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PINNACLE MOUNTAIN NEWSLETTER

Issue 11 .............................................................................July, 2004

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President's Message:
I want to thank everyone that attended our general meeting or submitted proxies. This active participation by our members enables us to make the difficult decisions necessary to improve our community. The meeting was very open with much discussion, and the approval to provide the funds needed is greatly appreciated.
The food brought by everyone was excellent, and we all had a great time. A special thanks to Carlene Styles for organizing the food, Ginger Stroman for providing the overhead projector and screen, and Cindy Maddox for sharing her slide show pictures of our mountain with background bluegrass music.

Riley

Naturalist's Corner: Mountain Bison:

Today on Pinnacle Mountain and in the immediate vicinity we regularly see turkey, deer and bears. Several hundred years ago, a traveler to the same area would have seen buffalo, elk and even caribou. One of the earliest records of bison from this area comes from the Spanish expedition of Hernando DeSoto (1539-1543) in which the Indians presented DeSoto with a dressed buffalo skin taken from the NC mountains. Later on, Daniel Boone referred to the multitudes of mountain buffalo which provided ready food for local settlers. (P. Saracin)


History Tidbit: 1800'sWomen of the Blue Ridge:

In our last issue we chronicled the men of the 1800's as jacks of all trades. But days were, if possible, even longer for women. As there were no matches back then, the housewife rose before dawn and "unkivered" the coals-which had been kept covered in ashes from the night before to keep a few coals burning-- with which to start a new day's fire. She then hauled water from the spring, fed the chickens, milked the cows, kneaded bread and prepared the days foods while attending to the children's needs. This was followed by cleaning, a turn at the spinning wheel or loom, churning, sewing, darning, washing, ironing, taking out the ashes, making lye, making soap, robbing the bee hives, working the garden, more milking, evening meals, reading the Bible and evening prayers, only to start the whole process over again the next day. For most, these activities occupied 365 days of the year with only the rare day off. "Leisure time" would have been an alien concept. (P. Saracin)

Lightning
....By Lisa Maddox....

Lightning is an electrical discharge in the sky; it usually develops when warm, moist air rises from the Earth's surface to form cumulonimbus clouds. Out of these cloud's lightning strikes.

Lightning can be cloud-to ground, the type we see most often, inter cloud, or intra cloud: the latter two being within one single cloud, or between two separate, mid-air, clouds. Any of these types can strike with a vengeance, but, with the exception of airplanes, we are not affected by inter and intra cloud.

The Formation of Lightning:
Lightning is formed primarily from cumulonimbus clouds, commonly known as Thunder Clouds. They are the large, black menacing clouds hovering above during a Thunderstorm. There are multiple steps to lightning formation.

Steps to Formation--
CHARGE SEPARATION: Charge Separation is when the swirling particles in a cloud become charged with static electricity. The lighter, positively charged particles are swept upward in the cloud, while the larger, negatively charged particles, cluster at the bottom. This negative charge at the bottom of the cloud induces a positive charge from the ground. Lightning occurs to balance these charges.



Stages of a Lightning Strike--
STEPPED LADDER:
The Stepped Ladder comes down from the thundercloud. It is an invisible pathway made by the negatively charged particles, as they are attracted to the ground. A path then forms through the air of negatively charged particles.
UPWARD STREAMER: The Upward Streamer shoots up from the ground to meet the Stepped Ladder. It is a positively charged stream, which is the electricity visible to our eyes.
RETURN STROKE: Once the Upward Streamer and Stepped Ladder meet, the Upward Streamer forms a return stroke. This stroke is what you see through the air. It fills in everywhere in the air that was negatively charged by the Stepped Ladder, as it explodes up to the cloud.
DART LEADER: The Dart Leader is another negatively charged stroke, which is once more invisible to the eye. It heads toward the ground once more. This time, it travels only down the main channel of the Stepped Ladder (the middle of the previous stroke).
SECOND RETURN STROKE: This stroke once more goes up the channel made by the Dart Leader, and is what you see. This occurs less than a second after the first return stroke.
Here Are A Few Different Kinds of Lightning-

Forked lightning:
This lightning is a massive single discharge. Created in a dry atmosphere, in a thunderstorm with less lightning than most. This charge's build up is much larger than normal, often 6 times the current. A stroke with more than one branch is commonly known as Forked Lightning.

Streak lightning:
This lightning is a massive single discharge. Created in a dry atmosphere, in a thunderstorm with less lightning than most. A stroke with only one branch is commonly known as Streak Lightning.

Ribbon Lightning:
This lightning occurs when high winds occur under a storm. These winds move the channel of air between strikes.

Bead Lightning:
This lightning is virtually impossible to photograph. It is any stroke that strikes, but then disappears in segments, across the sky.

Ball Lightning:
This lightning is a free floating electric ball, rarely seen, and even more rarely photographed. Some make hissing or crackling noises or no noise at all. Some have been known to pass through windows and even dissipate with a bang. Ball lightning is a phenomenon only described by those who have witnessed it occurring. It is not harmful, but frightens many when they see it floating down the road beside them (now this lightning is NEAT!).


Recipe Time: Valerie Saracin

Coffee Almond Ice-Cream Cake with Dark Chocolate Sauce
Recipe courtesy Gourmet Magazine
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Yield: about 3 cups sauce

1 1/2 cups fine chocolate wafer crumbs (about 30 wafers) 1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, melted 1 1/2 pints coffee ice cream, softened slightly 1 1/2 cups well-chilled heavy cream 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 1/2 cups crushed amaretti (Italian almond macaroons, available at specialty food shops and some supermarkets) 1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted To make the cake: In a bowl with a fork stir together the crumbs and the butter until the mixture is combined well, pat the mixture onto the bottom and 1-inch up the side of a lightly oiled 8-inch springform pan, 2 1/2 inches deep, and freeze the crust for 30 minutes, or until it is firm. Spread the ice cream evenly on the crust and return the pan to the freezer for 30 minutes, or until the ice cream is firm. In a bowl with an electric mixer beat the cream with the vanilla until it holds stiff peaks, fold in the amaretti thoroughly, and spread the mixture over the ice cream. Smooth the top of the cake, sprinkle it with the almonds, and freeze the cake for 30 to 45 minutes, or until the top is firm. Freeze the cake, covered with plastic wrap and foil, for at least 4 hours or overnight. Just before serving, wrap a warm dampened kitchen towel around the side of the pan, remove the side, and transfer the cake to a serving plate. Cut the cake into wedges with a knife dipped in hot water and serve it with the chocolate sauce.

For the dark chocolate sauce: 1 1/2 cups heavy cream 2/3 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar 4 ounces fine-quality bittersweet chocolate, chopped 3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped 1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened 3 to 4 tablespoons amaretto, or to taste To make the sauce: In a small heavy saucepan combine the cream and the brown sugar, bring the mixture to a boil over moderately high heat, whisking occasionally, and boil it, whisking, until the brown sugar is dissolved. Remove the pan from the heat and add the chocolates, whisking until they are melted. Whisk in the butter and the amaretto, whisking until the sauce is smooth, and let the sauce cool slightly. The chocolate sauce may be made 1 week in advance and kept covered and chilled. Reheat the chocolate sauce over very low heat, stirring occasionally, until it is warm