Just a Quick Update

Over the past few months, things have changed a bit on the home front.

Starting in late August, Peter began traveling for work.  In this economy, it's almost impossible for an older person to find full time professional work; even with a practical career like his (he's a mechanical engineer with a biomedical focus), Peter was striking out until he decided to begin looking at the short-term, remote jobs his head-hunters were sending him.  This style of work agrees with him; he enjoys the variety and the travel. To date, his jobs have taken him to Dallas, LA, and now Ann Arbor, Michigan.  I've seen him a few times since then, but his brief stays at home aren't the same as our previous team approach used to be.  It's an adjustment for us both.  I'm expecting him home in a day or two (hurray!) before he begins the Michigan job. I look forward to curling up around him, and falling asleep feeling his warmth again.  There's nothing more comforting to me. Except foot rubs.  Love those foot rubs.

It's been an awakening, in many ways.  While I'm perfectly capable of living a solitary life, I'm reminded of why I searched for him in the first place.  It's awfully nice to have someone to share things with on a daily basis (both the good and bad).  Someone like him.

The week before Thanksgiving, I had a much needed joint replacement in the base of my right thumb.  This rendered me left-handed (not my usual dominant hand) for a few months.  It was impossible to lift heavy objects, do buttons, put on certain clothes items, open cans; you get the drift.  And teaching art was interesting; I believe it made me more sensitive to the challenges faced by beginning artists.  Using my left hand instead of my right to draw, paint, and sculpt put us all on a level playing field in terms of skills.  It was good for me to feel that again.  I managed to get through those months, and have emerged one small bone lighter, and immensely more comfortable than I was just a few months ago.  My thumb joint was so deteriorated that it had been giving me constant pain.  That's gone now, and I'm ready for spring kidding season at the farm.  Just in the nick of time, as the does are scheduled to drop their kids in about 2 weeks. I LOVE this time of year!

My mother, who is 85, has accepted my invitation to come and live with us.  To make our little home more functional for her, I had a full bathroom built on the first floor.  The construction took about two weeks, which happened right at the end of the first semester, and into the first day or two of the second semester.  Life was chaos for awhile, but it paid off: the bathroom is beautiful.  I want to live in it.  Just around that time, my administrator let me know that I'll be moving to a different classroom next year, which means boxing and moving17 years worth of art materials and examples.  It also means losing a grant I won to develop the outdoor area by my current classroom.  We have lost one art position because of retirement; I won't go on about all of this, as it contradicts my self-imposed ban of blogging about school, but you can imagine the consternation this is causing me when compounded by the disturbances on the home front. (Just these few sentences have made my heart pound).  I've actually considered seeking a counselor to get me over this bump.

Goats make good counselors. They're good listeners.

I try to turn my thoughts to the spring when I'm feeling helpless.  I've purchased several packets of seeds, and hope to start some carrots and lettuces today.  There's nothing like a tender, newly growing vegetable to give you hope for the future; that is, nothing except a tender, newly born goat kid!  And they'll be coming soon. I'm holding on to that thought.

Lettuce give thanks for Spring.

And so, we move on.  Some things change, and some stay the same.  It's a dance, this life I'm living.  The tempo has changed slightly, but I'll pick up the beat.  It's just a matter of time.

Independence Days #2 (February 9th, 2012)

Please head on over to The Chatelaine's Keys to see a full description of this project! 

Here's my weekly update!

Plant something:

      Well, I didn't ACTUALLY plant anything, but I did buy some carrot seeds and seed starter.  I've been fighting a cold this week, and although I didn't miss any work days, I slept a great deal more than usual because that's what my body needed.  I'm learning to listen to those subtle internal signals more clearly these days, and I believe my health is benefitting from it.

She Carrot

Harvest something:

      I have a non-gardening harvest story for this week.  Here goes:

      Do you remember your first steps?  The strong hands helping you, and the clumsy placement of your soft little feet in those big, clumsy shoes; first lift, then lurch forward, plant the foot and find your balance. Arms up, your hand firmly planted in a bigger, stronger one.  Always safe in your mother’s care, the first few steps were a celebration!  An occasion!  Smile inducing, worthy of kisses!

