Off to market today are ruby streaks, chard, arugula, cherry tomatoes, baby kale and magenta spreen. Few things are as rewarding as growing produce.
Fall
According to the Japanese calendar, August 7, was 立秋 (risshu) the start of fall this year. We still have warm days ahead of us, but the mornings are starting to feel like fall. The mimosa tree is in full bloom, a sure sign that summer is coming to a close.
It’s time to plant fall crops like this purple peacock broccoli.
The white flower beans are blooming well and developing seed pods. It’s odd, but watching the pods grow is exciting. It’s not like clicking through web pages or TV channels with a remote or watching an action movie where every second or two there is an explosion. It’s a quiet excitement that lasts a long time. Every day there is something new to discover.
Summer Blooms
I enjoy these hydrangea. Instead of blooming all at once, they open slowly, a few flowers at a time, which means they stay in bloom a long time.
The Art of Baking
The bread dough’s been sitting all night long. This morning it’s time to put it in the oven, and while it’s baking, to make a batch of oatcakes.
There is a simple beauty to baked goods as they rest on a cooling rack. An ephemeral beauty, this scene won’t last but for a short time. Life is like that, creating one fleeting piece of art after another. At times it feels like I’m racing through an art museum all day long, spending a few minutes enjoying one piece of art after another, pieces of art which are gone forever shortly after viewing.
It’s Hard to Have a Bad Day When …
A favorite saying of mine is Yunmen’s words, “Every day is a good day 是是良日.” It’s hard to have a bad day when it starts by discovering a nearly-ripe raspberry. More-than-we-can-eat supplies of raspberries are around the corner.
And it’s hard to have a bad day when your bicycle ride back from your post office is as beautiful as mine. The rest of the photos on this page are of places I pedal by on my way home from our post office. For a June day, a sky this blue is something people throw virgins into volcanoes for. Most years, June is a month to be endured under slate-colored, sodden skies. Usually we don’t see this amount of blue until mid July. About now, we are scraping the moss out of our hair and between our toes. Not this year.
The hay fields are ready for cutting. At this rate, the cows will be happy all winter long.
This afternoon, it is the bees who are gorging. I pass this climbing hydrangea nearly every day. It is in full bloom and buzzing with bees. Today I had to stop and enjoy it for a few minutes. May you live in even more beautiful surroundings than I do.
Eat Beautiful Things
The great thing about growing your own food is that you can plant beautiful things to eat. Chive flower buds and blossoms add a splash of color to salads.
And don’t forget to plant plenty of flowers to decorate your table.
Iris, Wysteria, and Babies
It’s Iris and Wysteria season, a terrific time of the year to be outdoors.
It’s an auspicious day to be born. These chicks are just hours old, safe and snug with their mother. The clutch is due tomorrow so these two are on the early side.
It’s a day for making a fuss. Hazel is making a fuss, but so many hens do after they’ve laid an egg. I guess if we had something as large as an egg coming out of our butt, we’d want to talk about it too.
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It’s a day for temporary art. The alcove in the entry way is a handy place to display eggs gathered this afternoon.
On the Board Today – May 10, 2014
On the cutting board today for lunch: lovage, eggs, chives, dill, arugula, shungiku (spring chrysanthemums). Half the fun of making and eating lunch is gathering the ingredients from the garden.
Flowers, flowers, flowers
Something new is blooming every day. It’s a great time of the year to be outdoors.
May Evening
This is a season of endless flowers. This evening, some of the apple trees are in full bloom. Growing food keeps you surrounded with beauty.
The cherry blossom petals are blowing onto the pond, collecting like snow along its banks.
The chickens are making their last rounds before darkness settles in.
Tulips still dazzle. They last longer if you plant them in part shade. It also helps if you have gentle springs, not too hot, not too cold.
