CELEBRATING BARN DAY – July 10th

The second Sunday in July is designated “barn day,” when the importance of barns in the farming communities in the United States is observed. Barns are historically the center of the farm, built to accommodate animals, grain, hay, and equipment. The word barn originates from the Old English word for ‘bere,’ or barely, and ‘aem,’ which means storage space.

           Throughout our lands, there are many different types and styles of barns, built and designed to reflect the type of farming that occurred there. In northeastern Pennsylvania, where I grew up, our dairy barn was a bank barn which meant it was built into a bank allowing for easy ground access to both the upper and lower floors. The upper floors accommodated haylofts where first loose hay and then baled hay were stored for the cattle housed on the lower floor.      

          Most barns in northeastern Pennsylvania were constructed of hemlock, a very hardy wood which seasons to a light gray color. The eastern hemlock is the state tree of Pennsylvania and large, plentiful stands existed in the 1800s.

        By design, our barn was fashioned after a design called the Dutch Barn with its hip or gambrel roof which had two symmetrical slopes on two sides, with the lower slope steeper than the upper one. However, the barn itself was more rectangular, like the English and German barns, and the broad expansive side had wide doors on tracks that opened and allowed for wagons to enter directly into hay loft, making unloading the hay load easier.                                            

How did they get the hay into the barn? A long rail or track ran along the inside length of the roof, from peak to peak, and accommodated a double harpoon hay fork, pulleys, and trip rope. Once the fork, with its two giant tines, was secured into a bundle of hay, a horse—and later a tractor—pulled the stack of hay up and onto the track. After delivering it to the proper location, a yank on an attached rope would trip the hay fork to release its load. I often worked the mow. Using a pitch fork, I dragged layers of hay to the far corner and edges of the loft to even it out.

         Because we found newspapers from the Civil War, used as insulation in the attic, we knew the barn was built before 1861. However, we also knew the Irish Potato famine of 1845-49, brought many skilled Irish immigrants looking for work when they arrived in the United States. It was said they went from farm to farm, seeking shelter and food—and in return, cleared stone from fields and built the stonewalls in Northeastern Pennsylvania. We have many of these sturdy walls still standing on our property.

So what do you do on Barn Day? Why not take a ride in the country and go looking for old barns? They are a disappearing structure on our rural landscape as the farming industry has slowly faded over the years and the barn buildings have gone to disrepair. 

  

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HUCKLEBERRY HAPPINESS - Ice Caves and Wild Huckleberries

She dreams of winning the contest, but what does her heart want? 

Huckleberry Happiness, a  novella for The Wild Rose Press “One Scoop or Two” collection, highlights two things unique to Pennsylvania: ice caves and wild huckleberries. In 1885, Emerlia Stone, the heroine, wants  to make huckleberry ice cream to win a dessert contest offered by the railroad.

       The hero, Joe Sawicki, owns an ice cave and supplies ice to Emelia’s bakery and the townsfolk. Huckleberries are native to Pennsylvania, dating back to the first bushes which survived as the ice cover was melting over 13,000 years ago. Ice caves are rare phenomena that maintain freezing temperatures year ’round and contain ice during the hottest days of the summer.

Strip mining erased almost all traces of them after the 1920s.

BLURB:  

         In 1885, Emelia Stone and her sister must learn to operate their deceased parents’ bakery in a small town in Pennsylvania. A large mortgage looms on their family home. When her sister leaves town, Emelia is forced to handle the bakery and burden alone.

 The Pennsylvania Railroad is searching for the perfect dessert for its passengers. Joe Sawicki, owner of Sawicki Brothers Ice Company, is certain Emelia can win the contest and the hundred- dollar bonus if she creates a special ice cream to accompany her popular huckleberry pies. He has loved her since they played hooky in grade school to explore the company’s ice cave.

Can Emelia find courage to stand up to the town’s bully to win the competition? And will Joe have the mettle to express his undying love and win first place in Emelia’s heart?

            An engaging romance for only $1.99 -  HUCKLEBERRY HAPPINESS

Riding a Stone Boat

If you’ve ever planted a garden or dug in a flower bed or walked on a plowed farm field, you know how those pesky stones poke up unexpectedly from the earth. 