Cute Pictures

       I thought about those steps yesterday as I helped my mother down the porch stairs; place a foot, hold on tight, move the other foot and release the knee, take a breath and drop…all while holding on tight, safe in her daughter’s care.

       We plant hope, and harvest compassion.  As young children, we have no understanding of the eventual peak and inevitable decline of our physical abilities; just hope and joy, one of the many gifts our mothers give us.  I’m grateful for that gift, and grateful I can begin to balance those scales right now, late in my mother’s life; perhaps one day, my daughter will do the same for me. 

“We are a circle within a circle, with no beginning, and never ending.”

                                                                                               -Rick Hamouris

Preserve something:
      Four weeks ago, I harvested a vinegar mother from a bottle of apple cider vinegar that I bought from a health food store.  I was able to buy a gallon of flash pasteurized apple cider from Frecon's Orchard in Boyertown; this method still allows the cider to ferment; I used similarly pasteurized cider for my hard cider last fall.  This time, I added the mother, and let it turn to a lovely, mild vinegar over the course of the month.  The vinegar mother, a mixture of cellulose and beneficial bacteria, digests the natural sugars first, then the resulting alcohol, creating that nice, astringent vinegar flavor; this mother is very similar to the SCOBY used to make my kombucha.  I removed the vinegar mother then pasteurized this new, live vinegar myself (140-160 degrees).  It's waiting for me to cook with it now!  I put the mother into a jar of old red wine; not sure if it will work to make red wine vinegar, but I'm willing to experiment!

Waste not:

      My fridge is a nightmare.  I occasionally have an attack of conscience and try to catch up with the many culinary experiments festering in there.  It's not pretty.  With this weekly blog entry as incentive, I took a brave look, and found some still-viable organic yogurt, some home made beef broth, a shriveled but edible stalk of celery and the remnants of last week's mushroom bounty.  What to do?

Yogurt Cheese and Vegetable Beef Soup

      
     I hung the yogurt in a cheesecloth for yogurt-cheese (very tasty, with a consistency like cream cheese), made a strata from the mushrooms and celery (along with a quarter loaf of stale multi-grain bread, a sauteed onion, 4 fresh eggs, raw milk and some shredded cheese) which will be my breakfast this week, and made soup from the beef broth.  I added a handfull of sliced brussel sprouts, some frozen local corn, some dehydrated maitake mushrooms and some herbs.  Yum.  Good bye, convenience food!  Momma's got a healthier (and more frugal) plan!

Mushroom Strata

 Want Not:

     Last summer I inoculated two areas of my tiny yard with winecap mushroom spawn. I was able to harvest a few mushrooms from the sites last year, but I'm looking forward to a better harvest this spring.  In anticipation, I covered one of the areas with straw.  And I had too much...so there's straw all over my teensy urban garden.  This week, I started cycling bunches of straw into my well-packed composter to diversify the organic load.  Perfect.

Eat the Food:
     Monday's meals: Mushroom strata for breakfast and fish chowder for lunch.  Both from the freezer. Home fermented and home canned sauerkraut and clean, local sausage for dinner.
     Tuesday: Strata again for breakfast; leftover kraut for lunch (the kraut is good for boosting immunity).
      Wednesday: I felt good for the first time in a week on Wednesday (was fighting a cold) so I made a nice one-woman date-night dinner. From the freezer: all local...corn, sauteed oyster mushrooms and onions, tomato confit, nasturtium pesto and half of a farm raised delmonico steak. Seasoned the steak with Cajun spices and grilled it in my Foreman grill; cubed one small potato and sauteed it with the mushrooms, tomatoes and a small red onion. Boiled some wonton noodles and tossed them with the confit, pesto, pepper and salt. And...corn. Ahhhh, yes; the pleasures of a garden, foraging, and a freezer. Thursday night is parents' night at school, so I won't be cooking.

