A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day....10-24-06 .... Autumn Splendor

10-24-06 | JustAmy and MamaBear

[JustAmy]

A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day

Free Republic made its debut in September, 1996, and the forum was added in early 1997.   Over 100,000 people have registered for posting privileges on Free Republic, and the forum is read daily by tens of thousands of concerned citizens and patriots from all around the country and the world.

A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day was introduced on June 24, 2002. It's only a small room in JimRob's house where we can get to know one another a little better; salute and support our military and our leaders; pray for those in need; and congratulate those deserving. We strive to keep our threads entertaining, fun, and pleasing to look at, and often have guest writers contribute an essay, or a profile of another FReeper.

On Mondays please visit us to see photos of A FEW OF FR'S VETERANS AND ACTIVE MILITARY

If you have a suggestion, or an idea, or if there's a FReeper you would like to see featured, please drop one of us a note in FR mail.

We're having fun and hope you are!
~ Billie, Dutchess, DollyCali, GodBlessUSA, JustAmy ~

Once Upon An Autumn Day

Once Upon an autumn day,
Colorful leaves began to fade
In the midst of a chilly, frosty air
As multitude of trees grew steadily bare.

Once upon an autumn day,
The whispering breeze was here to stay
Moving aimlessly through the countless trees
Scattering leaves with the greatest of ease.

Once upon an autumn day,
The leaves whirled freely in every way,
Until at last they came to rest
Finding a haven in which to nest.

Once upon an autumn day,
The trees were dormant, and the leaves lay
Waiting for the winter snow to fall
To quickly obscure them one and all.

Joseph T. Renaldi







Swedish Apple Pie Recipe

Apples, cored, peeled, and tossed with lemon juice (2 1/2 to 3 cups)
1 t. cinnamon
1 T. sugar
1 1/2 sticks butter, melted
1 C. sugar
1 C. all-purpose flour
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 to 1 C. nuts (pecans or walnuts)

Preheat oven to 350° F. Lightly grease a 9-inch pie plate.

Place apples in pie plate, filling 3/4 full. Sprinkle cinnamon and sugar over top of apples.

Combine butter, sugar, flour, nuts, and egg in a bowl and mix well. Batter will be thick. Pour batter over apples and spread evenly.

Bake at 350° F. for 55 minutes, or until golden brown.

Serve with Cool Whip or ice cream.

Makes 8 servings.

Leaves

They’re piled up in the corners.
They’re matted in the yard.
I don’t remember having trees,
Has ever been this hard.

A hint of woodsmoke in the air,
The acrid, musty smell.
Just gather leaves up in a pile,
And spread the ashes well.

Now that they have protectors,
They dump on us with glee.
I’ve never had a poem do,
What trees have done to me.

They pepper me with acorns,
Or crash a mighty limb.
But worst of all to deal with,
Is the assault of ... THEM!

A million scuttling soldiers,
In khaki, to blend in,
They gather in the darkness,
And move out with the wind.

They hide the pretty flowers,
And cover up the grasses,
I’d like to light a fire or two,
And fix their little ... ashes.

Instead, we haul them all away,
Recycled, as they say.
I think they make their breakouts and,
Come back another day.

There seem to be so many more,
Than there once used to be.
Instead of burying, let’s cremate them,
And set their spirits free.

The trees now lord it over us,
That used to live in fear.
I guess I’ve learned the truth of this,
“Rake more than once a year.”

NicknamedBob . . . . . April 3, 2004

If all be true that I do think,
There are five reasons we should drink:
Good wine— a friend— or being dry—
Or lest we should be by and by—
Or any other reason why.
----Henry Aldrich (1647–1710)

Burgundy makes you think of silly things,
Bordeaux makes you talk of them and
Champagne makes you do them.
----Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin

If God forbade drinking,
would He have made wine so good?
----Cardinal Richelieu







Winter Bird Pudding Recipe
"Bird Feed Recipe"

2 quarts water
1 C. margarine
1 C. peanut butter
4 C. cereal (cornmeal, rolled oats, Farina, Roman Meal and/or Cream of Wheat)
Chopped fruits (raisins, dates, apples)
Sunflower seeds or bird seed

In a large kettle, bring water and margarine to boiling. Slowly add cereals and cook, stirring constantly until the mixture is fully cooked and thick. Remove from heat.

Add peanut butter and desired amount of chopped fruit, nuts and seeds. Cool and place in plastic containers.

Note: pack the stuff into chopped off chunks of discarded panty hose. Hang the mixture in protected crooks of trees. You can also spread the mixture onto a plate (don't use aluminum pans; when it's freezing, little bird feet can stick to the metal and suffer injury), set out on ground or picnic bench.

By placing the food at different elevations, you will attract many species of birds. The food can be preserved in a freezer (if there is any left over). Just be sure to use it within three to four months.

October's Party

October gave a party;
The leaves by hundreds came -
The Chestnuts, Oaks, and Maples,
And leaves of every name.
The Sunshine spread a carpet,
And everything was grand,
Miss Weather led the dancing,
Professor Wind the band.

