Cinnamon Bread

  The bread supply was getting  low so yesterday - when I woke from an hour and a half nap - I thought I should remedy the situation and also do something constructive. I knew I wanted to try a recipe I saw on Facebook some time ago (credit goes to All Grandma's Recipes, posted on 10/30/24). For some reason I cannot get a link to the recipe but full credit is given. I'll turn the recipe into two loaves of cinnamon bread.

White Bread

2 cups warm water
1/4 cup sugar
1-1/2 tablespoons yeast
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup vegetable oil
5-1/2 cups flour

 First, proof the yeast in the warm water and sugar mixture. Once it has foamed (about five minutes) - and right before you add it to the dry ingredients - add the oil.

Mix the flour and salt in a large bowl. Then add the liquid mixture.

 Knead for eight minutes, Return to the washed and oiled bowl and let rise for an hour. I use the oven, slightly warmed, because my kitchen is cold. 

Punch down the dough, knead again a minute or two, and divide into two equal amounts.

 Want cinnamon? Roll each to a rectangle and butter the top surface. Add  a mixture of 3/4 cup brown sugar that's had a teaspoon of cinnamon added. Half on each of two. Roll it up from the wide side and pinch the ends under to prevent the mixture from leaking out.

 Place in two loaf pans and rise for another hour.

 Then bake at 350° for 30 minutes.

 This is the brown sugar and cinnamon mixture. Skip this step if you just want white bread.

 After an hour the dough has really risen! I don't think I've ever had a better rise. I think it's because the amount of yeast the recipe calls for is more than usual (I used bread flour as well). Anyway, it sure works well.

 The rectangle (it looks almost round but it isn't) that has been buttered and then half the sugar/cinnamon mixture sprinkled on. I actually used soft margarine because it is so easy to work with. If you want to use real butter, let it warm up to room temperature first. I spread the margarine with the back of a tablespoon.

After the second rise, the bread has zoomed out of the pans. It's really impressive to see.

 The end result are two beautifully-browned loaves.

 When I cut the first slice, I found the cinnamon not very well distributed. That all come from how thin you roll the dough and how you apply the sugar mixture. The second (and third and fourth slices) were better swirled but it all tastes wonderful!

 The loaf (as made) would be hard to toast slices because they want to separate where the sugar mixture is. I just microwaved each slice for 15  seconds before buttering for my breakfast.

 Next time I'll probably just make white bread. It's easier and it'll be a cinch to toast.

What are the Lights?

 

 On November 23, 2025 I went out into the back yard (7:27 pm) and immediately saw that there were three bright objects in the sky to my west. I've hesitated posting them but have now decided to show the picture and briefly describe what I saw.

 Technically they were UFO's (now UAP's). I watched them for some minutes and never saw the slightest movement.  I also did not see any aircraft lights nor hear any sound.  I do not think they were particularly close. That tree just left of center is about a third of a mile away and each of the lights was farther away. In fact I walked north at the western edge of my property to get the tree out of the  way of this shot.

 I posted the picture on Dayton Weather Spot and others mentioned seeing the same thing. A few suggested drones. One said he watched as planes passed overhead. Dan suggested Chinese lanterns.

 I watched them for some minutes (I was shooting the Andromeda Galaxy to my east). The lights were there the whole time I set up the tripod, aimed the cell phone and made a few settings. They were not there when I returned after the eleven minute time exposure.

 The picture at the lead of this blog is a crop from the whole frame.  Here is the uncropped shot:

 The cell phone tower (right bottom) is located in Farmersville. My neighbor's house is on the bottom left, about four-tenths of a mile away. A few stars show in this image as well as one streak (a satellite?). I've  watched plenty of planes and satellites as I photographed  the stars and planets (which I am fairly familiar with) and these three lights seem quite different.

  Here's a Stellarium view of what should have been in the sky at about that time:

 So, I have no idea what I saw but it was certainly not what I expected.

First Substantial Snow of the Season

  They've been predicting "2 to 4 inches" for several days and yet yesterday looked to be a miss. I didn't even see the first snowflake till well after dark and radar to the west looked fairly clear. But still the predictions continued: two to four inches with isolated amounts near five inches.