Build community food systems:
    This is a vast diversion from my usual organic and local eating beliefs, but I gave it a try; I'm not sure if I will continue.  Our Elementary and Middle Schools use a fundraising technique known as "Market Day".  There is an online company from which you order various foods, and a portion of the proceeds go to the school needing the funds.  The food is delivered to the school, which is convenient for me, as I teach right on the campus.  While the various meats and breadings were suspect (at least to me), I did order some mini-omelets and some individual frozen lasagna rolls.  They tasted fine, and are convenient, but I'll have to research where this company sources its food before I order again.  I can't stand the idea of inhumanely treated chickens and cows.  I'll let you know what I find out.  I'm a little nervous about it.
    On the healthy side, I ordered a bin of local and organic vegetables and foods from my very favorite Buy Fresh, Buy Local food source, Pure Sprouts.  I love, love, love this service, and order from them whenever I need quality local foods that I haven't grown or foraged myself...although I do love to visit farmers' markets in fair weather!  

Skill up:

Balsamic Vinegar, Nasturtium Vinegar, Juniper "Berries"
Rosemary Vinegar and Gin-Soaked Raisins

     Susun Weed sent a nice tutorial on using white pine needles and cider vinegar to create balsamic vinegar.  Since I have an abundance of both, I'll be giving that a try.  I love balsamic vinegar!  Here's the link.  This seems to be a year of tonics and fermentations for me; new territory to explore!  

Squash Blossoms; a Guilty Pleasure

Squash Season is Coming!!!

This is admittedly NOT the plant I took my male blossoms from; that plant had a huge headstart, being grown in the high tunnel, however I didn't plan ahead and neglected to photograph it.  Them.  They're taking over. (I'll insert a picture here at a later date!)

Squash blossoms are an early summer delicacy.  I only pick the male blossoms, the ones without the ovary attached (swollen base), because that's what will eventually become your squash.  And I only take a few; they're a guilty secret. For this recipe you'll need a simple egg batter (like the one you use for pancakes), a stuffing, some vegetable oil, and some salt.

Open the blossom, then remove the pistol.  Or is it the stamen?  I don't remember.  Remove the phallic polleny thing in the middle.  It will be bitter if you don't. Stuff the flower with something you love: crab, shrimp, mushrooms, cheese; I chose fresh mozzarella, because that's what I had. Wrap the blossom around the filling.  Really tuck it in.

Heat up your oil and get a plate ready with paper towels to catch the drips.  Dip the entire blossom in the batter, and make sure the petals stay around the filling as you rotate it for coverage.  I found it easiest to do by hand, but if you grip the open end of the blossom with a pair of tongs, you may be able to finesse it into compliance without messing up your manicure.  Having no such manicure, I wasn't terribly concerned about using my hands.  Place them in the hot (but not smoking) oil. The stuffed blossoms.  Not your hands.

Make sure to turn them as they get brown.  Don't fuss with them too much or you'll lose your stuffing.  Well, they will...not you. 

These are NOT chicken wings.  Meat-free goodness.

Drain on paper towels or whatever you use for lapping up oil, then salt to taste and enjoy.  If you have a favorite dipping sauce, now's the time to break it out.  I used harvard beet glaze, because that's what I had.  And that was just fine.

Enjoy!

Abundance

Spring has suddenly morphed into summer, as it seems to do every Memorial Day. With the torrential rains, tornadoes, subsequent sunlight and heat has come the inevitable greening of Pennsylvania.

Trimming the Garden: Feverfew, Lemon Balm, Spearmint, Sage, Kale, Spinach, Lettuce, Strawberries...
and a Few Weeds.

I'll discuss my vegetable garden in a later post, as I'm way behind on taking the appropriate pictures.  What I want to discuss today is the natural bounty I've experienced so far this spring.  Wild harvests have been possible for months already, with the first garlic mustard, ramps, morels, dryads' saddles, watercress, nettle, etc.  On Sunday afternoon, as I was waiting for the shuttle to arrive for our post-paddle trip home (we had a wonderful 17 mile paddle trip on the Pine Creek, near Williamsport, with a most-excellent group of new friends), I spent a few endorphin fueled moments gazing at the "weed" bank by the water.  It occurred to me that I could actually create a fairly decent meal from the abundant plants growing there.  There was stinging nettle (par-boiled and sauteed, a better-than-spinach green), burdock (the root is a prized vegetable in Asian cultures, though I've personally never tried it because it's a huge taproot, a long, deep dig...and I'm lazy), garlic mustard (spicy greens and root), upland cress (peppery), and some wild carrot.  We need never go hungry in the summer, if we know what we're looking at. 

