The manager of the Flint Farmer's Market, Dick Ramsdell has been a key supporter and promoter of Community Supported Agriculture here in Genesee County. There is a great article on the front page of Monday's (Jan. 28) Flint Journal by Elizabeth Shaw entitled "Green Thumbs - Urban Agriculture in Full Bloom Here" (link) that discusses some of what is going on here in our area.
Want to learn about Community Supported Agriculture or how to join a CSA group with local farms? There's a free public meeting coming up:
When: 7 p.m. Feb. 5
Where: First Presbyterian Church, 746 S. Saginaw St., Flint.
Details: (810) 938-4246 or chsramsdell@hotmail.com
A few interesting local food factoids from the article
(Source: Food Bank Council of Michigan):
If every Michigan family bought just $10 per week of Michigan produce, it would keep $37 million a week or $1.9 billion a year from leaving the state.
Food now travels an average of 1,500 miles to get onto Michigan tables. (Think of the fuel burned!) 50 percent of trucks on interstate highways carry food.
A Michigan Land Use Institute study reports local buying could generate almost 2,000 new jobs and increase farm income as much as 16 percent.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Green Thumb Sunday - er, well, I'll catch up
I know, it's Wednesday. But the weather is so frigging (I never say that!) windy and frigid that I'm staying indoors at home instead of my best day of the week outing to the Flint Institute of Arts Wednesdays at Noon movie and coffee with my progressive and gardening friend Sharron. I need gas, and there is no way I'm standing in this cold long enough to fill the tank. So today I'm taking the time to try to figure out this thing called Green Thumb Sunday. Sharron is home with a headache watching Will and Grace reruns.
Garden bloggers everywhere apparently post a photo of their garden, or a plant, or some gardeny visual image, every Sunday. So watch for it... if I get the blogroll thingie running. I'm not tech saavy, as they say.
So here below is my first photo for a belated Green thumb Sunday of one of my favorite flowers, a purple poppy I grew in my herb garden.
Green Thumb Sunday
Join
Gardeners, Plant and Nature Lovers can join in every Sunday, visit As the Garden Grows for more information.
And, Thank you Tricia!
Here's another shot of that poppy:
Garden bloggers everywhere apparently post a photo of their garden, or a plant, or some gardeny visual image, every Sunday. So watch for it... if I get the blogroll thingie running. I'm not tech saavy, as they say.
So here below is my first photo for a belated Green thumb Sunday of one of my favorite flowers, a purple poppy I grew in my herb garden.
Join
Gardeners, Plant and Nature Lovers can join in every Sunday, visit As the Garden Grows for more information.
And, Thank you Tricia!
Here's another shot of that poppy:
Two updates
First, the organic CSA farmer I have written of who is offering the monthly hands on workshops on organic vegetable growing, Pat Wetham, has got a new phone number:
# 810-867-4435.
I hope you'll sign up for her workshops! With the trend toward fresh, organic and local food, what could be more valuable than knowing how to grow your own veggies in your own yard? Nothing is more local, and there is nothing like knowing how your food was really grown, because you've done it!
Also, this morning the League of Conservation Voters sent out their online voter guide to the 2008 presidential candidates(link). It's pretty interesting reading. The LCV sent a questionnaire to each of the candidates and then researched what they said (their public statements), what they promised (their platforms), and most importantly their track record, what they did (how they have voted.)
It won't surprise you on the Republican side.
That joke Giuliani did not extend the courtesy to respond and has no federal voting record. But his opinions are simply not environmentally responsible.
The flip-flopping Michigan Mitt did not have the manners to reply either and has no federal voting record. He says he loves coal and drilling.
'Mac' McCain must not have grandchildren he cares about, he has a 26 voting record.
The Democratic candidates did surprise me a bit.
Billary has a 90 percent voting record. If I liked her I'd say Yay.
Obama voted a 96! Yay!
But I must comment Hill and Obama have not been Senators long enough to test their true mettle...
Edwards voted a 59, which is hard to understand considering his spearheading of the defense of the Clean Air Act. Maybe he is cleaning up his act? I need to do some further reading.
Of course my man Dennis K. with a 92 beat Hillary but didn't come in as well as Obama. But he left to work on retaining his congressional seat again.
You can spend a lot of time reading up on the issues, and the LCV has done most of the footwork for us! We know where they stand (non-partisan) and what they stand for (the future of the planet!)
They have a richly informational website that really educates. For instance, if you can stomach it you can study what the present despoilers are doing and what they have accomplished here.
Isn't it about time we voters let the powerful know we won't support them if they don't take care of our planet?
Clean air, beautiful public spaces where nature can live, and safe water are the commons that belong to us all. Why should the profit of a few take those things we share away from us!
# 810-867-4435.
I hope you'll sign up for her workshops! With the trend toward fresh, organic and local food, what could be more valuable than knowing how to grow your own veggies in your own yard? Nothing is more local, and there is nothing like knowing how your food was really grown, because you've done it!
Also, this morning the League of Conservation Voters sent out their online voter guide to the 2008 presidential candidates(link). It's pretty interesting reading. The LCV sent a questionnaire to each of the candidates and then researched what they said (their public statements), what they promised (their platforms), and most importantly their track record, what they did (how they have voted.)
It won't surprise you on the Republican side.
That joke Giuliani did not extend the courtesy to respond and has no federal voting record. But his opinions are simply not environmentally responsible.
The flip-flopping Michigan Mitt did not have the manners to reply either and has no federal voting record. He says he loves coal and drilling.
'Mac' McCain must not have grandchildren he cares about, he has a 26 voting record.
The Democratic candidates did surprise me a bit.
Billary has a 90 percent voting record. If I liked her I'd say Yay.
Obama voted a 96! Yay!
But I must comment Hill and Obama have not been Senators long enough to test their true mettle...