 Give them all credit for a "hit".

 I woke this morning to a muted atmosphere. Few cars passed. When I got up at 6:45 am I could see that the road had been little-traveled and everything was white. I measured 3.6" but some stations got the 5" upper limit. I first had to shovel a path to the rain gauge and clear a path across the porch. And, of course, make Parker a small patch for her bathroom (she used it quickly and was glad to get back inside).

 Here's what Pinehaven looks like this morning:

 That's the path I shoveled to the rain gauge. It's the mostly important project I do whenever there is precipitation. I like to get my readings posted as soon after 7 am as is possible. But this morning I hate to wait for the snow to melt before reading it. I was closer to 8 am.

 The wisteria (left) didn't lose its leaves until late and there's still enough stubble on the plant to hold snow. The clouds seem lighter to the west.

 The back porch was deep with snow. The picnic table provides a good measuring platform, like a "snow board". It cools with the ambient temperature and holds the snow until I can get it measured. That's where I check first but I also take  ground measurements to make sure my number is correct.

 Across the north side of the porch, the kitchen maple's branches are all covered with the wet snow. It's 28° and the snow is heavy and dense. A single shovelful is hefty.

 A look northwest across the garden  area. It's truly a wonderland come overnight.

 Pinehaven is snug in the snow. It's not cold enough for the heat pump  to run continuously and thankfully there isn't a breath of wind at all. Maybe we can save a nickel? But there's cold weather ahead now. Thursday morning may dip into the signal digits.

 It's winter in the country. This is what we must expect.

 A few  extra pictures ...

South Security Cam View

North Security Cam View

Security Cam Driveway Apron View

 That's me taking the rain gauge back to its holder after the daily read.

 

A Dutch Baby for Lunch

 

 The recipe says "4 servings" but they're out of their mind. I shared the Dutch Baby I made with Tom and that left half for me. What you see above is my half. I could eat a whole one, no problem. Tom agrees.

 We always order a Dutch Baby when we eat at the Original Pancake House in Cincinnati. That seems to be their specialty. They note on their menu: "An oven-baked, light and delicate, “German” pancake, golden brown and dusted with powdered sugar. Served with lemon wedges, whipped butter and extra powdered sugar for a truly special treat. 13.95 (840 cal)"

 I've only made one once before. They're not complicated but it seems to take an hour to get everything together. A few days ago Tom bought fresh lemons at Aldi (a lemon wedge is required with a Dutch Baby) as is powdered sugar. When I asked why Tom came home with lemons his answer was straightforward. "Dutch Baby". So I knew he was looking for me to make one.

 The batter is very liquid and light.

 I had our dinner plates at the ready as well as the lemon wedges and powdered sugar.

 I baked this Dutch Baby for 22.-1/2 minutes, right in between the "20 to 25 minutes" called for. It seemed done so I took it out. The center had risen more than the sides (it looked like a sombrero) but it quickly collapsed back down as it cooled. I divided it into four slices.

 * I have since remembered that I placed the container on a cake pan which has a  hole in the middle. The extra heat was certainly responsible for the risen center.

 A question I had as I watched it rise was what causes it to rise? There's no leavening. Google provided the answer: "A Dutch baby rises due to the steam generated from its high liquid content cooking in a very hot skillet and oven. The air whipped into the batter is trapped by this steam, causing the pancake to puff up dramatically". 

 I should note that I didn't use a blender as is called for -  just because it means one more thing to wash. Instead I used a whisk and that is entirely sufficient to get a nice rise.

 A Dutch Baby - also called a "puffed Pancake" - is a satisfying meal. It looks prettier than the time it takes to make it. But somehow I need to find a way to make two at once.

Aurora Redux?

  It didn't hurt to try again but last evening (11-12-25) was a weak imitation of the night before. We had the northern lights again but they were quite weak. Here's what I saw:

8:13 pm

 I took this shot early and was hoping for some  evidence that the aurora was starting. The green glow near the horizon seemed unnatural and might have been the initial stages of the aurora.

