Innholdsfortegnelse for July 2017 i Country Extra

“HAVE YOU EVER DONE A RAPID DESCENT?” my friend Carrie shouted at me from her bike. “What’s a...” I yelled as my bike flew down a steep hill in Arizona’s Usery Mountain Regional Park. Yes, I panicked, and yes, I rode the brake all the way down as Carrie fearlessly sped to the bottom and waited for me. I reached her without crashing and took a deep breath. And that’s when I realized I’d have to finish the 23-mile loop to get home. Instead of admitting defeat, I chose to keep going. I’m glad I did. The desert looked beautiful from the bike. I could feel the breeze on my face and smell fragrant wildflowers in the air. Finishing the ride was hard, but it was fun. I saw…

MY GRANDPARENTS had a little farm near Issaquah, Washington. Though I grew up in the city, I was a country girl at heart and loved to visit them and their farm animals, especially the chickens. An inventor by trade, my grandfather built the hens and roosters a house, which I thought of as a chicken palace. Two huge, netted, dome-shaped outdoor areas on either end were joined by a large, roomy chicken house, complete with roosts and nesting boxes. At the start of each visit, I quickly greeted my grandparents and then made a run for the palace. In my young dreams, I had always imagined myself peering into the nesting boxes, finding freshly laid, gleaming white eggs and bringing them to my proud and grateful grandfather. In reality, my…

JUICY CHERRY PIE KAREN BERNER NEW CANAAN, CONNECTICUT PREP: 35 min. + chilling BAKE: 55 min. + cooling MAKES: 8 servings 21/2 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 2/3 cup cold unsalted butter, cubed 1/3 cup shortening 6 to 10 tablespoons ice water FILLING 5 cups fresh tart cherries, pitted 2 teaspoons lemon juice 1/4 teaspoon almond extract 1 cup sugar 1/3 cup all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon SUGAR TOPPING 1 tablespoon 2% milk 1 teaspoon sugar DIRECTIONS 1. In a bowl, mix flour and salt; cut in the butter and shortening until crumbly. Gradually add ice water, tossing with a fork until dough holds together when pressed. Divide the dough in half. Shape each into a disk; wrap each in plastic wrap. Refrigerate 1 hour or overnight. 2.…

The Country conversation continues on Facebook! Like our page and you’ll see great Words to Live By (inspirational quotes we share every morning) plus posts like the ones below from fellow readers. “In the South, they say summer starts in April. The only relief from the thick humidity is lounging under big shade trees or, even better, lounging in sparkling clear, ice-cold mountain creeks.” MANDI WOOD, Field Editor “When I was a child, my mom, siblings and I used to take turns poring over Grandma’s Country magazine. It was our way of dreaming that we might live in the country ourselves one day. Well, now I do! It’s a dream come true. My heart is happy as I’m a subscriber myself now. Thank you, Country!” TAWNY NELSON “In…

SUMMER VACATION. These were the sweetest words growing up in south Louisiana. The days were long, lazy and always filled with the fragrant aroma of honeysuckle. The sound of Daddy on the lawn mower usually woke me up in the morning. Sunshine filtering through my curtains beckoned me outside. I grabbed a quilt, a snack and a book and headed outdoors to a quiet, shady spot. With my head pillowed against my arms, I lay back on the quilt and peered up through the branches of the shade tree at the slowly moving clouds. My little brother and I always had fun together. We rode bikes and played in the sandbox while dodging wasps. One of our favorite things to do was to catch crawfish in the ditch. We tied…

“This city girl moved to the mountains, bought a pair of mud boots and felt the love all around her.” – JACKIE SIKES I was born and raised a city girl, but I always dreamed of living in the mountains, wearing mud boots and leading a life rich with love. My dream came true the day I said “I do” to my best friend; Sean took my hand and led me home. With the help of his parents, Sean built our house next door to theirs in the small town of Dennard, Arkansas, in the beautiful Ozark Mountains. This city girl moved to the mountains, bought a pair of mud boots and felt the love all around her. Over the next several years we were busy making a living…

“Toasting marshmallows gives us something fun to do as a family.” – MARTHA HASEMAN The sound of children’s laughter and the high-pitched squeal of an old swing set filled the sticky summer air as I rested on the only shaded bench at our small community playground. My feet were tired and my body ached from standing at work. All I wanted to do was go home and crawl into bed, yet we remained at the humid playground. I knew my son, Sam, needed some playtime—and the more energy he burned now, the sooner he would fall asleep later. Just as the heat was becoming unbearable, a sea breeze blew across the plastic towers and wood chips. It cooled my sweating skin and seemed to rejuvenate me in an…

Between taking care of four daughters and doing household chores, my mother, Helen, occasionally took a break. She walked into the kitchen, poured a cup of coffee, grabbed the paper tablet out of the drawer and carried everything into the dining room at our home in Santa Paula, California. Pulling out a chair, she began to write letters. She dated them at the top—months and years in the 1960s. And then it was Dear Lizzie, Lorraine, Eunice, Delta, Mildred or Wanda (sisters and sisters-in-law). She wrote about what and how we were doing, and she shared how other family members were doing if they had not had time to write. After she finished a letter, she placed the folded pages in a small envelope adorned with a four-cent stamp and…

