My article on edible weeds in the garden is published in Organic Lifestyle Magazine this week. Check it out here: Five Common Weeds to Cultivate for Health and Nutrition ...
Another Fair May Faire
May Faire at our Waldorf school is a tradition I look forward to every year to ring in the flowering of the season. The Maypole dance, the flower crowns, the live music, the games booths, the plant sale and the bakery booth have all become interwoven in my experience of May. It can be a big undertaking for the school community and parent volunteers to put on, but it always comes together ...
Fiddleheads
"The young fiddlehead ferns lift up their tight fists, in the spring wind shaking them right in the face of the mountain" ~Yomono Akara ...
Earth Day in the Garden
We spent some time over the weekend working with the earth and getting the garden prepped, just in time for Earth Day. With the help of a bargain rototiller we got over the summer from a friend's grandfather, our trailer load of aged steer manure, all of Corey's old newspapers, woodchips from the free city piles, and a bale of straw, we now have a beautiful garden taking shape for the season. I am ...
Busy as a Bee
April is a busy time around here, with everyone abuzz, especially the wild honeybees living in the woodshed wall. While they've been doing their job pollinating, we've been working hard providing them with plenty of things to be pollinated. The garden is tilled, paths are mulched, potatoes and onions are planted, peas are sown, and starts are going in a cold frame. All in a weekend's ...
Apple Blossom
"Blossom of the apple trees! Mossy trunks all gnarled and hoary, Grey boughs tipped with rose-veined glory, Clustered petals soft as fleece Garlanding old apple trees! How you gleam at break of day! When the coy sun, glancing rarely, Pouts and sparkles in the pearly ...
What a Load of Manure!
A load of manure is a pretty exciting thing on a homestead. Seriously, I would never B.S. you. It means a healthy garden, abundant vegetables, and the most bang for your buck as far as fertilizers go. It all comes back to the nutrient cycle. Garden nutrients can be added with composting and chicken coop cleanings, but when your garden is large, and you have no livestock of your own, you need a ...
In Time of Lilacs
"in time of lilacs who proclaimthe aim of waking is to dream,remember so(forgetting seem)" ~e.e. cummings ...
Hot Cross Buns
Some friends came over to visit us on Easter, and I was feeling festive, so I decided to make some hot cross buns to go with our soup and veggie dyed eggs. I've tried my hand at these a few times before, and the dough is so sticky, they always end up kind of lumpy by the end. This time I was doing something right, because they came out very bun-like and delicious. To make them, I simply ...
Naturally Nested, Naturally Dyed
Here's what you get from a 6 minute boil, and couple hour soak in red cabbage, beets, onion skins and turmeric, and spinach. An egg-stravaganza! ...