Harvest Your Blessings

 

This Thanksgiving, and every day, really, my wish for  us all is to gather blessings in bountiful harvests. 

Do you have a favorite Thanksgiving song? Mine is one that I learned in the rural North Robinson, Ohio elementary school. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V96VNZY7cNg

Marcheta *Gather together

Spring Foraged Mandala

 

 

It is a wonderous thing to experience the earth’s awakening after its long winter nap. Winter wheat fields are suddenly green, bushes and trees are full of blooms giving not so subtle hints of things to come as the sun warms the soil (and winter-weary souls).  And the first local harvests are ready if one knows where to look.

 

My husband is an expert of knowing where to look. On May 2^nd  Jim channeled his inner Euell Gibbons by foraging in our woods. At lunchtime he surprised me with morel mushrooms, plus a good handful of asparagus from our patch. 

Not wanting our first meal of local food to be devoured and then forgotten, I decided to photograph it. In a spurt of inspiration to make it look even prettier I created what I am calling my Early Spring Foraged Mandala.

I gathered Sweet Woodruff, violets, chive buds and, for a pop of sunshine, a dandelion head to my arrangement. 

   

Jim was impressed enough with the result that he photographed it, too.

 

 I hope that you enjoy my mandala and that you’re inspired to make a few of your own with items you find as you take walks. Some ideas are pine needles and cones, blossoms, pretty stones, twigs, leaves….really anything you find will turn out beautifully.

 

Marcheta *fungus among us

 

How I prepared our delicacies.

Mushrooms: rinse the mushrooms under running water, pat with a towel to dry (get out as much moisture as you can). Slice the mushrooms lengthwise to remove more water and to ensure that there are no slimy creatures in residence. Put flour, salt and pepper in a gallon food storage bag and give the mushrooms a good shake cover. Sautee in butter and *W*O*W*, are your tastebuds in for a treat.

 

Asparagus: simply steam, add salt and butter to serve.

 

Sweet woodruff, violets and dandelion?  They were sacrificed as eye candy for my photo….and for that I give much appreciation.

 

 

 

 

 

Home Grown * It's a Beautiful Thing

Disclaimer! The garden bounty kept me so busy that I never got around to uploading this post from July! Geesch! How did the year go by so fast?  

Hi, Everybody,

Here in my corner of Ohio, "vegetables" the current topic among my gardening friends. We never cease to be amazed by the bounty of our Spring (over) planting...like, gee, one zucchini plant will explode with more zucchinis that the whole town needs, but we'd better plant two (or, in our case, four) *just in case some of them don't make it. And then we have a tremendous amount of the green beauties that even our closest friends refuse to accept because they've been squashed out.Well, duh! All is not lost, because into the freezer they go.

This morning I went “grocery shopping” in our vegetable garden. Even though the garden got a late start due to cold, wet Spring weather that brought later than usual frosts (and even snow!) the plants are thriving.  Despite the dry spell we are now experiencing, I am picking a lot of vegetables and herbs every day. Such resilience and determination on their part is a refreshing reminder that, no matter what, we also have the ability to overcome life’s bumps and thrive.

This morning’s harvest is pictured below. Some of it will find its way into upcoming meals. The rest of this group will enjoy hanging out in the freezer to be enjoyed later. Other yummy vegetables will soon follow and have the same fate.

And then there’s the orchard.:)

Small apple and peach crops this year are offset by the plum and pear trees, which are fully loaded with delicious fruit. I can’t help but be grateful for the abundance of food that home gardeners are able to enjoy.

Food that hasn’t suffered from jet lag is a beautiful thing, indeed!

If you do not have a vegetable garden or friends pushing their excess on you, the friendly vendors at farmers markets have a huge array of seasonal foods. Jim and I don’t sell the extra from our garden; instead we get pleasure from sharing with friends and family. But we do set up at several farmers markets with our fruit and apple cider because, well, there is just too much of those left even after we give a lot of it away. I have to say, it is always fun to see, face to face, the people who will enjoy our produce. I simply love connecting nature to people via our fruit stand.

Marcheta *Slow food lover

UPDATE: The garden and orchard are buttoned up for the year and we are already enjoying the produce that found its way to our freezer. :)

Tired Barns

Morrow County, April 17,2020

Barns are an important part of our history. They housed animals and/or grain, making sustainable living possible. Barns were the "event centers" of early farming communities, where work became parties. I'm not sure that many people these days would look forward to a "corn shucking" party, but isn't it neat that barns have become meeting places again, with restored barns now popular for  weddings and other receptions? 

