Indiana Roadsides

Jean Hughes
January 22, 1996

Yesterday evening, just before sundown, a red sun shone through ice-covered tree limbs and caused panoramas of color to blink through the woods. No flower garden of summer could hold more beauty than a radiant sun reflecting on crystalline-glazed trees.

This morning, it snows softly in the sunshine. Bushes and trees are laden with snowflakes that cover the sheets of ice.

I am fascinated by snow, and this week I learned about a very interesting man. From the time he was a little boy, he loved snowflakes. As he grew older, he took thousands of pictures of them. Many of his pictures were published in the book, "Snow Crystals."

Life is often favored by someone who has insatiable curiosity and love for a certain facet of nature. Wilson Bentley gave us a record of the beauty of snowflakes, a gift from a real snowman.

It is the ability to make simple dishes taste good that designates a talented cook. This is my mother's recipe for a holiday dish. She always had something red and something green on the table, and sweet indulgences were allowed.

Flora's Stewed Tomatoes

Bring to boiling: 2 cups canned tomatoes.
Add: 1/4 cup butter, 1/4 cup sugar and 1/8 t. salt.
Cook together until sugar and butter melt.
Add: 2 slices bread, pulled into small pieces. 
Cook until thickened. Serves 4.

Under a new moon, owl hoots echo through the hills. I love to try to mimic birds and animals, and when I learned that the screech owl's shivering cry would bring small birds in the daytime, I began practicing. Today, I walk to the creek to try my luck.

I walk in the snow on the frozen creek bed. Winter is my favorite time on little creeks. The snow is untouched, except for trails of small woods folk. Protected from the wind, the creek is a warm spot on this cold day.

From a secluded place, I call the screech owl's descending, quivering notes, over and over.

"Give up," I finally tell myself, but at that moment one small bird comes swooping so low over my head that I can see his underfeathers clearly. It is a red-breasted nuthatch, one of the birds that respond to screech owl calls in the daytime. I am elated! I am getting wilder by the minute!

I give a bit of advice: Do not begin to call birds unless you are prepared to become addicted. It is so much fun. I feel I am being lured by the wild. I have to control myself, and not call too often or I will become a pest to my feathered friends.

As I climb back home, I take a couple of tumbles in the snow, but I am short and am wearing thick layers of clothing, so I do not fall far nor hard. In the field, near the road, flocks of birds swirl along the woods' edges. Friends who are walking along the road stroll on and the dogs tag after them, but I linger.

Slowly, I creep toward the woods, then stoop and wait. I raise my binoculars and see juncos and tree sparrows by the hundreds. They fly near and stop in bushes not 10 feet from me. They zoom back and forth, low over my head. I can hear their constant conversations and signalings. They encircle me. What a delight!

The dogs have backtracked, and as they come running, they flush the birds who whirl up and surround me. They are as thick as a swarm of bees. As wings flash, I feel as if I am flying with my feet on the ground.

Coming To Winter

     I wish the earth would speak to me and tell me when to fly,
     Or when to dig into the ground and sleep the cold winds by.
     I wish I had the ears to hear the call to north or south.
     And how I wish to understand words from my small creek's mouth.
     I wish I knew the songs of wind, that I could read sunbeams.
     I wish I could decipher what a hill and valley dreams.
     I stand, uprooted, on the earth, held by gravitic strings,
     And I would be a prisoner, but my quick heart has wings.
     Now, I have come to winter with a wish to feel and know,
     And I have learned that spring is being written under snow.

Jean's book of ramblings and recipes "A Country Mile of Winter" and her book of poetry "The Earth's My Home" are available for $4.95 each plus $1.30 for postage and handling. Ten of Jean's favorite recipes will be included free with each book ordered. Order from...

Country Mile Publications
2861 CR 168
Millersburg, OH 44654

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