Little Red Bear Answers Reader Questions — “Cushaw What?”

April 9, 2016August 8, 2016 / jrmilson / Leave a comment

More reader questions for Little Red Bear! Here we go with another one . . . . . .

Reader Question from Doubting Thomas in Bristly Barbs, South Dakota – “Dear Little Red Bear — I enjoyed your adventures very much and realize they are listed under fiction, but tell the truth for once . . . you’re making all of this stuff up, aren’t you? A ‘Cushaw Pie’ mentioned in “The Storm” story?!? I have never heard of a cushaw anything and I have heard of a lot. So be honest. You and that writer guy Jim are just pulling our legs on that one, right?”

Answer— That is a very good question, Thomas! And we are happy that you took notice and the time to write us about it. As you pointed out, the stories are listed under the ‘Fiction’ category, but that’s only because when Little Red Bear was having all of his adventures, people video taping everything and taking selfies had not really come into fashion yet, so having no photographic record Amazon made us list them as fiction, even though every one really, truly did happen just as they are written. Word for word. More or less.

Now, to the Cushaw Pie concern. Yes, Thomas, there really is such a thing as a Cushaw Pie made from a Cushaw Squash. Maybe it would help for you to think of it as a Pumpkin with a different name. And shape. And color. With stripes. But the rest is very similar.

Cushaw Squash

Green and Orange Striped Cushaw Squash

A Cushaw Pie is made from a Cushaw Squash, an heirloom crookneck squash, and is a Southern Appalachian tradition. The cushaw is sometimes referred to as a “Tennessee Sweet Potato.” It does very well when grown, is resistant to pesky vine borers, and because it hails from the Caribbean tends to grow well in hot, dry climates. The inner flesh is light yellowish, with a mild, sweet flavor.

Cushaw Squash, Sliced To Show Interior

Cushaw Squash Interior

Cushaw Squash and Pumpkins

You have probably seen them used in autumn decorations, along with pumpkins, hay bales, scarecrows and such, but just didn’t know the name. And while so many folks use them for Autumn, Halloween and Thanksgiving decorations, few realize that they are not only edible but make up into a fantastic pie. Just like a pumpkin.

Cushaw Pie, via Jamie Grill/Tetra/Getty Images

Cushaw Pie Slice, via blindpigandtheacorn.com

Cushaw Pie, via University of Kentucky College of Agriculture

Here is a Cushaw Pie recipe to get you started the next time you see one, along with some links to some more cushaw recipes on our Pinterest Boards — Cushaw Pie Recipe, Kentucky Proud Cushaw Pie Recipe, Best Cushaw Pie Recipe, Cushaw Squash Soup Recipe, Cranberry Cushaw Bread.

Cushaw Pie Recipe, via Kentucky Proud

Hope that answers your question about the Cushaw Pie in “The Storm” story, Thomas. As you can see, it is a real thing. Happy reading and cooking, and thanks for writing in and being such an involved fan of Little Red Bear!

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Please keep those questions and letters coming. We’ll get to them as best we can here for you. Happy reading, and thanks as always for stopping by! And remember folks, cushaws can be pretty heavy, but it don’t take a very big person to carry a grudge. – Jim (and Red!)

Cushaw Squash with Pumpkin Decoration

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Little Red Bear Unable to Attend Book Signing Event

April 5, 2016April 5, 2016 / jrmilson / Leave a comment

Still mending from a leg injury suffered on the writing set a week ago, Little Red Bear will not be able to make the scheduled book signing and personal appearance at “McNickle’s Famous Pickles & Pork Rinds” this coming Saturday, located on Shady Holler Road, just west of Knob Lick. The country store is located about half a mile past Turner’s red barn and across from the split pin oak if you’re unfamiliar with the area. If you find yourself sitting in front of the Post Office, chances are you most likely missed the barn and went too far. Remember, the barn sits back from the road a bit behind the row of hedge apples, so you need to be on the lookout for it. And if that’s the case, it’s best to just start over from where you left and try again.

Bobo and Lily, black bears and recurring featured characters in the “Adventures of Little Red Bear” stories, will be taking Red’s place and happy to do so, being the good friends and neighbors that they are. They will be bringing a good supply of autographed Little Red Bear pictures, along with pre-signed books available for purchase, and will be autographing books themselves, as well. Lily has even volunteered to demonstrate the famous “Lily Bear Shuffle” if Earl and Lester bring their banjos along.

