Summer placemats

Aren't these pretty little fabric scraps? I found them at a yard sale a few weeks ago and felt sure I could use them to make something lovely and summery. After looking through Rashida Coleman-Hale's book I Love Patchwork, (which I found at the same yard sale), I was inspired by her placemat and napkin set. I took my 40% off coupon to Fabric Depot, bought a few yards of lovely cotton-linen blend fabric, found a bit of time this weekend to cut and sew, and came up with this:

Now, if I can only find a few moments to sew three more of them!

Weekend Gratitude

This week, feeling grateful for...

~a cool and cloudy morning trip to Kruger's Farm  on Sauvie Island for strawberry picking
~the peaceful sounds, cleansing air, and open vistas of the countryside
~my capable little strawberry picking partner, growing so confident in her new skills
~a basket full of strawberries...
~and a bowl full of cherries
~the aroma of drying lavender filling the house
~a family bike ride to the farmers market where we found delicious sheep feta (from Black Sheep Creamery) and new potatoes to add to our homegrown dinner of salad greens, kale, peas, carrots, chives, and parsley (we made the Indian Spiced Lentils with Kale from Cook's Illustrated Best Recipe book--yum!)

Wishing you simple pleasures and time to enjoy them in the week ahead...

Around the garden--our KSA

For this week's Around the Garden post, I'd like to introduce you to our version of a CSA. We love the idea of community supported agriculture, but we grow too much of our own food to subscribe to a CSA ourselves. And we don't grow enough food to start one of our own. But this year, we've found a way to adapt the CSA concept to something in which we can participate.

We have a friend named Katie who likes home-grown vegetables but doesn't have her own garden. And we have a garden that produces just a bit more food than we can eat ourselves. So Katie and I got to talking, and realized we could help each other out. Thus, the KSA (Katie Supported Agriculture) was born. Each week, we harvest whatever veggies, herbs, (and sometimes eggs)  we have to spare and take a bag on over to Katie's place. In exchange, Katie gives us a share of her food buying budget.

This was last week's KSA share. Not bad, I'd say! So far, it's been a positive arrangement for everyone involved. Katie gets healthy, local, love-infused veggies (and the satisfaction of supporting our gardening habit), and we get a bit of cash to put toward garden expenses (and the satisfaction of helping to nourish our dear friend).

We're still very much in an experimental phase, but we've learned a lot already. Thanks Katie, for experimenting along with us!

In other garden news, there have been lots of lovely flowers blooming, perfect for birthday posies for neighbor friends.

And more bug sightings! I love walking around the garden with a camera, because I notice things I wouldn't notice if I hadn't been looking closely.

This isn't the greatest photo, but I wanted to post it just for the story it's telling. Do you see the spider?  She is crawling right toward the unfortunate aphid who flew into her web. I didn't stay for the outcome, but I found it so fascinating to witness the interaction of these common garden inhabitants. It's amazing what happens when one refrains from using pesticides. 

Happy growing to all!

Summer Reading

Today is a gray rainy day, and we have been hit by a summer cold, so it seems a good time to dive into some good books. Our library just started its summer reading program, so we have extra incentive to indulge our bookwormish tendencies. It's been a lot of fun watching how my daughter's understanding and enjoyment of these books has evolved since last year when we read them for the first time. 

The Gerda Muller seasonal books are wonderful, and our two year old loves Summer as much this year as she did last year. It's a board book with no words, just lovely pictures of children enjoying wholesome outdoor adventures. It makes for great conversation and story telling by children and adults alike.

And of course with the start of blueberry season, we checked out our favorite blueberry books. Peter in Blueberry Land was a bit too complex last year, but just perfect for an imaginative two year old who loves exploring the forest and garden.We still shorten up the story in Blueberries for Sal, but the general plot and pictures are much enjoyed by our little one.

Some other children's books we enjoy in the summer: 
Miss Rumphius, by Barbara Kooney
Compost Stew, by Mary Mckenna Sidals
Feeding the Sheep, by Leda Schubert
Tillie Lays an Egg, by Terry Golson
Siesta, by Ginger Guy

Rhythm of the Home also has a wonderful summer book list.

