 |
| A FIELD OF POPPIES |
Thursday, 9:00 AM. 31 degrees F, wind NE, light with occasional moderate gusts. The sky still has a low overcast but the snow has stopped. The humidity is 92% and the barometer stands at 30.19". We received at least 6" of slushy snow in Bayfield; it is hard to measure accurately because it drifted considerably. Surrounding communities got 12" or more so we may have gotten more than the 6". It is awful, wet, sticky stuff, and I was very fortunate to have neighbor Jon Nelson stop by and scrape out the driveway.
The snow started late yesterday morning as light rain mixed with snow, and quickly developed into a foggy blizzard, which pretty much continued through the night, although it seems to be over now. Winter is, for the time being, back with us. It is supposed to warm up into the 40's and 50's soon and stay that way for a week, so this mess will soon be gone. But for the immediate future it is ours to deal with.
The Department of Natural Resources stated yesterday that the deer herd in Northern Wisconsin has suffered heavily in this second severe winter in a row, the surviving does retaining little or no body fat, which is crucial for having healthy fawns. It is virtually certain that there will be a bucks-only regular deer season this fall, which should have been the case last season after a tough 2012-2013 winter. Too little, too late, I am afraid.
We bought a half a ham for Easter Sunday dinner, and when I think of ham I think of hard rolls. Real old fashioned Milwaukee bakery hard rolls, with an egg shell-like crust and a soft, airy inside. I doubt if anyone knows how to make them anymore, even in Milwaukee. Forget about sweet rolls for breakfast, a fresh hard roll cut in half and slathered with butter is far superior. And for Sunday lunch the same, with an ample amount of thinly sliced ham. Health regulations have killed the hard roll, I am afraid, as they demand the rolls be put in plastic bags, which ruins them.
And when the the hard roll has been baked with poppy seeds on top it is enough to make one forget all else. I don't know if you can get baked goods with poppy seeds anymore, either. They may not actually be illegal, but since truck drivers, pilots, police officers and heaven knows who else are being randomly tested for drug abuse (poppy seeds will turn the test positive) everyone is very sensitive to the issue. We eliminate poppy seeds while legalizing marijuana. Go figure.
Life has sure gotten complicated, and its simple pleasures far fewer.
When you come to Columbus next, Dad, we need to buy some bolillos--the Mexican version of a French baguette--at La Michoacana. They have the taste and textures of a Milwaukee hard roll, which I've always assumed is German. :)
ReplyDeleteWe need to time it right--They are put out as soon as they are no longer too hot to handle, and sometimes they are gone before they are completely cool.