May is the month when farmers plow, harrow, and sow their crops here in the Northeast. Winter, and the snows it brings, has finally disappeared. Now that rainy April has shut off the water spigot in the sky, the drier fields await attention, and their only gift to the farmer is stones. 

When the last glacier came down from the Arctic region, it kneaded stones into the soil at varying depths. And when the mile-high ice sheet eventually melted away, it deposited rocks which had been embedded in the ice. When the fields are plowed for planting, the frost action often lifts these rocks to the surface. 

For many farmers, this meant the back-breaking work of picking these stones before planting could begin. How did they do it? With stone boats, also called a drag or skid boat. 

A stone boat is a long, low, flat sled-like contraption, often homemade and consisting of wooden planks mounted across a pair of wide runners similar to a sleigh. Some are built with a turned up nose to make dragging it across the field easier. It’s surmised that this upturned prow reminded early farmers of a boat gliding through water. The stone boat in theory glides over the soil.  

In the early days, stone boats were pulled by horses. Later, they were dragged over the fields by tractors. Our stone boat was hooked to our Farmall tractor with chains, probably the same hitch that was used when my father farmed as a boy. 

I remember picking stone with Dad on a field where we usually planted corn. The back-breaking technique of the job has not changed over the years. You pick up the larger stones and place them around the outside of the boat and throw the smaller ones inside. 

Once the stone boat is filled, it’s taken to the back or low end of the field where the hard work of touching each stone is once again needed to unload the boat. I should mention that some thought does go into this simple tiresome process. You must decide where you’ll deposit the stones before you begin. Stone boats can’t be backed up. 

If you take a drive into the country, you’ll often see these “stone piles” alongside farmer’s fields where a piece of land has been cleared. However, stone piles have now dwindled as construction companies request the crude stone to use in building houses and replicating stone walls.

Is there any joy in picking rocks? Only one. Once the boat is loaded, you get to hop on and ride the boat to the stone pile where you unload it. 

                                                        Judy Ann's AUTHOR PAGE

THE ROBIN - Singing and Ringing in Spring

Everyone has their favorite sign of spring. Some judge its arrival by various plants like the pussy willows or emerging tulips, or the return of wild geese, honking as they fly northward.

But for me, when I hear the first carols of the robins as they go bob, bob, bobbing on the greening backyard lawn, I get a feeling of optimism and glee that spring has sprung. Known to prefer an environment around homes and farmsteads, the robins will hurry and scurry to construct their nests in our high, dense rhododendrons at the side of our house. They are not opposed to building on flat surfaces under our deck, or on a man-made nesting platform either.

The true robin redbreast is a native of the Old World. Our robin in the United States is a thrush, but the pioneers named it the robin in remembrance of the bird that was common on the English countryside.

Nesting Platform

The nests of the robin is made of mud and lined with grass. The eggs are a pale, bluish green which we refer to as “robin’s egg blue.” They prefer to eat worms and fruit. Many times in July, I find them scouting my blueberry bushes for the first ripened fruit. If I put a net over the bushes, they often find a way in—by sneaking underneath the covering.

During spring, summer, and fall, I keep a bird bath near our patio. You can see them lined up, waiting to take a bath as soon as I replenish the bowl with fresh water. Then, I have to clean it again, since my little feathered friends have mud on their feet.

Folklore tells us that many people believe a visit from a robin is a sign that a lost relative is visiting them. Or in the spiritual world, the robin is viewed as a symbol of visits from deceased loved ones. I prefer the more modern symbol associated with the robin—a new beginning, new life, fortune and good luck. And of course, they’re my harbinger of spring. 

 

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WHERE DO WRITERS GET IDEAS?

Everyone wants to know where writers get their ideas. It’s a question every author who has a book signing or who gives a presentation is asked. Many times, you will hear writers (myself included) admit that they “truly don’t know” where they get them.

For a writer, ideas are like the ocean waves—sometimes they come crashing into our minds; sometimes they roll quietly in and then slip away, receding like a calm ripple; and sometimes they tumble around like a sneaky undertow before they pop up, surface and become a viable thought.

