Love of Horses

When I look at horses, I think of the relationship between man and nature, and stewardship.

God, or the Intelligent Designer, built all creatures so that their genes could be modified through select breeding. There are wild creatures which have evolved to meet their environments, that survival of the fittest and best. And there are domestic animals that have been bred to serve mankind. The earliest of these were herd animals for meat and working animals for pulling and moving.

A good farmer has respect for the animals that help him work. And the animals, having descended from hundreds or thousands of years of living and working alongside the farmer, are programed to trust and depend on the farmer's good care. This separates the domestic animal from the wild animal. Wild animals, of course, do not like to be looked at or touched by other species because that usually means they'll be eaten.

A farmer always has horses. A horse can pull a plow or a wagon, take a rider across all terrain, and move a stockman around to contain his herds.

Imagine a human being and a horse, and the interdependence. The farmer feeds and cares for the horse. The horse earns it's hay. If the horse is sick, the farmer nurses the animal. A kind of love grows between the farmer and the horse.

In modern times, while horses still do real work, there are also hobbiests who keep horses for the simple enjoyment of their beauty and heart. We can ride them around in show rings, race them around barrels, harness them to wagons in parades.

I recently began English riding lessons. It was sort of on a whim... Let's see, I should pick a hobby of some sort, and I can try this one on without a big investment of cash. $35 an hour is cheap and I can quit anytime I decide this is not for me.

I have to admit my first impression was it's a lot of trouble to wade through mud to catch the horse, and she smells kinda strong while I'm grooming her before tacking up. It's hard digging the stuff out of her hooves (they don't watch where they step), and all these straps for the saddle and bridle are complicated. But the horse, Terra, put up with my fumblings with quiet patience. And she carried me around with the quiet wisdom of a high-quality lesson horse.

It's when she puts her head on my shoulder as I'm leading her that she hooks my heart. And when I am riding her in the arena and she senses that my balance and organization are in sync and she powers up. Like, "You've got it, Denise! Let's have some fun now!"

Terra is half Belgian draft horse and half Thoroughbred. This makes a fine English ride because the style demands a flexible skeleton. Lighter horses do not have the strength in their joints for the fancy stepping and bending exhibited in dressage and other English disciplines.

I'm looking at a Friesian horse that my trainer, Liz, just bought as a project. The Friesian is a light draft horse, most commonly used for pulling carriages, but now gaining interest in dressage. They are sometimes called Black Belgians. Usually glossy black, they have thick frizzy manes, large feet and long, graceful necks with smallish finely-featured heads. These are descended from the war horses of the Middle Ages, stout enough to carry a knight into battle. Romantic, huh? You can see them in movies such as Ladyhawk, The Mask of Zorro, and The Clash of the Titans.

I do think the draft horses are the most beautiful of all the breeds. They are probably the most intelligent and docile of the species. So breeding them with lighter weight types make superb riding horse. This Freisian seems to be the best of both worlds, as I study it. I'm no where near ready to make a purchase, though. It's way too early on my learning curve. I'm watching very closely, just the same.

There is a video that gets circulated every year around the time of the 9-11 attack on the World Trade Center. It was made by Budweiser and features their Clydesdale draft horses. I've seen members of this team at state fairs since I was a little girl, and they have always awed me. I'll set the link here to the 9-11 ad. It never fails to move me deeply. The beauty of the horses, the skill of the drivers and trainers, the draped wagon... and the simplicity and sincerity of the message.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zXZX2sXHYI&feature=related

The love of horses. The man knows the horse. The horse knows nature. And nature knows God. I can't think of a better way to describe what I feel when I'm looking into Terra's eyes.

That this love comes to me at a very trying time in my life proves that He is watching and caring for me.

Skagit Valley Food Co-op

The Skagit Valley Food Co-op has been around for about 38 years. It's grown from a hole in the wall to a real market.

Everybody knows about Trader Joe's and Whole Foods. The emphasis of these grocers is on good quality, healthy stuff, including produce, meats, preserved and bulk edibles. These are corporate giants, in their own way, and purchase decisions are made in offices distant from the point of sale. Here's what's different about our local co-op: This is one store in one location only. It has a board of paid and volunteer staff, who personally visit with and negotiate with local farmers and manufacturers of canned and package product.

There's a list of suppliers posted at the entrance. Skagit Flats Farm, Motherflight Produce, Skagit River Beef, Samish Bay Cheese, and many others... and you can ask about any individual item. The clerks are well-educated on what comes from where. Most have even visited the sites. "Community" is the theme.

