Flora and Fauna Friday - Shortleaf Pine

Flora and Fauna Friday - Shortleaf Pine

Shortleaf Pine (Pinus echinata) is a species of pine native to the eastern United States. Southern Missouri is on the very edge of the nativity of this pine. This tree is variable in form, sometimes straight, sometimes crooked, with an irregular crown. It my reach 20-30 m high witha diameter of 0.5-0.9 m.

Photo credit: Wikipedia Commons

This pine is a source of wood pulp, plywood veneer, and lumber for a variety of uses. This pine occupies a variety of habitats from rocky uplands to wet flood plains.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shortleaf_pine

"May each of us have a Homeplace to hold onto, if only in our minds."

Bill ;-)

New Book Trailer Site

New site for movies and book trailers... new to me, anyway!

http://www.nme.com/movies/trailers/id/77uQ8qGG8jY/search/movie

Happy Reading!

Dr. Bill  ;-)

A Wednesday Recipe - Lemon Pound Cake Muffins

Lemon Pound Cake Muffins

This is another fine Homeplace-type recipes from my good friend, Deborah Voghts. Please visit her Country at Heart blog, regularly, and check out her just released novel, Seeds of Summer, the second in her series, Seasons of the Tallgrass. Be sure to subscribe to her blog, while you are there.

Thanks for the recipe, Deborah, and best wishes on your current book tour of this next, neat novel set in the Kansas Flint Hills.


Lemon Pound Cake Muffins

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
1/2 cup sour cream

Glaze: 1 cups confectioner's sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice

In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Add the eggs and extracts; beat well. Combine the flour, salt, and baking soda; add to creamed mixture alternately with sour cream. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups three-fourths full. Bake at 400 degrees for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack. Combine the glaze ingredients; drizzle over muffins. Serve warm. Yield: 1 dozen.

"May each of us have a Homeplace to hold onto, if only in our minds."

Bill ;-)

Flora and Fauna Friday - Bluebirds

 

Flora and Fauna Friday - Bluebirds

The bluebird is the state bird of Missouri.

The bluebirds are a group of medium-sized, mostly insectivorous or omnivorous birds in the genus Sialia of the thrush family (Turdidae). Bluebirds are one of the few thrush genera in the Americas They have blue, or blue and red, plumage. Female birds are less brightly colored than males, although color patterns are similar and there is no noticeable difference in size between sexes.

Bluebirds are territorial, prefer open grassland with scattered trees and are cavity nesters. Bluebirds can typically produce between two and four broods during the spring and summer. Males identify potential nest sites and try to attract prospective female mates to those nesting sites with special behaviors that include singing and flapping wings, and then placing some material in a nesting box or cavity. If the female accepts the male and the nesting site, she alone builds the nest and incubates the eggs. Predators of young bluebirds in the nests can include snakes, cats and raccoons.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluebird


"May each of us have a Homeplace to hold onto, if only in our minds."

Bill ;-)

Book Review of Back to the Homeplace by Maggie C

 See full review at Tethered Mommy

Back to the Homeplace by William Leverne Smith is the first book in The Homeplace Series.  This novel is about an older couple’s unusual will that asks all of their children to return to the “homeplace” for two years in order to inherit anything.  Some family members are happy to return, others are reluctant, but all do return and make the commitment to live there for two years.

At first, I was confused about the different characters.  Thankfully, Smith did put in a list of the characters so I could figure out who was who.  Eventually I got down who was included  in each immediate family.

Since this story is set in the 1980s, Smith tells us the news of each day so we can remember what was going at this time.   I really enjoyed this aspect as I was still very young in the 80s and some stories that I found interesting now were things I didn’t know about then.

Ultimately, I feel this book is about family and how each generation has different hurdles to overcome.  For example, the hurdle for the younger generation of this family is AIDS.  This book reminds us of the “death sentence” that AIDS was when we were just learning what it was and how it impacted us.

I enjoyed this book.  I know that Smith has more planned in the series and I do looking forward to finding out more about the family and seeing what happens to them throughout the two years at the Homeplace.

"May each of us have a Homeplace to hold onto, if only in our minds."

Bill ;-) 

Book Review of Back to the Homeplace by Maggie

Thanks to Maggie at The Tethered Mommy for her review of Back to the Homeplace:  http://www.tetheredmommy.com/?p=837

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Check amazon.com for a reduced price on the book today. Click on the link!

"May each of us have a Homeplace to hold onto, if only in our minds."

Bill ;-)

Flora and Fauna Friday - The Showy Lady's Slipper

Flora and Fauna Friday

The Showy lady's Slipper, while it is the state flower of Minnesota and New Hampshire, can still be found in southern Missouri, though it is considered imiperiled. It thrives in neutral to basic soils and prefers growing in fens. Historically, it is difficult to raise. They typically flower in late June and early July. Usually there are one or two flowers per stem, but there can be three or four. The stem has a hairy appearance, and the "hairs" can cause irritation to some people.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cypripedium_reginae

"May each of us have a Homeplace to hold onto, if only in our minds."

Bill ;-)