Family farms often had several barns, each with its own purpose. Examples of different types of barns are chicken coops, dairy barns with milking parlors, grain barns with massive hay lofts, and machine sheds. Some barns served multiple purposes.
I became inspired to photograph barns again when I joined the Barns of Ohio Facebook group. If you love barns, I suggest that you check it out. The group has many talented photographers, and the barns that are being 'saved' via imaging range from old and decrepit to well maintained. All are beautiful in my eyes.

I am not sure what the original purpose of this barn, found in Morrow County, Ohio, was. It probably served the farm family in  various ways during decades past. And now it appears to be tired. Reduced to storing miscellaneous rubble, I wonder what stories it could tell if its walls could talk. 

Barns and sheds like this one have character, which in turn give personality to our landscape. Somehow, the big metal buildings that are replacing historic farm structures give me a feeling of sadness because old beautiful barns are disappearing in their wake, taking a piece of our heritage along with them. 

The next time that you are out for a drive, why not snap a pic or two of the barns you see along the way? They just might be there the next time you pass that way.

Marcheta *Barn aficionado 

Flashback Friday - Grumpy Bird

Today I am sharing part of a post that originally was published in 2015. Since this past week has also been cold and snowy, and having many people counting down the days until the Spring Equinox, I thought it would be fun to read about Grumpy Bird again. Believe me, the birds do not seem any more amused now than they did back then. Or, probably, and January. 

*F*L*A*S*H*B*A*C*K*    *F*R*I*D*A*Y*

 From February, 2015

Everyone seems to be tired of this cold weather, including the birds that share our property with us.

During extreme weather, I like to keep our birds well fed. This year, to insure that our avian amigos are never without food even if they are "clean platers" before Jim or I can re-fill the feeder, I put out extra suet feeders. 

Even with giving extra rations in the feeder and having six suet cages, some birds are not amused.  I think that this tufted titmouse should change its name to tufted ticked-off mouse. What do you think?

 Sure, he's no rival for Grumpy Cat, but hey...misery attracts misery as they say, so move over Grumpy Cat, this bird's horning in on your territory (of grumpiness) "weather" you like it or not! :)

If anyone has a caption for Grumpy Bird, share it in the comment section and I'll post it under his picture :)

Marcheta *bird is the word

Sparky to the Rescue

Hey, if any of you are looking for a last minute gift idea. Clark Griswold has one! (but not this one....for his, I suggest you pop some corn and watch Christmas Vacation). :)

I wanted to buy new blue jeans for one of Jim's Christmas presents, but did not want the hassle of shopping for an item that might end up with another trip to the store in case they didn't fit. Today, not technically the *last minute*, but still feeling under the gun, the light-bulb in my brain went off and the spark ignited an idea for a solution.

As an extra bonus, it also helps in de-cluttering by getting rid of an old pair of cut-offs that is beyond saving. Long past their prime, and even usefulness, they linger unwelcome (like Eddie, Sparky's brother-in-law) in one of Jim's dresser drawers, crowding other pairs of shorts to the point the drawer is hard to open or close, and naturally the whole bunch are wrinkled. 

I think that the cut-off's life had a happy ending because, for one last time, they served a useful purpose by providing a fun way to give Jim a gift card for new jeans. At least, that is what I hope he'll buy with it....*spoiler alert*...when Jim gets gift cards, he usually buys socks. He currently has two drawers that are full of socks from Cabela's because he thinks their clothes are too expensive. Go figure.

Here's how I re-purposed the cut-off jeans into a gift card holder:

After struggling to wrestle them out of the drawer, I freed the front pocket with a pair of shearers. Next I spray starched and ironed the pocket to make it look as good as possible (epic fail, nothing could improve this sad, sad pair of old work jeans).

The gift card was tucked in the small upper pocket (what is that normally used for, anyway?).








(Why does this post have so much text in parenthesis?) 

(Because this is a secret, and when I use parenthesis I feel as if I am whispering...shhh....).

Maybe this little idea will spark your imagination, too, for fun ways to give gift cards. If you have any old jeans that need to move out of your house, give them one last time to shine :)

Marcheta *Clark: "you're pretty set so far as shopping goes?"                             Marcheta: ("You betcha, Sparky!")
               

Flashback Friday - Inexpensive Halloween Decorating Idea

A blast from the past with Flashback Friday!