Feverfew

Back at home, the herb garden in my tiny back yard is in full swing.  I harvested the comfrey because it was threatening to move into the kitchen, and I've begun harvesting the feverfew flowers.  The valerian is about to burst into bloom, and the tansy and pennyroyal are looking promising.  I have enough mint and lemon balm for the entire block.  My more traditional culinary herbs are holding their own; I've been topping the basil, parsley, rosemary and oregano for a few weeks as I need them for my cooking; the thyme is a little slower to get started, and my new chives are lagging behind. The perennial strawberries are enjoying a renaissance this year, after last year's hiatus, and the snow peas I put in after a glass of wine sometime a few weeks ago are doing surprisingly well considering their inappropriate position.

Strawberries

It's amazing to me how much you can harvest from a tiny spit of land, if you simply adjust your expectations about what a backyard should look like, and use your culinary and medicinal herbs and vegetables for greenery and flowers instead.  I have more than enough for my husband and myself, on a piece of land smaller than most people's living room; of course, my more expansive vegetable garden is off-site, and I'd dearly love to have that right at hand, but I'm happy to have it, regardless.

Gratuitous Snow Peas

More pictures to follow!

P.S.:  On the way home from the farm this afternoon, I saw two tiny spotted fawns.  What a blessing!  AND: a beautiful bloom of oyster mushrooms on the famous farmer's tree from last fall.  I stopped by to ask if he was still disinterested in them (!), but he wasn't home.  I sure hope no one spots them before tomorrow!

Watermelon Juice with Plum Vodka, a Watermelon Ball and a Backyard Mint Sprig. 
YUM!  When the Watermelon is Local, it'll REALLY Rock!

Making My Mark

The concept of mark-making may have different meanings to some of my colleagues than others.  As an artist, mark-making refers to the visual representation of our particular chosen medium; now that I think of it, that may be a very good definition for anyone considering what it means to "make their mark".

For instance, I spent a good part of my day doing research for my (ultimate) graduate thesis.  That'll be a significant mark made in my life, as it will culminate one more educational life-experience and open the doors to others.  My particular research is focused upon the place a member of my extended family holds in history, so it has particular meaning to me; I feel the importance of doing this research and writing correctly.  Research and writing are my medium of choice in this instance.

Of course, teaching is a long-term process of mark-making; we teachers have the opportunity to affect so many lives!  Though I don't comment upon my teaching profession in this blog, it's very important to me, and the impact I have on the kids who need me gives me a feeling of great worth (right next to a feeling of great humility).  Though our government apparently doesn't share my sentiments, my intrinsic understanding of the impact one teacher can have on the life of a student at the right time, and under the right circumstances is obvious to me.  I lived it myself, both as a student, and as a teacher.  In that case, my media are pedagogy, artistic knowledge, and compassion.

What I do share with you is my garden: another place where I can coax my little seeds to grow.  It's springtime, and yesterday was the first solidly sunny and warm Saturday we've had this year.  My media are soil, labor, tools and seeds, and the mark I make will feed us throughout the coming seasons, and will provide a source of inspiration and thoughtfulness to me throughout the year.

A Blank Canvas

Like any work of art, we begin with a blank canvas.  We can control the quality of our canvas, and the craftsmanship we use, but there is always a beginning, a middle, and an end.  This wheel-barrel received a generous helping of well-composted horse manure this year.  A good canvas for the kale that will grow there soon.

Planning Ahead: Asparagus

This tiny asparagus shoot is the result of the planting I did last year.  As a second-year sprout, it's thin and small.  Each year will add girth and fecundity.  Some projects take longer than others, but they're usually worth the wait. There's nothing quite as good as asparagus.

Redcap Bed


Another bed that will take some patience is the hosta redcap bed I started this spring.  If I planned it correctly, I should have a harvest by fall.  As a lover of all things mushroomy, I have high hopes for this culinary masterpiece.  My work here is mostly done; the shade provided by the ornamental pear trees and hostas should allow the little fungi to do their thing.  I have such a tiny garden at home; the shade and ornamental shade-loving plants weren't pulling their weight.

