Wednesday, April 8, 2020

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.
~~~~~

21 comments:

  1. It's funny to discover you've got readers you didn't know about. I have a group who never comment on the blogs, but read them both faithfully and email me with responses. Once in a while someone suddenly gets in touch and you find they're old friends you didn't know you had!

    My only fresh greens right now are my chives, and any bittercress I can find in unsprayed areas. We have a lot of shepherds purse, but I'm not sure it's unsprayed so I don't try it. Local food does keep the mileage down.

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    1. I'm surprised you don't do sprouts jar, Liz. Seems like just the kind of thing you'd enjoy playing around with - variations abound:)

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    2. I used to but life got fraught. Maybe I'll start again!

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  2. Oh my goodness. Lily sounds like the goat version of Shyla! That's exactly what Shyla would do.

    What a lovely photo of Piper in the woods. So bright and springy!

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    1. Honestly, I'd skip combing Lily if I could but it wouldn't be healthy for her - she'd be a horribly matted mess for the next year. The only alternative would be using an electric clipper but I really can't believe she would find that LESS stressful, and afterward she'd have no topcoat to protect her from weather and insects.

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  3. I meant to ask if that's lungwort up there?

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    1. Yep! Pulmonaria officinalis, Forgot to tag it - thanks for reminder :)

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  4. Hmm... my bean sprout jar hasn't gotten any love in a long time... The box of veggies and the bags of wool are both lovely looking (in their own way). LOL - goats and guinea pigs do tragedy like no one I know!

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    1. Fortunately for us, they also both do Comedy ;)

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  5. I haven't tried bean sprouts but really wish I could get my hands on some lettuce seeds (and the dirt to grow them in!). DH has some tomato plants growing bravely in the windowsill that he will transplant onto the balcony when the time is right. As for the food box - yours looks really good. We were into a local version a couple of years ago which was touted as being locally grown but every single box had bananas (they grow bananas locally???) and pretty much everything else was out of season so we KNEW they'd gone to the city and simply bought whatever was cheap. They charged a lot for every box and it simply wasn't worth it. I hope yours proves to be a lot better. Will be anxious to hear your report. Poor Lily - subjected to such torture!

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    1. "The dirt to grow them in" is always my biggest gardening hurdle, too. If I knew a reliable source for organic soil, I would be tempted to treat myself to a truckload - what a fantasy!

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    2. At the moment we will have to haul the soil up six flights of stairs so it's definitely giving us pause for thought.

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  6. Keep up the great work! We all enjoy reading your blog...and more so, love all you do.
    --Helper's Dad

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    1. So nice to hear from you!! You and M are often in my thoughts these days :)

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  7. Happy to witter back at you. Laughed out loud at your description of Lily an the combing.

    Misfit Markets sounds like a great idea! I checked their websote (thanks for the link), and they are East Coast only, alas for me. But...our farmer's market has figured out a pre-order and pick-up system; this morning I picked up two bags of greens, a bag of baby carrots, and a bag of stinging nettle (to be used in soups or sauteed, which deactivates the stings). SO happy to be able to support our local farmers!

    The daily rhythms of life - new flowers every day, birds tuning up their spring songs, mason bees emerged and busy in the orchard - remind me that, even in these strange times, the world is turning on its course.

    Be well!
    Chris from Boise

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    1. Hey there, Chris - it's great that you can get local veg at this time of year! I think the only option in my area involves a CSA commitment, a minimum 50 min round-trip drive, and at this time of year would include a lot of winter squash - one thing I still have plenty of from my own garden. (I'm hoping Misfits doesn't send me any winter squash!) When I plugged my email into the Misfits website, I was so surprised to find out they would deliver to me, I never looked at their geographic range. Thanks for mentioning it - may save disappointment if any other readers are considering.

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    2. Local farmers with greenhouses get a head start. Sorry that you don't have a local farmer's market. :-( I hope other farmers markets across the country can figure out safe ways to open.

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  8. All is well here, Quinn, busy as usual, and luckily have lettuce, radishes, onions and asparagus now. I have been thinking about sprouting beans again. It's been years but I used to do it all the time. They are so good! Love your produce box--I seriously doubt there's anything like that where I live though.

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  9. De-lurking reader, here. I live in SW Virginia. I don't remember how I stumbled across your blog, but I enjoy the goats, and Piper, and getting to see your artwork, too.

    I'm lucky to have a local grower of veggies, who over the past few years have added duck eggs, farm raised chickens and pork, and who partner with another local farm for beef. They've gone to online ordering, pack it up in bags, and then we can either pick it up from their farmstand fridge or have it delivered (for $9). Lots of different greens right now, and spring onions and young garlic. Beets and radishes for those who like them (no one here will cook the beets or eat the radishes...so I skip those). I'm hoping for carrots soon!

    --Jean Marie

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    1. Hi Jean Marie! Thank you so much for leaving a comment and I'm so glad you enjoy the cast of Comptonia characters:)
      You are indeed lucky to have a single local source for so much of your food, and especially one with pick up or delivery options. In the summer there are farmers' markets one day/week in many of the surrounding towns here, but that's quite a ways off yet - if it will happen at all this year. But of course summer is the time I usually have the best supply of organic produce right here at home. The garden planning is well underway!

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