9:22 pm

 In the center of this shot - and behind the tree - I could see the familiar red glow of the aurora firing up.

9:23 pm

 Now there are multiple areas glowing red and a weak aurora is underway.

9:31 pm

 There wasn't much to see last evening as this photo illustrates. But in normal times I'd be ecstatic that there was anything resembling an aurora in the greater Dayton area. By the way, this was barely visible to the naked eye, and maybe not at all. What is actual vision and what is hopeful imagination?

9:39 pm

 There is again a weak aurora across the northern sky. It's disappointing but at least it repeated.

9:42 pm

 The red has a vertical component to it. It's unmistakable northern lights.

10:28 pm

 A final look before bed. The aurora has ended ... for now. Others took some nice shots overnight but I'd had enough. One never knows how the ebb and flow will work out.

 I did set up a time lapse with one of my Wyze camera that failed. I found no recording at all, even though I checked the settings multiple times. Here's a view of how I had the camera aimed, both before the sun set and after it was dark..

 So another attempt at the aurora but one which produced no memorable results.

Once-in-a-Lifetime Aurora

The Peak - 10:14 pm

  We live in southwest Ohio so our chances of viewing the aurora borealis are few and far between. And even when we do get a glimpse, it's not very impressive.

 I've always been envious of my grandmother's description of the northern lights in Bear Lake, Michigan where they were vacationing (probably in October to see the trees turn). She described a three-dimensional display that she said reminded her of waving curtains.

 Last night was incredible and it was here. I've never seen anything quite like it and don't expect to ever again.

 During the day I began reading reports that either a G4 or G5 magnetic storm on the sun had sent a stream of charged particles in our direction. I've seen the notifications plenty of times in the past and been uniformly disappointed in the results.

 Live Storm Chasers posted this for tonight. Maybe we'll have a repeat?:

 It looked encouraging so I kept my eye on Facebook last evening  to see if any reports were coming in. When I friend posted a picture from Indiana, I knew it was time to go outside and look. I grabbed my cell phone, pulled on a coat (it was 35° and breezy) and headed across the back porch to the garage apron. As I rounded the corner to our back yard this was my first view:

9:31 pm

 It was more than a little startling to see a bright red patch suspended in mid-air. It looked like the sky was on fire.
 I turned and headed in so that Tom could come out and see it, too.

9:35 pm

 All these shots were taken facing NNW.

9:35 pm

9:36 pm

 The intensity of the glow ebbed and flowed. This is a slight zoom into the red aurora.

9:49 pm

 This is a wider view. I understand the red is caused by oxygen particles at high altitudes (150-250 miles) and the green by those at lower altitudes (60-150 miles). The particles were no less excited than I.

Credit: NOAA

 We were lucky that the sky cleared in time to see this. The day was a typically cloudy, wintry day. But last evening the stars were bright points of light and a front had washed the atmosphere clear for this grand spectacle.

First Snow of the Season

  At 7 am when I went out to read my gauge I was more than a little disappointed that the forecast had been so wrong. When I went to bed the forecasters were saying "one to two inches, with isolated amounts near three inches".

 I measured a mere trace.

 Then it began to snow. By 8 am it was coming down at a pretty nice clip. All told, I just measured 1.5" at 3 pm. Some reports are coming in with more than five inches. So the forecasters weren't wrong. I was.

 A view of our back porch.

 Looking to the south across our driveway.

 And a view north towards the woods.

 While it was still snowing I recorded an 8-sevond video of the driveway apron and Tom's Chevy Silverado parked there:

 I just took Parker out after a seven hour delay and found some spots open to the grass due to the sunshine we've been having. The snow is now sloppy and wet. It's 33° and we're having a lot of melting.

 This isn't early for a first snow but it seems sudden nonetheless. Two days ago we had a high of 60°. On 11-05 it hit 68°. So it's more than a little adjustment to now look out upon a winter-white landscape. But we're in for months of this - and worse - so I'd better get used to it.