wednesday wittering

How is everyone getting on?

I hope those of you who don't have your own blogs will say hello in a comment from time to time. Ever since I tried to sort out that commenting glitch and in the process discovered that more than 1,300 people subscribe to Comptonia, I've been wondering who you all are and what you are up to. There couldn't be a better time to reach out a little bit and connect with friends on the internet, right?

blooming where we are planted

Is everyone taking care of themselves? Plenty of sleep? Eating well?

I've been craving fresh greens but resisting going to the grocery store. Suddenly I remembered how easy it is to sprout seeds. Funny how something that has been a habit winter after winter can just be completely forgotten. This winter I didn't dust off the sprouting jars at all.

But once I (finally) thought of it, a quick rummage produced a bag of organic mung beans. A couple of tablespoons of beans and some water, and in a couple of days there were plenty of fresh tasty sprouts for snacking, for adding to soup, and - a surprisingly successful experiment - folding into omelettes.

sprouts added to soup just before serving - warm and crunchy

A couple of weeks ago I signed up with Misfits Market for a bi-weekly delivery of a small box of organic veg and fruit. During the winter I'd considered trying such an arrangement for the pre-garden season, and when Staying Home For The Safety of Oneself And Others became the norm, that clinched it.

the top layer - fruit and more veg beneath

The first box arrived yesterday, and it brought both the fun of opening a mystery package and the challenge of using every item in the box before it can lose quality. Yesterday I had a lettuce and tomato salad for lunch - so simple, so good! - and roasted bok choy and carrots for supper. That's more fresh veg in one day than I'd had in the past two weeks.

salad again today - a treat

I like the company's mission statement, their ethos, their apparent passion for reducing food waste and providing access to affordable organic food to more people. But at the end of the day, it's the delivered product that matters. So...we'll see. After I've had another box or two - or three - I'll post a little review of my experience. Meanwhile, the company offers a referral discount code, so if anyone wants to try it, just let me know.

~~~

And of course, the other kind of harvest - cashmere - continues.

Slowly, slowly.

This evening I combed Lily of the Valley for the first time this year.

Lily is always one of the most difficult goats to work with. As I carefully, gently comb, talking quietly and offering treats, Lily chooses to sink to the floor of the barn like a hundred-pound pillow. She then stretches her neck to it's most uncomfortable-looking extreme, and twists her head around with an expression that suggests she knows death is imminent, and while she is resigned to her tragic fate she cannot help wondering "why?"

Every.

Year.

~~~

This picture is from yesterday's walk.

Piper is helping me check on a patch of trailing arbutus we noticed last Autumn. Epigaea repens, mayflower or trailing arbutus, is the "state flower" of Massachusetts.

Maybe this year we'll see it bloom.

I'll keep you posted.

Take care.

~~~~~