local food
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My first work day at Local Harvest CSA, was spent organizing for the season and soil blocking for the first seedlings. I made two trays for myself as part of the barter deal with the farmer. In one I seeded basil, Conquistador celery and Tall Utah celery. In the other was four kinds of kale:… Read more
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Snow fell in darkness leaving a thin blanket of white. The pin oak tree began shedding last year’s foliage indicating warm weather activated new leaf buds and pushed out the old. Seems weird to rake leaves in February. More to the point, it’s not normal. In a couple of hours I return for a fifth… Read more
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From: Paul Deaton Sent: Sunday, Dec. 2, 2012 10:14 AM To: Farmer Kate Subject: Processing and other ideas Kate: Thanks for the kale and spinach. We had both for dinner last night, and now I have a whole refrigerator drawer full of kale, ready to make something. Very yummy, with the… Read more
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Temperatures are forecast in the single digits and low teens all weekend — fit weather for beginning the year. My planned tasks include taking down holiday decorations and meeting with my friend Carmen to discuss a role at her community supported agriculture project this season. I have a pile to take to our meeting: two… Read more
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In this final 2016 post it was easier than last year to outline my writing plans. The work I do to pay bills and support my writing has been tough mentally and physically. To cope with an aging frame and occasionally distracted mind I have had to focus. That meant planning, and then with discipline,… Read more
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It’s Christmas Eve in Big Grove, the ambient temperature is about freezing, and we’re ready to bunker in, finish decorating our Christmas tree and prepare a traditional supper of chili and cornbread. My Christmas wish is for peace on earth. Elusive as that may have been during 2016, we can’t give up hope. Not now.… Read more
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Anthony Sells built the first sawmill in Big Grove Township in 1839. There were a lot of nearby trees, hence the name. Things changed. Farm fields, and eventually subdivisions, replaced the Oak-Hickory forest. Except for the state park and a few scattered parcels, the change has been decisive and permanent. Memory of trees persists as… Read more
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Holiday tradition in our house includes cleaning and decorating beginning mid-December. Dec. 18 is our wedding anniversary. This year we plan to celebrate 34 years of marriage with a meal at a local restaurant. Our wedding anniversary is also when the Christmas tree goes up with decorating to be finished by Christmas Eve. As we… Read more
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“What do vegetarians have for Thanksgiving dinner?” a colleague at the home, farm and auto supply store asked this week. The unspoken assertion was it is difficult to imagine Thanksgiving without turkey as the main course. He noted, being positive, we could still have pumpkin pie for dessert. We could, but won’t this year. Our… Read more
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Garden plot six was five varieties of tomatoes — Italian, Amish Paste, Beefsteak, Rose and Kanner Hoell. It was an abundant crop — about 200 pounds harvested — but most of the crop went bad on the vine due to an inability to spend time harvesting. The culprit was a busy work schedule that included… Read more
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