COLLABORATION

I hope you all (however many of you there are) will forgive this bit of 'self-advertising', but we are very excited about this new adventure.

My good friend, and colored-pencil artist, Monica T. Jagel, and I have collaborated on a project called The Rural Alphabet.  Monica began this alphabet project with her beautiful colored-pencil drawings, each letter depicting something in rural life.  Nearing the completion of the alphabet, she asked me if I would be interested in writing a poem for each of the letters/drawings.  Without any thought at all, I jumped at the idea with great excitement.  And thus, our collaboration was born.

The originals have hung in many shows, we have sold the entire set, reproduced on foam Art Boards, to Organic Valley for installation in their permanent collection.  We have them out as greeting cards, and always people keep asking, "Where is the book?" 

and so, here is....

our small, and very lovely book.  It will be for sale in a variety of venues very soon.  It can also be purchased from either Monica or me.  Monica can be reached at mjagel@mwt.net or from me at joannes@mwt.net.

We are so excited about this endeavor and are already looking forward to our next collaboration!

 

JUST ANOTHER MISTY MORNING

It seems like yet another day of clouds and rain.  One thing this spring has made me entirely sure of is that I would never want to live in the Pacific Northwest.  

I NEED the sun, which we have seen way too little of thus far.  Yes, it is mighty green everywhere, and that truly is lovely...shades of green that defy description, shades so dark they are black, so bright they are lime, and everything in between...and all not so highlighted by the cloudy days.

I need the sun and wonder if my weekend bout with the flu was in some way caused by its absence?  I think it would have cured me before it ever really set in, but perhaps I am just speculating.

Still, in all this gloom, just look at this!!  This photo in no way does justice to the impact and beauty of these yellow iris' just outside my workshop, set against the backdrop of the ever present morning mist, I think they are simply stunning!

May the sun soon appear for an extended stay!!

THE 'GROW' PART....

I must say I am a bit concerned about this spring/summer weather, and deeply worried that we will not get enough heat index days to ripen the garden produce, and for that matter, the grapes, too.

I am spending much time in my garden, planting (though this is almost complete), weeding, hoeing, and mulching.

...beans are looking pretty good...

...peas look good and are starting to flower... (this is only one of three rows)

...cucumbers have taken some doing this year as the wetness caused several of my early transplants to rot, but here is one that took and is flowering....

(cucumbers being one of my favorite veggies)

...potatoes doing well...

...tomatoes are at a standstill, not doing very much as we have had few really warm days so far...

...I started my own seeds this year having found San Marzano seeds at the local Co-op, San Marzano being the tomato of choice in Italy.  I also found an Italian Heritage tomato seed, so started them, as well.  I have (had) way too many plants, and after having given away a couple of dozen or more, I think there are still upwards of 50 tomato plants in the garden.

In the vineyard the vines are loaded.  I think these tiny, early bunches of grapes are pretty sweet to see.  It does seem that we will have to, at a later date, remove quite a few of these to protect from over cropping.

...and it looks like we will have a really great strawberry crop this year....that is if I can continue to keep the deer away. 

Yesterday, after noticing many leaves missing, I hung around the perimeter, half bars of Irish Spring original formula soap.  It has quite a strong aroma, and I suppose the deer (rabbits) think that there is a person around???

I also 'pluck' the winter coat off my German Shepherd mix dog, and scatter clumps of her hair around my garden.

A mixture of one egg to one gallon of water and a drop or two of dish soap makes a simple organic spray to ward off deer and rabbit.  This must be reapplied after every rain, however.

Blood meal...I spread this all around the garden, as I have heard it is a deterrent for deer.

So, here's hoping that SOON this summer comes on strong and warm and that we all have bountiful gardens!

FINALLY A DAY TO GRILL OUT

Yesterday was a spectacular day, and I was moved to grill out of doors for the first time this summer.  Thick-sliced potatoes brushed with olive oil and garlic, fresh-picked asparagus brushed with olive oil and garlic...(do you get it that I love olive oil and garlic)

...and a filet of salmon which I marinated in the refrigerator for several hours in 1/3 c. tarmari sauce, 1/3 c. brown sugar, 1/3 c. water, and 1/4 c. canola oil after sprinkling garlic powder and pepper on the salmon.

 Grilled first on the top side over a very hot fire, and then turned over on the skin-side to finish.