However, there are some truths about all writers:

Good writers are voracious readers, devouring anything they can get their hands on—from the back of a cereal box to a placemat at the restaurant to the directions for the new coffeemaker.

Writers are often asked how do you manage to read and write at the same time? Simple--just like a chef eats, but creates and cooks for his vocation, we read and write. It’s part of the job. Good writers exchange and read works of their fellow writers who create in a similar format. The short story writer will read short stories of masters like Jack London, Edgar Allen Poe, Mark Twain, Louis L’Amour, Kurt Vonnegut,  Eudora Welty, or Alice Munroe. . .and the list goes on. 

But don’t be fooled, good writers also read the masters and modern day writers of other genres as well. Why? To discover what is good and what is bad writing. To get ideas. To listen to new voices, to understand new styles, and to discover how characters, descriptions, setting, dialogue, and storylines are created by others.

I personally have found that most writers I know are receptive to new things, are often curious, and do not like to be idle.  They are observant of their environment, situationally aware of everything and everyone around them, and often embrace change, sometimes just for the newness of it. They are able to remember details and, like the cartoonist  who can capture the essence of person with a few  features unique to only that person, writers are also able to sort through detail and write images readers can see and relate to.

Why do Writers Write?

Every time, when I meet people and they know I’m a writer, they always ask me how long it takes to write a novel. Most are surprised when I tell them it takes me a year to write a work of about 70,000 to 80,000 words. I am not a fast writer. Others write much more quickly than I do.

But there are many facets to writing that deplete your time, including rewriting the draft, editing, and allowing the manuscript to sit for a length of time so the writer can take a second look with a refreshed, erased mind, and a different outlook.

Writers don’t just write. We have to advertise, blog for ourselves, maintain websites, appear on other blogs, read, belong to chat rooms, have a presence on social media, and follow the latest industry trends. I also belong to a book club. These all infringe on writing time.

When I start a story, I hate to play with more than one draft, so I try to get the story line and plot fairly correct the first time. I write each chapter as a separate unit/document before bringing them all together in a complete manuscript and into one final document. This makes it easier to delete a chapter or rearrange all of them.

My biggest failing in writing is that I used to keep a sketchy log or bible of my characters, noting specifics about them, but I quit. Now, I often have to go back to the original manuscripts or print book and search for things like eye color, hair color, and other physical descriptions. I try to be sure I’m not overusing some characteristics or repeating names.

This month, I am showcasing Four White Roses for just $0.99 while I work on special advertising for it. This is the time to tell your friends with eBooks and Kindles to grab it. It’s still my favorite of all the contemporary books and novellas.

By the way, the best thing you can do to help a writer is to leave a review if you’ve read his/her book. And it doesn’t have to be a long one—just a sentence or two.

I’ll leave you with this question? Why do writer’s write?

They write--because they can’t not write. If they are away from their craft for too long, they get antsy and need to fill the hollow creative space in their brain with ideas and words.

FOUR WHITE ROSES - Just $0.99 during February

Rainy Days in May

Living in Pennsylvania is always a treat when spring rolls around. This year was exceptional because we had a late spring with endless days of rain. As glossy raindrops drum against my dining room window again, I think of the farmers’ axiom, “Rain in May, a barn full of hay.”

Our flowering crab tree in bloom

In such a busy world, I’m thinking the Almighty sends down the rain to allow us time to slow down and take a breath. Rainy days are for dawdling. This is the time when we can enjoy our second cup of coffee, or we can peruse that tall stack of magazines or paperwork we’ve labeled, to be read.  We can listen to a favorite song, read a good book, and finish an art project or indoor chore that’s been bugging us for months. It’s also a great time to write without the guilt that outside tasks are awaiting us.

I often say I’m glad that humans can’t control the weather, because it reminds me who’s really in charge. It also teaches us to embrace the unpredictable, to be flexible, and to welcome change in our lives. For those who like to plan or follow a daily routine, inclement days remind us that deviations from our conventional days can be enjoyable… and maybe, just maybe, there might be a rainbow as an added bonus.

What do you like to do on a rainy day?