In my own reading, I've been inspired by stories of hearty, resilient folk these days. My fourth grade teacher was an Oregon Trail history buff, and lately I've been revisiting my own fascination with the subject, hoping to deepen my elementary school understanding. On the recommendation of our librarian, I checked out Weldon Willis Rau's Surviving the Oregon Trail (a collection of the diaries of Mary Ann and Willis Boatman, and other travelers) and David Dary's the Oregon Trail: an American Saga. Dary's book places the phenomenon of the great migration West in a larger historical setting, and I've really enjoyed seeing it in this light. And I have to say, my own day to day challenges seem a lot less challenging after reading what these people endured!

For a more modern story of hard working people, I picked up The Dirty Life, by Kristin Kimball. This one kept me up reading way too late, just for the sheer pleasure of it. It's another "city girl meets country boy and a farm is born" story, but her writing is so engaging, and she keeps it real by relating the difficulty and sacrifice as well as the sublime reward of farming. (Beware vegetarians! These farmers raise and eat animals, and Kimball is not shy about describing the preparation of all manner of animal parts for consumption).

And you, what are you reading this summer?

Around the garden

Taking a peek around the garden with Farmama again this week...

I've been so interested in the diversity of bugs and insects and critters in the garden this year. Along with the standard aphids, slugs, and cabbage worms, I've also been finding dragon flies, spiders, all manner of bees...

 

...and lady bugs. (there's also an out-of-focus daddy long legs in that photo--another garden friend). At the start of spring, my potted spearmint was attacked by aphids. I had planned to dispose of it, thinking it was too far gone. But then I noticed a lady bug and decided to see what would happen.  Now, the mint is still alive (and thriving!) and the aphids are gone (or at least controlled).

I'm beginning to change my thinking about garden pests. I used to feel that I was at war with the aphids and slugs and myriad other creatures out to devour our precious plants. Slowly I am beginning to see that it's not so much a war as a delicate, complex balance. And my job is to nurture an environment that tips the scale ever so slightly in our favor, (or maybe, to do as little as possible to disturb the balance that already exists in nature).

The bit of warmth and sun we had on the solstice encouraged the heat loving plants to bloom and grow.

Poppies popped!

I am so pleased with these cheerful french marigolds that grew from seed I saved last year. My mother always saved marigold seeds, and it feels good to carry on the tradition. The tomatoes are growing well, too! (We need to get them staked or trellised...we want to try something other than cages this year, but not sure what).

The front yard peas are going crazy--so delightful to pick them as we walk up the front path.

Lavender is blooming! I can't wait to start using this lovely herb in all kinds of concoctions. I'm especially eager to try the Lavender Lemonade posted by Heather at Beauty that Moves. I'm hoping to make some herbal balms and salves and lotions and potions this summer, too. Any recommendations or favorite resources/books on this topic?

Happy farming and gardening!

Blueberry Season

When we returned from our trip on Monday, we found our first ripe blueberry. Thus begins the official start of blueberry season in our little corner of the world! Ah, the delight of biting into one of these sun-warmed, succulent, sweet-tart wonders. No one is more excited than our two year old.

Last year at this time, she learned the difference between green and blue, ripe and "not ready yet". This year, she is revisiting these concepts, and working on that most difficult skill--delaying gratification.

 It is sooo hard to wait for those plump round berries to turn blue...

And you will find her hunting intently for ripe berries every chance she gets.

We have four blueberry bushes--just enough for backyard snacking. When peaches and nectarines and plums come into season, they are delicious in a salad together with a bit of fresh mint. And when we get a chance to pick larger quantities at nearby farms (we like Sauvie Island Blueberry Farm) we bake them into muffins and pancakes and cobblers (and freeze up as many as we can for winter baked treats). My favorite blueberry muffin recipe comes from The Tassajara Recipe Book by Edward Espe Brown. It has lemon zest, banana, and buttermilk, and it is just perfect.

This time of year we also enjoy checking out our favorite blueberry books from the library--
Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey, and Peter in Blueberry Land by Elsa Beskow.

Do you have a blueberry season in your neck of the woods? How do you celebrate?

Solstice greetings

 In honor of this longest day, and of the life-giving sun,
a bit from St. Francis of Assisi's Canticle of the Sun...


Be praised, my Lord, through all your creatures, 
especially through my lord Brother Sun, who brings the day; 
and you give light through him. 
And he is beautiful and radiant in all his splendor! 
Of you, Most High, he bears the likeness.


 Solstice blessings of light and life to all of you!