John R. Erickson's Blog, page 14
December 9, 2012
Driving To Church On Ice
Getting out of this canyon to attend church in the wintertime is sometimes an ordeal. The Saturday before Christmas of 1997, a cold norther blew into the Panhandle. The weather forecasters were predicting freezing rain and snow. They got the first half of it right. It started raining in the afternoon and it rained enough to turn our ranch roads into mush.
After dark, the temperature dropped into the twenties and the rain continued. When I got up on Sunday morning,...
December 2, 2012
"A Gift for Me?" - An Excerpt from "The Case of the Wounded Buzzard on Christmas Eve" (Hank #13)
Chapter Two:
. . . I went padding up to Slim, just as he was going through the gate. I was glad to see the old rascal, and as you might expect, he was delighted to see me.
“Hi Hankie, what do you think of this snow?” I jumped up on him and barked. He liked that. Things were definitely going my way, but just then a certain cat who had been loafing around on the front porch came streaking down the sidewalk.
I bristled and a growl began...
November 15, 2012
"The Case of the Turkey Bandits," from The Case of the Kidnapped Collie (Hank #26)
He sat down beside us and gave me his usual silly grin. “Hi Hank. I guess I fell asleep. Did I miss anything?”
“You missed everything, Drover. I’ve just blown this case wide open.”
“I’ll be derned. Which case?”
“The Case of the Turkey Bandits, and if you want to learn more about it, just sit and watch.”
“Yeah, ’cause a potted watch never boils.”
...
October 22, 2012
Sally May's Apple Pie
(*For 9" or deep-dish pie plate)
Crust
Ingredients:
1 1/4 c. flour
1/2 c. shortening
1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 c. cold water
Filling
Ingredients:
7-8 tart apples (or enough to mound over edge of plate)
2/3-3/4 c. sugar mixed with 1 tsp. cinnamon
1 Tbsp. flour
1 Tbsp. butter
Topping
Ingredients:
1/2 c. butter
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 c. flour
Directions
Crust: Sift flour and salt together. Cut shortening into flour. Add liquid; roll out to fit pie plate.
Filling: Place sliced apples in crust; cover with cinn...
October 13, 2012
A Ghost in the Cake House? - An Excerpt from "The Case of the Halloween Ghost"
Hi Hank-Readers!
Just the other day, a reader emailed Hank asking, "What is a cake house?" We're so glad you asked, because that reminds us of one of the best scenes from Book 9, The Case of the Halloween Ghost!
From Chapter 10:
". . .Where do you go when you’ve got ghosts and goblins on your trail? I didn’t know. I mean, they can walk through walls and see in the dark. It’s hard to hide from that kind of enemy.
I went streaking away from the...
October 3, 2012
The Big Question: Chapter One
It’s me again, Hank the Cowdog. At this point, you don’t know The Big Question and I’m not in a position to tell you, not yet. See, it’s classified information, very secret, and we can’t go public with it until later in the story.
Can you wait? Good. Let’s get on with the story. It’s a dandy.
Okay, Loper and Sally May had gone to Abilene to spend Christmas with Sally May’s kinfolks, so Slim Chance was ho...
September 22, 2012
Oklahoma Children's Theatre: Hank the Cowdog
Ever wanted to see Hank on stage? Here's a chance to do just that!
"When Sally May comes home from the hospital with a new baby girl, it causes a stir on the ranch. Hank thinks it's a Giant Baldheaded Lizard-but Alfred is jealous of the new baby and runs away from home into the Dark Unchanted Forest. He's followed by Sinister, a ferocious bobcat, and Hank must venture into the forest to save him, encountering a weird little owl, Madame Moonshine, and a couple of rowdy coyotes, Rip and Snort,...
September 6, 2012
"So You Want To Buy A Horse?," by John R. Erickson
Not long ago a man asked me for some advice on buying his kids a horse. I told him I didn't consider myself an expert, but I had some opinions and he was welcome to them. For what they're worth, I pass them along to others who might be shopping for a horse.
There are many horse breeds but only two kinds: good ones and bad ones. You don't want a bad one. A bad horse will waste your money, frighten your children, and maybe hurt someone. There are good ones and bad on...
August 26, 2012
Teenage Boys, by John R. Erickson
Our son Mark and his friend Christopher were teenagers. Each by himself was intelligent, courteous, and resourceful. Each by himself was a good worker on the ranch. But when they got together, something happened.
Simple jobs that should have taken an hour took three hours. Five hours. A day. Sometimes they never got finished. Sometimes they degenerated into something between comedy and catastrophe.
We had theories, of course. They were listening to th...
August 15, 2012
Be Among the First to Hear Book 60's Songs - Available Now!
Hi Hank-Fans!
As you've probably guessed, we're really excited about "The Big Question" (To be released Oct. 11 this year), and we hope you are too! Today, we're pleased to make the songs from the audiobook available to you: the first one is Maters and Taters, sung by Slim, and the second is Christmas Cookies, sung by Hank.
Be sure to let us know what you think of them!
~The Maverick Books Team
Maters & Taters by Hank the Cowdog
