31. Lamenting the Lost Ladybugs of my Youth

October 22, 2012October 20, 2014 / Apple Hill Cottage / 8 Comments

Ladybug Lament

One ladybug is delightful,
Two ladybugs are nice,
Twenty-one ladybugs are frightful,
Thirty ladybugs will quite suffice.
Fifty-two ladybugs are a nation.
Seventy-four ladybugs are an
INFESTATION!

I lost count at 74 ladybugs last week. We were planning on painting an outside wall of the cottage; the day before we had finished scraping, caulking, and priming. Getting a coat of paint on that northwest side of the house, before the really bad weather set in, seemed judicious. As we were priming, there were a few ladybugs here and there, but nothing to remark about. Although Michael did say “Now that I’ve caulked up all the holes, the bugs will either be inside or outside.” Very prescient.

The next morning ladybugs were everywhere — inside, outside, on the ceiling, on the floor, on the windows, on the new door…
Yes, I know, bad poetry abounds. Bad times call for bad rhymes.

Remember when you were a kid and a ladybug landing on your sleeve was good luck? I remember running into the house with a lovely RED ladybug on my hand, shouting for everyone to look. We had to say the rhyme, “Ladybug, Ladybug fly away home, your house is on fire and your children will burn” before she flew away.
No, all ladybugs are not girls. This picture proves it:

Adult ladybugs, Harmonia axyridis. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

But all ladybugs in this country did used to be red, not orange or yellow or plain. Remember? The first ladybug I saw at the cottage this summer was red. I thought, “Yes! I am back in the countryside where there are real ladybugs again.” I haven’t seen another red one since. They are all that sickly rust-colored Asian ladybug Harmonia axyridis. This Asian lady beetle was introduced in the seventies (by the U.S. government) to control aphids on several agricultural crops, including pecans and soybeans. They are larger and more aggressive than our native ladybugs coccinella novemnotata, more commonly known as the nine-spotted ladybug. They not only eat aphids, but also crops (grape growers are calling them pests) and they are being accused of eating the larvae of the native ladybugs as well.

Most people believe the imported species has caused the decimation of the native species. Cornell scientists are studying the problem and are trying to reintroduce colonies of the native species. You can read about the Lost Ladybug Project here, and perhaps even become a Citizen Entomologist! I’m joining up!

For more information about the lost native ladybugs you can link to these articles:

1. Coccinella novemnotata, Nine Spotted Lady Beetle

2. Is That Ladybug Carrying a U.S. Passport?

3. Ladybugs : What Everyone Wants to Know

and don’t forget to read Eric Carle’s classic picture book The Grouchy Ladybug. No wonder she’s having a bad day — she’s being eaten by non-native species!

Never did get that side of the cottage painted… We didn’t want it to be spotted! We’re hoping for good painting weather for at least another three weeks…

30. A Stillness in Time

October 16, 2012January 20, 2016 / Apple Hill Cottage / 11 Comments

I’ve been experimenting with black and white photography these past two weeks. Perhaps it is a bit ironic that as autumn’s colors are at its most glorious, I’m choosing black and white. It could be that my camera can’t capture the beauty of fall; but I think it is more of a mood. I hear friends say how much they love fall and its coolness, but I miss the sun and the warm. The last gasp beauty of the bright, God-painted trees can’t make up for the gray, cold rain.

Is it just the absence of color that creates the different moods of black/white/gray photos? Is it the lack of color that makes the observer focus on form, line, and shape? What gives the dreamlike, still, unearthly qualities to black and white photography?

As I was reading about the feelings that black & white photos evoke, one phrase keeps rumbling in my mind — that it creates a sense of stillness in time. Being here at the cottage does that for me as well, so the two have merged in this post. It is a stillness, a peace, a quietude that is not in my “other” life. It is almost as if time is standing still when we are here.

There is something else that a black and white photo implies — simplicity. I’m not sure why… Is it because it reminds us of a simpler time? Or is it that the colors don’t get in the way of what we see? Details and shadows all become clear, yet at the same time, shrouded in mystery…a metaphor for life, for God.

Life is simplified here at the cottage: work and jobs are left behind; meetings and responsibilities are rare; we don’t have much technology, just our cell phones and a television to watch Steeler games. We are focused on here, today, now, and what we have to accomplish — our purpose, for now. To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven.–Ecclesiastes 3:1.

