sometimes you just have to look

there are days when i am so overwhelmed by the structure and finiteness of time that i can barely function. i feel the world pressing in on me, watching my daughter grow and change into a human being instead of a snuggle bunny. i think of my dad, who at my age, was just entering the last 10 years of his life. i think of all the events that have happened unnoticed and uncelebrated although they were monumental in their time for those people. i think of all the hidden stories. the hidden moments. the hidden heartbreaks, joys, and secrets of my ancestors that i will never know and never experience. i think that my daughter and granddaughters and great-granddaughters (girls run in the family) will never know the smells i love, the colors that make my heart soar, the pet peeves, and allergies. and it all becomes too much.

and then . . .

i look at a tree. i love looking at trees and wondering what they have seen, what their stories are. i love their gracefulness, their power, their beauty, patience, and quiet strength. they are at the whim of the world, weather, fire, cars, pollution, and treeptopping utility workers. i have a glorious chestnut that has experienced all four owners of my 1909 home. it is host to a rope swing that my daughter loves more than any manmade toy structure created on earth. i love this tree because when i round the corner i know i’m home. whether the dog has died, the hail has destroyed my cabbage, or the jackass on the freeway cut me off to save 20 seconds.

i’m home.

and my stories will live along with this tree just as three other generations have.

rhubarb is good

the rhubarb is ready!

i love rhubarb.

not only because it tastes good

not only because and it looks cool

not only because it has prehistoric-sized leaves

not only because it is the most fabulous red

but because it is the first BIG provider in my garden each spring and it reminds me that patience does pay off.

i love
rhubarb jam
rhubarb crisp
rhubarb bars
rhubarb pie
stewed rhubarb
and rhubarb sauce

and the word rhubarb ain’t bad either.
just say it once, slowly, like sweet honey savored on the tonque, r-h-u-b-a-r-b

it is a wonderful thing my friends.

so i’m sharing one of my favourite recipes so we can all rejoice in rhubarb together.

Rhubarb Crisp
1 c. flour
2 tbl sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 c. butter
6 c. chopped rhubarb (1/4 inch-ish pieces)
1 1/4 c. honey
4 tsp. cornstarch or flour
1/4 c. water
1 egg
1/4 c. milk

Filling: Combine rhubarb, honey, cornstarch, and water in saucepan. cook in saucepan until thickened and bubbling. taste for desired sweetness. add more honey if too tart. keep hot while preparing topping.

Topping: Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, and ginger together. cut in butter until crumbles form. make well in center. stir in beaten egg and milk. incorporate until just moist. will look like biscuit batter.

Put filling in 2-quart baking dish. Drop spoonfuls of topping to form loose crust. Bake at 400 degrees for 20-ish minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

. . . remember, it’s great for breakfast too!

finally

it seems as i get older that winter lasts longer. it may be global warming ~ geologic or otherwise. it may be my patience is thinning, the growing season beckons louder each year, or i am just plain ‘ol tired of being cold 6 months out of the year. but in my world, when the turtle awakens from her winter slumber, spring officially begins. and my friends, the turtle is out and cruisin’ the house as we speak, the garden is prepped, the early starts are thriving, and it smells so darn good outside i could just about weep in my ICED tea. spring at last, spring at last thank all in nature it’s spring at last.

helen, jojo, momo, and daisy the dog romping in the yard

everyone in our little urban lot is happier, the chickens, the rabbit, cat, dog and kid and the garden, oh, the garden is starting to take shape after 18 months of trial, lots of error, and wistfulness.

prepped and ready to go!

the cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, and brussel sprouts are 9 inches tall, the carrots, beets, and parsnips (thanks Glen!) are a haze of green and the peas have poked their little heads through. i’m not a fan of spring, never have been, never will be but i do love that first rush of growth, warm soil, and warmer weather each year. here is to a wonderful growing season my friends, large harvests, and plenty of bounty to share with friends, family and those in need.

the big chill

the freeze continues

I’ve had it with the freezing, the snow, the 65 degree day followed by a hard freeze. the chickens are confused, the rabbit is in denial, and the garden is struggling through it all. i don’t mind the rain, the wind, a little chill but mark my words, if it snows again, i’ll need some very serious garden therapy my friends, and it isn’t going to be cheap.

i’m looking forward to Home and Garden Idea Fair the last week in april this year as i do every year. this will be my first year since 2003 that i have not served as a volunteer during this event. instead, toree and i will be womaning our own booth full of fruits and veg, books, garden info, and T-SHIRTS! That’s right my friends, you asked we’ve answered. You too can have your very own Urban Farm School t-shirt, organic cotton and all. we hope to see you all at HGIF, a great place to find some good deals, listen to free lectures, and just TALK to other gardeners; the place is crawling with ‘em!

