Of Cabbages and Corn Kings

Aren't we lucky? 

We get to enjoy the bounty of harvesttime in the Midwest.

These guys and pal know it. They are riding high and living the life of cabbage kings.

Seems like a pretty good retirement gig.

Future sauerkraut!

Northrup King Seeds

Just wanted to show you some nice looking seed packets.

1933 prices. 

Happy harvesting!

One for the Books Winter 2019

Sweating, and fondly remembering cooler, okay, colder, days.

Winter 2019 was incredible. 

And more incredible. 

And before it was all over it became unbelievable. 

Just wanted to get it on the record. 

NDL's LFL (Little Free Library)

We have thought for a long time that it would be great to host a Little Free Library. Fittingly, as the first LFL was built by a son for his mother, this one was too. We asked the middle son to "help build a LFL for us" and it seems that what we really meant by "help", was "will you build a LFL for us", because that is what happened. Perhaps we held a board in place, and we certainly loosely supervised from a lawn chair, but all the real work was done by a more capable, and very patient carpenter. 

When it got down to the fine details we turned the foreman job over to the shop bunny aka Mr. Bunny who saw the project to completion.

LFL #103,686 was installed in July 2020 and ready for patrons. And yes, our number reflects that we were the 103,686th library to be registered since the first one installed in Hudson, Wisconsin in 2009.

You can check the map for LFLs in your neighborhood.

In the last year we have had so many people tell us that they really appreciated being able to get books at little libraries during the pandemic while public libraries were closed, or they didn't feel comfortable going in to them, or they wanted to browse books rather than order online for pickup. That made us feel very good. 

Stop by anytime to Take a Book and Leave a Book. And if you see us out please say "hi". We love talking to strangers. 

And if you want to create your own Little Free Library all you need to know can be found at littlefreelibrary.org.

In a Peach Jam

This is what half of a a socially distanced line for peaches looks like. It wound around the parking lot in a giant U. People wore masks and were quite polite. It was weird.

This why these people were willing to wait in a long line in a big parking lot.

Beautiful Georgia peaches.

The peach truck was selling out and had to limit people to two boxes each. Just enough for our needs. We ate them fresh and made this beautiful peach ginger jam.

Canning in 2020 surely broke some kind of records as we all worked to stay busy and productive. By the end of the summer jar lids were nowhere to be found. We felt so lucky to have stocked up pre-pandemic. Still haven't seen lids back on the shelves. Guess when the peach truck comes this year we will have to sacrifice so others can have the limited canning supplies by settling for peach pie and crisp. Sigh. So hard.

Ramping Up the Pandemic Pantry

One thing we could do well, and safely, while isolating was get out in nature 

and forage our little hearts out.

In this case some generous young foragers shared their bounty of ramps aka wild leeks.

Pretty, aren't they?

We made a pesto-like concoction.

Spread it on flatbread from the freezer. Added a bit of cheese. 

And voila. Perfectly pizza from the wilds of Wisconsin and our well-stocked store of staples.

Covid Quilting

Or How 72 Chickens Kept Us Sane During the Global Pandemic. 

Based on a quilt by Quilty Love,

based on a block by Sew Inspired, 

with a few tweaks by NDL, 

this quilt was finished and delivered to some chicken loving newlyweds while it was still quilt weather. 

Another Sewsocial Isolation project brought to you by Covid 19.

Pandemic Pastimes

Now that we are coming out from under the pandemic it is time to do a little documentation. Not that we didn't have time at the time, but perhaps we needed a bit of distance to appreciate what we did, when it felt like we weren't doing anything.

During the initial stay-at-home order we tried anything and everything to stay busy and sane. 

We loomed potholders.

We puzzled puzzles. Charley Harper! 1,000 pieces!

In a phase we called Sewsocial Isolation we finished projects.

Made masks,

and totes, 

and more totes, 

and more totes, 

and one more tote.

We tried arts and crafts to amuse others staying-at-home.

Thank you USPS!

