Front Porch Conversations: February Frogs

While growing up in Vermont, there were two things I looked forward to in the spring time -- the return of the Robins and the Spring Peepers. To me nothing said winter is finally over like the chorus of those night time frogs.

It's been a life time since I've gone through a Vermont winter, but here in the south I've come to recognize the signals of spring. One is the migration of the thousands of Sandhill cranes that fly directly over our house, another is the Spring Peeper. The nightly chorus is enjoyed on my front porch in the early spring free from the pollution of the summertime cicadas that dominate the southern night.

But despite the fact that I've lived in the south for just about as long as I lived in Vermont, I'll never get used to the spring peepers making their debut in February. In Vermont they usually debut in late April or early May. However, they are a welcome sound as they lift up their joyful noise and signal the end to winter. The pond across the street from my house is full of them this year, but I'll never forget when we first moved into our house -- they were a lot closer then. 

The previous owners had a swimming pool that was unused and stagnant. It was my goal to tear it down once we were fully moved. But I ended up leaving it over the summer. Several dozen frogs had made the pool home and I came to the realization that the sound of frogs is best enjoyed at a distance. 

None-the-less, to all my yankee friends who may stumble across this blog...I leave you with the following video of spring peepers in February. May you enjoy them in a few months too.

Front Porch Conversations: Storms

Storms -- whether physical, spiritual, or emotional -- are a part of our existence. In the physical sense, there is nothing I enjoy more than a good thunderstorm with a front row seat on my porch. But here in Georgia, a thunderstorm can go from spectacular to devastating in a matter of seconds.

As I write this blog, at the end of February, Georgia is in that dangerous transition stage between winter and spring. Atmospherically it is one of the most turbulent times of the year as cold and warm air masses clash in spectacular display. This atmospheric battle results in our spring tornado season. But as last year showed us, it doesn't matter whether you live in the South or the north -- storms will affect you. However, for me I can find peace in the middle of the storm knowing that God is in control. This was played out in a fascinating way during last April's super tornado outbreak.

As is often the case in Georgia, the severe weather moved through during the overnight. Severe weather at night makes it difficult to physically see tornadoes, so we were huddled in our guest bathroom watching the weather radar on my blackberry. At one point I knew there was a tornado tracking in our general area and I went out on the front porch to see if I could catch a visual in between lighting flashes. (okay so I'm the type of guy that runs to storms, not away)

While on the front porch the storm got eerily still...little did I know that just a couple miles away an EF-3 was tracking through the town to our south. The next morning I actually found ripped shingles in our front yard from the tornado. The tornado had hopped skipped and jumped for several miles. Not only did that tornado come too close for comfort, but another one had touched down a just a couple hundred yards from one of my station's radio towers. It was a miracle we didn't get any damage.

Still another tornado from that night hit the town in which I work. This tornado destroyed the Christian Women's Center -- a home for abused women -- but miraculously no one was seriously injured. Recently I had the ministry's founder on the radio and we were talking about the recovery process. That in itself is another miracle and story of God's protection and provision. The community rallied around the Christian Women's Center and now they are building a brand new facility that will house even more hurting women and greatly expand their outreach.

So yes, living in the south you have your fair share of storms. But your safety during such turbulent times depends not on your location as much as it does who is sheltering you. Even in the middle of one of the worst tornado outbreaks in the history of the U.S., I felt completely safe knowing that God was watching out for us. And the stories of people I know who did get hit only point to the awesome restoring nature of that same God.

Front Porch Conversations: Wicker Rocking Chair

Imagine a front porch with two wicker rocking chairs. What if I told you that you could spend the evening on this front porch with one person of your choice whom you've always admired. Who would that person be, and what would you ask them?

Every Sunday evening I host a radio program called Front Porch Bluegrass Revival. When producing this program I try to create a little "theater of the mind" and make the listener feel as though they are stopping by for a visit on the front porch of our radio station along with many bluegrass greats both past and present.

One of the bluegrass greats that stopped by for a visit was Rodney Dillard who performs a couple of my favorite songs Wicker Rocking Chair and Don't wait for the Hearse to take you to Church. I'm sure many of you are already familiar with Rodney Dillard especially if you've ever watched the Andy Griffith Show. Rodney Dillard and the Dillard Band played the role of the "good natured trouble makers" -- The Darlins. Today Rodney is still performing and recently released a new CD and in conjunction runs a ministry that evangelizes using the small town principles and life lessons of the Andy Griffith show.

