A thorny situation

I don't know that I've ever seen thistles in bloom before. This patch is around the corner from me and I think they are beautiful. As Melissa and I approached on our walk, a whole flock of finches, gold and otherwise, flew up out of the branches.

I'm so glad this little patch of nature was left here - and so were the birds. I think they are lovely and hope to gather some seed for my own perennial garden.

That's one thing I love about our less-than-perfect neighborhood. There are little patches of nature springing up everywhere. When I visited my Mom in suburbia last month, her yard looked like astroturf - there wasn't a stray clover, dandelion or less-than-uniformly green blade of grass in the whole lawn. It's hard to believe that more fertilizers and chemicals are applied to lawns on a per acre basis than on agricultural lands.

I find that sobering and reprehensible. There is just no need to spray, spray, spray and fertilize a patch of grass. Frankly, I think lawn chemical application should be illegal. We've gone from the occasional weed-and-feed treatment on our suburban lawn of 15 years ago to using absolutely nothing on our urban double lot now. I think our yard, with its variety of vegetation is beautiful. We had noticed back in suburbia that our yard always had way more birds foraging in it than any of the neighbors'. Could it be that ours had more bugs and worms?

We've been working hard since we moved into this house two years ago to convert as much of our non-producing grass lawn into either perennial beds or food gardens. We've made a lot of progress, planting 50 strawberry plants, 8-10 blueberry bushes, 6-8 raspberry bushes, two semi-dwarf apples trees, a sour cherry tree, and turning the perimeter of the yard into a combination perennial bed/squash bed. We now have three large garden spaces and our small raised bed and have converted 80 percent of our front lawn into perennial beds. I do have trouble keeping up with the weeds, and our front yard beds won't be fully established for another year or so, but this has drastically improved the appearance of the yard and its functionality.

Oh, and when we do mow, we use a human-powered push mower.

Dog of my dreams, bane of my existence

This is Wally, my big, goofy dog.

My mom says he reminds her of Marmaduke.
He's tall and gangly and highly food-motivated.

This should make him easy to train; unfortunately, his owners weren't disciplined enough to teach him much more than sit, lie down, roll over and "No!" (The latter only works sometimes, depending on how sincere Wally believes the request to be)

We got Wally from the local rescue league when he was 3 1/2 months old. His first two years were challenging, to say the least. He regularly chewed through $60 or more of dog toys a month, grabbed toys, tv remotes or anything of interest and ran, emptied waste baskets (I can't count the number of times I've had to pry his mouth open to remove soggy, dirty kleenex), and required more than 5 miles of walking a day, just to be manageable. The only thing that kept me from returning him was the lesson in responsibility I wanted to teach my children.

And that goofy face.

In the intervening 8 years, Wally has eaten his way through thousands of dollars in vet bills. Like the time several years ago when Wendy's restaurants were giving away free Frosties. The six of us piled into the car and headed out for our freebies, stopping at not one, but two Wendy's and Krispy Creme for free donuts. It wasn't until we returned home that we realized Wally's newly filled prednisone prescription bottle was emtpy and Wally didn't look so good. What followed was a 3-hour ordeal, involving an after-hours vet visit, charcoal and stomach pumping.

And a bill of more than $300.

But the Frosties were good.

We can't leave any food item within reach, or Wally will grab it and eat to excess. He's consumed a dozen Krispy Cremes, cookies, several boxes of Raisin Bran (that one was fun), two boxes of chocolate covered cherries, and innumerable other unattended food items. There was also the time he got into my daughter's rabbit cage and ate hay and poop. We found out about it when he vomited the partially digested sludge onto my youngest daughter.

Then there was the time he stepped on something sharp (a stick) and cut his leg. This required, in addition to several staples, twice daily soaks in Epsom salts. How do you coax a 75 pound dog into soaking his paw for 20 minutes twice a day? Prepare the soaking water in the bathtub, place dog in water and spread peanut butter around the inner edge of the tub. It actually does take about 20 minutes to lick a layer of peanut butter from around a bathtub.

Most recently, Wally sneaked into the basement. (Actually, we know the cat let him down there) He used to be afraid of the basement steps until tornado warnings earlier this summer taught him the basement wasn't such a bad place. Anyway, he got into the plastic storage container of dog food and ate until he could hold no more. What followed was 5 days of diarrhea and a special diet of boiled hamburger and white rice.

A dear friend of mine has suggested that perhaps the principles of unschooling as applied to Wally's food choices might be something to try. In other words, allow him free access to his food and he'll learn to regulate himself.
She, however, has never cleaned up dog vomit at 2 in the morning, nor had to remove dog diarrhea from her family room couches.