A patchwork of ponds, marshes, forests and fields known as the Bear Swamp Wildlife Management Area stretches behind our property. It’s a place black bears, wild turkeys and white-tailed deer call home. I often trek through Bear Swamp’s woods and beyond, where thickets of native grapevines and thorny brambles encroach on wild fields mowed yearly. At the end of July, the brambles yield plump blackberries. I spend an hour harvesting them and return home with stained fingers, ready for my wife, Carole, to help transform the fruit into sweet jam. By late August, bunches of wild grapes ripen, too. Big, seedy and purple, their woody vines clamber up oak windbreaks, often making the fruit unreachable. A neighbor and I once did a double take when we spotted a buck hopping…

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VIEW FROM OUR PLACE Blue skies, friendly folks and wide-open spaces make life in the country so rewarding. Country celebrates deep values and simple pleasures. Tell us why having roots in the land matters to your family, and send photos of the beauty in your neck of the woods. CHURCHES The bells ring faithfully from country churches across America. We know that churches are the heart and soul of our communities. Be a voice for your congregation: Share the good deeds they do with us. We might feature your church in a future issue. FRESH AIR Grab a camera and turn on your creativity. We invite Country readers to tell us how you embrace the changing seasons. Please send us your heartwarming words and beautiful images of nature, animals and…

Granny’s back porch was my all-time favorite place. The wobbly wooden rail and the missing first step leading up to the porch were comforting to me. I remember one-on-one time with Granny, as well as the family get-togethers that took place there. Popping and stringing the yearly harvest of green beans brought the neighbors over. Late into the night, adults and children alike would work and talk and laugh and share. It was a glorious time. Granny’s back porch was where I drank my first steaming cup of coffee and where I told my grandmother that she would soon be a great-grandmother. There are often moments in my life when I would love to go back to that old back porch. I can smell the fresh-cut apples simmering in sugar…

July 2017 Fireworks on the Fourth, sizzling barbecues and running barefoot in the grass...it’s summer! We go blueberry-picking as a family  and make a day of it with a picnic lunch. That night we always have breakfast for dinner—pancakes with real maple syrup and the fruits of our labor.” Jolene Martinelli Fremont, New Hampshire JULY 1 Canada Day Our neighbors to the north celebrate 150 years as a united country! Congrats to our Canadian readers. 7/3/17 Sirius, the Dog Star, reappears on the horizon at sunrise, kicking off the sweltering dog days of summer. 4 th of JULY INDEPENDENCE DAY The Blue Angels fly through the Florida skies in a celebration of the red, white and blue during the Pensacola Beach Air Show. visitpensacolabeach.com “It’s showtime! The birds sing,…

CHEROKEE PURPLE TOMATO This tomato drew me in with its promise of deep purple-pink fruit. I was pleased to find the sweet, rich flavor matched its beauty. It’s no surprise this variety frequently wins taste tests. The old Cherokee heirloom can be traced back to before 1890. It’s a prolific producer of very large tomatoes—perfect for slicing to serve on hearty sandwiches and in salads. Determinate (bush) tomato plants are smaller than indeterminate ones, making them better suited for planting in containers. LITTLE FINGER CARROT Yes, you can grow baby carrots! These dainty darlings were developed in France for canning and pickling. The sweet, deep orange, 4-inch carrots also make a delicious and healthy snack. My 2-year-old likes to pull them right up out of the soil and start nibbling…

My niece, Abby Bilbrough, caught the horse-loving bug and started riding lessons two and a half years ago at Campbell’s Lane Farm in Preston, Maryland. Since then, I’ve watched her develop a strong kinship with the horses and her farm family there. Abby’s first love was a horse named Splash. Sadly, Splash passed away, and Abby was devastated. Then a few months later, the farm staff paired Abby with another horse, Sadi. The two of them formed a very deep bond. It’s a beautiful thing. And like any girl with a horse, Abby wants to spend as much time with Sadi as she can. It doesn’t matter whether she is brushing or bathing her, riding or jumping; Abby adores being with Sadi. You can tell Sadi loves Abby just as…

In each issue we hide two needles (black or white). If you find them, enter online at country-magazine.com by clicking the Contests link at the top of the page. We’ll draw winners from the correct entries. Winners receive a one-year subscription to Country. In the May issue of Country Extra, we hid the needles on pages 14 and 53. No purchase necessary to enter to win. Purchase will not improve your chances of winning. Sweepstakes is open to legal residents age 18 years or older of the U.S., its territories and possessions. Sweepstakes begins on June 28, 2017, and ends on Aug. 23, 2017. For official rules, visit country-magazine.com. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED. Sweepstakes sponsored by RDA Enthusiast Brands, LLC. MYSTERY PHOTO ANSWER Leland Howard captured the sunset on page 30…