Anyone can shop here. If you wish to, you can buy a membership which makes you sort of a silent partner. Membership fees help pay for structure, and in return you get a small dividend at the end of each fiscal year. I joined up several months ago, and I don't know what my dividend will be, but I don't really care about that. I'm happy to contribute to a amirable cause. I'm "one of them" as I push my cart through the aisles of good looking and great tasting inventory.

Members get special deals on some things. I haven't explored that, because I already believe I'm getting great value. Prices are most definitely lower than Whole Foods. Produce is way fresher than Trader Joe's. If anybody has "garden fresh," the Co-op does.

There is an eclectic feel to the display, and the customers are full of character, too. The avant-garde, the aging hippie, and the conservative in the three-piece suit all shop here. The community spirit allows us to say, "Nice day," "Have you tried that hummus?" and other small talk with each other. Customers say "Excuse me, please" as they navigate the narrow aisles, and "Can I help you reach that high shelf?"

You can eat as weird as you want, or as ordinary as you want. They make amazing things out of tofu and grains for the vegetarian diet. There are raw dairy products for the adventurous, but I'll stick with the natural yogurts that have a touch of pasteurization. The meat department is small, but you really only need the chicken whole or cut up just a couple of ways, and beef roasts can be cut up into stew meat, steaks are steaks. It's all top quality.

The whole package makes meal planning more pleasurable. Appetite is summoned and creativity arises. I've never cooked with morrel mushrooms, you might say, maybe I'll bring a few home and experiment. Peruvian yellow ginger... what can I do with that? Go to the co-op's website, and they'll tell you how to use all of their amazing variety. www.skagitfoodcoop.com/ Watermelon chorizo? You can find the recipe at "In the Kitchen With Jill."

The Co-op's investment in community farming and packaging doesn't stop at it's doors. They promote all kinds of businesses in Skagit County that feature local goods. You can view The Local Food Buyer's Guide posted at the Co-op, or you can visit that organization's website here: http://www.slowfoodskagit.org/. They include some of links to some of my own favorite restaurants like The Nell Thorne in La Conner, Trumpeter Public House in Mount Vernon and Rhododendron Cafe in Bow.

Checking out is personable and friendly. The checkers have names you'll remember without even looking at their name tags after several visits.

The Co-op doesn't eliminate Costco or Safeway because it doesn't have absolutely everything, but I find myself shaping my kitchen around what's available here. It's just that much better and that much more enjoyable.

Faith

Early morning overcast
Fog lifting above the ground in whisps
My bare feet on cold wet grass
I look for the sun behind the gray
I know it is there

Fog lifting above the fir trees
Then above the ridge
The chill on my skin starts to ache
I look for the sun behind the gray
I know it is there

Fog lifting to clouds
As far as I can see
Light rain falls now from high overhead
I look again for the sun behind the gray
I know it is there

Damp and shivering
I wait

Two Ducks

My house is on six acres with a two acre pond. It's visited by all kinds of migrating ducks and Canadian geese. This year we watched a pair of those geese raise five young. It was exciting watching the flight training and getting to see the final circle over the water before the family disappeared over the ridge.

A single duck had kind of stuck around during the comings and goings of the small flocks of teals, mallards and widgeons. A bit large for a mallard, but I could see through the scope his beak was a bluish-greenish color, so he's a male. One day, when my friend, Diane and I were feeding the trout, this duck came pretty close to us. Diane threw the fish food as far as she could, and he gobbled it up. "He's starving!" she said, "Look how close he's getting. I bet I can get him to eat out of my hand." And he did.

I've always liked ducks. I had them as pets when I was a kid. My first summer in Anacortes, when I didn't know anybody, my dad gave me a pair of ducklings to play with. They were happy, funny little companion animals.

The day after Diane's visit, I was shopping at the Co-op, and I thought I could get the duck some whole grain bread until I could get to the feed store for proper food. The seed-encrusted loaf with the peace sign on the label looked about right. I went to the little dock at the edge of the pond and I could see the odd duck a ways out there. I tossed a few pieces of bread overhand, and he cautiously swam to them and ate them. Then I dropped a few pieces just below my feet. The duck zig zagged a bit and took them.

Hmmm.... I sat on the step that descends to the dock, several feet from where I'd been standing and tossed some chunks on the dock. He hopped right up and took them, and started waddling toward me. As I started tearing more chunks from the loaf, he got impatient and climbed into my lap to grab the entire loaf! A very nice bird, we visited for quite awhile. I got to stroke his feathers and he nibbled at my toes.

This is somebody's pet.

Brown duck is having a last lunch before being crated for transport.

I don't know how he wound up at our place, but he wouldn't be safe here. There are coyotes, golden eagles, bald eagles, otters and all kinds of villans a tame duck wouldn't know about. The next day I went to Skagit Farm Supply on my way to work to get a bag of proper chow for the duck. I asked the cashiers if they knew anybody who would like a nice little pet.

