Dear chickens, I know our tomatoes are delicious.  Or rather, I would know, if you didn’t keep hen-pecking them before they are fully ripe. Gardeners should never count their eggs before they hatch with regards to tomatoes, and I did initially believe the dogs or squirrels were stealing the fruit.  I was walking on eggshells waiting to witness something eating the ‘maters and suddenly there you were! I fenced in the tomato plants, but you [...]

It is afternoon, a time when summer boredom hits hardest.  Lil is whiny and wants nothing to do with any of the ideas I suggest.  That is, until I start working on dinner and ask if she would like to make a salad. She runs to her garden and picks what is ripe and fresh.  She brings them inside, washes, and begins to chop.  Lil dices carrots finely with an adult paring knife.  I teach [...]

Harvest season is almost upon us.  Vegetables and fruits which are just now surprising us with their ripe sweetness will soon be piling in from the garden, the CSA, or the farmers market.  Make the most of the bounty by putting up stores for the winter. I will lead two basic canning workshops this fall to help people learn to preserve.  Both will be hands on events where participants will leave with a jar of [...]

Today we celebrate the birth of the possum-catching, sausage-making, sign-hanging, eldest member of the homestead, Alex. On Saturday evening we invited family to our house for a feast for Alex and my sister Megan, whose birthday is July 16.  They always have the best birthday dinners because there are so many wonderful vegetables in season at the end of July! I welcomed guests with Algonquin cocktails and bruschetta made with homegrown Julia Child tomatoes and [...]

This morning, our neighbor Jan was looking quizzically between her garage and compost bin.  We stepped out to hear her terrier Molly squeaking. The source of the tension?  A baby opossum was hiding out behind the compost bin. Fortunately, Alex’s Extermination Service came to the rescue.  He used a stick and a few yells to chase the babe out from behind the bin.  Then, he grabbed the possum by the tail near its body.  Their [...]

Summer is running away with my sanity, I think. I still haven’t recovered from waking every day at dawn on the canoe trip, so I’m lacking sleep.  There are so many events, activities, plans, and parties that I can barely keep up with myself.  In fact, I’m writing this post on OSU campus in a short break from my volunteer role as an orientation coordinator for the 4-H International Program. Next week looks to be [...]

Imagine that you just canoed for two days, sleeping the night on cold rocky ground.  The lake you paddled across is shimmering and surrounded by great green pines.  Your body aches.  Hunger nags constantly, your tongue having touched nothing colder than room temperature for days. Then, chef for the evening canoes out to the middle of the lake and pulls out a black plastic trash bag. Inside, there are two bags of instant chocolate pudding [...]