In Mere Christianity C.S. Lewis writes,

The moment you wake up each morning, all your wishes and hopes for the day rush at you like wild animals. And the first job each morning consists in shoving it all back; in listening to that other voice, taking that other point of view, letting that other, larger, stronger, quieter life come flowing in.

Simplicity,
Stillness of time,
Season of quiet,
Circle of life,
Listening to that other voice —
Black and white photos fit Apple Hill Cottage well.

(Don’t worry, I’ll be back to colors next week.)

28. The Walnut Harvest; or Nuts on the ground, Nuts in the house

October 6, 2012September 5, 2015 / Apple Hill Cottage / 1 Comment

We are considering changing the name of the cottage to Apple Walnut Cottage. No? Sort of sounds like a diet dessert, doesn’t it?

The nut harvest has been bountiful. In fact, the entire garage bedroom is filled with drying walnuts. Last week we thought we had an amazing amount, and this past weekend the nuts on the ground doubled. We had to go scrounging for more screens — sliding glass door screens do have a use after all!
The amazing fact about these English Walnuts is the husks dry in the trees and the walnuts fall from the husks ready to pick up.

This is what the ground looks like under the tree:

After doing some online research, I discovered that:

English walnuts will keep in the shell for several months.

(Good. It will take us that long to shell them.)

Store in a cool, dry place.

(I’ve always wondered if Everyone but Me has cool, dry places in their house…)

Shelled nuts can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 6 months and in the freezer for well over a year.

(Seems to me that keeping them in the fridge would make them soggy. I might try the freezer though.)

With all these apples and walnuts, a cake is calling out to me… I was about to make one of Mr. H.C.’s favorites. The recipe was given to his mother by Anna Hincy, one of the cafeteria ladies at East Franklin School, who also did cakes on the side. But after looking at the recipe, I think I’ll pass. I was willing to make it from unbleached white flour; I was willing to use sugar; but I draw the line at Crisco… So I will experiment with this recipe and give you the results later. (It sounds like it might be a Christmas Cake.) In the meantime, here is a snack cake you can eat with no guilt.

~~Apple Walnut Cake~~ Apple Walnut Cottage Cake

Gather together:

1 cup honey

1/2 cup coconut oil

1 3/4 cup sprouted wheat flour

1 cup chopped walnuts

3 cups chopped apples

1 t. Vanilla

2 eggs

1 t. Salt

1 t. Baking soda

1 t. Cinnamon

Nutmeg to taste

Lemon juice to pour over the apples to keep them from browning.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Pour the honey into a medium-sized mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer for ten minutes. I had never done this before, but don’t eliminate this step. It makes the honey thick, light, and creamy.

I peeled most of the apples, but I left one pretty red one unpeeled for color.

While the honey is whisking, chop the apples and walnuts. Squeeze lemon juice over the apples

Just in case you are cracking your own walnuts, this is the tool to use. These Channelocks are fully open and they give the nut-cracker lots of control.

Add the coconut oil and beat until well mixed. Then add the two eggs and the vanilla and mix well.
Sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, and spices. Add the flour mixture to the honey mixture in two batches and just mix it in by hand with a large spoon. Mix in the nuts and apples by hand also.
Spread into a well-greased 9 x 9 pan and bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Cool for 30 minutes before serving.

Some important stuff about this weird recipe:
Coconut oil is the new miracle food. It’s pricey, but I just bought some at Trader Joes for $5.99 a jar. It may be overhyped — it is one of those good fats — but you can read about its health benefits at this website.
Sprouted wheat flour is not gluten-free, but the wheat is sprouted and then the sprouts are ground into this flour-like substance, which does give it much less gluten and makes it more easily digested. You can get it at health food stores, co-ops, and online at Shiloh Farms. (Note: Sprouted wheat flour is not completely gluten-free.) Of course, you can use regular flour — just increase the amount to two cups.

I could hardly wait to taste this cake so I cut a piece before it was cool. This is one cake that needs to cool a bit — it tasted much better a half hour later.

I adapted this recipe from The Moosewood Cookbook by Mollie Katzen. But I changed it enough that I’m giving it a new name — Apple Walnut Cottage Cake. Yep, a healthy diet dessert.

(Mr. H.C. thought this cake was delicious; but, truth be told, he is dessert-starved these days, and he would probably eat cardboard if it had honey or maple syrup on it.) Not that this cake tastes like cardboard! It is actually better the next day for breakfast. Enjoy!