Birdwatcher

Birds come and go. Chickadees with their wings in motion Flutter from branch to branch between trees, Their movement quick and upward While the cardinal streaks red hot Linear across the horizon landing: He sits content on his perch. Birds come and go. Sparrows hop zig zag in the snow Their tracks leaving delicate imprints...

Eco Printing Paper with Leaves

These autumn leaves are too tempting to leave untouched on the ground; just the sound that rises when walking through them is enough to make me want to disturb them . . . we don't usually think of *causing disturbance* as a 'fun' thing or something worthwhile, but that's where context is everything . . .

Glory Days

Glorious goldenrod rises Filling the bed where Asparagus speared through the ground In spring On other cool mornings

Scintillating

“Every flower holds the whole mystery in its short cycle, and in the garden we are never far away from death, the fertilizing, good, creative death.” ~May Sarton

Bloom

“She is so bright and glorious that you cannot look at her face or her garments for the splendor with which she shines. For she is terrible with the terror of the avenging lightening, and gentle with the goodness of the bright sun; and both her terror and her gentleness are incomprehensible to humans ....

Gourmet Herbed Salts

Salt. It has been around for a long, long time, with evidence of its use dating back as far as 6500 B.C. The British evaporated salt by boiling seawater from salt spri­ngs in small clay pots over open fires during the Iron Age. Salt was used as money by the many ancient cultures, including the...

Golden Milk Cake

We love golden milk, with fresh turmeric and ginger grown locally by Paradox Farms and a few cardamom pods simmered slowly in milk.  But frankly, in the muggy heat of summer the thought of a warm beverage makes me shudder.  Recently, I came across a recipe for turmeric cake in The Washington Post, and it...

Summer Peach Preserves

“Peaches in the summertime, apples in the fall, if I can’t have the girl I love I won’t have none at all . . . ” Anyone else love Shadygrove? It’s certainly summer here in these shady groves of the Blue Ridges, and the scent of fresh, ripe peaches wafts through our kitchen, mingling with...

Cilantro: Coriander by Another Name

Cilantro is in full bloom, a dazzling sight artfully arranged by hundreds of miniscule flowers dancing together.   It’s creating fruits now, which are known as coriander seed and used in almost all the sub-continental  dishes I grew up eating:  daal, curries, biryani, fish, kababs, none of them are without either powdered coriander seeds, crushed coriander...

Newsflash

Farmers Say Their Chicks Were Abducted by Bald Eagles! Farmers Josh and Jane Hill of Keep It Simple Farms say that now their chickens are back they don’t need cats. May 14th 2017, a pair of bald eagles abducted Silky and Bo, their young hen and rooster! Turns out the bald eagles had lost their...