Village Country Store, Cold Spring Village, Cape May, NJ

Ethel McNickle will generously be giving away free samples of her prize-winning pickles and pork rinds, famous countywide, to all in attendance. Ethel’s second cousin once removed will also be there for the event, with samples of her new and locally grown “Lorene’s Greens & Beans”. As you may recall, McNickle’s Pickles was founded many years ago by Ethel’s twin grandfathers, Fickle and Tickle McNickle, who always used to say — “If your pickle don’t snap, it ain’t worth a cr–!” (it’s a ‘G’ rated blog)

And be sure to check out Ethel’s blue ribbon Plumberry Preserves while there, too. Bobo won’t be leaving without a few jars, so you might want to show up early before they run out.

So, we’re sorry to say that Little Red Bear will miss the event and he feels just gosh-awful terrible about it, but be assured that Bobo and Lily will more than make the trip worthwhile for you. Not to mention Ethel’s pickles and pork rinds. And if someone tosses Bobo a beach ball, well — there’s no telling the show he may put on! As a note though, just so you’re not disappointed, Lily has been instructed not to let Bobo anywhere near a bicycle. Our Backwoods Indemnity and Bite Casualty Insurance plan is stretched past the limits with Little Red Bear’s injury, and poor Aunt Ivy has nearly picked her herb garden clean already, this being so early in the season and all. Simply can’t risk any more character injuries at the moment and still meet the bills next month.

The Vermont Country Store, Weston, Vermont — September 2012 via The Mr. Hunter Wall Blog

And just one more thing before we let you go. While he is laid up, now is a good time to remind everyone to send in their questions for the “Ask Little Red Bear” feature. If you have a question that you’ve been sitting on about any of Red’s past or coming adventures, there’s no need to sit any longer waiting for it to hatch. Don’t be shy — just ask away! Red and I will be happy to try to find or make up an answer for you. No dating or relationship questions though. We need all the advice and help we can get in that area ourselves.

Thanks as always for visiting with us. Hope you get a chance to drop by McNickle’s Pickles on Saturday! If I can get away from writing with Little Red Bear while he takes a restful nap in the afternoon, maybe I’ll be able to drop in myself for a few minutes. I do love those pork rinds! And someone please save me a jar of Plumberry Preserves. — Jim ( and Red!)

Artwork — “Mt. Airy Old Country Store II” by Dan Carmichael. (Prints available at dan-carmichael.pixels.com)

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Happiness — It’s An Inside Job!

April 2, 2016April 1, 2016 / jrmilson / 6 Comments

Most of us have goals, intended to keep us moving progressively forward in a positive way, and frequently aimed at improving our life and happiness. To-Do lists of progressive, sequentially timed steps. Frequently aimed at acquiring bigger and better “things.” But examining our lives today at this moment and looking back, how many completed goals and fulfilled ambitions produced a lasting and enduring sense of joy and happiness? Or was that fleeting feeling gone upon setting the next “Happiness Target?”

Quote- Happiness Starts With You

Constant striving and yearning for “more and better”, along with unfulfilled desires create their own anxieties, stresses, competitiveness, anger and discord. This is not a prescription for laziness, but rather a realization that happiness is an inside job. It is not to be found in the world outside, achieved with the acquisition of more and more and more bigger and better things, recognition, awards or accolades, or arrived at as a destination, because it is a constantly moving target. A very important lesson to be imparted to our children.

“Most people are searching for happiness outside of themselves. That’s a fundamental mistake. Happiness is something that you are, and it comes from the way that you think. Bring happiness to every encounter in life, instead of expecting external events to produce joy.” ~ Dr. Wayne Dyer

We must remind ourselves daily that there is no magic way to happiness. Happiness is the way. Don’t wait for happiness to happen or to arrive at a scheduled date and time. Decide to be happy today. And watch what happens.

Quote- Happy Today

Thanks as always for stopping by to visit. Best wishes for a wonderful day. Be Happy! — Jim (and Red!)

Quote- Happiness Journey

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Birds of Prey– What’s the Hurry?

March 31, 2016March 31, 2016 / jrmilson / 2 Comments

We most often think as the spring months as being the nesting season for birds. And it is, for the Cardinals, Sparrows, Robins, Finches and such. But not for the raptors, birds of prey. Young raptors, because they are much larger, take a much longer time to grow up and need a head start on the season. So raptors nest in winter.

Young Barred Owl

An overprotective mum appears to have literally wrapped her offspring in cotton wool in these stunning pictures. The adorable trio were spotted snoozing in their fluffy bed in Saxumundham, Suffolk...Photographer Paul Sawer took this adorable shot after spotting the young barn owls close to his home. SEE OUR COPY FOR DETAILS...Pictured: MAIN IMAGE: The three Barn Owl chicks, at the entrance to their nest in tree stump, waiting for parents return with food, Suffolk, England. This image was taken of them back at the start of June...Paul Sawer/FLPA/Solent News.. Paul Sawer/FLPA/Solent News & Photo Agency.UK +44 (0) 2380 458800.