The End of an Era


The whiskey barrel you see behind the plastic planter, has literally disintegrated.  It is currently the home of several garlic bulbs that I planted last fall, and as such will limp along until they're harvested.  In the meantime, both it and the new planter have been sewn with spinach, an early season crop.  When both the garlic and spinach are harvested, the whiskey barrel will also be harvested, and its soil used elsewhere.  This year's cherry tomatoes, a back-door favorite, will live in the new planter, complete with new, composted soil.  I expect a great harvest, based upon the harvest enjoyed by my friend Stephanie (who gave me the compost!).  The lavender plants, in the small pots beside it, are already showing signs of life.

Horseradish

One of my three remaining barrels is home to this year's horseradish shoots, which I'll be excited to watch grow.  I expect to companion plant some collards or chard with them as well, as this is a shady space.  The base of the barrel (and those next to it) have become my outdoor culinary herb area.  I started some thyme, parsley and sage today.  The rosemary is still indoors.  My medicinal herbs are primarily perennial; the various mints grow enthusiastically wherever I start them; the others (too many to name) are tucked in among the vegetables and trees.

Mint: A Fragrant Opportunist

Herbs are naturally enthusiastic.  I love that about them.  They're the street-kids of the plant world, and manage to thrive where they land.  I've placed several varieties right next to my picnic table, so I can enjoy them when I have my infrequent moments of repose in the yard.  Speaking of repose:



The Captain's Chair



And I'm the captain.  The third barrel is to the left, rear of my vintage lawn chair (salvaged from a curbside on trash day a few years ago). Strawberries grow around the barrel's base.  The white lattice behind it still supports an ornamental vine that hides my "lower 40"...a narrow alley between the hedge and the shed, where my scraps go.  There are two hostas that are sprouting behind the chair, and to the right of it, a clump of feverfew is getting a good start.  You can't see it, but it's flanked by lemon balm and spearmint.  And there's a rhubarb plant somewhere in there.

My husband constructed the planter from an old door two years ago, and after several false starts, I finally got a trumpet vine started in the right corner of it.  I have a few Jerusalem artichokes planted there (if the squirrels didn't get them), and some elderberries from last year.  Yes, I know they'll be big.  It's an experiment.  Though you can barely see it, there's an antique bell above the bed: a nod to my in-laws, who had it at their home in Oyster Bay, and used it to call Peter and his sister in from the woods.  What a life!

Stinging Nettle

There are those plants which shouldn't be cultivated in close spaces; one shouldn't attempt to raise a mustang or a tiger in the city.  So, in honor of those wild things that defy my intensive attempts at an urban masterpiece, I've included my new culinary addition for the spring: stinging nettle.  She grows nearby, and waits for me there.  I've decided to let her roam free; I'll come to her.  The story of our first cooking experience (I've dried her for tea) will follow shortly.

Spring commences; our most creative time.  We plant the seeds for a prosperous tomorrow, and if we're wise, we enjoy the work as much as the harvest.  We observe the growth, and it makes us smile...and hope.  Like a painting; like a student; like a garden.  Welcome, spring!

Faith's Kids

Urgently Nesting

I'm in denial. Denial that in just a few days I'll be back at it, racing out of the house in the pre-dawn dark, hoping my socks match, drying my frozen hair in the truck's blower (set on high), hoping I have time to stop for a bagel on my way to room 601, where I'll meet up with 20 young people who feel pretty much the same way I do.  We'll wake up together over morning announcements, wipe the sleep from our eyes, and shake off our dreams while we adjust to the harsh reality of early morning academia. And we'll make the best of it; it'll grow on us again, and we'll share some laughs while we start on our new year together.  But right now, all I'm thinking of is home.

Home.  Where the heart is, where the comfortable mess waits for a creative touch, where the projects wait for some love and attention, and where the plants have languished during my recent manic fall semester.  Where my freezer is brimming with foods I've lovingly saved there, just waiting for a culinary muse to overtake me...which she did, last night after my second glass of holiday reisling.  What to do?  Mushrooms, of course.