~George Cooper~















Pumpkin Stir-fry
Makes 10-12 servings

1 6-10-inch meaty pumpkin or squash
1 10-12-inch pumpkin
3-4 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound chicken-apple sausage, sliced
1 onion, sliced
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 red bell peppers, sliced
3/4 pound assorted mushrooms, sliced
Salt and Pepper, to taste
1/4 cup butter
3 pears, sliced
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 teaspoon nutmeg

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Scrape the seeds out of the smaller pumpkin, place it in a baking pan, and bake for 25 minutes to loosen the meat. Cut meat out of the pumpkin shell, and slice into bite-size pieces. Turn off the oven.

Cut the top off the large pumpkin, and scrape out all the seeds. Set the pumpkin on a baking sheet, and place inside the cooling oven. (You want to keep the pumpkin warm but not cook it.)

Place olive oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add sausage; sauté for a few minutes. Adjust heat to medium-high, then add onion, garlic and bell peppers, stirring occasionally for a few minutes. Stir in mushrooms, and cook until tender, yet firm. Season with salt and pepper. Cover, and set aside.

In a separate skillet, melt butter. Add chopped pumpkin and pears, and sauté until crisp-tender. Season with maple syrup and nutmeg. Mix the two stir fries, and scoop them into the warm, hollowed-out pumpkin. If the pumpkin is still too cold, turn the oven to 325 degrees and heat until warmed well. Serve immediately.

10-01-06 ~ Hall of Fame #17

THIS WEEK'S THREADS 10-23-06 Military Monday

Opinions by our own 'King of Ping' Every Thursday at the Finest The guy's good, folks!

[DollyCali]

gotta get busy here. I used up all my "break time" before I even got started! :-)

[onyx]

That's breathtakingly beautiful!

YES, KEN BLACKWELL MUST WIN!!!!

[RockinRight]

Great view!

My Blackwell sign's been up for a while and it hasn't been stolen. However, I'm on a dead end street in a *relatively* conservative neighborhood, well, conservative for being within the Akron city limits.

[RockinRight]

I think most of my dad's side of the family will vote for Blackwell. Not sure about a couple of my cousins. I think my sister's a lock, my dad and stepmother are in, my mother is a Dem but usually doesn't bother to vote anyway so that's good, same with my stepfather. My mom's side is mostly apolitical or they don't live in Ohio.

[NicknamedBob]

A very lovely thread today, Amy. Thanks for the showcase. Thanks, Billy, for the exquisite setting, you captured my suggestion flawlessly.

I'll be out of touch for a few days, in the wilds of Pennsylvania. Don't worry if you don't hear from me.

If I need something, I'll yell really loud!

[DollyCali]

Have a great trip Bob..should be gorgeous leaf viewing if that is part of the agenda.

Your poem & the presentation were great. Thank you as always & safe travels!

[NicknamedBob]

Thanks, Dolly!

I'll keep my eyes open. You never know when your vision will be filled with the transient gleam of a distant bouquet of ...


Oops, sorry. Darn poetry wax building up again.

Later!

[The Raven]

Nice pix (as usual)

[JustAmy]

Have a safe trip and enjoy autumn in the wilds of Pennsylvania.

Thanks again, NnB. Your poems always add special content to our monthly thread. See you when you get back.

Wish I knew the subject of my next thread, I could give you a neat assignment.

[Mama_Bear]

Good morning, (((((MEGs))))). Do you get much autumn color there in your part of Texas? It will be four or five more weeks before we have our fall color here. It's usually just before Thanksgiving when we are at our peak.

When I was searching for graphics for this thread I came across this photo of autumn trees in the town where my family comes from in Massachusetts.

[stopem]

Good morning!

Love Autumn, all the beautiful colors.

Went to vote in early voting since we are leaving the country on saturday and will be gone for 16 days.
Voting was very light but steady, practically all Seniors there voting.

[Billie]

Thank you for the wonderful Last Fall graphics. As expected, you did a beautiful job with that poem.

[Billie]

Truly is a "splendid" post today, Amy and Lori. I LOVE the Fall Season most of all the seasons. (Spring is a close second) :)

I want to be eating that apple pie right now!

[Mama_Bear]

Good morning, GeeBee. Bet you are having some lovely color in your neck of the woods. Also bet you have been way too busy with your move to even think about photographing the season. LOL.

Hope all is going smoothly.

[Mama_Bear]

Beautiful photos, Dolly. I envy you living in the wilds of Ohio, amongst all that "nature". I live in the country (sort of), but we don't have "woods" here. I so miss the woods.

Thanks for sharing your photos with us.

[Mama_Bear]

Mornin' Rus. Hope all is well with you and yours. Happy autumn to you!

[JustAmy]

Thank you, Meg, for the compliment and the lovely autumn graphic.

Hope you are enjoying a beautiful fall day.

[Mama_Bear]

Could that be a "wolfie" Lori is holding?

Yes, I do believe that is our very own wolfie. ;-)

Good morning, Billie.

I wish I could stay on the thread today, but we're having out of town company over for dinner and I have bunch of things to finish up. My list of things to do contains nothing anywhere near as fun as visiting with FRiends at the Finest. :-(

I will leave you all with a pretty autumn image and will try to return later today....

[Billie]

Sweet apple pickin' graphic, Meg! Apples and pumpkins and technicolor leaves and crisp mornings - and football, of course! Ahhhhh, Fall! :)

[Billie]

Morning, GeeBee - love your tables/graphics post! You always find interesting and neat backgrounds for your tables. :)