Hi All, 

This idea is so much fun, I decided to re-run it by you again. I know that it's just about time to pack Halloween decorations away for the season *sob* (hate to see them go), it is a good time to purchase plastic pumpkins if you plan to use this idea next year.

Since decorating this tree with plastic pumpkins two years ago, the population has almost doubled.  Maybe you're wondering why. Ponder no more: it's because at this time of year plastic pumpkins are extremely inexpensive, so naturally I had to buy more. Nowadays, this extreme orangeness brightens up our woods for our annual Halloween party. 

But even if you don't need, say, 100 plastic pumpkins (storage can be a problem, I must admit), it is still well worth it to buy a dozen or so to decorate a tree or make a banner by stringing them together with twine. 

I enjoyed revisiting this post. I hope that you do, too.

Marcheta *color my world orange

The "Trick" to this "Treat"

Pretty good for a crab-apple tree, huh? Sprouting plastic Jack-o-Lanterns just like it's Halloween time, or something like that!

This is not an original idea; I saw one somewhere last fall and thought it was brilliant because the multiple Jacks are so large that they are easily seen from a distance, and when seen up close and personal, they're downright impressive! 

I was inspired to do this at our own home, so I set out for my local Goodwill where I found a good amount of plastic pumpkins (the kind that kids use for trick or treating) for 50 cents each, which makes this decorating idea even more awesome. I found even more at another Goodwill, which made enough to fill the tree as far up as we could reach with our tall orchard ladder.

When the sun shines at just the right angle, it lights up the lanterns with solar energy, which is really cool. Maybe this year I'll buy some small solar lights and place them in the pumpkins to see if they will glow at night or on dark days. 

Installment was easy, I simply used chenille stems wrapped around the handles, and then around the tree limbs. Simple and satisfying!

Marcheta *Shine on, Orange Lantern

Orchard Babies Quiz Answers

How many did you answer correctly?

Here's my grading scale: everyone gets an "E" for Effort!



This is a baby pear. It should be fully grown around August 10th.

This fuzzy little guy is a peach, basking in the sun until it becomes ripe in late July/early August.








This baby will change color from green to purple when it is a ripe plum, again around the end of July or early August.






Last but not least are these Yellow Delicious apples. They'll be ready in mid to late September :)

So there you have it; four orchard babies just hangin' out until harvest :)

Why are the "due dates" kinda iffy? That's because each season our fruit is ready to harvest a bit earlier. Global warming? I don't know...but it has been interesting to witness the fruit coming to fruition earlier and earlier over the years, leading up to now when some trees are almost a month ahead of schedule.

Marcheta *just hangin' around until harvest, too 

Orchard Babies and a Pop Quiz

 

People usually know how an orchard looks in the Spring when it is in full, fragrant bloom.

And like-wise in Autumn, equally fragrant with fruit, ripe for the picking.

But what about the dash between  the Spring-Autumn connection?

Well, mostly the orchard looks green. It is full of leaves. It takes a closer inspection to find out what is going on.

Protected in the full leaves are the beginnings of apple crisps, plum kuchens, pear pies, and peach cobblers. Or, if you please, apple cobblers, pear kuchens, plum pies, and peach crisps. :)


Here's the quiz...can you guess the names of these babies?


Stay tuned for answers....

Marcheta *Fruit Mama

PS. What is your favorite fruit dessert?

If Barns Could Talk

This barn makes me smile every time that I see it, which is almost daily because it is near the reservoir where I love to take nature walks with my camera.   I love its Mona Lisa type of grin, which makes me wonder what memories it could share if it were able to talk. How many haying seasons has it housed in it's big loft. What kinds of animals found shelter in those orange walls. And..really, why was it painted orange in the first place?

My own memory about this barn is from a beautiful autumn day many years ago. The owners had a country shop in it, named, of course, The Orange Barn. My mother-in-law took me to a special event hosted by the business. It was the first time I had warmed apple cider, complete with a cinnamon stick for stirring. Such a lovely, simple drink to warm the hands and heart on a cool day. And spending the afternoon there was a nice way of getting to know Marge better.

As I drive around the countryside, I notice that many barns and outbuildings seem to have "faces" as this one does. I usually cannot photograph them because of traffic, or because I need to keep driving in order to get to my destination in time. But, because I think that faces in barns would be a nice collection, I am going to put more effort into recording them before they all disappear, only to be replaced by nondescript metal buildings.

Where do you find "faces"?  Do you record them with your camera? If not..what's holding you back?

Marcheta *about face!