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My Pet Dead Rat

Yeah, I could use Flickr... but I don't.

And still another picture for the Wordpress blog...

More pictures...

Yes, it's true... Wordpress has better tools in general, but Blogger handles photos much better, so I'm using my old blog to upload the photos for my new one. Bad me.

picutre

Moving... AGAIN!

I'm fickle. But more than that, Wordpress is amazing. I'm moving the blog to hilltrash.wordpress.com. Hope to see you there!

Ground Cherries and Heirloom Tomatoes

It's time to begin planning our garden. This year, in keeping with the idea of a "neighborhood garden," where we each plant what we grow well, I'm going to focus solely on tomatoes and ground cherries. Last year, both did well, while my eggplant and cucumbers did horribly. The zucchini started strong, but for the second year in a row rotted by mid-June. The only part of our yard with adequate sun is, I'm afraid, nearly wetlands for most of the summer, which is great for the tomatoes and ground cherries, but lousy for everything else.

I'm hoping to do lots and lots of ground cherry starts this year, so if anyone would like to try these in their garden, please just let me know.

One of last year's best producer was the Cherokee Purple, which has a lovely color and a very sweet flavor. The Speckled Roman also did well, and is truly stunning -- like something from Van Gogh's "The Sower" might have planted. We had an over-abundance of cherry and grape tomatoes, so this year I plan on putting in only one Mexico Midget plant. It's so prolific, that it produced more than the other three small/tiny varieties we grew last year together. The fruits also hold up better than most, holding up both on the vine and in the fridge for over a week after ripening.

For slicing tomatoes, I haven't found anything to beat the Gold Medal. I'm planning to triple the number of these plants this year, because I suspect they are also very good for making mild, sundried tomatoes that can be used all year round, and I expect they'll be a favorite of our neighbors!

All of our seeds come from Seed Savers. At the "Just Foods" dinner, Linda Yoder told me a horrible story. According to Linda, we intentionally targeted seed banks in Iraq, and have since forbidden the distribution of seeds by local farmers in the interest of protecting the "copyrights" of big companies like Monsanto, who have been introducing chemically dependent, genetically engineered seed into an area that has traditionally not been a big market for international agribusiness. My research since "Just Foods" hasn't turned up much information on this, but if anyone would know this, it's Linda. It's really deepened my commitment to heirloom and non-patented seed varieties. The idea that farmers must purchase seed each year, rather than gathering and preserving it from their own stock, is just... well, more than wrong. Muddle-headed, maybe. Or evil. Any more, I find it hard to tell the difference when talking about governmental policy. I'd like to believe we're just incredibly stupid, since the other choices offer such little hope for a better future.

Peace!

Sarah

Why I Don't Write Poetry...

I was walking along Decker's Creek trail today and came across a woman speaking angrily into her phone. "There is a rotten deer corspe only a few yards from the trail!" she was saying to someone on the other end. "It's obviously been here all winter. Your men should have disposed of it months ago!"

She had on expensive walking shoes and carried her cell phone and iPod in a Chanel pouch. Obviously not from around here. I kept walking, but stopped on my way back to grab a few pictures. The spring thaw always unmasks winter's carnage here in the hills.

The spring deer reminded me of why I don't write poetry. Here is one of only three poems I've let get beyond my grasp; this one written for the Baber Mountain Poultry Read many, many years ago... but never read. We were living on "the farm" that year and never did get a vehicle together that would make the trip.


Hillbilly Love Song - 1993

Baby love, if you was some dead critter by the side of the road,
Festerin' in the summer sun,
And I was just a lonesome old hound dog walkin' along that highway,
And I happened upon you there,
Happened upon you rottin' and stinkin' in the sun,
I would roll around inside the empty cavity where your heart used to be,
I would roll around until I had your rotten, dead stink all over me...
That's how much I love you.

One has to imagine the world of poetry will survive without any future contributions from me...

Peace!
Sarah

"Just Foods"

Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.

- Michael Pollan

Mary Beth Lind, co-author of Simply in Season (http://www.worldcommunitycookbook.org/), was the guest speaker at our "Just Foods" potluck this evening. We had a fabulous turn-out; Scotti estimates there were between forty-five and fifty people there, and he is a far better crowd-guesser than I! Amazing dishes were brought and shared, and a lively conversation followed. I continue to be reminded what a blessing Carrie is to our community; fully a third of the people at tonight's dinner are not members of the church, and each said they found out about the dinner through some connection or another to her.

My contribution was a casserole of winter vegetables and pork from Mike and Donna's farm.

Here is the recipe:

2 pork shoulder steaks

1 lb cottage bacon

1 head cabbage, shredded

2 large turnips

1 large parsnip

1 yellow onion

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup apple cider

salt

pepper

potatoes

Using a four-quart slow-cooker, layer half the vegies, then the pork shoulder steaks, then the rest of the vegies, and finally top with the bacon, cut into bite-sized pieces. Sprinkle with brown sugar, salt, and pepper, then pour vinegar over. Cook for six hours on low. Realize that the pork steaks should be cut up, pull them out, chop, and give any bones to the dogs. While you're doing this, realize that potatoes would be a good addition and that you still have a few homegrown potatoes. Cut them into small chunks, add them, and turn the slow-cooker up to high for an hour. Promise yourself that next time you will plan ahead more carefully. Realize you won't. Be happy that the people who raised the pig, Mike and Donna, enjoy the casserole and that you know enough good farmers that only the brown sugar wasn't grown locally.

Some exciting new projects were discussed, including a new take on the "community garden." Our neighbors Kelly and Karen were there, and we discussed how odd it is that, despite proximity, different things grow well in each of our gardens. Kelly, for instance, has fabulous luck with green beans, while mine seem to rot before they finishing flowering. I can grow fabulous tomatoes, though, and neither she or Karen can get a decent harvest. So we are going to look at each planting what we grow well, and creating a "grazing around the neighborhood" garden. Want a tomato? Come grab one from my garden! Need zuccini? Go to Karen's house! It's an exciting idea. I hope it works.

Peace!

Sarah