RED POPPY'S AND BLUE SKY

I read a book that everyone seems to have read, and I found out it’s been made into a movie a while back. It’s called “Sarah’s Key”. I guess I am not on top of things, but that’s never bothered me before.

Hey, I just discovered The Public Library again too. It’s so great,  because as much as I long to be swimming in the ocean these days, or relaxing in a thermal bath in Switzerland, I can’t. But getting lost in a good book is the next best thing, so go out and get your library card and start to read: and, it’s free.

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I have a friend who is so cool. His name is Tosh, and he has this site that has his book reviews. Whatever book he has said is great, well, it is. Check it out. You will find a book that is new to you, and perfect for your next mental get-away.

The beauty of flowers, the color of the blue sky, the smell of honey and clover and fresh-cut grass in the air…it sure makes me smile and feel like there is nothing wrong with the world.

I am feeling grateful and drinking in what is here in my garden.

I’ll finish this week’s post with a poem that I thought was by Rumi, but one that is actually by Rashani Rea. It’s  a poem that you might want to read out loud: Enjoy!

VERBENA AND OUR HENS

There is a brokenness out of which comes the unbroken,
a shatteredness out of which blooms the unshatterable.

There is a sorrow beyond all grief which leads to joy.
And a fragility out of which depth emerges strength.

There is a cry deeper than all sound whose serrated edges cut the heart
as we break open to the place which is unbreakable and whole.

Rashani Rea

CALIFORNIA POPPIES

THE OPENING OF A PEONY

In the last week it seems as if everything is growing, budding, and flowering at an accelerated rate in my garden.

The first fragrant peony opened, as well as the comfrey, the pink’s, the salsify, and the parsley too. The roses, the geraniums, the abelia, the sweet william. And hey, it’s just the first week in May.

There is so much to do, what with planting time being until tomorrow, that I say the hell with senseless murders, politics and politicians; I am done with Fukishima news and the high levels of radiation that is and will continue to be in our food chain, forever. I am done with hearing anyone talk about their medical conditions: I just can’t take any more of that kind of stuff in when I have intense planting to do.

IT FEELS AND LOOKS LIKE SUMMER - OH MY!

I have to plant my zinnias, my lettuces, my basil, my zucchini, sunflowers, some bachelor buttons, or else.

I wasn’t planning on getting more than a couple of tomato plants, but somehow, 15 ended up in our dirt!  Cherokee Purple, Yellow Pear, Hillbilly, Rutgers, Black Krim, and Mr. Stripey. I have a feeling I am going to be learning how to do some canning soon.

WHAT THE PEONY IS LOOKING AT

Click on this line to see a very interesting post I read on how to get the most flavor and fruit out of the beloved tomato plant in your garden; or, How to Grow Perfect Tomatoes.

RED ORIENTAL POPPIES

And whether you like or hate Obama, below is a clip of a recent dinner event that made me laugh. Many of my friends who are in the know with these kinds of things, had only just heard about it.
Take a moment to see another side of Obama that made me laugh. And that is something that I always have time for.

Wishing you Well,

Sadhvi

FLIP, FLOP, and FLORIAN

The quince bush has started to flower. Some of the dandelion flowers have bloomed. It’s cold and below freezing at night, and sunny and reaching in the 50′s in the daytime. It’s the warmest winter that I can remember in the 13 years that I’ve been in these parts.

But me and the 3 new baby bunnies we got gifted to us are very happy!  We like sunshine and blue skies. And we like it crisp at night.

A non-profit animal rescue shelter nearby had just too many baby rabbits. So we agreed to take these three.

It’s always interesting how our animals get their names. In this case, we had to fill out a four page form and sign in front of a witness, saying that we would never eat them, that we would give them fresh water and food  daily (listing what kind of food and what is the source of our water), and then there were 3 blanks for their names. After reading all these pages, I decided to write in those blanks, “Finger, Lickin’, Good.”

Oh, just kidding! Flip, Flop, and Florian are what they will be called.

By the way, the one on the right in the picture, he really is smiling. His name is “Flip”.  “Florian” is the one in the middle, making “Flop” on the left.

I love all of our animals. I put flower essences in their water, or make tea for them when it gets really cold. I grow 3 different types of mint for them.  As well as lemon balm, basil, thyme, rosemary, oregano, parsley; I know they like the sprouted bread that I like from the store, so I will toast the ends for them.  I wish I could eat them beacuse I bet they would not need much seasoning!  But no, it would be like eating a close relative for dinner.