Edwards voted a 59, which is hard to understand considering his spearheading of the defense of the Clean Air Act. Maybe he is cleaning up his act? I need to do some further reading.
Of course my man Dennis K. with a 92 beat Hillary but didn't come in as well as Obama. But he left to work on retaining his congressional seat again.
You can spend a lot of time reading up on the issues, and the LCV has done most of the footwork for us! We know where they stand (non-partisan) and what they stand for (the future of the planet!)
They have a richly informational website that really educates. For instance, if you can stomach it you can study what the present despoilers are doing and what they have accomplished here.
Isn't it about time we voters let the powerful know we won't support them if they don't take care of our planet?
Clean air, beautiful public spaces where nature can live, and safe water are the commons that belong to us all. Why should the profit of a few take those things we share away from us!
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
"The industrial eater is, in fact, one who does not know that eating is an agricultural act, who no longer knows or imagines the connections between eating and the land, and who is therefore necessarily passive and uncritical... We still (sometimes) remember that we cannot be free if our minds and voices are controlled by someone else. But we have neglected to understand that we cannot be free if our food and its sources are controlled by someone else. The condition of the passive consumer of food is not a democratic condition. One reason to eat responsibly is to live free." - Wendell Berry
Monday, January 28, 2008
Join a CSA in Genesee County!
This is how we got into a CSA last year! Believe me, it's a good thing.
“Genesee County - do you want to know who is growing your food?”
Flint, MI - The Flint Farmers’ Market will sponsor a second annual Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) informational meeting designed to connect local farmers with urban residents who are concerned about the types of MEAT, POULTRY, EGGS, FRUITS and VEGETABLES they consume. The CSA INFORMATIONAL MEETING will be held Tuesday, February 5, at 7:00 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church on Saginaw Street, downtown Flint. (Parking is in the rear of the church. Enter from 4th Street.) This is the only CSA meeting the Market will sponsor before next summer, so those interested are strongly encouraged to attend. For more information please contact Dick Ramsdell, Market Manager, 810.938.4246 or chs_ramsdell@hotmail.com .
The meeting will introduce the community to the concept of a CSA, and offer those interested, the opportunity to contract directly with a local farmer this summer. More than one dozen local produce farmers and meat producers, both traditional and organic will be at the meeting to answer questions. The Flint Farmers’ Market will serve as the delivery point for farmers and the pick up point for customers, either on a Tuesday or a Thursday market day during this summer’s growing season.
A CSA links urban customers directly with the farmers who grow their food. Once established, consumers contract with a local farmer or meat producer for a specified amount of product over the growing season. This way the consumers know the person who grows their food and where it is grown. Consumers pay for the product at the beginning of the season (money which the farmer can count on, thereby planning production accordingly). The farmer provides the contracted amount and variety of produce or meat during the summer season. Last year, over 100 citizens met with local farmers at the winter meeting, with many following through on contracts during the summer of 2007. The Flint Farmers’ Market is pleased to provide this service to the community; it encourages urban residents to eat healthy local food during the Michigan growing season, and it supports local farmers with income and a predetermined customer base.
For more information please contact Dick Ramsdell, Market Manager, 810.938.4246 or chs_ramsdell@hotmail.com .
Contact: Karianne Martus, Creative Communications Company (810) 487-1626
“Genesee County - do you want to know who is growing your food?”
Flint, MI - The Flint Farmers’ Market will sponsor a second annual Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) informational meeting designed to connect local farmers with urban residents who are concerned about the types of MEAT, POULTRY, EGGS, FRUITS and VEGETABLES they consume. The CSA INFORMATIONAL MEETING will be held Tuesday, February 5, at 7:00 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church on Saginaw Street, downtown Flint. (Parking is in the rear of the church. Enter from 4th Street.) This is the only CSA meeting the Market will sponsor before next summer, so those interested are strongly encouraged to attend. For more information please contact Dick Ramsdell, Market Manager, 810.938.4246 or chs_ramsdell@hotmail.com .
The meeting will introduce the community to the concept of a CSA, and offer those interested, the opportunity to contract directly with a local farmer this summer. More than one dozen local produce farmers and meat producers, both traditional and organic will be at the meeting to answer questions. The Flint Farmers’ Market will serve as the delivery point for farmers and the pick up point for customers, either on a Tuesday or a Thursday market day during this summer’s growing season.
A CSA links urban customers directly with the farmers who grow their food. Once established, consumers contract with a local farmer or meat producer for a specified amount of product over the growing season. This way the consumers know the person who grows their food and where it is grown. Consumers pay for the product at the beginning of the season (money which the farmer can count on, thereby planning production accordingly). The farmer provides the contracted amount and variety of produce or meat during the summer season. Last year, over 100 citizens met with local farmers at the winter meeting, with many following through on contracts during the summer of 2007. The Flint Farmers’ Market is pleased to provide this service to the community; it encourages urban residents to eat healthy local food during the Michigan growing season, and it supports local farmers with income and a predetermined customer base.
For more information please contact Dick Ramsdell, Market Manager, 810.938.4246 or chs_ramsdell@hotmail.com .
Contact: Karianne Martus, Creative Communications Company (810) 487-1626
Sunday, January 27, 2008
thinking of color in the dead of winter
Beautiful Kayla is really beginning to color now, she fills the page with crayon scribbles and she likes red and yellow. Yellow is "sunshine" to Kayla and she sings along to "You Are My Sunshine". She'll be two in another month!
We made a corner in the spare room with a little child size table so Kayla will have an easy spot to be creative when she visits Grandma, and last night we had a tea party there, after coloring. What fun!
On Friday we met the gals at Red Lobster (I haven't been there in twenty or so years... Yes, the cheezie biscuits are still good!) for Ashley's birthday. Kayla sat there coloring through half the meal, red lobsters and yellow sunshine. She ate two cheezy biscuits and a bowl of applesauce before our meal began, so when the waiter brought her shrimp she was already stuffed.