We got to see sights in our own backyard that we would have missed if we were off sight-seeing around the world.

We got to know our neighbors from a very safe distance.

And we learned that patience, tolerance, and perspective are very valuable things to have.

NDL's Secrets to Having a Frugal Green Thumb

It’s Spring! We’ve got the planting bug and are more than ready to start enjoying our too-short Wisconsin growing season by stocking up on plants and gardening supplies. Your best, first stop is at your local greenhouse where the gardening professionals really know what they are doing and do it well. If, like me, your eyes are bigger than your shopping cart and your gardening budget, the foray into the wonderland of the garden center can be a challenge. Here are some ideas to help you make good choices to stretch your shopping dollars:

Start plants from seed. The process can be intimidating, but there are resources to guide you through it. Your county extension office, YouTube, workshops, books, garden center staff, and experienced gardeners in your circle of friends and family can provide you with the knowhow and confidence to start at least a few of the things you want to grow from seed.

Buy small plants. Pick up your favorite ornamentals, herbs, and vegetables early and plan to repot at least once before your plants go out to the yard or garden plot; buying plants in four or six packs costs considerably less than buying the same number of plants at a more mature size. You can repot the tiny plants at home and nurture them indoors or in a sheltered place until they are big enough and weather allows them to go all the way out to the garden.

Purchase plants that are easily turned into more plants. Coleus and basil are just two examples of plants that can easily be multiplied by rooting cuttings in a vase of water and then potting the cutting after it has developed a good root system. The parent plant will sprout new growth after you have cut some of the main stems, and if done early in the season, you will be able to add the starts to your garden by the time danger of frost is gone.

Divide perennials. Not only can dividing increase the number of plants in your landscape, it can also provide you with filler for your pots and window boxes. Hostas are great for this. Other easy and attractive options are cranesbill geranium, golden creeping Jenny, lamium, bergenia, sedums and even small shrubs. Perennials used in this way can be dug back into a garden plot before the freeze to overwinter and use again next year.

Send your houseplants outdoors for the summer. When warm weather comes to stay, pair houseplants, such as spider plant, tradescantia, and begonias, with flowering annuals for beautiful container plantings. Then take them back indoors at the end of the season. 

Overwinter annuals for a repeat performance. Geraniums are especially good at surviving the winter indoors, either by going into dormancy or by being placed in a sunny location and continually watering as a houseplant. More details for either method can be found online. Coleus and begonias may also be good candidates for overwintering. If you have the room and the patience, give those and others a chance to hang in there until next year when they can go outside again.

 Save seeds. Seeds of many non-hybrid, heirloom plants can be saved and stored for sowing in subsequent years. Or if plants seed themselves, let them grow where they fall or transplant their volunteer seedlings to other locations in your garden where they might thrive. Brown-eyed Susan, Grandpa Ott morning glory, and Husker Red penstemon are a few garden plants that readily come back year to year from seed. Selective deadheading can control reseeders if they are a little too zealous at creating new plants. Heirloom vegetable seeds can also be saved for next year’s crop. Some saving is as easy as popping open a pod to retrieve the beans inside; others, like tomatoes, take a bit more effort, but with a minimum of instruction from the above-listed resources, saving their seeds is completely doable.

Go with the sure things. It is very tempting to want to try every new and exotic plant that appears for sale, but resist unless you know that it has a good chance of surviving more than one season. If you haven’t seen a plant before, it might be because it is not meant to be here. Local greenhouses are conscientious about offering plants that are suitable for our growing zone. Big box pop up garden centers, not so much. Their distributors are likely providing plants to stores in a region that crosses a spectrum of climates. Read the plant’s tag, look up its growing requirements, and then decide if you want to invest in a plant that may or may not thrive in your garden.

Go native. Some of the best bets for your garden are native plants. Most garden centers have dedicated sections of native perennials, and the above-mentioned resources can help you identify plants suited to our Wisconsin climate. In addition to being hardy, native plants have the added value of attracting a diverse variety of butterflies, bees, and birds to your backyard.

