Indiana Roadsides

by
Jean Hughes
October 2, 1995

All of the life in the hills knows that it is fall. Each day the trees are brighter than any memory. The titmice, who seldom come to the feeders in the summertime, are visiting regularly now. I hear them whistling to each other, but they only fuss at me. Not so with the chickadees. They chirp their exuberant greetings every time I come out the door. If they are not happy fellows, they have me fooled.

Apple Time is here, Some like them tart and crunchy. Others like them sweet and mellow. I like them crisp and juicy. I love the sound a crisp apple makes when I bite into it, but some apples only find their true glory when they are baked in a pie.

Mrs. Ashcraft's Apple Pie

Prepare pastry for a one-crust pie.
Place pastry shell in a pie pan.
Core, pare and slice: 7 large, tart apples.
Spread half of slices in the pastry shell.
Combine: 1/2 cup sugar, 3/4 cup gingersnap crumbs, 1 T. flour, 
1/2 t. cinnamon, 1/8 t. salt, 1/2 cup chopped walnuts and 
1/4 cup butter.
Spread 1/2 of this mixture over the apples in the shell.
Add remaining apples. Top with remaining crumbs.
Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes.
Heat to boiling and pour over pie: 1/3 cup maple syrup.
Bake for 15 minutes.

This morning my dog Bal greets me with bounds of joy. She feels the glory of the day, as I do. She yodels and yodels, rolls over and over, grabs a stick and flings it into the air. Dear hearts, that is telling it like it is.

* * * I walk my road many times a day, now, because each hour lights up another group of trees. Each day the sunlight is a little different. Each day I think it cannot become more beautiful. But the next day, it does!

Along the roadsides and in the woods in my valley, a small tree grows whose scientific name is euonymus atropurpureus, but the Native Americans called it the wahoo. It is for this tree that my farm is named -- Wahoo Valley Farm. In the spring, the tree is covered with tiny purple-red blossoms, and in the fall, the leaves turn a beautiful, pale, orange-pink. The seeds hang in small bunches. Each orange-rust seed wears a brilliant pink, four-cornered pod-hat.

Early pioneers called this tree the burning bush. When the sun shines through its branches, as it does today, I can understand why. It looks aflame!

It is a miracle to me that nature, with its complicated and magnificent plan of balance, found a place in its scheme for one more small touch of beauty -- the wahoo tree.

* * * Every day nature puts on her drama. The price of a ticket is my time. Today the play is dramatic. Children skip and run, mules race around the pasture, cows kick up their heels and lambs frolic. I would do cartwheels around the yard, if I could. Maybe the animals feel as I do. Maybe they, too, feel that the world runneth over with the joy of being alive, and feel they will burst if they do not find some movement to express it.

* * * Tonight, as I ride through the multi-colored hills, I realize how much a part of me is connected to trees. It must have been born into my bones to love to have the oaks and sassafras, the maples and hickories, and the beautiful white-limbed sycamores around me.

The sunset is a panorama of pinks and blues. It has been with me for almost an hour. Now, the clouds turn a deep purple-gray, that color that is unique to autumn sunsets. When the last light fades, the evening star appears, and then comes a hazy moon.

As I near my journey's end, a feeling of contentment comes over me. I am near the hills that I love. As I drive down my lane, peace creeps into my heart. I am in the little niche where I belong; I am in my spot; I am home.

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. Her nature letter "Diary of a Back Yard Naturalist", published 5 times yearly, is available for $12.50 per year. Ten of Jean's favorite recipes will be included free with each book or nature letter ordered. Order from...

Country Mile Publications
616 E. Monroe St.
Delphi, Indiana 46923

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