Kayla pointed at my grow lights last night and said "flowers" - she remembers from week to week the things that made her happy at her last visit. We asked her if she wanted to hold the pink or the purple flower, and she wanted both, so we allowed her to cradle two pots of my alpine primroses in her arms and she was happy. I should have taken a photo for you. When we asked, she told us the flowers were not purple or pink but "green". Yes, we forgot, green is the color of the growing world.
Lovely green, primroses.
Oh yes, and I must mention little sissie, Aubrey - she's just started crawling and pulls herself up on the nearest thing - Me, Pa, Mommy, the ottoman, the couch - to "surf." This having a big sister really gets a little one going! She is fearless!
They grow up too fast.
We made a corner in the spare room with a little child size table so Kayla will have an easy spot to be creative when she visits Grandma, and last night we had a tea party there, after coloring. What fun!
On Friday we met the gals at Red Lobster (I haven't been there in twenty or so years... Yes, the cheezie biscuits are still good!) for Ashley's birthday. Kayla sat there coloring through half the meal, red lobsters and yellow sunshine. She ate two cheezy biscuits and a bowl of applesauce before our meal began, so when the waiter brought her shrimp she was already stuffed.
Kayla pointed at my grow lights last night and said "flowers" - she remembers from week to week the things that made her happy at her last visit. We asked her if she wanted to hold the pink or the purple flower, and she wanted both, so we allowed her to cradle two pots of my alpine primroses in her arms and she was happy. I should have taken a photo for you. When we asked, she told us the flowers were not purple or pink but "green". Yes, we forgot, green is the color of the growing world.
Lovely green, primroses.
Oh yes, and I must mention little sissie, Aubrey - she's just started crawling and pulls herself up on the nearest thing - Me, Pa, Mommy, the ottoman, the couch - to "surf." This having a big sister really gets a little one going! She is fearless!
They grow up too fast.
| You Are a Green Crayon |
 Your world is colored in harmonious, peaceful, natural colors. While some may associate green with money, you are one of the least materialistic people around. Comfort is important to you. You like to feel as relaxed as possible - and you try to make others feel at ease. You're very happy with who you are, and it certainly shows! Your color wheel opposite is red. Every time you feel grounded, a red person does their best to shake you. |
Friday, January 25, 2008
Winter is the time for gardeners to grow
No, I don't mean our waistlines from all the sitting around reading and writing and planning. Or growing plants indoors though many of us do. I'm talking about learning more about our preoccupation. We read books, magazines, newsletters and the internet, we attend workshops and conferences, and we take time to organize, digest and internalize what we learn.
Today I sent in my five dollars to reserve a place in a beekeeping workshop at the Genesee Conservation District. It sounds fun! I'd like to keep bees, although Herb is to say the least circumspect. He keeps saying things like, bees sting people.
Well, I probably won't get a hive this year, what with the economy and being on a budget and all. But it will be fun to learn. And speaking of budgeting, the CSA organic gardening workshops I posted about a few days ago are a great deal - if I plan to help out, as a CSA subscriber I can attend for free! HOW COOL IS THAT! I though Pat's organic vegetables and greens were first rate last year, and we had more than we could use (so I froze some and gave away some). Now I get to combine the pleasure of being around like minded people, learning good skills, and I can bring my veggies home the same day! Yipee!
Today I sent in my five dollars to reserve a place in a beekeeping workshop at the Genesee Conservation District. It sounds fun! I'd like to keep bees, although Herb is to say the least circumspect. He keeps saying things like, bees sting people.
Well, I probably won't get a hive this year, what with the economy and being on a budget and all. But it will be fun to learn. And speaking of budgeting, the CSA organic gardening workshops I posted about a few days ago are a great deal - if I plan to help out, as a CSA subscriber I can attend for free! HOW COOL IS THAT! I though Pat's organic vegetables and greens were first rate last year, and we had more than we could use (so I froze some and gave away some). Now I get to combine the pleasure of being around like minded people, learning good skills, and I can bring my veggies home the same day! Yipee!
Thursday, January 24, 2008
today, tomorrow, the next day, each and every day
Maybe this video by the American Friends Service Committee (the Quakers) should be posted on my cranky blog. But too many of my friends just seem way too complacent about what is going on.
Each and every day into the unseeable future, our leaders are spending an outrageous amount of our tax money in Iraq. It isn't even counted in the "budget". It's on the charge card, so to speak. Each of these choices of things that we could spend our money on here (that are illustrated in this video), instead of on death and destruction there, are what we could buy in just one day. Think about it.
Economics 101, Ethics 101.
If you agree, sign the AFSC petition here.
Each and every day into the unseeable future, our leaders are spending an outrageous amount of our tax money in Iraq. It isn't even counted in the "budget". It's on the charge card, so to speak. Each of these choices of things that we could spend our money on here (that are illustrated in this video), instead of on death and destruction there, are what we could buy in just one day. Think about it.
Economics 101, Ethics 101.
If you agree, sign the AFSC petition here.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
All it takes is a little "Being There"
"Getting there is half the fun; being there is all of it!"
"Life is a state of mind."
"A story of chance..."
"All is well...and all will be well...in the garden."
I was just looking for some garden humor to lighten up this discontented winter and ran across a familiar movie quote that led me to a website I think has something to tell us about the current situation we are all watching on the evening news...
Peter Seller's last great movie, Being There, was a strange but happy little zen-like story (adapted from the 1971 novel written by Jerzy Kosiński) about a reclusive gardener being mistaken for a Washington policy advisor... this was certainly a lot more intelligent and satisfying than listening to the Senate committee on CSPAN last night trying to push and pry their ideological opinions into the discussion with the young wonk from the Office of Management and Budget.