Avoid gimmicks and gadgets. There are no magic tricks for eliminating garden chores, so don’t waste your gardening dollars on items that make those promises. Gardening is fun, but there is a little effort involved. For a successful garden, stick with elbow grease and time-tested tools rather than falling for the newest As-Seen-On-TV offer, even if you can “act now and get a second one free”.

Treat yourself. Finally, after you have demonstrated frugality and pinched a few pennies, go ahead and splurge on a new flower pot, birdbath, perennial variety, showy annual, or whatever your heart desires. You’ve earned it!

5/29/20 - Since creating this post we were talked into presenting the topic as part of a virtual gardening series for a local library. If you are interested you can view it here.

The Glad Game

Pollyanna is a very old reference from a book written by Eleanor H. Porter in 1913. Probably most people don't know why we say someone "is being a Pollyanna". Pollyanna was the titular character  of the novel, and according to the story her father taught her to find something to be glad about no matter how dire the situation by playing "The Glad Game". She is so good at the game that she influences her very crabby aunt and even an entire town to see the world in a more positive light.

Another more current book with a humorous take on remaining optimistic is "Could Be Worse" by James Stevenson. Despite the everyday woes of the grandkids, or even the amazing events in his tall tale that starts with being lifted out of bed by an eagle and dropped in the mountains where he meets the abominable snowman, his constant refrain is "could be worse". And it is true, isn't it?

Just last night we read in The #1 Ladies Detective Agency book currently on our nightstand that "Mma Ramotswe always managed to put things into perspective. Everything could always be worse, and so be grateful that things are only as bad as they are."

We are simply calling our attempt to find the silver linings during these very unusual times 

"Bad News/Good News". Here we go.

Bad News: No hair appointments for the foreseeable future.
Good News: We never gave in to coloring so we will have no grey roots growing out. As for the bangs - we still own bobby pins, and a scissors if things get desperate.

Bad News: Teeth cleaning cancelled.
Good News: No scolding for flossing deficiency.

Bad News: Stuck at home.
Good news: We have a cozy, big house with a full pantry in a walk-able neighborhood with congenial neighbors to wave to and greet from a distance.

Bad News: No get togethers with friends and family.
Good news: Lots of technology for virtual visits!

Bad News: Dreary weather and rain.
Good News: It is not snowing and signs of spring, including rain, are all around.

Bad News: Absolutely no reasons to procrastinate on the household to-do lists.
Good News: We are actually getting things done. Taxes, census, cleaning, cooking. Check, check, check, check.

Bad News: We get no visitors.
Good News: Pajama time 24/7!

Bad News: Spring and Summer vacations canceled.
Good News: We won't miss seeing our own garden at the peak of the growing season. We can admire every single moment of the magnificent rhododendron, lilacs, and spring epheremals in bloom.

Bad News: Our president is not doing a very good job of reassuring the nation, and indulges in some harmful magical thinking.
Good News: We do not have to be the ones standing behind him at press conferences trying desperately not to react to what he is saying. (Those people deserve a daytime Emmy for their performances.)

It doesn't matter where you are getting your inspiration to find the Good News in your situation, we only hope that you are finding it somewhere. And, we welcome you to share your Good News or source of hope with us here in the comments. If anyone calls you Pollyanna please take it as a compliment and remember, it could be worse.

Urban Syrup

There is no acceptable substitute for real maple syrup.
However the price of real syrup is somewhat dear, 

so last March we put our giant West Hill Norway Maple to work. 

With the perfect combo of cold nights and root-warming sunny days, 

the three taps produced more than three gallons of sap a day.

The end result was thirty gallons of sap over a few short weeks,

that we were invited to add to the collection of a Master Gardener friend's hundreds of gallons,

from over a hundred trees she taps.

Boiling it down is a family affair.

We got in on a little time tending the operation in the woods on a day when family had other obligations.

When the numbers and the taste test converge to say it's time to pull off the syrup it goes through the woods, into the house.....

and comes out like this!

Fire up the griddle!