                             A GENTLE REMINDER:

"Four White Roses" in digital is on sale for $0.99 only until May 31sr. It's a romance and mystery with a touch of paranormal. "Can a wily old ghost help two fractured hearts find love again?" https://www.amazon.com/Four-White-Roses-Judy-Davis-ebook/dp/B06XPBKY7F/

Amazon: https://www.amzn.com/B06XPBKY7F 
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Judy-Ann-Davis/e/B006GXN502/ 
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JudyAnnDavis4 
Twitter ID:  JudyAnnDavis4 
Blog Link: “A Writer’s Revelations” ~  http://judyanndavis.blogspot.com/ 
Website: http://www.judyanndavis.com/ 
Goodreads Author Page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4353662.Judy_Ann_Davis 
Yahoo Groups:  wrppromo@yahoogroups.com and ahachat@yahoogroups.com and pennwriters@yahoogroups.com 
ITunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/four-white-roses/id1222189126/ 
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/four-white-roses-1

 

Groundhogs Day - Is Winter Ending?

February 2nd is Groundhogs Day and an all-important celebration in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, as well as around the United States. It’s based on the idea of a groundhog, also called a woodchuck, emerging from its hibernation to predict the weather. If the groundhog sees its shadow and returns to its burrow, there will be six more weeks of winter. But, if the animal does not see its shadow, then spring is right around the corner.

In Pennsylvania, where the annual ceremony is held, the natives and townfolk know the famous furry fellow as “Punxsutawney Phil.” And Phil doesn’t live in the ceremonial stump on Gobler’s Knob where he emerges, but in Phil’s Burrow which is an indoor structure next to the library resembling a natural habitat where he dines on corn on the cob, carrots, celery, lettuce and kale, and granola bars. The latter is used to keep his ever-growing front teeth from getting too long.

Also known as the whistle pig, the groundhog is actually a member of the squirrel family. They are slow, lumbering runners and when they sense danger head for their dens which are tunnels in the ground. They are covered with two coats of fur: a dense grey undercoat and a longer coat of banded guard hairs giving them their distinctive "frosted" appearance. The young groundhogs are often called chucklings.

The primary predators of groundhogs are hawks, foxes, coyotes, bobcats, dogs, bears, eagles, and humans. And, let’s not forget the automobile. Although groundhogs rarely come in contact with humans, they are capable of are capable of carrying fleas, ticks and rabies.

Groundhogs are among the few mammals that enter into true hibernation starting the end of October and until late February. They are strict herbivores. In the wild, they eat a variety of vegetables including soybeans, beans, peas, carrot tops, alfalfa and grasses. They prefer to burrow nearby where they feed—in fields, pastures, along fences, roadsides, and near building foundations, and bases of trees. For the farmers and gardeners, groundhogs are a nuisance and the holes they make in fields often result in damage to equipment. Foundations to building are often compromised; and these critters have been known to cause electrical outages from gnawing on underground wires.

But despite his ability to be a nuisance, every year since 1887, thousands of people gather in Punxsutawney on February 2^nd to await the prediction of spring. He is so popular that in 1995, Phil flew to Chicago for a guest appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show, which aired on Groundhog Day of that year.

So let’s have some fun. Will it be an early spring…or six more weeks of winter? Only Phil…and maybe the weatherman, knows for sure.

HAPPY NEW YEAR! - Welcome 2018

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines.  Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." –Mark Twain

As we approach the 2018, many people believe it’s time to look back at the past year, make corrections, and formulate resolutions for the New Year. We humans seem to need a beginning when we want to start something new—be it a skill, task, hobby, or exercise program. Dieting, for instance. How many people have you heard say, “I’m going on a diet next week…or on Monday”? After all, who starts dieting on Saturday night while sitting in a restaurant with a glass of wine and a menu that screams calories for the weak without willpower?

A beginning in our mind is always a mental picture of a first—the first day of the week or of the month, when the kids leave and you have free time, when winter ends and spring begins. The new year provides people with a clean slate and a place to start something new or to try to cast off an old vice. That’s where resolutions come into play.

Are you a resolution maker? I’m not.