It was a fun time talking with Rodney and hearing about their humble beginnings back in the 1960s. Back then it was make it or break it and you had to make courageous decisions. Theirs was hitting the road with only $5 and then happening to run into Andy. I love success stories that start with humble beginnings.

On the program we also play Bill Monroe -- the father of bluegrass, Alison Krauss and Union Station, The Osborne Brothers, Flatt and Scruggs, but the person I would love to spend the evening on the front porch with is Dr. Ralph Stanley. The good doctor will be 86 this year and just last year he released one of the best bluegrass gospel albums -- A Mother's Prayer.

Ralph Stanley grew up in the Primitive Baptist Church and his signing style reflects the old shape note singing style of that church. One cannot listen to his music and not hear the "years" of wisdom and experience reflected in every note. One reviewer correctly notes that the album showcases the "sad" spiritual ratio between mothers who pray and fathers who don't -- for how often do you hear a song about a father's prayer? The same reviewer notes that Stanley's unique singing style is displayed the best in John the Revelator, and the final cut -- What kind of Man -- gives the listener a rousing portrayal of who Jesus is.

 I'd love to sit on the front porch with Dr. Ralph Stanley and just ask him questions about life in general. About how to cope with bad times, lean times, and success. And I'd love to discuss his lifetime experience of following Jesus, but for now I guess I'll just have to be satisfied with gleaning what I can from his music.

So who would you like to invite to the front porch?

Georgia Stay-cations: Mountain Apples

Growing up in Vermont one can take mountains for granted. When the Lord called me into the ministry, He moved my family to many different areas. We've lived on the Gulf Coast, the Chesapeake Bay, the hills of Mississippi, and now the Georgia Piedmont.

About two hours north, lies the North Georgia mountains. The highest peak is Brasstown Bald -- about 400 feet taller than Mt. Mansfield in Vermont. This past fall we went up to North Georgia for a mini stay-cation. Our trip took us near Ellijay during apple picking season.

I'm not sure how many varieties of apples God invented when He created the earth, but mankind has certainly developed quite a few more. The one orchard we ended up picking at had about 50 different varieties -- macintosh, gala, red delicious, golden delicious, winesap, etc...but the variety we were after was Pink Lady. Pink Lady apples were developed in Australia and require hot long summers, thus making Georgia the perfect growing climate.

The girls had so much fun picking and eating the apples (which was encouraged by the growers). We must have sampled just about every variety -- except macintosh, which is picked in August. Just as much fun as picking, was the large apple house gift shop filled with all sorts of apple products. As a tribute to my Vermont heritage, I bought the family a dozen cider donuts.

I have to say my yankee heritage was surprised at the amount and size of the apple orchards located near Ellijay and in Gilmer County, GA. Yankees will not be disappointed if they decide to make a trek to this region to sample the apples and apple products. But our trip was not over yet. We decided to stay overnight and camp at Plum Nelly campground.

Plum Nelly was a very nice family campground that charged $15 per night for a tent sight. The girls had so much fun cooking hotdogs over the fire. Of course you can't have a campfire without smores! Later that night there was even some live folk music.

The next day we decided to take a trip through the mountains and sample some of God's great scenery. Our trek took us to the head of the Appalachian Trail and Amicalola Falls. We drove to the top of the falls and then took the trail down (over 700 steps) to the bottom of the falls. The girls walked the entire distance without having to be carried -- much.

Later that day we drove over to Dahlonega where the great Georgia Gold Rush took place. After a quick lunch at Moe's we headed back home. Needless to say the girls were pretty tired.

Front Porch Conversations: Traveling Mercies

Deer collisions are just as much a part of living in Georgia as peaches and pecans. These collisions are not isolated to rural areas of the state. There have been plenty of times when I've come close to hitting deer in the suburbs of Atlanta.

My first and only (at the time of writing this blog) deer collision in Georgia happened in 2009. I was in the process of interviewing for a job at a local radio station and my whole family was with me at the time. We had been driving all day from Tupelo, Mississippi and my reaction time was little slow.

