carry.  We must have entertained ourselves for hours to have gathered so many.  

  The wind destroyed the newly frame Allensville firehall.  

A late night fire demolished the A. J. Peachey business in Barrville.

Last Saturday was spent cleaning up the the destruction of wind at the Detwiler Farm.  Roofing and building material was blown across the fields and evident from Rt. 655.  They say trouble comes in threes!  Such was the case in Big Valley this past April.

Buggies, scooters, and carts filled with young Amish boys were heading for the fishing hole early this morning.  It wasn't long before they were coming back home trying to beat the storm clouds.

Oh the aroma of fresh baked bread!

When a customer said that her teenage boys liked to bake bread I asked for the recipe and decided to give it a try.  This bread is dense, rich in fiber,  and rather easy to make with consistent results. It makes excellent French Toast too!  

Oatmeal Bread Recipe

2 Cups boiling water
1 Cup quick oats (mix in large bowl and let cool)

l/2 Cup whole wheat flour
l/2 Cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp. salt
2 Tbsp. butter (Add these ingredients to warm oatmeal)


1/2 cup warm water
1 pkg. or 2 tsp. of dry yeast (Active yeast will bubble in water)

4 1/2 to 5 Cups flour

Pour boiling water over oats. Stir.  Add whole wheat flour, sugar, salt, butter to oats. Cool until lukewarm.  Dissolve yeast in warm water then add yeast mixture to batter. Add enough bread flour to make a smooth elastic dough. Place in a greased bowl and cover with damp towel. Let raise until double in size.  Shape into 2 loaves and put in greased pans.  Bake 30 minutes. Bread is done if a dull sound is heard when lightly tapped. Remove from pans.   Top with butter and cover with a cloth to cool.  Makes 2 loaves.

Early spring greens in the forest are mayapples and ferns.  Sometimes the mayapple is called 'umbrella plant'.  I have a mental picture from a childhood story book of a bunny under large mayapple leaves during a spring rain. The rhizome of the mayapple has been used for a variety of medicinal purposes, originally by Native Americans and later by other settlers.

Fiddlehead ferns refers to the unfurled fronds of a young fern. The rapid warm weather is prompting the ferns to open with only a few inches of stem.  The fiddleheads of certain ferns are eaten as a cooked leaf vegetable.  Over-picking fiddleheads will kill the plant.

Edible Weeds
Dandelion greens are one of season's earliest foods and a great spring tonic. The greens are gathered when tender before the flowers appear for both nutritional and medicinal properties. The leaves become bitter the longer they grow. Many folks enjoy dandelion greens with a Pennsylvania Dutch Hot Bacon Dressing over fried potatoes.

PENNSYLVANIA DUTCH HOT BACON DRESSING
l/2 lb bacon- fry, crumble and set aside

l egg, well beaten
l 1/2 Tbsp. flour
l/2 tsp. mustard
l/2 cup sugar
Mix well then add:

l/2 cup milk
l/4 cup vinegar
l/4 cup water

Mix together and bring all ingredients to a boil as dressing thickens - stir constantly - cool
Pour over washed greens topped with bacon and hard boiled eggs

Coltsfoot is the first  wild flower to bloom in the spring. It grows in very poor soil and often along roadways.  The flower blooms before the leaf appears.  This herb is used to heal a cough.  The finches pad their nest with the soft fuzzy stems.