i love ‘em

mom and pop feed stores that is. i love the cement floors and the big open doors, the dust, the smell of hay and feed, and the casual nature of those that work in them. i love the fair ribbons on the walls and the pictures of local kids with their cow, sheep, pig, or goat at the sell barn. i love a lot of things about feed stores but what i love most is that they remain unfussy. no fancy lights or big banners (other than those for feed), no uniforms, or specialized personal. the girl that sells me feed is the girl that loads the feed, puts chicks in a box for the family behind me and advises the guy at the counter about starter feed for pigs. i love that. i love the simplicity of the mom and pop feed store and frequent the one near me as often as i can. the selection isn’t as big, they don’t have nursery stock, or fancy shirts but they sure do have my business day in and day out because they are plain ‘ol NICE, friendly, customer-focused and working their arses off in and for their local community.

if you’re ever in the duluth/ridgefield area check out Pioneer Feed. they’re great people with a good solid selection of merchandise for small and large breed animal needs. and they are plain ‘ol nice.

a sad, sad day in parsnipland

oh, great parsnip, how i love thee

as many of you know i adore parsnips. it’s an adoration that borders on maniacal obsession during certain times of the year really. this week proved to be a sad day in my little parsnipland. i harvested the last of my parsnips from last year’s garden. long, thin, glowing white roots of sweet earthiness plucked from the wet garden soil to make way for the new garden design. although i mourn the passing of these roots from the garden, the last of the crops, i am excited to be celebrating the new garden. the chives and garlic have peeked through the mulch, the brussel sprouts, cabbage, broccoli, and cauliflower starts are nestled under row covers and the early seeds are started in the house. i love the beginning of gardening season no matter the weather outside. as the potato bins scrape bottom, the jars of spaghetti sauce, pears, and pickles dwindle hope springs from the smell of this year’s soil and all the possiblities of the food to come.

rejoice in the beginning for it offers nothing but untainted possiblity.

Here comes February!

Februarie: AEgloga Secunda from the Shepeardes Calendar ~ Edmund Spenser

I am so excited! aren’t you? this is the time of year when the garden begins to wake from the winter slumber, shrugging off the quiet air of hibernation and showing signs of life ~ garlic peeking through mulch, buds on blueberries & fruit trees, a flash of green where chives curl their first fingers upward.

I love working outside in the garden this time of year. Cold and often wet work but the best time to transplant bare-root trees, shrubs, berry canes, and perennial herbs. It is a busy time after waiting, and waiting, and waiting for gardening season to finally arrive after imagining the new garden on paper for several months. it is time for it to come to fruition!

I’ve added new paths, a seating area, rearranged just about every perennial i own and am soooooooo excited after 18 months of “BLAH” about the garden. This year it has started to click and i am in love with the idea of what will come to be this summer and autumn as well as the preserved food for next year.

All hail February, the garden has awoken!

ode to sarah kleven

i see it behind those eyes
the eight-year-old girl
full of mac and cheese from a box
weenies, and soda pop
loving her land of cheese

wanting more

and now those eyes shine bright
with smiley faces and exclamation !!! marks
when real life hits
and the shoes
change
and the skirt
lengthens
and the boys
start to matter

glinting in the sun
under a frozen january sky
i see date nights,
sad nights,
wisconsin nights
football, baseball, and friends
sounding from the necks
of bottles

and know that it’s all changing
except the smiley faces and the exclamation !!! marks
and the eight-year-olds eyes

but even those grow up
and the land of greenbay
will have lost their purest optimist

adding a little pepper . . .

all things happen for a reason, right?

after many, many, MANY months of “proving we’re responsible enough for a rabbit” a rabbit fell into our laps for free (other than the hutch, bedding, and food) after a trip to the local feed store and into our lives. “Pepper” the dwarf rabbit entered with wiggling nose and the softest fur of all time and a slight, okay major, weight problem.

and each day, rain or snow, i watch my daughter gather her greens and head out to the hutch to feed and snuggle her new charge. and i realize while watching her take responsiblity for “fluffy the bunny” that i’m the adult, this is real life, and my daughter is the coolest person in the world and it really doesn’t get any better than this.

. . . and rabbit poo for the garden never hurts either.

it isn’t sad; it’s sleeping

chestnutty goodness

i love the look of sleeping gardens in winter ~ the mulch, the outline of perennials, paths peeking out ready for walking and hauling and supporting the garden system, and the possibilities lurking everytime i walk by ~ a new plant here, a bed of chard there, a fairy house nestled behind the gooseberry.

i love it all.

it's working hard, seriously

but when it snows i love it even more. the enchanment of the place takes hold and the possibilities seem even more great and i know that beneath that white blanket of frozen insulation the garden is working, breathing, becoming healthier and more alive although it looks like it is fast asleep. i love the trickery of winter weather and the garden’s love for deep cold for ridding disease and pests without flexing a muscle.

rejoice in the cold and the snow the garden is and so am i.