Young Barn Owls (Photographer Paul Sawer)

Barred Owl and Owlet

Remember the images of the nesting Eagles dutifully tending their nest and eggs covered over in the snow? It takes very dedicated parents to go thru an ordeal like that. Why the rush? Why start nesting so early before the weather has changed for the better, we wonder? Most other birds wait until April or later to arrive at their summer breeding grounds and start to build nests.

Nesting Bald Eagle in Snow- Codorus State Park in Pennsylvania, 2015

Nesting Bald Eagle with Eggs in Snow- Codorus State Park in Pennsylvania, 2015

Turns out, there’s a very good reason. It’s all about rodent and other prey animal population control and giving the baby birds of prey an easier start in life. It takes a long time for large raptors to grow big enough to be independent and hunt on their own. An early start in the nest allows them the required time to grow and develop, while also insuring that when they are fledged and on their own, there will be a plentiful supply of prey animal babies emerging from their nests and running about at the same time to help make the raptors’ initial hunting forays a little easier and more successful. Nevertheless, 60% to 70% of Red-tailed Hawks, Owls and other raptors do not survive their first year. Life is hard for young raptors still trying to figure it out, so being ready early gives them the best chance of survival, while also helping to keep the world from being overrun by mice and other voles.

Great Horned Owl feeding Nestlings

Red-tailed Hawk and Hatchlings

Red-tailed Hawk Feeding Nestlings

So while the other birds and small animals are just getting started with nest building and babies now, the raptors are already well on their way to being able to greet them when they emerge later. The early bird gets the, ummm– baby mouse shall we say. Birds of Prey have a very important role to play in population control and the grand scheme of things as Mother Nature designed, and early nesting gives them the needed head start to make it all work.

Thanks as always for dropping in to visit! — Jim (and Red!)

Red-tailed Hawk with Mouse

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Little Red Bear Injured On The Writing Set — Story Production To Continue!

March 29, 2016 / jrmilson / 2 Comments

Writing action/adventure stories set in nature and featuring a wide variety of wild animals, critters, and unpredictable humans is not without risk. Things happen. Bumps, bruises, scrapes. An occasional nip or bite, especially in scenes involving the weasels. But nothing usually too serious. Harrison Ford himself had an accident on the “Star Wars” movie set a little while ago if you recall, breaking his leg. Jackie Chan fractured his skull in a fall while filming “Armour of God.” The list of on-set actor injuries is long, and I’m sure the list of literary injuries is most likely longer. I can’t begin to imagine the list of character injury reports from Herman Melville’s “Moby Dick” as he was writing it.

Well, it seems I’m kind of beating around the bush here, not wanting to really break the news. But to get to it, we had a writing accident over the weekend. Little Red Bear and his friends were busily engaged in one of his action/adventure stories and Red injured his leg in an action scene in the first of the next collection of short stories — “The Adventures of Little Red Bear: The Second Holler Over!”

The injury is not terribly serious, but it will lay him up for a spell while his leg heals. From the beginning I have wanted to provide Red with a stunt double to take his place in writing heavy action scenes, but being Red, he has always been adamant about doing all of his own stunt work because, as he says, — “My reader fans deserve a hundred and ten and three-quarters percent and the very best from me.”

Have to admire that I suppose, even if we are now confronted with proceeding on along without him, the major lead character in his own stories, for a while. If there is any lesson to be learned from the event (other than not having hired a stunt double!) I suppose it might be — if a well-wisher ever says to you “Break a leg!” — don’t take them literally.

We are going to continue working on the stories while Little Red Bear is laid up and on the mend, trying to write around his scenes as best as possible while hoping we don’t experience any extended production delays. And we will provide updates from time to time to let you know how he’s getting on. But so are the risks I suppose of a wildlife literary action hero. He is too embarrassed to let me take a picture and is hiding from the paparazzi in his cabin, so here is an artistic rendering to give an idea. Not meaning to cause alarm or getting anyone worked up. Aunt Ivy (you may recall her as the local healer from the first set of stories) assures that the injury will not be permanently incapacitating, just something that will have to heal over time. It’s just unfortunate that it came at an inconvenient point when story work is ramping up. But I suppose that is why they call them “accidents” instead of “on purposes” after all.

So, sorry to have been the bearer of bad bear news to all of Red’s fans. Thanks for dropping by and have a nice day, and — careful where you step. I’m off to interview some stunt doubles now. — Jim (and Red!)