Heaven in a Pot

Morels, chantarelles, oyster mushrooms, chicken mushrooms, giant puffballs and shiitakes all found their way into my pot; most were frozen over the late summer months.  The morels and chantarelles were dehydrated, purchased at the Amish grocery store in Fleetwood, and are decidedly local.  The whole mess was rehydrated if necessary, sauteed, seasoned lightly, and married with a single cube of last spring's chopped garlic scapes, from my stash in the freezer. A pasta dough was made and patiently rolled out with my hand cranked pasta maker, and the final results (wild mushroom ravioli) found their into my freezer before I stumbled off to bed. The elves came and did the dishes for me. 

We Will Love Them Sometime Soon

The same elf that cleaned up after my chaotic kitchen event slept late this morning, while I continued on my nesting mission.  I've just finished a good book, The Dirty Life by Kristin Kimball, and it has made me hyper-aware of the beauty of worn, homey objects that are useful and well loved (namely, everything we own).  She waxes poetic about setting seeds in soil, about calves and kittens, and still manages to keep it real.  In that "school of harsh reality" mood, I decided to tackle the project that has been looming large in my mind: the "Elephant in the Room", aka the "Plants I Neglected All Fall in the Sun Room."

I'm not a negligent plant keeper, most times.  I've raised my own food, orchids, herbs; I've been said to have a green thumb.  That thumb has apparently been somewhere less productive (in terms of plant life) for the last few months.  Of course, I did get an "A" on the course I was taking, and wrote two pretty decent research papers using APA style (for the first time).  Tell that to my dead herbs...they're compost now. The wages of academic war: herbal collateral damage.

I performed triage on the table of withered herbs and flowers, setting the goners out on the deck for the birds to pick at, and trimming the wounded down to manageable sizes.  The orchids fared better than the Christmas cacti, believe it or not; one optimistic little trooper had even sprouted a blossom spike.  Anything with a glimmer of hope got a nice soaking shower and a haircut before being returned to the sun room table they call home. I think we'll call it "the infirmary" for the time being.

The Infirmary

Four out of five African Violets survived as well, spunky little troopers that they are.  I carefully snuck a good watering under their drooping velvet leaves and set them up high, where they like it, above our multicultural cat chachka collection.

Gris-Gris, Supervising

The rest of the room got a good cleaning, too.  We (Peter was awake by then) topped off the event by filling the bird feeders and settling in with Hobie and Gris-Gris for a little passive bird-watching.

I am determined to soak up every moment of home time I can, between social events and fundraisers.  Tonight's Lights in the Woods will bring a welcome end to the long, cold evenings of people, hot-dogs, and blown fuses, and a return to the tranquility I yearn for on the farm when I volunteer there.  And tomorrow, after I visit David and Bonnie in Niantic, and get the goats fed and watered, I'll come home to my comfortable, freshly cleaned and nurtured sun room, and enjoy my last two days of winter vacation.  Cleaning this:

The Studio

Wish me luck!

A Trade

Thanksgiving is over, and the bounty has been shared; just this evening, Kathy graciously gave us a bag of home raised, humanely nurtured pork for our freezer.  I'm so grateful.  I never expected such a treat.

Now, these were some happy pigs.  Apart from the West-Side cow incident a week or so ago (I still have to laugh at that; I'm a little twisted), those pigs had it good.  Here's the recap (Nov. 14th blog):

"Last weekend, my friend El and I visited the farm together so she could see our newborn calf. One of the volunteers had forgotten to shut the gate between the cow field and the pig run, and chaos ensued. I have never seen cows band together like a street gang and attack before; usually they just mill around, benignly grazing and mooing. These cows were pissed! They attacked those poor pigs enmasse. You've never seen fat pink buttocks running away more frantically. I'm ashamed to say that I can't stop laughing about the visual memories it brings up: think "West Side Story" (the Jets and the Sharks). Those poor piggies! Thankfully, the vet and his assistant were on site, checking out the goats, and between the 4 of us, we were able to break up the rumble. The piggies had to take a long nap that afternoon."



And although I've been hearing endless conversations about being vegetarian vs. being a carnivore (omnivore), and I understand both the philosophical and environmental implications, I am, without doubt, an omnivore.  I do hold myself to ethical standards when buying my food, however. These pigs had a good life, as do the chickens whose eggs we eat, and the goats and cows whose milk we drink.

