Yesterday it was nettles popping out of the earth. Today it is rhubarb pushing out of the soil. Rhubarb unfolds like a monster rising from a deep sleep. At this early stage, it looks like an alien fungus threatening to take over the world. The leaves don’t look like leaves. They look like deformed, wrinkled green stones. But once they shake the soil out of their folds, they will quickly rise and become bold, fragrant, massive leaves.
Few things are as satisfying as sauce made from just-cut rhubarb stocks. It’s a staple here from spring into early summer. You can put it on most any dish from rice to roasted potatoes to meats to vegetables to ice cream. During hot summer days, the chickens seek shade under their tall, spreading leaves.