Morels

Yesterday afternoon, I took a break from what I was working on and went for a walk in the woods at the back of our property.

I love the woods this time of year; when the forest is as green as it is brown … but the green is limey, fresh, and young. It is a green with more yellow than blue and it will only last a few weeks as buds pop open and tender leaves emerge. Now is the time when May apples unfold, Jack-in-the-pulpits unfurl, and patches of trilliums dot the hardwoods … beauty abounds that is easy to spot, even for the most casual unobservant hiker…..but there is also in the woods something secret, something hidden, something seen only by a few. Somewhere in the darker places of the forest the elusive morels appear.

The most sought after target of gourmet mushroom hunters, there is little in the Midwest woods surrounded by as much mystery and lore as the morel mushroom.

It seems that every mushroom hunter has their own theory of when and where these delicious mushrooms will appear, but for the most part, they are just theories. Most everyone agrees that morels often appear near dead or dying elms, but other than this common observation, theories vary widely.

I am no expert mushroom hunter. Julie and I do well if we manage to find 25 or 30 in a spring … but then again, we don’t try that hard.

I got lucky this Sunday on my little outing when I stumbled upon a patch of a dozen nice morels. Here are a few pics.

As I post these, butter is melting in the pan and the nutty aroma of sautéed morels will soon fill my kitchen … nothing tastes like fresh morels.

Hopefully I will wake up in the morning.

Spring 2009

Waiting for spring to arrive this year has taken too long, but it is finally here and it feels like it is going to stay. It has been a while since I have updated this blog, I’ve been busy, but lately I have had the urge to come here and write.

Maybe it’s the change of seasons filling my mind with bloggable thoughts.

Julie and I have been working hard at jobs, hard at ministry, and hard on our little wana-be homestead. I’m tired lately, but it has been a good and satisfying tired. Progress in any of the three realms above is satisfying.

It‘s been good to be outside without a jacket, get a little sun burnt, move some dirt around in the garden, smell the earth, and see things grow. The feeling of good dirt in my hands and under my nails is something that makes me feel alive and connected to our Creator. The dark crescents I’ve been picking at and trying to get rid of all day keep reminding me that as much as our industrial consumer paradigm would like for me to think so; meat doesn’t start out in Styrofoam packages and beans don’t come from a can. In the spring I feel close to my land and my God. I do a better job of giving credit where credit is due. This month it’s easier to lean into my provider and know I stand on solid ground … and that the seemingly secure view that the world has bought into isn’t secure at all… with the ecconomy so unstable It’s even easier to see this spring than in the past.

Julie and I are excited about the garden this year. It will be our biggest yet … that just makes sense.

Already we have planted broccoli, brussel sprouts, radishes, two kinds of beats, kale, lettuces, and snow peas. All are doing well in cold frames.

This weekend we have plans to put in our first asparagus bed; something we are really looking forward to. Although it will take a few years for the asparagus to produce, most asparagus beds will produce for up to 25 years; I thing that’s awesome. Sustainability is something I find myself putting a higher and higher value on.

Once average temps are a bit warmer, we will be planting zucchini, summer squash, a few varieties of winter squash, and pole beans.

We have seedlings for tomatoes and peppers growing under lamps in our basement window.

This year we are going all out with our peppers! We are actually going to try to make some money on them… we are becoming professional pepper farmers! Over the last few years I have developed some great methods for growing, smoking and grinding hot peppers into fantastic powders that add a smoky kick to meats, sauces, salsas, eggs, or anything you would put hot sauce on.

Hopefully a few hundred bottles of our home grown smoked pepper powder will be available for the fall. If all goes as planned we will have powder available from smoked jalapenos, habaneros, and cayenne peppers. I’m excited about making enough to sell and share…the stuff is really so good that I’m excited for YOU.

Now it’s off to bed so that I can get up early enough to enjoy a cup of coffee, move some dirt around, and spend some good time with God before my first weekend obligations are upon me.

Walnut Creek

Make up post...

A few photos of Matt and I from a beautiful October morning on a PA tributary. It was a tough day as far as catching fish goes, but we did manage a few nice ones when it was all said and done. The pool we fished had literally hundreds of steelhead, but low and clear conditions made them leader shy and tight lipped.

We worked hard for these guys, and yes…matt caught more AND bigger. But I think that’s only because God felt bad for him and showed him some extra grace after matt stepped on his rod and snapped it in half. It was Norman Maclean who wrote; “all good things - trout as well as eternal salvation - come by grace and grace comes by art and art does not come easy.”

I’m also pretty sure he wouldn’t have caught the second (and bigger) fish had his loving brother not remembered to bring his extra fly rod :)

So I have been using my 20 minutes of free time each week to build bows instead of blog.

Below is my latest and greatest; 64” nock to nock and 45#@28”. The riser is walnut and maple and the limbs are walnut cores under clear glass. There is no stain on it; it’s all natural color with lotsa lacquer and wet sanding.

I have yet to think of a name for her…I am open to suggestions.

The Porkies

Today I am leaving for vacation…It can not come soon enough.

After work Julie and I are driving 13 hours to the far end of Michigan’s UP where we will backpack into the wilderness of the Porcupine Mountains on the shores of Gitchegume.

I feel like everything was stacked against us this week in making this trip happen…but it is happening…And I am so grateful.

My semi-new van is not behaving well enough to make a trek into the wilderness After several hours under the hood this week, and several trips to the mechanic, and even a trip to the dealer (all of which have cost me more money than this vacation will), the ominous orange check-engine light still glares back at me from the dash like the lidless eye of Sauron…So we bit the bullet and rented a car this morning. I just have to go.