My wife was the first person to see the doe running along side of our car and I knew the deer was going to run out in front of us -- it was just a matter of seconds. I slammed on the breaks, the car slowed to about 20 mph, and I caught the deer in the rump and flipped it up on the hood and she slid all the way to the roof. How we got away with minimal damage and why the deer didn't come through the window is beyond me. The deer actually got up and ran off after a couple minutes. This all happened on I-85 just outside of Newnan.

Once we decided to take the job, there was a lot of traveling back and forth between Tupelo and Atlanta.   God granted us plenty of traveling mercies during this period of our life. Besides the protection during the deer collision, there was an issue with my car overheating during these 12 hour hauls back and forth. I thought it was just a thermostat issue but it was much deeper.

The issue was actually a blockage in the radiator that created so much pressure it eventually blew out the manifold gasket. It was a miracle that it didn't happen during one of these long hauls because there was this stretch of highway 78 in Alabama that was in the middle of nowhere for a couple hours.

When it did finally blow, we were at the Atlanta airport. We had parked there in order to take Marta up to the Georgia Aquarium. When we got back all the coolant was on the ground. Luckily I had another gallon in the trunk and by some miracle we made it all the way back to Griffin (some folks know how big of a miracle that really is in Atlanta traffic) with the gasket blown. Then just as we entered Griffin, the whole coolant system gave way and I couldn't drive anymore.

Fortunately the car decided to breakdown right next to a Christian repair shop called Griffin Motors. All I can say is that the Lord was looking out for us. Traveling mercies...they are more than just a polite pleasantry.

Random thoughts on peaches

One cannot live in Georgia and not be fond of the peach. Last year, my oldest daughter and I went peach picking for the first time and filled up a five gallon pail for about $5 -- a great deal for any money-wise yankee.

This got me thinking though and after a bit of research I concluded that for a mere $50 I could have the beginnings of my own peach orchard. As of late, I've been reading up on all things peachy and here are some interesting peach facts.

Peaches need at least 1,000 chill hours where the temperature gets down below 50 degrees at night. In 2011 the state of Georgia redesigned it's license plate and ran into some controversy when some folks mistakenly thought that "In God We Trust" would be mandatory instead of optional. This also drew attention to the winning plate design which incorporated peaches -- some readers thought the peach on the new plate looked a little too much like a  *ahem* horses buttocks.

Whenever my family and I drive through Atlanta there is this giant peach design on top of some building...I think it's the AirTran offices. Anyway, whenever my daughter sees it she says, "look at the big pumpkin." And finally what kind of yankee would I be if I didn't find a way to incorporate Robert Frost into all of this. Sitting on my mantel, I have a first edition copy of "A Further Range" by Frost and in that book is contained a poem about a little frozen peach tree -- "There are roughly zones".

In this poem, Frost contemplates whether or not a little transplanted peach tree will make it through a harsh New England winter and whether man is over reaching the boundaries of nature's natural ranges for plant species. As for me -- I'm glad I live roughly in the right zone for peaches.

Country Kitchen Recipes: Cowboy Chili

Confession time, ever since I can remember I've always been a sucker for a good cowboy movie and a good recipe. My wife knows me all to well and in 2001 she bought me this cowboy cookbook featuring recipes from legendary cowboys both on and off the screen (see pic on the left).

Rabbit trail: In 2003 the two of us spent a week in Colorado Springs where we further indulged in my cowboy fascination at the Flying W Ranch supping on BBQ beef, cornbread, and cowboy coffee. The evening was topped off with cowboy music reminiscent of Sons of the Pioneers.

Back to the main story: So today was rainy and cold, perfect chili day! The business manager at the non profit radio station I work at makes a mean chili recipe and I had her email it to me, but today I couldn't find it. While I'm searching for this recipe suddenly I remember this cowboy cookbook and figured I'd just use a recipe out of that book. After a few minutes of searching, I found a great basic recipe by Gene Autrey. Folks who know me know I can't leave well enough alone so I tweaked the recipe to my liking. Below is the recipe I ended up with...