I should talk to Gary, said someone. Gary came from the stockroom, and we introduced each other.

"They say you might take this tame duck I have," I said. "He's such a nice bird I hate to think of him getting eaten up on my pond."

Gary said, yeah, he'd take him. He kinda collects ducks. He has khaki campbells, pekins, racers and mallards. They follow him around while he does yard work and his grandkids like them. His lot edges Gages Slough so they even have a fresh water source to play in. He takes a few eggs every spring and incubates them to hatch them safely just so the kids have ducklings to play with.

This man likes ducks. We made an appointment for Gary to receive the duck the next Friday. "I'll even give you this bag of food for being such a good guy," I said.

The pass was made, but I'd forgotten the duck food at home. Since Gary's on vacation, I'd have to wait a couple weeks to get it to him.

In the meantime, at the apartment complex we had an especially nasty move out due to an eviction. The tenants were selling drugs, letting small children run loose, and getting regular visits from police and CPS before they finally vacated. Under a tarp on the patio I found.... a white duck. Emaciated and dehydrated, very quiet, just hours from death's door. She was stunted in growth due to malnutrition and neglect. Poor, poor thing.

I've taken her home and cleaned her up and after a week she can walk around and quack. Very sweet creature, friendly and gentle. She's strong enough now for a regular pen and a washtub of water to play in. I'll go see what Dad has in his scrap pile tomorrow. He has all kinds of materials back there.

I'll post a picture of what the white duck looked like when I got her, and in a few weeks I'll show you what she looks like plumped and feathered-out. You can see here she wasn't even getting enough nutrition to clothe herself properly.

Gotta get her gorgeous for Gary. I think she can charm her way into his flock.

Biscuits and Sausage Gravy

I get bragging rights to this dish. I figured out something I didn't see in a recipe, and you won't get on your plate at any restaurant. And it's fairly simple.

Most of my recipes don't have measurements. I look and taste as I proceed, so that's why I'm good at dinner items but a failure as a baker. A baker must measure very accurately, blend precisely, or her product looks like one of mine.

Biscuits and sausage gravy is something that must be watched to get it right.

Here's what you need on hand:

Bisquick Baking Mix

Milk

Jimmy Dean Pork Sausage in the one-pound tube

White flour

I use Bisquick for the biscuits and follow the directions on the package. I can get through that much directing, but I usually just pat them out rather than get involved with a rolling pin. Put em in the oven. Set the timer, but watch them for the right color when done.

Now, the sausage gravy just needs the right start. I use Jimmy Dean Regular, Hot, or Sage. Nothing else, no other brand seems to get the same result. I think it's because there is just the right amount of sugar, spice and fat in this product. It's pretty lean, but not too lean, and the quality of the pork used is good. Spices are well-balanced, too.

Get a heavy skillet down. I use All-Clad, but here is an ideal use for that well-seasoned cast iron frying pan that was passed down to you from Grandma (or bought on impulse at an estate sale because it looked cool).

Brown the sausage at medium heat. Smush it around so it's cooking in a crumbly state. This will take awhile and this is where the magic is. Keep browing it until it is really, really brown. It's going to look like it's getting too dry, but it isn't really. Be patient. When it's all goldeny-brown, sprinkle about three tablespoons of white flour over it, then stir that around so the flour gets heated. Just a minute or two. When you cook the flour like this, you avoid a pasty taste, it's much smoother.

Now stir in a cup or two of milk. You can turn the heat up a bit, since you've been so patient with the browning of the sausage. As the contents of the pan come to a boil, it will thicken nicely for you. If it's too thick you can always add more milk. Your gravy is going to be darker in color than you normally see in other people's kitchens. That's very ok.

You can "stretch" this gravy by increasing the flour and milk. After you've made this a few times, you'll know how to adjust it to your liking.

Split the hot biscuits and spoon the sausage gravy as you like it. I like to grind a little black pepper on top.

This dish is great with fresh applesauce, also very easy. Use two or three gravensteins if you can get them, otherwise any variety with a tartness will do. Red and yellow delicious are really not very delicious and won't work very well.

Peel and core the apples. Cube up the fruit and put it in a small saucepan. Add just a splash of water and some sugar (be conservative, you can always add more later). Slow boil this like you might boil potatoes for mashing (because you are doing the same thing with the apple, with the exception of draining water). If you haven't put too much water in, and if you've kept an eye on the pot and didn't scorch it, you simply smush em up with a fork and you get excellent applesauce. The apples make all the difference here. Experimenting with varieties gets you the favorite balance between sweet and tart. You can dress it up by putting a few dried cranberries or raisins in with the apples at the beginning. Cinnamon is good, too, but I really like my plain.