So, why do we keep this troublesome mutt?

No one loves us as unconditionally as Wally and there isn't anyone in the world who demonstrates the power of unwavering optimism as he does. We are his pack and he is our Wally-dolly.

We don't know what we'd do without him.

Though it would be nice to be able to leave grapes on the table...

Weekend Harvest

We harvested the last of the lettuce along with nasturtium flowers, blueberries, raspberries, radishes, carrots, green beans and a ton of swiss chard.

We've started getting a few tomatoes everyday, though we had to remove one diseased plant. I'm hopeful that the rest won't develop blight.

The squash plants have all been blossoming, though only one has set fruit so far. It looks like we'll get a little more broccoli this week, too.

Urban Foraging

Our neighborhood has many empty lots and unkempt, vacant properties. While this is mostly unsightly, it does provide my family a glimpse of a more natural environment. Many lots are full of clover, chicory and other flowering weeds. There are even a few thistle plants left to flower.

On one of our walks this summer, we started talking about chicory and how beautiful the flowers are. I vaguely remembered that chicory was used as a coffee substitute, but in talking about this with my daughter, I realized I wasn't sure what part of the plant was used for brewing nor how it was processed.

A quick internet search yielded the information we needed. We now knew we had to harvest the roots, dry them and roast them.

The experiment turned into a family affair, with my two daughters and Michael heading out, trowels in hand, to dig up some chicory roots in the yard of an abandoned house.

Digging the roots.


Scrubbing off the dirt.

Chopping the roots.
Grinding them.
Roasted chicory.
Yesterday, we finally decided to brew up some chicory and give it a try. Now, chicory was most often used as an additive to coffee to make the coffee last longer, but we decided we wanted the most realistic chicory experience possible. Besides, the thought of contaminating, er, extending our Sumatran Dark Roast with an unknown entity was too frightening.

The recipe seemed awfully weak, two teaspoons of the roasted chicory to four cups boiling water.

It was.

The flavor was extremely week and almost tasteless, but this was made up for by its musty, wet-horse aroma.

I'd have to be pretty desperate to resort to chicory, even if there was no coffee available. I'm pretty sure, after this experience, we all would make the switch to herbal tea!

One Local Summer Week 8

Scrumptious.
Our entirely local meal this week was baked stuffed tomatoes, fresh beans and musk melon. The tomatoes were stuffed with bread crumbs, herbs from the garden and goat parmesan. The only non-local items in the dish were the olive oil and salt and pepper.
We thought we'd died and gone to heaven.
Literally.
The beans were from our garden and topped with local butter.
The musk melon came from southern Indiana, but dh brought it back with him from a business trip to said location. Oh, and it and the 3 other melons and the watermelon he brought home were all free. Apparently, the guys at the research station dh visited watch for melons that fall off of trucks transporting them to market. This "road kill" is then given away for free!

This is a piece of blueberry pie, topped w/homemade ice cream. All ingredients were local, except for the shortening in the crust and the sugar. I'm contemplating buying some local lard from my Farm to Folk CSA for use in pie crusts, but haven't yet done so.

A Lifetime of Love

It's been 23 years tomorrow since I married the man of my dreams.

He has stood by me through deepest, darkest depression, the mental illness diagnoses of 3 of our 4 children, and a myriad of pets, including lizards, rabbits, mice, hermit crabs, snails, rats, cats, dogs, fish and soon, backyard chickens.

He has withstood an unfair amount of bitterness over his work commitments and travel on my part, especially when the kids were young. (I'm better about it now.)

His commitment as a father has been unwavering. I'll always remember the goofy songs he sang to the kids at bathtime when they were little and his sheer delight at being a father.

He's always willing (after an initial "no") to remodel another house, paint another room, plant another garden (or two, or three) or even make dinner at the drop of a hat. Believe me, you haven't lived until you've had Michael's nachos.

I met him by chance, married him for love, and cannot imagine my life without him. If ever a person had a soulmate, Michael is mine.

We typically don't celebrate our anniversaries, so no big parties or fancy dinners out. In fact, we were out buying wine today and he asked if we should splurge on a fancy bottle for tomorrow night. Naw, I replied, that just makes the next night's wine disappointing.

So instead of fancy wine or diamonds or exotic vacations, I have the supreme honor of spending a quiet evening at home with my love.

I couldn't be happier.

Fibers and the Fair

Today, we scrambed to fill out the forms, figure out the correct categories and transport Melissa's crocheted creations to the Iowa State Fair. The fair doesn't start until August 7, but the Thread and Fibers entries were due today.

Most of her entries were made in the junior division, including the felted wool crocheted purse above. She chose the wool and created striped pattern herself.