Served with a fresh spinach salad, it was a Friday night fish dinner to beat anything we've had in a restaurant in a very long time.

Fresh and OH, SO LOCAL

I have sweet, fond memories of my grandfather Vito Adragna, making a special trip to our small town, Fredonia, New York, from his home in Buffalo each spring.  He and I would walk hand in hand in the fields behind our house looking for Cardone (Gardooni), more commonly known as Burdock.

Every spring I still make the pilgrimage seeking burdock plants like the one above.  I am quite fortunate I believe, although most people disdain burdock, that there is a huge patch in the barnyard of our rental property.  (It can be found in several other places as well, but this is oh, so convenient.)

I cut the stalk at the base, remove the leaf, and take home a large bag full.

Growing up, Cardone was a Sicilian spring time staple, not only great tasting, but a spring 'tonic' as well.

The stalks are quite bitter, but if blanched until just tender being sure not to overcook, the bitterness is removed.

...just blanched stalks...

I then take a small bunch of stalks, drench them in a couple of beaten eggs,  (look at the deep color of these eggs, they are straight off the farm)

...roll in Italian seasoned bread crumbs...

...plate, and refrigerate for about an hour or so...

...fry in canola oil (my grandmother used olive oil)

until brown and crispy....

Served with lemon juice, they are simply delicious!!

Also, our first gathering of morel mushrooms 

dredged in organic all purpose flour

and fried, not in butter as I used to do, but in canola oil, too,

until very crispy and brown....

It hardly gets better than this.

Just picked asparagus from the patch that was on this farm when we purchased it 19 years ago...a very large patch that, honestly, I pick from twice per day...

...gently steamed but still crunchy, thinly sliced onions, snipped fresh dill, diced garlic, cherry tomatoes, oregano, olive oil and wine vinegar... a wonderful, fresh, crisp salad...

...and bread just out of the oven, it can hardly get any more local or any more fresh.

HAPPY FOURTH BIRTHDAY, ELSA

Each year Elsa and Iris get to choose what 'kind' of cake they want for their birthday.  This year Elsa decided she wanted a 'sun' cake.

After giving this much thought, this is the result, which by the way, she loved.

 The cake itself is an old-fashioned pound cake baked in a stainless steel bowl.  The sun's rays and the clouds are sugar cookies....

 There were plenty of rays for each child at the party to take home a few.

 Making a wish and ready to blow out the candles.

The party was held at Wildcat State Park, and it really was a lovely, sunny, warm day.

The next day the girls and I had Nonnie day.  The first thing they decided to do was to make a 'garden' in the living room.  They asked me to not only make the entrance sign but to gather as many things from around the house as I/they could think of that would make this garden magical.

 It truly was magical, and they played with it the entire morning.

I think the elves and the fairies were all about that day...you can see one sitting in the small chair, and another nearby.  

I love the places these girls take me to.

IMAGINATION

"Nonnie, can we get the dress-up clothes out?"  

A few weeks ago, looking for something, the girls and I went upstairs and looked into a drawer in which I keep a collection of antique clothing, doilies, and the like.  This is what they meant when they asked to get the dress-up clothes, because in this drawer was the very fancy dress I put on one day when Iris and I had 'tea', several years ago.

 

 However, I really did not want the girls playing with these somewhat fragile items, so instead I brought down a box of clothes that their mother either wore, or played with when she was a child.

This lovely pink item was a favorite of Jonel's and she wore it and twirled and spun and posed, just like Elsa is doing.

This outfit Jonel wore not necessarily for dress-up, but Iris fell for it, especially because she loves long skirts.

The project I had in mind for this day was to make 'May Day Crowns'.  We used grape vines, which we twisted and wrapped with crepe paper, tied multiple colored ribbons from the back and added a few crepe paper flowers.

...exposing the gap...

...giving me the eye...

...dress up extended into lunch time...

Jonel's witch's skirt, the vest from an outfit I made her, and her lace appliqued T-shirt...

It is such a pleasure to enter the world of imagination with these girls.  They create a rich, varied and complex world with little but their minds.  They are good thinkers and rarely become bored. They can pick up something (almost anything) and suddenly become immersed in another time and space.  

This is exactly what we were striving for when I taught at the Waldorf School, this deep and full life of creativity and imagination. I am blessed!