“Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and create a new ending” [quote]

My ears are buzzing from the silence surrounding us today as suddenly the moments seem to be passing by in this slow motion manner I had not experienced since last winter here. Spirit and I are suddenly alone. I don’t think my thoughts have yet been able to react to the sudden change, but as I read above quote I realized that all can restart today, as in “now”. Nothing wrong I can assure, only the fact that sometimes some do not think through of their move through Life, and Family responsibilities left behind very quickly, meaning “real fast”, can catch up and derail a path lightly taken without much depth of thought.

A little bit overkill in it’s size, the delivery of a 40ft shipping container.

A Friendship within two needs to be so strong, even if yet the foundations have not been built and laid out to allow for one’s self decisions to correct a compromise suddenly shadowed by at times setting aside what should be. There is no harm in doing so, on the contrary, being understanding of others as hindsight sometimes can blur decisions that never focus sharply as present and future situations demand. Those wooden doors of School past have yet to close on us, only glad to attend continuously those lectures filling up those chapters we graduate one at the time, with the knowledge of so much more to come.

Storage, solar, telephone and DSL, 325G water… Home Base for the winter “The Oasis”.

These past years have made me strong and yet at times weakness filters up to the surface of the moment. I have a refuge that I visit often, it is a bit dark and damp in there, it is not quite a physical space but more mental as when I think and say to myself  “I have been already through the worse”, I seem to emerge a step up to confront whatever situation has come my way. If I have surmounted these past years, I sure can surmount these days.

We yet have to create a destination to go on near by. It has been hot, hot and humid as never before, and as I keep looking at the weather forecast, reading a high of 97 for Thursday, it only means really above 100! I am hoping it is not a sign of an odd winter. Of course hot and humid means storms and rain and last night was no exception. There was the evening show as it happens every night, yesterday the night show also took place with too many curtain calls to even be able to stay up all night. I had never taken such night shots finally using a tripod as I was in the middle of it all with simultaneous shows going on at the same time on this huge stage of ours, leaving us untouched by it all. Incredibly powerful moments.

I was seeing the other side of the coin within those moments. Only hours ago the skies were of their blues, the clouds of lighter grays playing their rays with the Sun in it’s games of hide and seek, and then as night fell upon us, lightning showed the different picture we normally would not see and experience. The darker side allowing the power of Nature within it’s contrast to really show us what she is made out off. Finally, the drops of rain surrounding us closed in, forming a tight circle putting an end not for the show, but to take refuge in “White Elephant”, our winter dwelling.

We have to get up early these days and take advantage of the cool temperatures for any kind of outdoor activities. I have been curious and eager to start using a Dutch Oven we have and managed to dig a new fire pit this morning. A third one. One for the main fire and hanging pot, one for grilling with a bit of an elevated ground made out of larger flat rocks, and this third one in which I would use a shovel to bring on the coals for under and over the Dutch Oven. I already knew after much reading that my downfall would be too much heat and for that reason did not start my trial with bread or a dessert such as a cobbler of some sort.

This recipe is from my Friend Teri in Ennis, Montana, one the of the greatest cook I have ever met. I learned a lot from her, I learned how to cook on the fly as if nothing going on she suddenly had always the greatest tasting dinners ready. The main ingredients are a can of Coca Cola, a cup of strong coffee and a bottle or two of store bought BBQ sauce. One can use Beef or Pork. I used chunks of Pork today, placed the Dutch Oven on the coals and sauteed the meat with some garlic and bacon. I had a tomatillo laying around which I also added. Once browned well I added the liquids, stirred, closed the lid, more coals on the cover and curbed my curiosity.

After two burned fingertips, rescued by leather gloves and locking pliers to lift the cover, I realized that yes, this will get hot real fast, reason for using few coals. The bottom coals lasted a long time, I only had to add once all day, the top ones burned much faster. Mid afternoon I added a few cut up potatoes and one onion… It is now close to evening and it is done, waiting for my neighbors Paul and Voni to show up and test this first experience. I think Teri would be proud of me, it is delicious and it can also be cooked in a regular kitchen on a stove top as she did a couple times. I think I am going to love it also over a bed of white rice.

Till next time…

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Thank you and be well…

Ara & Spirit

This entry was posted on Monday, October 5th, 2009 at 9:10 pm and is filed under travel, spirituality, pit bull, sidecar, motorcycle, cooking, photography, riding, homeless. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.