The Cloud Shroud

The Mountains of the Wasatch Front continue to amaze me on a daily basis.  These huge, awesome, beautiful mountains with their rocky crags, sharp points, crevices and caves tower above everything here in the Ogden Valley.  Sometimes I forget just how tall they actually are. I forget, that is, until I start driving toward them and begin to feel like an ant!

I am amazed by their beauty, the variety of landscape and color they afford and the wildlife they support.

But, as huge and powerful as the mountains appear, they are often defeated by a soft, white fluffy float of clouds.

These clouds sometimes creep up from the back side of the mountain and crawl over the tops and then slide down the nearer side, looking so much like a giant cottony shroud.  Sometimes a snowy white peak will appear out of the top.  Sometimes they seem to disappear entirely in the cottony misty mass.

They never seem to look the same two days in a row.  I am so happy to have a home at the mouth of the Ogden Canyon, where I can sit on my porch with my coffee and look up at these powerful, beautiful mountains.  They remind me of how infinitely small I am in the scheme of things.  Their age, power and beauty are timeless.

Whether we are hiking the trails up to Timpanogos Cave, driving one of the beautiful roadways through Utah, or riding the Gondola at Snowbasin, these mountains always have something new to show me!

So this girl who will always remain an Okaloosa Girl at heart, has also found the beauty and peace, the joy and exhilaration of the mountains has room in her heart also!

Our Current "Dust Bowl"

Listening to the evening news today, I was made aware of just how bad the drought is right now in much of our nation.

The nation’s widest drought in decades is spreading, with more than half of the continental United States now in some stage of drought and most of the rest enduring abnormally dry conditions.

Only in the 1930s and the 1950s has a drought covered more land, according to federal figures released Monday. So far, there’s little risk of a Dust Bowl-type catastrophe, but crop losses could mount if rain doesn’t come soon. 

Before mass media, we seldom knew about the droughts, earthquakes, etc. throughout the world.  Because of the huge amount of information which virtually smothers us each day, many live in constant fear.

The media feeds on these stories. Yes it is tragic.  Yes it is costly.  But, farmers throughout the world have experienced these types of droughts throughout centuries.  Weather is definitely NOT as predictable as the newscasters would have us believe.  The alarmists would blame it all on "global warming". Some of that is probably true, however, these cycles of weather can be traced back through history for thousands of years in all countries.  It is a shame we have not found better ways to deal with these crisis type of droughts after all this time.   It is a shame we do not prepare for these "lean years."

Floods, earthquakes, droughts, tsunami's and all kinds of adverse weather take their toll on humankind throughout the world.  They are not new, and they will not go away.  What must happen is we must change the way we deal with these disastrous events.  We must learn to act rather than react. 

In the meantime, let's all pray for rain in the places which currently need rain.  Let's all learn to appreciate rain when it comes and deal with crisis without panic.

God Bless - Peace, Love and Joy

Stormy Weather and Beef Stroganoff

It's that time of year again. The clouds rolled in early this morning, the effects of Tropical Storm Lee seem to be moving our way.

Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana are feeling it in a big way. Then there is Katia milling around out there in the Atlantic, now forecast to become a Category 2...and heading for somewhere on the East Coast.

We need the rain, but I am hoping that rain is all we get. We have had a couple years of rough weather here, with tornadoes in the Macon area where there has been a lot of damage with downed trees and damaged houses.

Our insurance premiums have climbed by over three hundred dollars a year. I guess it was to be expected with all the flooding, earthquakes, tornadoes and such we have seen of late. Sometimes you just need to be thankful when you get up in the morning if your house hasn't blown away!

It has been heart wrenching to watch all the damage in Joplin and other areas. North Georgia took quite a hit this year too. Even right across the road from me there were many downed trees during a recent tornado. We were blessed. We were less than a quarter mile from some serious damage.

You just never know what the weather is going to do. And, then there is that earthquake near Washington, D.C. I never thought there would be an earthquake in that area. What a shocker! I always said I didn't want to live in California because the earth shakes there....now it seems like the earth is beginning to shake in a lot of places.

As I listen to the rain on the tin roof of the porch, I am taken back to my youth, and a time when we didn't have the early warnings that a hurricane was coming. First the rain would appear, and then the winds, and I can remember the house shaking so hard I thought it would come down around us. Fortunately, it didn't. We were without power for over two weeks one time after a hurricane made a direct hit on us. That left an impression on me even though I was was only 10 or 11 years old at the time.

It is so dreary that I am feeling like making something special for dinner today, so here is the recipe I would like to share...

BEEF STROGANOFF

1 pound lean beef cut into small pieces
3 Tablespoons oil
1 large onion, diced
1 pound sliced mushrooms
4 Tablespoons Worchestershire Sauce
8 Ounces Sour Cream
Salt and Pepper to Taste

Brown beef in large skillet and remove from pan while..you begin to
Saute onions until lightly browned
Add Worchestershire Sauce
Then add mushrooms and cook just until done.
Add Beef back into pan and season with Salt and Pepper
Stir in Sour Cream and heat just until thoroughly heated...do not overcook

Serve over Egg Noodles.

Good sides with this are green beans or broccoli.

Very yummy and easy to make.