Delicious Blessings

The temperature outside was 18 degrees and we had ten brave crazy hikers come to walk in the woods around Noon Hill, Medfield.  I was amazed at the beauty of winter.  My favorite image is the ice around branches dipping into the water.  I should say dipping into the ice.

We walked for about an hour and a half, stopping for hot tea and Mary Connor's apple bread:




1/2 cup melted butter                                                     1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup of sugar                                                                1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs                                                                             1 teaspoon baking powder 
2 cups of flour                                                                2 tablespoons buttermilk
1/4 teaspoon salt                                                             1 cup chopped unpeeled apples
1 teaspoon vanilla

Melt the butter in a large bowl and add the sugar gradually. Add beaten eggs and mix.

In a smaller bowl mix the flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder.

Add half of the flour mixture to the big bowl. Mix.  Add one tablespoon of buttermilk.  Mix. Add the rest of the flour mixture.  Mix.  Add the other tablespoon of buttermilk.  Add vanilla.  Mix.  Add the chopped apple.  Mix. 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Butter a bread pan.  Pour the mixture into the pan.  When the oven is the right temperature, put the bread pan into the oven and bake for 55 minutes.

Parchment paper lines the bread pan.

You have no idea how delicious hot tea and apple bread can be on a freezing winter hike.  Thank God for such blessings.

Mary talking to Nick

Snowman Tree

Yesterday, my hiking group was traipsing through the woods.  It was a beautiful day.  The temperature was only in the thirties, but we're dressed for the weather and the sun warmed us.  So there we are meandering around Holt Pond, only occasionally running into another hiker.  Imagine our surprise when we came upon this puny tree decorated with little snowmen.

It made us smile and wonder.  Who would do this?  Wouldn't you like to meet whomever?

New Life

Would you believe that Ester carried me to the top of Noon Hill?

The Trail Hikers walked Noon Hill in Shattuck Reservation, Medfield MA, this morning.  It was just what we needed.  We started silent.  Of course our thoughts were about the Boston Marathon bombing.  Soon we were talking about it as we walked.  At 370 feet, it was a gentle climb, over woodlands, around Holt pond.  Wherever we saw water, we saw beautiful green shoots of skunk cabbage.  We marveled at birds we haven't seen since the fall.  The trees were budding.

Particularly interesting were the silver leaves on birch trees.  It was explained that these were old leaves that didn't drop off like other trees do.  These birch tree leaves stood out.  They looked like silver trees in the woods.  When new buds come, they push off these leaves.

It was nice to see life beginning again.  If nature can start over, then we human beings can begin again.  These were our thoughts, on this beautiful spring day.

P.S.  Ester is about 5'2".  I'm 5'7".  Never mind the weight! We're just fooling around.