President "Bobby": Mr. Gardner, do you agree with Ben, or do you think that we can stimulate growth through temporary incentives?
[Long pause]
Chance the Gardener: As long as the roots are not severed, all is well. And all will be well in the garden.
President "Bobby": In the garden.
Chance the Gardener: Yes. In the garden, growth has it seasons. First comes spring and summer, but then we have fall and winter. And then we get spring and summer again.
President "Bobby": Spring and summer.
Chance the Gardener: Yes.
President "Bobby": Then fall and winter.
Chance the Gardener: Yes.
Benjamin Rand: I think what our insightful young friend is saying is that we welcome the inevitable seasons of nature, but we're upset by the seasons of our economy.
Chance the Gardener: Yes! There will be growth in the spring!
Benjamin Rand: Hmm!
Chance the Gardener: Hmm!
President "Bobby": Hm. Well, Mr. Gardner, I must admit that is one of the most refreshing and optimistic statements I've heard in a very, very long time.
[Benjamin Rand applauds]
President "Bobby": I admire your good, solid sense. That's precisely what we lack on Capitol Hill.
This next bit is kind of fitting, considering the president you elected, twice... Can't wait to hear the cheering at Bush's last SOTU this year, hehe. What leadership we've had- what memories we've made! Maybe in pumping us up on this great economy, our fearless leader will give us some more of his classic lines... this would do:
President "Bobby": Life is a state of mind.
or[Riding in a car for the first time]
Chance the Gardener: This is just like television, only you can see much further.
Ron Steigler: Mr. Gardner, uh, my editors and I have been wondering if you would consider writing a book for us, something about your um, political philosophy, what do you say?
Chance the Gardener: I can't write.
Ron Steigler: Heh, heh, of course not, who can nowadays? Listen, I have trouble writing a postcard to my children. Look uhh, we can give you a six figure advance, I'll provide you with the very best ghost-writer, proof-readers...
Chance the Gardener: I can't read.
Ron Steigler: Of course you can't! No one has the time! We, we glance at things, we watch television...
Chance the Gardener: I like to watch TV.
Ron Steigler: Oh, oh, oh sure you do. No one reads!
Morton Hull: Do you realize that more people will be watching you tonight, than all those who have seen theater plays in the last forty years?
Chance the Gardener: Why?
(Indeed, Why?)
[With other poor black seniors, watching Chance on TV]
Louise: It's for sure a white man's world in America. Look here: I raised that boy since he was the size of a piss-ant. And I'll say right now, he never learned to read and write. No, sir. Had no brains at all. Was stuffed with rice pudding between th' ears. Shortchanged by the Lord, and dumb as a jackass. Look at him now! Yes, sir, all you've gotta be is white in America, to get whatever you want. Gobbledy-gook!
(The more things change, the more they look just the same...)
[Thomas and Johanna are watching Chance's interview on TV]
Thomas: It's that gardener.
Johanna: Yes, Chauncey Gardiner.
Thomas: No, he's a real gardener.
Johanna: He does talk like one. I think he's brilliant.
""I have lived a lot, trembled a lot, was surrounded by little men who forgot that we entered naked and exit naked and that no accountant can audit life in our favor."
Memorable quotes for Being There (1979)
"Life is a state of mind."
"A story of chance..."
"All is well...and all will be well...in the garden."
I was just looking for some garden humor to lighten up this discontented winter and ran across a familiar movie quote that led me to a website I think has something to tell us about the current situation we are all watching on the evening news...
Peter Seller's last great movie, Being There, was a strange but happy little zen-like story (adapted from the 1971 novel written by Jerzy Kosiński) about a reclusive gardener being mistaken for a Washington policy advisor... this was certainly a lot more intelligent and satisfying than listening to the Senate committee on CSPAN last night trying to push and pry their ideological opinions into the discussion with the young wonk from the Office of Management and Budget.
President "Bobby": Mr. Gardner, do you agree with Ben, or do you think that we can stimulate growth through temporary incentives?
[Long pause]
Chance the Gardener: As long as the roots are not severed, all is well. And all will be well in the garden.
President "Bobby": In the garden.
Chance the Gardener: Yes. In the garden, growth has it seasons. First comes spring and summer, but then we have fall and winter. And then we get spring and summer again.
President "Bobby": Spring and summer.
Chance the Gardener: Yes.
President "Bobby": Then fall and winter.
Chance the Gardener: Yes.
Benjamin Rand: I think what our insightful young friend is saying is that we welcome the inevitable seasons of nature, but we're upset by the seasons of our economy.
Chance the Gardener: Yes! There will be growth in the spring!
Benjamin Rand: Hmm!
Chance the Gardener: Hmm!
President "Bobby": Hm. Well, Mr. Gardner, I must admit that is one of the most refreshing and optimistic statements I've heard in a very, very long time.
[Benjamin Rand applauds]
President "Bobby": I admire your good, solid sense. That's precisely what we lack on Capitol Hill.
This next bit is kind of fitting, considering the president you elected, twice... Can't wait to hear the cheering at Bush's last SOTU this year, hehe. What leadership we've had- what memories we've made! Maybe in pumping us up on this great economy, our fearless leader will give us some more of his classic lines... this would do:
President "Bobby": Life is a state of mind.
or[Riding in a car for the first time]
Chance the Gardener: This is just like television, only you can see much further.
Ron Steigler: Mr. Gardner, uh, my editors and I have been wondering if you would consider writing a book for us, something about your um, political philosophy, what do you say?
Chance the Gardener: I can't write.
Ron Steigler: Heh, heh, of course not, who can nowadays? Listen, I have trouble writing a postcard to my children. Look uhh, we can give you a six figure advance, I'll provide you with the very best ghost-writer, proof-readers...
Chance the Gardener: I can't read.
Ron Steigler: Of course you can't! No one has the time! We, we glance at things, we watch television...
