I

"Come back to us; come back to us,” 
they whispered, one and all—

“Come… we are important.”   
Then came a gentler call.

“Stay here, love, for here you are loved,” 
(like breezes through limbs of pines

When the nighttime world lies silent, 
and the moon, still placid, shines).

 “Nay, nay!” hissed the thousand voices. 
 “Better are we by far,

And stronger is light of street lamp 
than yonder pale-lit star.”           

Again they clamored, tempting, 
“Realistic is your life!

You need the pace of computers 
  and the spice of busy strife.”

They knew a weak one wavered; 
they sought to use weak will—

Then again came the single clear voice,
 commanding them all: “Be still.”

“Child, did I not form you?  
 Do I not know what is good?

It was I who first thought of a garden; 
it was I who first planted a wood.

by Tony Hisgett, "Wild Arum Lily," 2005

unborn child, 24wks. http://www.prolifelouisiana.org/education/fetal-development/a-louisiana-ultrasound.html

I it was who created the lily;  
I commanded the wind to blow.

I shaped each baby’s fingers, 
and I saw it good for things to grow.

Running here, the river, I set in,
 and laid the sky:

I didn’t give time wings
 because I meant him not to fly.

Greer Spring. by schlueterphoto.com

I wrote you in the red earth 
that your father learned to till;

I gave you this tomorrow 
and the Joy of my own will.

Work hard, and be content, child, 
with your splendored halls of light;

I’ll be with you, small one, 
and will give your soul its flight.” 

Battening down the hatches... Ozarkian style

October 29th- Welcome ashore, Hurricane Sandy! Power outages?! Bah! This Missouri-born girl snaps her fingers at you.  What is a little wind and rain to good old-fashioned American fortitude, brashness, and "just plain thing-ness"? (quotation courtesy of Jeeves and Wooster!)

"Rain may fall and wind may blow,

And many miles be still to go,

But under a tall tree I will lie,

And let the clouds go sailing by."

-J.R.R. Tolkien

-Final roses in the front garden.

-My rendition and translation, edits included, of a favorite recipe (original in Polish):

Dark Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake 

Crust:

3/4  c. chocolate cookies or graham crackers

1 tbsp. cocoa

3 tbsp. melted butter

3 tbsp. melted dark chocolate (chips or baking chocolate)

Cheesecake:

1 lb. (or about 2 cups) of cottage cheese, strained, or farmer’s cheese

3/4 c. white sugar

1 egg white

1/2 c. melted chocolate

1 tsp. vanilla (or almond extract, lemon juice, or other flavoring.)

Ganache:

1/2 c. cream

1/2 c. dark chocolate, chopped

Topping:

2/3 pint of raspberries (or other berries: strawberries, blackberries, currants, etc.)

about 1 c. seedless raspberry jelly or jam (or other flavor, complementary to berry choice)

1 c. heavy whipping cream

2 tsp. sugar

*Requires a 9” springform pan for baking. For a taller cheesecake, use an 8” diameter pan.

1.  Prepare your pan by greasing the bottom and lining with parchment paper.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In small bowl, crush cookies into fine crumbs (a potato masher is good for this, especially with crushing graham crackers).  Add melted butter, cocoa, and melted chocolate and mix.  Press firmly into bottom and sides of prepared pan.  Put into the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.

2.  (In medium to large mixing bowl) blend or process cheese in food processor or with mixer until as smooth as desired.  Add white sugar and mix.  Then add egg white, followed by vanilla.  Separate out about one quarter of the cheese mixture into another bowl and add melted chocolate (to the smaller portion).  Stir until completely combined.  Take the pan with the crust out of the refrigerator and spoon the chocolate cheese mixture into the pan first.  Spread evenly over crust.  Then spoon on white mixture, and smooth the top, careful not to mix the layers.  Put the cheesecake into the oven, and immediately turn down the oven’s temperature to 275 degrees.  Bake for about 45 minutes or unti l the cheesecake appears fairly firm on top.  It may not look done; that is okay.  Turn off the heat and leave the cheesecake in the oven for an hour to cool slowly (leave the oven closed; the cake will continue baking for a while.)  After an hour, remove cheesecake from oven and continue to cool at room temperature until completely cool (or overnight).  It can be put in the refrigerator after it has cooled for some time at room temp.

