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I Never Unpack

Monthly Archives: May 2017

Evanescent…That One Moment, That One Time

25 Thursday May 2017

Posted by slvrhawk2014 in Photography, Weekly Photo Challenge

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photography, Weekly Photo Challenge

There are so many moments that you will have just one time, and in one place. Next time you return, if you do, it will be different…the light will change, the mood will change, the family will change, and so will you. You will look at the same place differently than ever you had before, and you will never look at it the same way ever again.

These moments in time are unique, they are special, often they are important…and for these many reasons I never leave the house without my camera…

I do not know what caused these geese to line up, all in a row as they did on this particular gloomy winter day…but I love that they did!

I love catching butterflies…they do not stay in one spot for too very long…

And always, the hardest moments for me come when we are visiting any one of our children, and it is time to say good-bye. So when I have the opportunity for one more moment, to enjoy one last beautiful site…I am going to take it and I am going to cherish it…and all our kids know that!

In response to the Weekly Photo Challenge

 

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Heritage-Handed Down

23 Tuesday May 2017

Posted by slvrhawk2014 in Weekly Photo Challenge

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Weekly Photo Challenge

Inside Independence Hall in Philadelphia

Heritage is what we hand down from the past. In America, we hand down to our future generations the ideals written down in a rather small, somewhat dark, and very hot in summer, room in Philadelphia. They are lofty ideals, those ideals written into the Declaration of Independence, those beliefs in freedom and justice, what we are taught as our rights to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”.

After returning home from a trip to Philadelphia a few years back, I was struck by a picture of Independence Hall that I had taken. I was disappointed standing on the lawn attempting to get that perfect picture of that perfect building representing everything this nation stands for. But I could not get that picture, there was too much in the way.

And then it dawned on me…it was the perfect picture!

 

There it is, that building from history where it all began. In front of Independence Hall were people going about their daily lives. The building, itself, had a cloth draped over the lower part of its dome as repairs were being made. And in the background is our new America, the one of skyscrapers and progress, business and busyness. My picture showed my living nation.

And so we find ourselves in 2017 with new questions and new challenges in a country we believed had all the answers. Well, we don’t…but this picture encourages me to believe that we may still go about our daily lives while we continue to work to repair our mistakes. We can still strive, not to be bigger and more powerful, but to be a better nation and a better people.

I guess as I look at the picture of Independence Hall, I realize how much I believe in this nation, and its ability to live up to its lofty ideals…even if sometimes we really do fail miserably. And the heritage I pass down to my children will be theirs to pass down to a newer generation…and a newer generation…for, I pray, a very long time to come.

In response to the Weekly Photo Challenge.

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Reflections One Morning in Arkansas

16 Tuesday May 2017

Posted by slvrhawk2014 in Arkansas, Nature, Photography, Weekly Photo Challenge

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Arkansas, Nature, photography, Weekly Photo Challenge

Not so very long ago, we visited one of our daughters at her home in Arkansas. On our way home we spent the night at Petit Jean State Park. What a gorgeous place!

In the morning, before our final leg home, we went down to the lake to watch the sun rise. It was a great way to end a great trip, and reminded us to reflect on the importance of the time we take to spend with family, as we viewed the beautiful reflections of sunrise on the water.

In response to the Weekly Photo Challenge: Reflecting

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A Midwestern Garden of the Gods…and Grandma’s Stewed Tomatoes

16 Tuesday May 2017

Posted by slvrhawk2014 in Food, Illinois, Photography, Side Dishes, Travel

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Food, Illinois, photography, Travel

Garden of the Gods Wilderness Area

When people think about the Midwestern state of Illinois, the terms “flat”, and “corn fields” are likely to come to mind. Or perhaps one might think about its largest city, Chicago, or even its most famous native son, Abraham Lincoln, the sixteenth President of the United States.

But there is another Illinois, down in the southern tip of the state, where the terrain and its beauty will amaze you. The Shawnee National Forest encompasses the southeastern tip of Illinois, and it is in the national forest you will find the Garden of the Gods Wilderness Area. The wilderness is a place of ridges, bluffs, canyons, and some of the most interesting rock formations I have ever seen.

More than 300 million years ago, this part of the nation was covered by a huge inland sea. As rivers brought sand and mud into this sea, the sand and mud settled along the shorelines, and with increasing weight and pressure, created thousands of feet of sandstone. At some point in time there was an uplift, and this sandstone was exposed to the forces of wind and rain. Because each of the layers of sandstone that had formed had varying mineral content, ribbons of color were exposed as the sandstone weathered. When I saw them for the first time I actually thought they might be petrified wood, but they are solid rock and they are beautiful.

The rock formations are called “hoodoos”. A hoodoo is a rock formation that has been carved and formed by the influence of ice as well as normal weathering. When melted snow falls into the cracks and crevices of rock, it will refreeze as temperatures drop at night. Ice takes up 10 % more space than liquid water, so the crack widens and rocks crack in new places, creating new shapes. As I read in one reference, if you understand the science of a pot hole, you will understand the science of a hoodoo.