Chance the Gardener: I like to watch TV.
Ron Steigler: Oh, oh, oh sure you do. No one reads!
Morton Hull: Do you realize that more people will be watching you tonight, than all those who have seen theater plays in the last forty years?
Chance the Gardener: Why?
(Indeed, Why?)
[With other poor black seniors, watching Chance on TV]
Louise: It's for sure a white man's world in America. Look here: I raised that boy since he was the size of a piss-ant. And I'll say right now, he never learned to read and write. No, sir. Had no brains at all. Was stuffed with rice pudding between th' ears. Shortchanged by the Lord, and dumb as a jackass. Look at him now! Yes, sir, all you've gotta be is white in America, to get whatever you want. Gobbledy-gook!
(The more things change, the more they look just the same...)
[Thomas and Johanna are watching Chance's interview on TV]
Thomas: It's that gardener.
Johanna: Yes, Chauncey Gardiner.
Thomas: No, he's a real gardener.
Johanna: He does talk like one. I think he's brilliant.
""I have lived a lot, trembled a lot, was surrounded by little men who forgot that we entered naked and exit naked and that no accountant can audit life in our favor."
Memorable quotes for Being There (1979)
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
The Talk
We have to have one of those 'talks' with our oldest son. You know, when the realities of life demand you 'make plans'... wills, powers of attorneys, and so on.
I started on the phone... we just haven't been seeing him enough to ruin a good dinner with our mortal matters. Anyway, somewhere in the changing of the subject as he tends to do, he mentioned the enormity of the state of marriage - what it means to commit to another person for life. Yes, he is a deep young man.
So along the lines of my posting poetry, I'll post this poem that ran through my mind as we were talking on the phone. This one is for Skip. Wrong season, right poem:
Spring and Fall
to a young child
MÁRGARÉT, áre you gríeving
Over Goldengrove unleaving?
Leáves, líke the things of man, you
With your fresh thoughts care for, can you?
Áh! ás the heart grows older
It will come to such sights colder
By and by, nor spare a sigh
Though worlds of wanwood leafmeal lie;
And yet you wíll weep and know why.
Now no matter, child, the name:
Sórrow’s spríngs áre the same.
Nor mouth had, no nor mind, expressed
What heart heard of, ghost guessed:
It ís the blight man was born for,
It is Margaret you mourn for.
by Gerard Manley Hopkins
I started on the phone... we just haven't been seeing him enough to ruin a good dinner with our mortal matters. Anyway, somewhere in the changing of the subject as he tends to do, he mentioned the enormity of the state of marriage - what it means to commit to another person for life. Yes, he is a deep young man.
So along the lines of my posting poetry, I'll post this poem that ran through my mind as we were talking on the phone. This one is for Skip. Wrong season, right poem:
Spring and Fall
to a young child
MÁRGARÉT, áre you gríeving
Over Goldengrove unleaving?
Leáves, líke the things of man, you
With your fresh thoughts care for, can you?
Áh! ás the heart grows older
It will come to such sights colder
By and by, nor spare a sigh
Though worlds of wanwood leafmeal lie;
And yet you wíll weep and know why.
Now no matter, child, the name:
Sórrow’s spríngs áre the same.
Nor mouth had, no nor mind, expressed
What heart heard of, ghost guessed:
It ís the blight man was born for,
It is Margaret you mourn for.
by Gerard Manley Hopkins
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Catalogue dreams
Winter is the time for catalogue dreams and I'm trying to keep from ordering everything I see right now... patience! I almost gave in and used those great coupons in my favorite catalogue that have a January deadline, but at the last minute, hung up the phone and put my list aside. Patience!
If I give in to my collecting impulse, the baby plants will be piling up on the doorstep at Late April, early May planting time, and I'll be frantically looking for the right place for each plant. I love that time of year, I've relished that frantic planting in past years, it is great fun, BUT!
#1. I'm on a budget.
#2. I'm looking to downsize our gardens in terms of maintenance.
and #3. We just had two huge trees removed from our small lot over the course of the past year and I need to relocate shade plants from those spots and re-purpose or re-design those two areas. Two sixty foot tall, 50-year old Colorado Blue Spruces with pretty bad cases of suspected Cytospera cost a pretty penny for an arborist to take down, but I am relieved to have them finally taken out.
No more constant irritation of fallen spruce needles tracked indoors. No more putting on the grandbaby's shoes to protect their tender feet before they go outdoors to play. No more sticky spruce sap on the driveway and the car. No nagging worry about a good wind knocking them over, or the threat of accident as we incrementally pruned off the diseased branches.
It will be interesting to see what changes will be forthcoming in those spots with the alteration of water and light. I won't do any immediate landscaping, other than the serendipitous plantings of some plants I already had in pots which I needed to put somewhere and I did last fall. I'll be patient and wait and see how the areas respond to their new conditions and will take time to dream about what to do.
Putting on my sober realist cap, I need to admit I have more than enough to do this spring, so my catalogue dreams will be reigned in, and instead of looking for planting spots for the dianthuses I have my heart set on, this spring I'll be standing around in the yard with bushels of hostas in my arms to transplant before the weather turns hot. Fun, anyway.
Reverie
A warm and cheery fire roars merrily
And shadows dance about the darkened room.
Beside the hearth a gardener sits and dreams
Of sunny days, of flowers in full bloom.
Some hollyhocks should tower near the fence,
Bright red. ones that the bees can't help but find.
The trellis at the gate again must wear
Blue morning glories, or the rosy kind.
To lend a bit of distance to the scene,
Close to the rear I'll plant in shades of blue:
The tall and stately larkspur, double ones?
Of course I'll put in scabiosa, too.
I couldn't do without a pansy bed?
Snapdragons make such beautiful bouquets?
Frilled zinnias and yellow marigolds
Add just the proper touch to autumn days.