So, in order to make room for the ham, sausage and pork shoulder, we had to go spelunking in the freezer.  I know how much we'll want the greens this winter, so they were off limits.  I decided to pull out two quarts of cantaloupe sorbet, a bag of tomato something-or-other which I'll make into a stew, and a quart bag of black elderberries.  Elderberries!!!! We picked them and froze them this summer!

Flu season is coming, so I sent Peter off to the liquor store for some 100 proof vodka to make a tincture.  It can't be easier...50% berries, 50% alcohol, let rest for 2-3 weeks, then sip as needed; as preventative medicine, the suggested dose is a tablespoonful in the morning and evening.  Strain out the berries unless your bowels are bound up (then eat a few...it'll do the job).  And elderberries are good!  If you're more interested in sweet things, elderberry syrup has the same healing properties.  You can find many recipes for it on the web.

 

So, Miss Kathy can expect some elderberry tincture and some cantaloupe sorbet for her generosity.  And we'll be eating a local ham for Christmas.  Farm life is good, even here in the city.  We're blessed.

My life is so varied; always has been. Lately, I've been splitting my time between school (Kutztown University), work (where I teach), home, farm, and occasional short road trips.  I don't get many chances for those, unfortunately.

Kutztown provides lots of inspiration for teaching.  They have a student exhibit of recycled works on display right now...coincidentally, exactly when I'm teaching that unit in school.  I'm enjoying their over-the-top solutions:

Plastic Goblet Light Fixture

Old Sock Milk Jugs (polymerized)

Plastic Cutlery Pterodactyl

 Of course, nearly every day includes both teaching and the farm.  While I choose not to blog about my classroom because of professional considerations, the farm is fair game, and infinitely interesting.

We've been battling pinkeye this last week.  My poor little doe Faith went out to be bred, and may have carried it home with her.  While she's unaffected, 4 of our older does came down with the affliction, and had to be separated from the herd.  I've been giving injections, applying ointment, and hand milking those girls all week.  Poor things!  Our two senior citizens, Dolly and Jazzy have been hit the hardest. There is improvement, though.  And we've finished the course of antibiotics, so only time will tell.

These girls weren't affected. Neither were their appetites!

Suppertime!

 I take a walk in the woods on days that are challenging at work; I need these solitary times to decompress.  They feed my soul.  On one such occasion, I found this gooey, frostbitten mass that must have been some sort of mushroom.  The fallen tree had several of them; I'll research them and get back to you.  This has been my mycology moon.

An Interesting Fungus
*UPDATE: An Old "Orange Jelly"

 Turkey tails, the ubiquitous little fungi that devour our fallen wood, are everywhere.  Apparently, they're prized by certain cultures for their curative properties.  Who knew?  I'll be trying some turkey tail tea this winter.

Turkey Tails

 Piggy tails are a different story entirely.

It's Rough Being a Pig

 Last weekend, my friend El and I visited the farm together so she could see our newborn calf.  One of the volunteers had forgotten to shut the gate between the cow field and the pig run, and chaos ensued. I have never seen cows band together like a street gang and attack before; usually they just mill around, benignly grazing and mooing.  These cows were pissed!  They attacked those poor pigs enmasse.  You've never seen fat pink buttocks running away more frantically. I'm ashamed to say that I can't stop laughing about the visual memories it brings up: think "West Side Story" (the Jets and the Sharks). Those poor piggies! Thankfully, the vet and his assistant were on site, checking out the goats, and between the 4 of us, we were able to break up the rumble.  The piggies had to take a long nap that afternoon.

Meanwhile, back in the goat pen, our calf  Pumpkin is having an identity crisis.

Pumpkin, Behind the Goats

Hide and Seek

Am I a Goat? 

I'm so Confused!!!!!

 He does kick his heels up and rip around the corral.  The goats don't quite know what to make of him, but they treat him kindly. Baby Huey.

Then there's home.  When I'm not reading, grading, or writing, I still love my kitchen, especially now that Peter has finished the new counter and back splash.  I'm bringing in the last herbs.  Hobie helped with the peppermint.

Is that Cat Nip?

 Today will be spent at home, or taking a much needed walk in the park, depending on my mood and timing.  We all need a little unstructured time, and I'm so happy to have some today!  Photos to follow!