a man and his hoe

every day is a good day

Category: Reflections

  • Winter’s First Breath

    20161011a

    Winter’s first breath tinged the roof and grass this morning. It’s time to get serious about getting the rest of the garlic and shallots in the ground. Flocks of geese are heading south. I hear them long before I see them. What do they talk about as they fly overhead? Their conversations never end. “Are we there yet?” Is that what they are saying?

    The morning frost is a reminder that in less than a month, the first of the swans will be flying in from the Arctic. You can feel the excitement in the air as the whole valley waits for them to arrive.

    20161011b
    20161011c

  • Missing Nuts Found

    20161003a

    The brilliant blue hydrangea blossoms have all faded to dull purple, except for one late head which just opened. It’s a breath of spring in fall.

    20161003b
    20161003c

    I’ve passed this tree more than two thousand times over the years, but I never realized it was there until today when I discovered the ground underneath it was covered with chestnuts. I had to stop and pick some chestnuts. Amazing how I can go by something day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year and never see it. It makes me wonder how many wonderful things I’ve missed because I never saw them.

    20161003d
    20161003e
    20161003f

  • Local Wheat Extracted

    localwheat

    According to Steve Jones of the Washington State University Bread Lab in Mount Vernon, in the 1800s, the west coast of the US was a major wheat producing area of the country. There used to be 160 flour mills in Washington state, and more than 22,500 across the US. Now there are only about 200 flour mills for the entire country.

    Fortunately, we have a local flour mill, Fairhaven Organic Flour Mill in Burlington. When I stopped in this week to buy some whole wheat flour, the miller, Kevin Christenson, gave me a sample of their Hi Extracted Stoneground Washington Grown Espresso Hard Red Wheat. He told me the wheat came from a nearby farm south of Mount Vernon.

    localwheatbread

    Yesterday I baked a loaf using this Espresso Hard Red Wheat, and we were very pleased with the bread. There isn’t much of it left today.

    The term Hi Extracted means that most of the wheat kernel ends up in the flour. A kernel of wheat is made up of the bran, the germ, and the food for the growing plant. When milling wheat, millers usually remove the bran and the germ, and so they extract only a portion of the wheat kernel. The portion of the kernel which ends up in the flour, is called the extraction rate.

    When you mill the entire kernel, you extract 100% of it, and end up with whole wheat flour. Kevin told me that the flour he gave me had an extraction rate of 85%, which means that some of the bran and germ are still in the flour. A typical bread flour has an extraction rate of 70% to 75%. You’ll find a more thorough explanation of flour extraction rates here: Tech. Note: High Extraction Flour

  • The First Casualty of Fall

    casualtyoffall

    Heading out to deliver this week’s eggs to Tweets, I ran into the first casualty of this fall. Today’s wind had knocked over an alder, and it was blocking the lane. Fortunately, it was light and easy to move. It was so rotten inside, that it was just waiting for a gust of wind to push it over.

  • Who Loves Artichoke Blooms?

    20160921a

    Spiders must hate foggy mornings. It makes their webs visible. There’s little chance of a bee or fly getting tangled up in a web when they sparkle like strings of diamonds.

    20160921b

    Niji-hime 虹姫 is a mother whose path you dare not cross. She will pluck your eyes out to protect her chicks. She leads her chicks with her head held high. While I was taking these pictures, a belted kingfisher flew around high in the sky, making its loud, rattling cries. Niji-hime cocked her head, saw the noisy kingfisher, and told her chicks to be still. They froze and waited until she gave them the all clear call.

    20160921c
    20160921d

    The bees have discovered an artichoke blossom. In droves they come to drink its nectar and gather its pollen. The next time you eat an artichoke, imagine how many bees would have come to feast on it if it had been left to bloom. I can imagine a worldwide movement arising, boycotting artichokes. “Don’t buy artichokes. Let them bloom and save the bees!” It could get ugly very fast. These movements have a way of spinning out of control. Restaurants would hide their artichoke dishes with lids so that their customers could savor artichokes without being yelled at. Farmers would have to truck their artichokes to market in the middle of the night. Pity the poor politician caught nibbling an artichoke. There would be no chance of them winning an election. Farmers would rush to have their artichoke farms certified bee friendly by leaving thirty percent of the artichokes on their plants to bloom. Want to make bees happy? Plant an artichoke and let it bloom.

    [wpvideo PHLofVYU]