The flowers grow and bloom with loveliness
Until a sound destroys the fantasy?
A burning ember falls and I must leave
My garden and my charming reverie.
by Helen Bath Swanson
If I give in to my collecting impulse, the baby plants will be piling up on the doorstep at Late April, early May planting time, and I'll be frantically looking for the right place for each plant. I love that time of year, I've relished that frantic planting in past years, it is great fun, BUT!
#1. I'm on a budget.
#2. I'm looking to downsize our gardens in terms of maintenance.
and #3. We just had two huge trees removed from our small lot over the course of the past year and I need to relocate shade plants from those spots and re-purpose or re-design those two areas. Two sixty foot tall, 50-year old Colorado Blue Spruces with pretty bad cases of suspected Cytospera cost a pretty penny for an arborist to take down, but I am relieved to have them finally taken out.
No more constant irritation of fallen spruce needles tracked indoors. No more putting on the grandbaby's shoes to protect their tender feet before they go outdoors to play. No more sticky spruce sap on the driveway and the car. No nagging worry about a good wind knocking them over, or the threat of accident as we incrementally pruned off the diseased branches.
It will be interesting to see what changes will be forthcoming in those spots with the alteration of water and light. I won't do any immediate landscaping, other than the serendipitous plantings of some plants I already had in pots which I needed to put somewhere and I did last fall. I'll be patient and wait and see how the areas respond to their new conditions and will take time to dream about what to do.
Putting on my sober realist cap, I need to admit I have more than enough to do this spring, so my catalogue dreams will be reigned in, and instead of looking for planting spots for the dianthuses I have my heart set on, this spring I'll be standing around in the yard with bushels of hostas in my arms to transplant before the weather turns hot. Fun, anyway.
Reverie
A warm and cheery fire roars merrily
And shadows dance about the darkened room.
Beside the hearth a gardener sits and dreams
Of sunny days, of flowers in full bloom.
Some hollyhocks should tower near the fence,
Bright red. ones that the bees can't help but find.
The trellis at the gate again must wear
Blue morning glories, or the rosy kind.
To lend a bit of distance to the scene,
Close to the rear I'll plant in shades of blue:
The tall and stately larkspur, double ones?
Of course I'll put in scabiosa, too.
I couldn't do without a pansy bed?
Snapdragons make such beautiful bouquets?
Frilled zinnias and yellow marigolds
Add just the proper touch to autumn days.
The flowers grow and bloom with loveliness
Until a sound destroys the fantasy?
A burning ember falls and I must leave
My garden and my charming reverie.
by Helen Bath Swanson
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Learn from an expert
I'm planning on taking this series of workshops:
Learn as You Grow:
A Practical Experience in Organic Gardening
Continuing Hands-On Workshops throughout the Growing Season
at Whetham Organic Farm
Gardening is a rewarding hobby for many people throughout the country. It relaxes us, brings us closer to nature, improves our health in many ways. Vegetable gardening also allows us to eat the freshest food possible - from garden to table as it has been done for millenia by people all around the world. But not everyone is confident in their ability to bring real food to their table or to do it in a way that is environmentally beneficial as well as healthful to them. Gardening organically is proven to be ecologically sustainable and to provide food that is more nutritious.
This series of workshops on our farm is designed to teach the philosophy and principles of organic growing to beginning gardeners and those who want to convert to organic practices. These classes will begin in late winter and continue through the season. In spring and summer the sessions will take place in the hoophouse and the garden, providing the hands-on experience needed for practical application of the information.
Participants will learn how to choose varieties and seeds; the importance of soil tests and the minerals needed to increase the fertility of your garden; how to start transplants (in seeds flats and plugs and in soil blocks) and how to transplant. All will be able to take home vegetable plants for your garden. Later in the season participants will actually work in the gardens on our farm, learning when and how to plant seeds and transplants, how to choose cover crops for summer and fall and how to compost.
Workshops will begin in late winter (February) and will continue through October. Ten sessions are planned with each session 2 to 3 hours in length. The cost to attend the entire series is $150. Individual workshops will be $25. Space is limited .
Pat Whetham has 30+ years experience with organic vegetable gardening, including 19 years on a certified organic farm.
This series of workshops focuses entirely on vegetables and herbs and will not cover flowers or ornamentals except as the same techniques apply. Fruit trees will not be covered at all but some of the information can be applied to small fruits such as strawberries.
Contact Pat at Whetham Organic Farm for details: miorganic@aol.com or 810-659-8414 or reserve your spot in the workshops by sending in the form below with a $25 deposit. Send to Pat Whetham, Whetham Organic Farm, 11230 W. Mt. Morris Rd, Flushing MI 48433.
Learn as You Grow:
A Practical Experience in Organic Gardening
Continuing Hands-On Workshops throughout the Growing Season
at Whetham Organic Farm
Gardening is a rewarding hobby for many people throughout the country. It relaxes us, brings us closer to nature, improves our health in many ways. Vegetable gardening also allows us to eat the freshest food possible - from garden to table as it has been done for millenia by people all around the world. But not everyone is confident in their ability to bring real food to their table or to do it in a way that is environmentally beneficial as well as healthful to them. Gardening organically is proven to be ecologically sustainable and to provide food that is more nutritious.
This series of workshops on our farm is designed to teach the philosophy and principles of organic growing to beginning gardeners and those who want to convert to organic practices. These classes will begin in late winter and continue through the season. In spring and summer the sessions will take place in the hoophouse and the garden, providing the hands-on experience needed for practical application of the information.
Participants will learn how to choose varieties and seeds; the importance of soil tests and the minerals needed to increase the fertility of your garden; how to start transplants (in seeds flats and plugs and in soil blocks) and how to transplant. All will be able to take home vegetable plants for your garden. Later in the season participants will actually work in the gardens on our farm, learning when and how to plant seeds and transplants, how to choose cover crops for summer and fall and how to compost.