I’m thinking the 2018 is a time to set some relaxed, even movable goals and explore some activities I’ve always wanted to do, but have put on the back burner. This year I’m focusing on what Mark Twain so elegantly said. I’m taking 2018 to explore, dream, discover and do new things I’ve sworn I was going to do “someday.” You know which someday I’m talking about, don’t you? The one that is really an enigmatic place in the future, without a day, month, or even year specified.  

 

My someday activities may include writing some short stories, returning to my wood shop, trying my hand at raising some herbs, reading more nonfiction, visiting some new places, watching more sunsets and enjoying nature.

What are your resolutions—or goals and activities—for the coming year? And let me know what “someday” interests you have on the back burner.

The Richness of Autumn

When September rolls around with its misty mellow mornings and chilly nights, our thoughts turn to the richness of autumn. It's one of my favorite seasons in Central Pennsylvania. It’s the smell of curling smoke from chimneys, ripe apples fallen from the tree, foods laced with cinnamon and vanilla, and of course, the smell of earth with its drying leaves.

Goldenrod, Queen Anne’s lace, and russet sumac line our roadways. Maple leaves slowly change from luscious green to yellow and crimson and orange, while poplar and birch shiver in the crisp breezes, their leaves shimmering like gold coins.

Fields of grass, mown months ago in summer, are now fading to bronze and brown. In the gardens, tangerine pumpkins lay with withered leaves, ready to be picked, stored, or made into smiling October Jack-O-Lanterns.

If you pause and listen, there are crickets and night insects still hiding in the grass and chirping at dusk. Overhead, geese honk and search for a field to find food, knowing it’s too early to wing their way southward. Even though the joyful sweet chorus of the songbirds has faded, if you’re lucky—or not—a cardinal or bluebird will squawk out a complaint to let you know they are still nearby. In the tall pines, the annoying, relentless calls of the crows echo in the air.

Red apples, orange bittersweet, yellow sunflowers, blue skies, purple grapes, brown acorns, black nights and white frosted mornings are all part of the assortment of colors, sights and smells that shout autumn is near...get ready!

Welcome to the Clearfield County Fair - A Short History

The Clearfield County Fair dates back to 1852. Originally called the Clearfield County Fair and Industrial Exhibition, it began with the organization of the Clearfield Agricultural Society which was chartered in 1854. In 1860, Clearfield and Curwensville held a contest to determine who would host the Fair.  

Clearfield won the contest by raising more subscription money, and it was established as the site, except in 1895 and 1896, when Grampian was used so that a track would be available for harness racing. In 1870, the Clearfield Driving Park became the permanent fair grounds. In the early 1900's, the Fair was held irregularly. However, in 1925, two permanent buildings, the grandstand and the exposition hall were constructed.

Changes occured in the 1930s when the crash of the stock market in 1934 caused the 1935 fair to be briefly suspended. The Clearfield Volunteer Fire Department procured its management in 1938 and extended its length to a full week, adding a first fireman’s parade. The Clearfield Volunteer Department is made up from four fire companies, one from each ward of Clearfield Borough. They are Company Number One, Second Ward, Third Ward Hose Company, Elk hose Company. Each fire company elects three persons from their membership to form the Clearfield Volunteer Fire Department Fair and Park Board.

The James E. Strates Shows made their first appearance in 1937 and continued for over thirty years. When the railroad ran through Clearfield, it was tradition to watch them load their show on the train in downtown Clearfield after the Fair was over.

In 1944 and 1945, there were no fairs because of World War Two. Originally, the ownership of the fairgrounds belonged to bondholders, most of whom turned their bonds over to the firemen as a donation to see the Fair continue. The Grandstand Company owned the grandstand. Then later, the Clearfield Borough Park Authority paid off the remainder of the outstanding bonds.

In the late 1970's, the Fair Board entered a lease agreement with Clearfield Borough to take over the management of the fair grounds and buildings. Since then the Fair Board has been responsible for renovations and improvements into the fairgrounds, also known as the Clearfield Driving Park.

Each year, the fair draws large crowds of young and old from the surrounding areas and around the state for the sights, sounds and tastes unique to the gala. There is something for everyone—rides, games, good food, animal and trade exhibitions, harness racing, fair queen and her court, and great grandstand entertainment.