The above purse is made with 50 percent Ingeo fiber, a yarn made completely from corn, and 50 percent wool. She crocheted the two fibers together and then felted it. She stayed up until 1 a.m. this morning finishing the purse. She felted it after breakfast and then I found myself drying the still wet purse with a hair dryer so she could turn it in!

This scarf is much prettier than it looks on the table here. She crocheted this one from 100 percent Ingeo fiber, making individual granny squares, sewing them together and then crocheting around the outside edge.

This scarf is absolutely gorgeous and as soft as a persian cat! Melissa crocheted this one from alpaca yarn (the purple) and a fancy yarn, also part alpaca, to add interest. I'm hoping she'll give it to me for Christmas!

She entered this purse in a non-judged category called "Rare Needle Crafts." I don't know how truly rare needle felting is, but there wasn't a separate category for needle-felted items. She crocheted the purse from 100 percent wool yarn, felted it, then needle felted the field of flowers onto the front.

Here are a couple of close-ups of the needle felting:

.
Judging takes place over the next couple of days. We're keeping our fingers crossed that all of her items will be placed on display.

I am so proud!

Broccoli Harvest

When I was a kid, I hated broccoli. It was that overcooked, soggy, disgusting-tasing stuff my Mom served a couple of times a month. I didn't even know you could eat raw broccoli until I was a teenager! We visited my cousin, who had a veggie platter including raw broccoli and cauliflower. I couldn't believe how good it was.

A few days ago, we harvested our first-ever home grown broccoli. I thought we had planted it too late in the season for it to flower, but more-seasoned growers urged patience, and they were right.

Fresh broccoli never tasted so good!

Food of the Gods

Pesto, for my family, is as much a part of our everyday culinary life as hamburgers are to most Americans. There is something unbelievably sumptuous about the mixture of basil, garlic, olive oil and parmesan cheese that belies its simple, country origins..

Pesto may be one of the oldest sauces in the world and gets its name from the traditional use of a mortar and pestle to combine the ingredients.

Once you've tried pesto, you'll understand why I fret every year about whether I'll have enough basil to make enough to last the winter!

My favorite pesto recipe is from The Joy of Pasta.

Makes enough for 1 pound of pasta.

2 cloves garlic

1 tsp. salt

2 cups tightly packed basil leaves

2 T finely chopped pinenuts (can substitute walnuts)

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (please buy a hunk of the real stuff - you won't regret it)

2 T freshly grated romano cheese (I often just substitute Parmesan)

4 T butter, softened

In food processor, combine garlic, salt, basil, nuts and olive oil and process until smooth.

Add cheeses and butter and process briefly, just to incorporate the cheeses.

Add sauce to drained pasta and serve with additional Parmesan cheese.

Living Each Day to its Fullest

Randy Pausch, author of the book The Last Lecture has died. He lost his battle against pancreatic cancer, leaving behind his wife and three young children.
I read The Last Lecture just a few weeks ago, and found it inspiring and thought-provoking. In the book, Pausch discusses the importance of living one's life to the fullest and helping others realize their dreams.
It's so easy on a daily basis to get bogged down in life's little worries: the messy house, the dirty dishes, the husband who travels too much, the bills, etc. If you are a worrier, like I am, losing sight of the forest for the trees is all too common.
I could spend my days worrying about the bills, about what I don't accomplish, daily, weekly, monthly.
But I am choosing to focus instead on all the good in my life: my four healthy, wonderful kids; good friends; a husband who loves me ridiculously much; the happiness to be found in each and every day.
Thank you, Randy Pausch, for helping me and thousands of others, to remember what is important.

Jammin' in the kitchen...

We actually belong to three CSA's this year, all under the umbrella group Farm to Folk. Tuesday is our pick-up day for our Picket Fence Creamery order and our share from The Berry Patch . What I really love about Farm to Folk is the ability to order produce from its various producers, based on what they have available each week. I've been ordering raspberries galore from The Berry Patch and mostly freezing the extras.

But this week, I decided to make raspberry jam. I had forgotten how easy it is to make jam. I always use Sure Jell Light. I think the lesser amount of sugar allows the flavor of the fruit to shine through.

I had enough berries for one complete batch of raspberry jam that yielded 6 jars. I was making the second batch when I realized I was shy about a cup and a half of berries. I had fresh, local blueberries in the fridge, so I crushed up blueberries to make up the difference.

We think the Blue Raspberry Jam is even better than the regular.

It was a dark and stormy day...

But yesterday was sunny and beautiful. While I was making raspberry jam and Sarah, bless her heart, was battling fur tumbleweeds, Melissa went out with the camera and documented summer's beauty.

Thank you, Melissa.