Workshops will begin in late winter (February) and will continue through October. Ten sessions are planned with each session 2 to 3 hours in length. The cost to attend the entire series is $150. Individual workshops will be $25. Space is limited .
Pat Whetham has 30+ years experience with organic vegetable gardening, including 19 years on a certified organic farm.
This series of workshops focuses entirely on vegetables and herbs and will not cover flowers or ornamentals except as the same techniques apply. Fruit trees will not be covered at all but some of the information can be applied to small fruits such as strawberries.
Contact Pat at Whetham Organic Farm for details: miorganic@aol.com or 810-659-8414 or reserve your spot in the workshops by sending in the form below with a $25 deposit. Send to Pat Whetham, Whetham Organic Farm, 11230 W. Mt. Morris Rd, Flushing MI 48433.
Monday, January 14, 2008
Friday, January 11, 2008
I Subscribe to Free E-Newsletters
... And ONCE in a while I find a small golden nugget. For instance, Herb Herbert is the cute name of a mascot for a national company that sells nice small herbs through local garden centers. I can't even remember how long ago they started sending me newsletters. I can recommend their .pdf downloads (about particular herbs which they sell) that you can find on their website, if you'd like to make copies to hand out for educational purposes. Today the newsletter (January 2008, Issue 59) contained this nugget I thought was worth passing along.
(I would, as a Master Gardener must, amend the following line about all weed seeds and disease being destroyed by the composting process. Actually, "cold" or passive composting will not destroy all weed seeds and disease. The high temperature of a well layered and actively turned "hot" pile is what kills seeds and disease. As a mostly organic gardener (with two passive compost piles, a worm bin and another lidded composter), I don't add obviously diseased plant matter to my piles, and I am forced to pull weed seedlings from my composted beds.
I consider weeding a privilege of taking part in the miracle of life, and the bending, reaching, stretching meditative exercise keeps me out of the gyms. Now on, to the newsletter:
Making Compost
COMPOST..
Compost is basically a natural plant food and soil conditioner. It is an ideal way of recycling all your garden and kitchen waste by converting them into a form that replenishes lost nutrients as well as improving the condition of your soil. Compost also improves the moisture retention in sandy soils as well as drainage in heavier, clay soils. The compost is made by the decomposition of organic matter by micro-organisms and bacteria. Heat generated in a compost heap destroys all unwanted weed seeds and diseases.
HERBS USED TO MAKE COMPOST
BORAGE Borago officinalis. An annual herb with large, leafy, hollow stems. A good source of green material that can be produced quickly. The leaves have a high moisture content enabling them to break down rapidly.
CHAMOMILE GERMAN Matricaria recutita. High in calcium. Chamomile also helps to sweeten the compost and remove that decayed smell.
YARROW Achillea millefolium. Packed with copper, nitrates and phosphates, yarrow acts as a catalyst for compost activation. A small handful of leaves alone are said to break down a compost heap.
COMFREY Symphytum officinale. Rich in vitamins A, B12 and C as well as calcium, phosphorus and potassium.
TANSY Tanacetum vulgare. High in potassium. Tansy is a vigorous grower and will give you ample green material. Great cut flower!
HOW TO MAKE COMPOST
Composts can be made in a heap or a bin, depending on how much space you have.
To make a compost heap, layer your materials until mixture is just damp, not water logged, as this can slow down the heating process essential for compost. Air is vital for producing compost; lack of it causes the anaerobic bacteria to take over and produce sulphur compounds which give off a foul odour. Avoid this by turning over your heap occasionally until compost is ready. This should take 14-21 days.
Once your compost is stabilized, that is no longer generating heat, your mixture is ready to use.
Use your compost as soon as you can to avoid the loss of nutrients through seepage.
For more exciting information on all our herbs and where to purchase them, visit our website at: www.herbherbert.com
Try this link; http://www.herbherbert.com/pdf/compost_herbs.pdf
Herb's Club
Become part of the gardening world’s best club for herb lovers today. By joining Herb’s Club, you can download free fact sheets, have your questions answered by a panel of horticultural experts, enter competitions and more! It’s free to join, so register online for a wealth of herbal benefits!
(I would, as a Master Gardener must, amend the following line about all weed seeds and disease being destroyed by the composting process. Actually, "cold" or passive composting will not destroy all weed seeds and disease. The high temperature of a well layered and actively turned "hot" pile is what kills seeds and disease. As a mostly organic gardener (with two passive compost piles, a worm bin and another lidded composter), I don't add obviously diseased plant matter to my piles, and I am forced to pull weed seedlings from my composted beds.
I consider weeding a privilege of taking part in the miracle of life, and the bending, reaching, stretching meditative exercise keeps me out of the gyms. Now on, to the newsletter:
Making Compost
COMPOST..
Compost is basically a natural plant food and soil conditioner. It is an ideal way of recycling all your garden and kitchen waste by converting them into a form that replenishes lost nutrients as well as improving the condition of your soil. Compost also improves the moisture retention in sandy soils as well as drainage in heavier, clay soils. The compost is made by the decomposition of organic matter by micro-organisms and bacteria. Heat generated in a compost heap destroys all unwanted weed seeds and diseases.
HERBS USED TO MAKE COMPOST
BORAGE Borago officinalis. An annual herb with large, leafy, hollow stems. A good source of green material that can be produced quickly. The leaves have a high moisture content enabling them to break down rapidly.
CHAMOMILE GERMAN Matricaria recutita. High in calcium. Chamomile also helps to sweeten the compost and remove that decayed smell.
YARROW Achillea millefolium. Packed with copper, nitrates and phosphates, yarrow acts as a catalyst for compost activation. A small handful of leaves alone are said to break down a compost heap.
COMFREY Symphytum officinale. Rich in vitamins A, B12 and C as well as calcium, phosphorus and potassium.
