December 2019

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Welcoming Winter "What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness." – John Steinbeck In the bleak midwinter, we can feel overwhelmed as we rush to finish work and prepare for holidays. But this season, as the outside world goes cold and dormant, is also a time for celebration. Today is the last Winter Solstice of the decade, and marks the beginning of longer days to come. In the spirit of the solstice, we reflect on the joys the past year brought us and look ahead to the promise of the following year. We wish everyone a happy, safe holiday, and look forward to connecting with you more in 2020! A Look Back at OSGF in 2019 We have been busy at the Oak Spring Garden Foundation, growing both plants and community. As 2019 draws to a close, we look back at some of the major milestones we reached over the past year and look forward to the year ahead. Fellows: Final selections have been made for all of our 2020 fellowships and residencies. We are pleased to announce two awardees each for the Eliza Moore Fellowship for Artistic Excellence and Stacy Lloyd III Fellowship for Bibliographic study, and look forward to announcing our other awardees in the new year. The Dirt on Dirt: Earlier this month, we celebrated World Soil Day, an international observance day established to raise awareness of the importance of soil quality. Soil is a living, breathing thing – so we compiled a list of ways you can look after the ground beneath your feet.    As the world grows colder and darker, we turn to plants for a touch of color and life: dragging bushy evergreen trees into our homes, or pinning sprigs of bright-berried holly to our walls. Read our list of ten plants used in mid-winter observances around the world! Looking for something to warm you up a bit? Eggnog is a classic holiday drink, and this recipe comes from Oak Spring House Manager Ronnie Caison's cookbook of the Mellon's favorite dishes. You'll need: 4 cups milk 5 whole cloves 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 12 egg yolks 1 ½ cups sugar 2 ½ cups light rum 4 cups light cream 2 teaspoons vanilla extract ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg Combine milk, cloves, ½ teaspoon vanilla, and cinnamon in a saucepan, and heat over lowest setting for 5 minutes. Slowly bring milk mixture to a boil. In a large bowl. combine egg yolks and sugar. Whisk together until fluffy. Whisk hot milk mixture slowly into the eggs. Pour mixture into saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly for 3 minutes, or until thick. Do not allow mixture to boil. Strain to remove cloves, and let cool for about an hour.  Stir in rum, cream, 2 teaspoons of vanilla, and nutmeg. Refrigerate overnight or for at least six hours before serving. Cheers! Copyright © *|CURRENT_YEAR|* *|LIST:COMPANY|*, All rights reserved. *|IFNOT:ARCHIVE_PAGE|* *|LIST:DESCRIPTION|* Our mailing address is: *|HTML:LIST_ADDRESS_HTML|* *|END:IF|* Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list. *|IF:REWARDS|* *|HTML:REWARDS|* *|END:IF|*