Earlier this week I came down with a nasty cold. Being sick in August is just wrong. Yesterday it moved from my head to my chest, so this morning I am coughing up lovely green oyster looking things. Common sense says that I should stay home and eat chicken soup. Julie and I debated if this wouldn’t be what’s best, but I know that I would rather be sick in a trout stream than sick in my bed. I think the mountains will really be better for me. If you don’t understand what I mean, I am sure that I can’t explain it to you.

Despite these and several other obstacles put in our way this week, I will be going to the mountains tonight. And I am so excited.

This week:

I will spend GREAT time with my best friend.

I will flyfish for beautiful brook trout.

I will eat trout cooked in aluminum foil over a camp fire in the mountains (which may be the greatest tasting thing ever)

I will drink black campfire coffee.

I will sleep under the stars.

I hope to see a Porcupine.
I hope to see a Bear.
I hope to catch a splake.

I will spend time in his presence, his word and his creation…and come home refreshed, strengthened, and different than when I left this place.

Some thoughts on Grace and Unity

As of late, I have been thinking a lot about what causes and prevents unity in The Body of Christ. It’s clear to me, that having unity and showing love for those within the Church, is the Church’s single greatest evangelistic tool. It also seems to be the tool that is first to be thrown to the wayside. We are like the wanabe mechanic who owns a nice set of sockets but for some reason continues to round the corners off nuts as he insist on using the vice grips to work on his car…for some reason we think it’s easier. Maybe it is easier.

When I say that the concept of unity as a tool for evangelism is clear to me, I am not saying that it is common sense or that I arrived at this conclusion myself, I think in some ways it is actually counter intuitive (Doesn’t it make more sense to try to love on and care for those outside of the Church if we are trying to show THEM who Christ is?).

I’m not saying the concept is clear because it’s obvious…it’s clear because it’s in the manual. Jesus said so…and he makes it quite clear in the scripture.

John 17:20-23
“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.”

John 13:34-35
"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

Jesus makes clear that the way the world will know that we are followers of him is by the way we love one another.

Not by the way we know the scriptures.
Not by how we worship.
Not by where we go on Sunday mornings.
Not by how holy we appear to outsiders.

Not even by the way we extend grace and love to those who don’t know Christ…THAT is a crazy thought. And one that I think cuts hard against the grain of most modern evangelistic thinking. The world will know that we are children of God because of the way we treat each other within the Body…Jesus said so.

In the weekly Bible study I attend at my church, we have been discussing many of the issues that cause disunity as we go through Ephesians. It has provided some good stuff for me to chew on…here is what I am gnawing on lately:

At the onset of chapter 4 Paul writes:

“Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope when you were called— one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”

Paul lays down some good guidelines here of where we are supposed to keep and break unity. There is only one body, one Spirit, one Lord, faith, baptism and God and Father. Outside of these bounds we must break unity…although we must do it graciously. Within these parameters we must maintain unity. I am realizing that this is not accomplished by being like minded, but rather by extending grace on issues not listed above. Paul goes on to write:

“But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. This is why it says:
"When he ascended on high,
he led captives in his train
and gave gifts to men."(What does "he ascended" mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.) It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”

I am learning more and more that disunity is not caused by differences in perspective, opinion, or methodology…It is caused by a failure to extend grace. By all means, there is a time when grace must be withdrawn and unity cut off…but I am thinking that we have mastered that skill all too well.

Test

Can I really post on blogger again from from my apple? I just thought I would check and see...wow! If this shows up on my blog, I am going to be excited! It used to freeze before I got to this page.

Guardian of Tomatoes

Julie found this guy hanging out on the leaf of one of our tomato plants last night. Tree frogs are amazing. We hear thousands of them on any given night and usually there is a span of years between sightings. They stay well hidden. The first photo has my pointer finger in it for size reference.

Wedding at the Brown

This past weekend Julie and I traveled back to her home town of Louisville for the wedding of one of her best childhood and high school friends Kirsten Williams. It was probably one of the nicest weddings I have ever attended. Both the ceremony and the reception were at Louisville’s legendary Brown Hotel. The Brown is a downtown luxury hotel that was built in the early twenties…It’s amazingly cool. Louisville takes great pride in the Brown and rightfully so, it is a neat landmark.

It’s everything that you would picture an antique luxury hotel to be. It has just a hint of that old cigar box smell and it’s full of ornate woodwork, crystal chandlers, red velvety antique-things to sit on, and expensive antique-things to look at; like eight foot tall Ming Dynasty vases. As I walked through the hotel I was kinda expecting to come upon a room filled with half-a-dozen old men sitting around in tuxedos, smoking cigars, drinking brandy, and discussing the railroads.

The food was phenomenal. Dining kicked off with horse devours that would blow your mind…shrimp cocktail with shrimp the size of dill pickles, French crepes, and the ahi tuna were definitely my favorites. My main course was a filet mignon you could cut with a fork …there aren’t too many things in life better than a steak you can cut with a fork. For desert we were served goblets of fresh berries and tropical fruit covered in puréed strawberries and topped with whipped cream. We ate well.

Of course the best part of the evening was the couple we were celebrating. Kirsten and Matt were beautiful. Undoubtedly in love and so happy together. People who are so in love that they are radiant are an inspiring thing to be around. I love that God made us to love.

Towards the end of the night, when the DJ played It’s The End Of The World as We Know It by REM… Julie and I both looked at each other with questioning faces, kinda smerked and thought that it was a strange, almost inappropriate song for a wedding…then we laughed and agreed that it might be the most appropriate song ever written for a wedding…It very much is the end of the world as you know it…but you should feel fine. The world that lies ahead is pretty great.

It was an evening of great friends, great food and an incredible atmosphere. I am not the kind of person that generally gets excited about black tie/ high culture events, I have to say that I really enjoyed my time at the Brown…and I didn’t even spend the night.