TANSY Tanacetum vulgare. High in potassium. Tansy is a vigorous grower and will give you ample green material. Great cut flower!
HOW TO MAKE COMPOST
Composts can be made in a heap or a bin, depending on how much space you have.
To make a compost heap, layer your materials until mixture is just damp, not water logged, as this can slow down the heating process essential for compost. Air is vital for producing compost; lack of it causes the anaerobic bacteria to take over and produce sulphur compounds which give off a foul odour. Avoid this by turning over your heap occasionally until compost is ready. This should take 14-21 days.
Once your compost is stabilized, that is no longer generating heat, your mixture is ready to use.
Use your compost as soon as you can to avoid the loss of nutrients through seepage.
For more exciting information on all our herbs and where to purchase them, visit our website at: www.herbherbert.com
Try this link; http://www.herbherbert.com/pdf/compost_herbs.pdf
Herb's Club
Become part of the gardening world’s best club for herb lovers today. By joining Herb’s Club, you can download free fact sheets, have your questions answered by a panel of horticultural experts, enter competitions and more! It’s free to join, so register online for a wealth of herbal benefits!
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Thank you, Borders
For the serious poetry lover, Borders sent this wonderful thing today. Open Door Poetry.
It makes the internet all worthwhile.
I've spent way too much time in the non-fiction stacks.
Poets performing their own work, Music and visual accompaniment. Give yourself time to absorb it all. Say yes to Dulce LeLeche, cry with Human Death Dance, remember what a teacher did for you with What Teachers Make. Windblown Children blowing you away, Patricia Smith telling you what mattered about Dizzy, this is a front row seat.
Taylor Mali is a genius.
Listen carefully, poetry lives. What a treat, thank you Borders.
It makes the internet all worthwhile.
I've spent way too much time in the non-fiction stacks.
Poets performing their own work, Music and visual accompaniment. Give yourself time to absorb it all. Say yes to Dulce LeLeche, cry with Human Death Dance, remember what a teacher did for you with What Teachers Make. Windblown Children blowing you away, Patricia Smith telling you what mattered about Dizzy, this is a front row seat.
Taylor Mali is a genius.
Listen carefully, poetry lives. What a treat, thank you Borders.
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
I found some poems to share
... while wandering around the net, and will post some occasionally, a habit that I'd fallen out of lately. This poem is dedicated to the weirdest January thaw I can remember. Can anybody else remember 60 degrees and the ground not being frozen in mid January? And last night we had tornado watch alerts and a thunderstorm rolled through.
I was outdoors wearing a sweater for hours yesterday cleaning up debris left behind by the arborists who took down a 60 foot tall Colorado Blue Spruce that was dying in my backyard, and later I spent time battling back my exceedingly huge, not very ornamental ornamental switch grass, Panicum 'Cloud Nine'. My nose didn't even get cold.
I'm sore today and the rain is making me grumpy, and listening to Terry Gross on NPR's Fresh Air interview NASA's Dr. James Hansen, who is whistle blowing on the Bush administration's perversion of science in the name of political ideology made me even grumpier. Here's a link:
James Hansen and Mark Bowen on Censored ScienceAudio for this story will be available at approx. 4:00 p.m. ET
Fresh Air from WHYY, January 8, 2008 · James Hansen, a leading NASA climate scientist, says the Bush administration has tried to silence his warnings about global warming. Writer and scientist Mark Bowen wrote the book on the affair: Censoring Science: Inside the Political Attack on Dr. James Hansen and the Truth of Global Warming.
Well, the truth will come out sooner or later. I'm glad he said he is telling the truth for the sake of his grandchildren.
I'm going to settle down with a catalogue.
He Knows No Winter
He knows no winter, he who loves the soil,
For, stormy days, when he is free from toil,
He plans his summer crops, selects his seeds
From bright-paged catalogues for garden needs.
When looking out upon frost-silvered fields,
He visualizes autumn's golden yields;
He sees in snow and sleet and icy rain
Precious moisture for his early grain;
He hears spring-heralds in the storms' turmoil
He knows no winter, he who loves the soil.
by Sudie Stuart Hager
I was outdoors wearing a sweater for hours yesterday cleaning up debris left behind by the arborists who took down a 60 foot tall Colorado Blue Spruce that was dying in my backyard, and later I spent time battling back my exceedingly huge, not very ornamental ornamental switch grass, Panicum 'Cloud Nine'. My nose didn't even get cold.
I'm sore today and the rain is making me grumpy, and listening to Terry Gross on NPR's Fresh Air interview NASA's Dr. James Hansen, who is whistle blowing on the Bush administration's perversion of science in the name of political ideology made me even grumpier. Here's a link:
James Hansen and Mark Bowen on Censored ScienceAudio for this story will be available at approx. 4:00 p.m. ET
Fresh Air from WHYY, January 8, 2008 · James Hansen, a leading NASA climate scientist, says the Bush administration has tried to silence his warnings about global warming. Writer and scientist Mark Bowen wrote the book on the affair: Censoring Science: Inside the Political Attack on Dr. James Hansen and the Truth of Global Warming.
Well, the truth will come out sooner or later. I'm glad he said he is telling the truth for the sake of his grandchildren.
I'm going to settle down with a catalogue.
He Knows No Winter
He knows no winter, he who loves the soil,
For, stormy days, when he is free from toil,
He plans his summer crops, selects his seeds
From bright-paged catalogues for garden needs.
When looking out upon frost-silvered fields,
He visualizes autumn's golden yields;
He sees in snow and sleet and icy rain
Precious moisture for his early grain;
He hears spring-heralds in the storms' turmoil
He knows no winter, he who loves the soil.
by Sudie Stuart Hager
Thursday, January 03, 2008
Wednesday, January 02, 2008
Tuesday, January 01, 2008
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