a soaker, and other projects

This little soaker has been sitting around for weeks, waiting to be worked on. For some reason I'm just not inspired. Maybe it's the electric blue yarn (Cascade 220) my daughter picked out, or maybe I'm just struggling with the pattern, which, I think, could be a tad more clear. Or maybe I've just been hit with a case of the lazies?  I realized this weekend, though, that this was the perfect opportunity to make like so many of you prolific yarn-alongers and start another project--or maybe two or three more projects! I've always felt that I should finish one before starting another, but as I've explored this wild world of knitting bloggers, it seems that multiple projects on needles is the way to go. So today I cast on a little sock for baby-on-the-way. And I think I might start a hat for him, another little vest; and my 3-yr-old daughter will be needing a new hat for winter, and a sweater, too. Better get to work...

I finished Living the Good Life, by Helen and Scott Nearing. So many of these books I've been reading, written 50-75 yrs ago, speak to issues of food and land and livelihood as if they'd been written today. Interesting stuff. Now, time for a good novel--just started Austen's Persuasion. And I'm so glad to have a book of Mary Oliver's poetry at the bedside again. I'm enjoying this volume--Why I Wake Early--even more than her others. The title poem is lovely.

Happy yarning-along!

of broccoli and dragonflies

We realized yesterday that the broccoli was ready for harvest. And what a satisfying harvest--our first real success with this crop.

Somehow the broccoli made it to maturity without being completely devoured by chickens or cabbage worms, and the aphids haven't hit them yet. We steamed it lightly and dressed with the tiniest bit of lemon juice, and oh was it delicious! So dark green and tender, it felt so much more nutritious than store-bought broccoli.

We planted the broccoli inside on Feb 18, then transplanted outside under plastic on April 16, with 1/4 cup feather meal for nitrogen, 1 TBLS lime for calcium, and 1/3 cup complete organic fertilizer for good measure. The plants thrived with this regimen. The heads weren't giant, but they seemed very healthy.

We've been seeing ladybugs and dragonflies around the garden--such welcome friends (for the aphids have arrived, too). The one above landed on Dan's hand in the process of eating some sort of little bug meal. Bon appetit!

a pebble for baby brother

Well, this little pebble vest is officially complete now, after waiting patiently for a good month to receive buttons. I loved this pattern--so fluid and satisfying to knit. And the yarn is lovely--Imperial Yarn (milled from Oregon sheep) worsted in "spring sage." It's soft and lofty, and made for a much bigger vest than planned--more like an 18 month size than the 6 month I was hoping for. But we'll just save it for next year, and in the mean time, maybe I'll cast on for another with less bulky yarn and smaller needles. The second time around, I might leave out all those buttons and just knit it in the round. Buttons on baby clothes always make me nervous about choking, and I wonder if the bulk of the button band might be irritating to baby. It is convenient to be able to put it on without slipping over the head, though. Ravelry notes here.

Reading lately has been a hodgepodge of parenting/child-development/labor prep, and for bed-time--Helen and Scott Nearing's Living The Good Life. I had never read this classic of the self-sufficient, back to the land movement and have really enjoyed it. Lots of practical tidbits as well as food for thought on the personal character and community cooperation required for such a lifestyle. I find myself chuckling affectionately now and then at their eccentricities. Since finishing Middlemarch, I've felt the absence of a really good novel in my life...any suggestions?

And on a completely unrelated note, we ate our first massaged kale salad of the season tonight, with fresh succulent giant leaves of Nero Di Toscana Kale from the garden (we get our seed from here). So delicious and hearty--whenever I eat this salad, I feel that I must be infusing my body with nutritional super-powers, and yet it tastes so good! We had it along side some fabulous nut burgers--both recipes from Feeding the Whole Family, a favorite cookbook of ours. Feeling grateful for the life abounding in the spring garden.

Joining in with Ginny for yarn along...

full of life

We had a lovely soaking rain today, after a week of hot, dry weather. All of us were tired this afternoon, but we managed to get ourselves out the door and into the backyard to do a bit of gardening. I'm so glad we did.  The gentle light of the sun through the clouds, the warmth of the damp earth radiating up. Everything so green and lush and full of life. The broccoli and kale especially are flourishing right now. The leaves are chewed through (in some places quite thoroughly) by cabbage worms, but the plants are big and strong and well nourished enough to withstand the onslaught, and we help some by picking off the worms we can find and presenting them to the chickens.

The soil itself is teeming with life--as we dug holes to plant tomatoes and marigolds, we saw earthworms, centipedes, millipedes, sow bugs, slugs, and countless tiny critters racing about. If we'd had a microscope I'm sure we would have seen microbes galore, working away to transform organic matter and minerals into forms usable by plant roots--nourishing the plants, and the plants, in turn, nourishing us. Granted, some of this life competes with us for the same food source, but when kept in balance, there's food enough for all.

On my way home from work the other day, I heard a story on NPR about the commercial strawberry business and was surprised by the complexity, cost, and many toxic substances necessary to get berries from a California field to the tables of families across America. I felt especially sad about the fumigation of fields prior to planting, to create a sterile growing medium, thus protecting the plants from fungal diseases. In the process, all living things (including people) in the surrounding area are exposed to toxic substances that compromise health and life. It's not just the fungus that suffers.

It may be that practices like this are necessary to grow crops successfully on such a giant scale. I don't know. But it certainly makes me want to work toward growing more of our own food on a micro scale, where we can use practices that help restore health and balance to living things, including ourselves. Shouldn't food, and the process of growing that food, nourish life rather than poison it?

Mid-May Garden Journal

We've had a stretch of hot weather here--a bit of a shock for people and plants alike, after our long, cold, wet spring. But a welcome shock, nonetheless!

Potting up the basil was a fragrant treat. It's not quite ready to go in the ground, but the spring herbs are thriving. We've been enjoying cilantro, chives, parsley, sage, thyme, and rosemary sprinkled into everything, and I've been drinking lemon balm-spearmint tea almost every day. So refreshing.

I'm so happy with the potatoes this year. We've never had much luck with them in the past, as they always seem to be the neglected afterthought of our garden. This year we gave them a good spot of earth and we're trying the method of covering them with straw. So far they appear to be very happy.

We harvested our first spinach this week, and ate it for breakfast (smoothies), lunch (sandwiches), and dinner (quiche). Yum!

Next greens on deck--spicy mesclun.

Sun-dried, lilac scented laundry--what could be better?

The warmth has brought out many blooms--here the parsley and chives (hopefully will collect seeds from these soon).

Iris...

and rhododendron. So much purple this time of year.

 The chickies are growing growing growing and have graduated to spending all their time in the outdoor coop. My daughter spends hours (well, minutes at least) watching them and feeding them weeds.

How is your garden growing?
Joining with Ginny's Saturday Garden Journal...

{this moment}

Joining in with  Soulemama today...

In her words: "{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember." 

May Day Greetings

Sending a May Day bouquet to your virtual doorstep today!