3.  Spread the top of the cooled cheesecake with a layer of raspberry jelly and some of the berries (if desired), sliced.  Then chill while preparing your ganache for the next layer.

4.  Chop the chocolate finely and put in a bowl.  (You can also use a food processor to chop the chocolate coarsely, but make sure the chocolate is cold and you don’t process too long, or the friction will melt the chocolate.)  Heat whipping cream in a saucepan on the stove quickly over medium high heat, until it just boils and remove immediately (be careful not to burn or curdle!!).   Immediately add the cream to the chopped chocolate and stir completely.  Your ganache should look shiny and dark.  Add to the top of the cheesecake by pouring or spooning it over the jam and berry layer.  Do not spread ganache; just let it coat the cheesecake.   Return the cheesecake to the refrigerator or freezer for another chill.

5.  Meanwhile, whip your cream with sugar (I added a few drops of vanilla to this as well.)  Spread on to the cheesecake (Yay!! This is the final layer!)  And top with your choice of berries, curls of shredded chocolate, etc.  Refrigerate until serving.  Smacznego!!!!

"I sit beside the fire and think 

of people long ago,

and people who will see a world

that I shall never know.

But all the while I sit and think

of times there were before,

I listen for returning feet

and voices at the door."
-J.R.R. Tolkien

A Late Autumn Walk

 An unexpected afternoon so rich in Fahrenheit degrees that there were plenty to spare yesterday!  I stuck my nose out of doors (at last) toward afternoon, like Kenneth Grahame's Mole (only then it was Spring), to find that the sunshine was not being a false, painted lady, but even warmer than it looked.  Not wanting to pack all the trappings and gadgetry normally ascribed to forays into the world with infants in tow, I wrapped the baby round my middle and off we went. (God bless the individual who invented the Moby wrap! Otherwise known as an instrument of freedom to walking mothers.)

We found ourselves a nice bit of conifer wood and sundry, and meandered around, blissfully contented. Baby dozed off inevitably, and I took the last few pictures of fall foliage for the year, for the end of the season is now in sight here in New York.  We took a short rest on a bed of pine needles, and laughed together at the pictures I had taken.

We weren't much alone, though; it seemed a thousand thousand people had taken to the streets and then parks and woods with the same idea... must-get-out!  But I felt rather chummy with everyone on this occasion, seeing as how we had all responded to the same tug and knew exactly how the others felt.

Towards suppertime we made our way home with an appetite not to be reckoned with by any sandwich known to man... we must needs seek more serious fare to finish our lovely outing.

Linden leaves: "Light as leaf on linden tree..." J. R.R. Tolkien

 "Oh hushed October morning mild,

Thy leaves have ripened to the fall;

Tomorrow's wind, if it be wild,

Should waste them all.

The crows above the forest call;

Tomorrow they may form and go.

O hushed October morning mild,

Begin the hours of this day slow.

Make the day seem to us less brief.

Hearts not averse to being beguiled,

Beguile us in the way you know. ..."

-Robert Frost

Far

The yellow arch of light is set,
Receding to the other side
While robins and mosquitoes glide
In and out a shadow-net.

Signs of melancholy press
From crickets, frogs, and lily blooms,
And intermittent valley glooms
The wings of one dark bat caress.

Vega sparkles on her throne,
The timeless Lyre, in the east
(as judged from cosmic speck, at least).
She does not threaten, nor condone

A petty planet dweller's deeds
Abroad the galaxy.  What care
To her long life beyond the air
Are living lungs or human needs?

Yet she is near, and you are far,
If measured on the scale of hope:
When aching eyes through darkness grope,
At least they see the distant star.

www.photobucket.com

J.W. Waterhouse. Lady Clare.