There are many hikes, of many lengths in the wilderness. The easiest one, the one that will give you a good overview of the area and its many interesting formations is the Observation Trail.

The Observation Trail is an accessible trail that is a one quarter mile loop laid with flagstone. It is an easy trail to walk, with no climbs or obstacles…well, the one obstacle is staying on the trail, because you want so badly to get off the trail and onto the rock outcroppings…don’t, many of the drops are 100 feet or more.

I took so many pictures as we walked the Observation Trail…a one quarter mile long trail that took us over an hour. It provides truly amazing views of a truly amazing place…

Many hoodoos have a “totem pole” appearance.

This rock formation is called the Devil’s Smokestack.

It took all my willpower…and a husband that was constantly at my elbow…to keep me off that ledge for a better look!

About twenty-five miles south of the Garden of the Gods, you will come to Cave In Rock State Park situated on the Ohio River. We stayed in one of their cabins as we explored the southern Illinois area. We had a great view of the river, and the river traffic. We had that awesome view of the river any time of the day, as seen in the photos below. It was a quiet, beautiful place for a week-end stay, and a terrific base for all our explorations.

DSCN1087
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I hope you have an opportunity, at some time, to visit southern Illinois…you will get a much different view of this state in the middle of our country.

Grandma’s Stewed Tomatoes

I spent a lot of time at my grandparent’s house when I was a little girl. After my grandfather passed away, my grandmother, who was raised in southern Illinois, moved into our house. One of the things she would always make, whenever my mom needed help in the kitchen, was a side dish of stewed and breaded tomatoes. I loved them, and I still do! Not only are they yummy, but they also bring back great memories.

I grew up within the Detroit city limits…it was, by the way, a terrific place to grow up. Every summer my dad would pack the four of us kids and my mom into the car, and drive out to one of the truck farms outside the city to pick tomatoes, or beans, or corn…or whatever was in season. We would also go out to the orchards to pick bushels and bushels of apples, peaches, and cherries…lots of those cherries never made it into a basket, and we never wanted supper after we were done picking.

Then it was back home, and mom and dad, with the help of my grandparents, would can all that produce….jars, and jars, and jars of good things to eat all the coming winter. All those jars of tomatoes became wonderful bowls full of stewed tomatoes, or went into soups and big pots of chili. I do not go out and pick tomatoes, but I do go out to the farm and buy a couple bushels of tomatoes each year to can and put into our soups and our tomato dishes. It feels like I am keeping all the good memories alive!

Grandma's Stewed Tomatoes

  • Servings: 4
  • Time: 35 minutes
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Ingredients

  • 4 Tbsp. butter, divided
  • 3/4 cup thinly sliced onion
  • 2 Tbs. flour
  • 2 pint jars of home canned tomatoes, or a 28 oz. can of tomatoes from the store, chopped
  • 1 Tbsp. sugar
  • 3 slices of toasted home-made wheat bread, or any bread you would like, torn or cut into 1 inch pieces
  • salt and pepper to taste

Directions

  1. Melt 2 Tbsp. butter in your grandmother’s old cast iron skillet…well, any skillet will do, I just happen to have my grandma’s frying pan.
  2. Saute the onion until translucent, then add the remaining butter.
  3. Add the torn toast and stir to mix.
  4. Stir in flour, and cook for 3  minutes, stirring constantly.
  5. Add the tomatoes and sugar and simmer for 15 minutes.
  6. Season to taste.

Enjoy!

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Danger! On the Edge

05 Friday May 2017

Posted by slvrhawk2014 in Missouri, Nature, Photography, Weekly Photo Challenge

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Missouri, Nature, photography, Weekly Photo Challenge

Missouri is called the “Cave State” in recognition of the fact that we have, within our state borders, 6,400 caves. Some of them are very large, and some of them are very small. Some of them are tourist attractions, and some of them are too small and narrow for even the most dedicated spelunker to find his way into. But all of them are a feature of Missouri’s karst geology.

Caves develop when underground water dissolves the underlying rock. In the case of our area, it is limestone and dolomite rock that is dissolved. And if that underground cave gets close enough to the surface…well, the surface is going to “cave in”, forming a hole in the ground. That hole is called a sinkhole.

The picture above is of Slaughter Sink, just outside our town. At a quarter of a mile wide, and 160 feet deep, it is one of the largest sinkholes in Missouri. One of its features is a promontory on which you can stand and look…seriously, don’t look down…look across, or around, but don’t look down!

I have been to Slaughter Sink one time, and I stood on that promontory…and, seriously, I did not look down! DANGER!

But I do have to admit I enjoyed that one visit, and was very proud of myself for being able to walk out onto that rock.

In response to the Weekly Photo Challenge

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