a man and his hoe

every day is a good day

  • In the Field Today

    140830Lettuce

    August is ending on a cool, wet, very fall like note. The lettuce are happy. And so is the Rucola Arugula, a slow growing, spicy arugula with deeply lobed leaves. This is a arugula which adds a touch of beauty to any salad.

    140830Arugula
    140830TennouKabu

    The Tennouji Kabura are forming their showy white roots which will grow to three to four inches across. You can eat every part of this beautiful turnip. They have a long history and are named after the area around Shitennoji, a temple built in 593. Tennouji is now a ward of Osaka.

    140830PotatoFlowers

    The last row of potatoes I planted are in full bloom. In the meantime, the earliest potatoes I planted are ready for harvest. The plants have died and look like nothing, but underneath their shriveled stalks are plump, colorful potatoes. They taste better when you get to dig them up for yourself.

    140830DeadPotatoe
    140830Potatoes

  • Dazzle Me

    Rooster140829A

    The colors of some of the roosters this year are dazzling. Do hens find such brilliant plumage irresistible? Do roosters enjoy strutting around? With duds like this, who wouldn’t strut?

    Rooster140829B

  • Walking Home

    WalkingHomeA
    WalkingHomeB

    Six weeks ago these chicks were tiny balls of fur. Now they are half the size of their mother and will soon be on their own. At this size, much of the time they are the ones leading their mother. Six weeks ago, they stayed as close as possible to her, following her every move. Another four to five months, the hens will be laying eggs and the roosters doing what they like to do. Below is what they looked like five weeks ago.

    FiveWeeksAgo

  • Autumn Sky

    AutumnSky

    An autumn sky greeted me when I went out this evening to gather eggs, check on the chickens and get some produce for the table. Look at the Dow Purple Pod pole beans. What beautiful color. These are what the world needs more of. How could anyone be sad with such gorgeous, delicious beans in their hands?

    The wonderful thing about these purple beans is that their vines and flowers are beautiful too. They are worth growing just for the brilliant color of their vines and flowers. They could be planted at bus stops, in city parks, by telephone poles, and along fences. Their bright green leaves and brilliant purple vines would bring smiles to millions.

    In city parks, when their purple flowers are in full bloom, people could have picnics under the vines and toast the colorful blooms. And in late summer when their long, purple pods hang heavy and full with beans, everyone could put on purple clothes to celebrate and gather them. Neighborhoods could close their streets, have block parties and serve dish after dish of purple pod beans.

    PurplePodBeans
    OutOfTheGarden140827

  • Late Summer Surprise – Out of the Woods

    MotherAndChicks140826A

    This afternoon, when I went out to collect eggs and check on the chickens, I spotted a hen with chicks taking an afternoon break in the shade of a mimosa tree. The chicks were just a few days old and it wasn’t one of the hens sitting on eggs in the coop. It was a hen who had hatched her chicks in the brush somewhere and was bringing her chicks around for food and water for the first time.

    Recently, there had been a hen who acted very broody when she came into the chicken yard to feed, but I never did see her sitting on eggs. Now I know why. She had a clutch of eggs in the brush or woods somewhere. It makes me wonder how many other hens will come popping out of the woods with chicks in tow.

    MotherAndChicks140826B
    MotherAndChicks140826C