2lbs of hamburger (seasoned with salt, pepper, smoked paprika and Worcestershire sauce)
1-28 oz can of Laura Lynn crushed tomatoes with Italian seasoning
1-16 oz can of Laura Lynn chopped tomatoes
1- 16 oz can of chili beans
1-16 oz can of black beans
1-16 oz can of sweet corn
1 - 4 oz can of mild green chilis
2 tablespoons of chili powder
5 - 1/4 teaspoons of garlic powder (each one equals a clove so you can use 5 fresh cloves if you choose)
1 medium onion

After browning the hamburger, put it all the ingredients in a crock pot to simmer. You can freeze what you don't eat. Usually this recipe gives me four 2-serving meals.

To compliment the meal, you can serve the chili with a spoonful of sour cream and some Laura Lynn shredded sharp cheddar cheese. And if you'd rather skip the greasy, salty corn chips -- serve with skillet corn bread using Martha White Hot Rize corn meal.

1 cup Martha White corn meal with Hot Rize (for goodness sake!)
1/3 cup AP flour
2/3 cup sugar (for the yankees)
1 cup milk or buttermilk
1 egg beaten

Pour this into a well seasoned and greased skillet and bake at 400 for 30 minutes (in a small cast iron skillet -- 20 minutes for a larger skillet)

While whipping up this delicious Country Kitchen meal, I recommend putting on some good ole fashioned Bluegrass -- anything with Earl Scruggs and Lester Flatt, Ralph Stanley, or Bill Monroe!

Country Kitchen Recipes: Cooking with Rosemary

Rosemary is one of my favorite herbs due to its versatility. Fresh Rosemary can be expensive when purchased at the grocery and the dried Rosemary at the grocery to me seems a little bland.

This past spring I was delighted to find Rosemary bushes at Lowes. I purchased one to include in my herb garden and the results were fantastic. It took root easily and has since tripled in size. And since Rosemary is an evergreen, it is available all year round.

This past fall, I snipped off a bunch of the new growth and dried it in my herb closet for several weeks. After the drying period I used a mortar and pestle to break up the leaves and filled two large herb containers. The difference in taste and fragrance is out of this world. Because Rosemary is an evergreen, it has the sticky pitch just like a pine tree (same family). And I think the difference between the store brand and homegrown is that I let the leaves mature a bit more and it had more of that pitch that really boosted the flavor.

Recently I made some dipping oil with the dried Rosemary to use with some french bread I purchased at Ingles bakery. It was so good my wife made me make it again the next night. Guess it was a good thing that Ingles had their buy one get one free bake sale! Other herbs that I grew and dried this past year include Tarragon, Thyme, Sweet Basil, Sage, Italian Parsley and Rose leaves.

I encourage everyone, even if you don't have a green thumb, to try growing and drying your own herbs. I was nervous at first, but it has proven to be worth the work.

Front Porch Bluegrass Revival

One of my favorite exhibits at the Atlanta History Museum is a fully restored homestead from the 1800s. On the front porch of this old homestead was a little room with a bed for you see back in the day the only way people got around was by riding horses or walking. And as you can imagine trips took much longer than they do today. So one of the ways folks provided rest for the weary traveler was through this simple hostel system on the front porch. 

One of the reasons folks back then allowed strangers to utilize the front porch room was much the same reason folks create social media accounts. In exchange for a place to reside, the stranger would sit on the front porch and share the news that they picked up along their way. Most often this was the only way folks back then got their news and depending on where their final destination was, they might have been asked to pass information along. But alas, with the invention of the telephone, radio, television, and then this modern digital age -- the front porch has become an icon of a time long past and is rarely utilized anymore.

When my wife and I moved to Atlanta, we searched high and low for the perfect house -- with a front porch.   In conjunction, I came up with a program concept called Front Porch Bluegrass Revival. This program serves two purposes, to introduce people to great bluegrass gospel music old and new, and to revive the front porch concept. 

Each Sunday evening, listeners are invited to stop by for a visit on the "front porch" of our non profit radio station to exchange ideas, enjoy great music, and spread news with a heavenly focus. The imaging of Front Porch Bluegrass Revival even includes the creaking of the front porch rocker and if you listen carefully you can hear the neighbor's hound dog baying from time to time. 

So I invite you to join us on America's first ever social media site, the front porch. Sunday's from 6:30-8:30 pm. on NewLife.FM.