We are truly into the dog days of summer. August is coming to a close and while the weather is currently hazy, hot and humid, there has been a chill in the air during the last week. A couple of mornings the fog could be seen rising off the lake a sure indication that autumn is just a month away.

A Wonderful Hike

I finally managed to get out on a big hike with my brother this week. My favorite one is about 7.5 miles long and runs up hills and down and then finally meanders through the woods along a stream til we get home. We call it the Minton Walk. The dogs are able to be off leash a good bit of the time and especially when we get into the woods. There was a fair amount of traffic on the dirt roads so I ended up putting them on leash so I could relax. Poor old Wyke decided at one point to venture into a cow pasture and was “shocked” by the electric fence. Just a glancing blow but he probably won’t ever venture into a cow pasture again. He wasn’t hurt but he did yelp. By the time we got home I was rather tired as I haven’t done anything quite that long for some time now. My normal walk has been about 4.5 to 5 miles so this was a good bit longer.

I also was able to get out for a wonderful 15 mile bike ride expanding my distance along the bike trail considerably. One of these days I am going to make it to the end of the trail but really would prefer to have some company on those long rides. Once the summer traffic has disappeared I might venture on some of the back roads. There is so much more to explore.

Company and More Company

After a relatively quiet week we had a visit from Katie and Libby and Lib’s friend Kaylee. They came up Friday and did they ever pick a good weekend. Saturday was brilliant sunshine and the perfect dock day. The girls swam twice, went on an adventure to find an apple pie, and they made dinner with piles of fresh vegetables cooked on the grill. Katie and I just sat on the dock all day. I literally have not done this once since back in June when we had a bit of hot weather. What a treat.

Wyke was worried about the girls and acted as the life guard when they swam out to the raft or radeau (radoo) as we call it. They tried to get him to go with them but all he did was stare at them until they came back in. More company coming this week and we are looking forward to seeing everyone. I just can’t get over the fact that the summer has flown by.

Family on the Lake

My nephew bought a house just down the lake from us. He has a terrific family with four wonderful girls and he spends as much time as he can taking them tubing and water skiing. He frequently stops by here so we can say hi and also so we can cheer the girls on. We also were able to visit them in their boat house and help them clean all the goose poop off their lily pad float that is just off their dock. They thought it was cool to be in a boat they could walk around in.

A Recipe To Try

Growing up here in the summers we used to buy something called Shredded Wheat Bread. It is no longer made as the bakery that made it has closed but today I looked up a recipe for it and I plan to give it a try. It is very low fat and high fiber so pretty much good for you. Give it a try if you like to bake bread.

Shredded Wheat Bread from Yankee Magazine

Yield: 2 loaves
Ingredients
2 large shredded wheat biscuits, crumbled
2 cups boiling water
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup molasses
3 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup lukewarm water
1 cake compressed yeast
5 to 6 cups all-purpose flour
Instructions
Pour boiling water over the shredded wheat. Add the molasses, salt and butter. Let cool to lukewarm. Add the yeast, dissolved in the lukewarm water. Mix together thoroughly. Add flour gradually until the mixture forms a firm dough.
Turn out on to a lightly floured board. Cover and let stand for 10 minutes, then knead the dough until smooth. Place in a greased bowl, turning to grease the top of the dough. Cover. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk (about 1 hour).

Punch down the dough. Divide in half; shape into two loaves. Place each one in a greased 8-1/2×4-1/2×2-1/2-inch loaf pan. Cover and let rise until doubled in bulk (about 50 minutes).

Bake in a 325 degrees F oven for 50 minutes or until the loaves sound hollow when tapped. Turn out of the pans on to a wire rack.