In return, I am gifted with the most wonderful manure that I could hope for. Rabbit manure can be put directly in the garden, without any composting. The only other manure is bat guano. But that is hard to come by.

The daffodils are up and have buds. Which is different, since there are no crocuses appearing. Nothing can be done. And, nothing matters…words from Osho that I find comforting these days.

I hope you are enjoying your life.

Life of flowers from VOROBYOFF PRODUCTION on Vimeo.

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Every autumn, it’s the same thing: it takes me a while to get used to the idea that all the leaves will fall from the trees, it’s going to get cold, and winter is coming.

I have never lived in a place where there were NOT four seasons, so why does it come as a shock each and every year?

Maybe it’s simply because I don’t like to be cold!

Here’s a joke that I find funny ever time I read it:

On a small iceberg, somewhere near the North Pole, a little bear goes up to his mother and asks, “Mom, what kind of bear am I?”

“You are a polar bear, son,” replies his mother.

“Are you sure I am not a brown bear?” he asks.

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“Quite sure, son,” she replies, “you are a polar bear.”

But the little bear is not satisfied. “Mom,” he says, “maybe I am a grizzly bear?”

“What are you asking these questions for, son?” asks his mother. “You are a polar bear.”

So the little bear walks across the iceberg to his father.

“Pop,” he says, “am I a panda bear?”

“No, son,” says the father, “you are a polar bear.”

“Not a koala bear?” asks the baby bear.

“No, you are a polar bear,” says his father. “Why are you asking all these questions?”

“Because,” moans the little bear, “I’m cold!”

So postponing the inevitable is why I like to have as many Zinnia’s around me as possible.  They seem to continue to bloom and flower until the first hard frost, which around here can be in November.  They require nothing more than putting some seed in the ground once the Spring frosts are behind, and then continue to sow some in little corners until mid-Summer.  Oh, and deadhead when needed, saving the spent flowers to use for next year’s blooms.

Remembering to do this is not hard, once you’ve experienced the joy of their colorful blooms.

Wishing you Well,

Sadhvi

Zinnias from a few days ago!

SADHVI

I had a lot of Basil plants that I’ve been using in salads all summer long…if you keep pinching back the plant, and never let it start to flower, it becomes very bushy and full.  Which means, more Basil!  Notice how I capitalize the word: Basil.  It’s like a good friend, and I cannot imagine my life without it.

The other day I heard someone say it’s going to get cold, so I harvested all of my plants to make my version of “pesto”, knowing that with just one cold night, all that lovely taste inside those leaves would be gone, and therefore wasted.  I never really FEEL like doing these kinds of things, I just somehow start to move in that direction, and IT happens on it’s own.  I must have it in me from my Slovenia grandma or something. Or maybe from my other grandma, Mabel Carter?  Both women had gardens, sewed their family’s clothes, and both put food up for the winter months.

ONE OF SADHVI'S PAINTINGS

So I got out my Cuisinart food processor, started to pluck Basil leaves (never stems), added olive oil and a little salt, and then blended until I got the consistency that makes it pourable into clean glass jars, labeled them, and voila!  A base for pesto that will last a long, long time if it’s kept covered with olive oil, and in the back of the fridge.  Just let it sit for an hour or so, to make sure the olive oil comes to the top to “seal” it, which preserves it.

SADHVI'S BASIL HARVEST

I had grown hundreds of pots of different types of Basil my first year that I started to garden, way back in the spring of ’94.  I had never gardened before that.  I was too busy with my “life”.

Then we got into a terrible car accident, and I slowed down.

And started to paint and to garden.

I didn’t know how to do either before the accident.

That first year I grew Thai Basil, I grew Purple Basil, I grew maybe 10 different types of Basil.  And you know what?  I only grow 2 types nowadays.  The Genovese Basil and the Greek Basil.  The other ones are interesting, but really, I don’t waste my energy on them, because the taste is only in those 2 I grow!

After harvesting all those different types of Basil that first year, I mixed them with garlic and pine nuts and olive oil and salt and put the mixture in sterilized glasses.  Much to my horror, after a month in the fridge, they were all moldy and had to be composted – my heart almost broke in two!  All that work for nothing.  Well, being the type of person that has to make a big mistake the first time I do something, I’ve since been told how to do it the right way.

BASIL, OLIVE OIL, SALT!

So here’s a very simple way of preserving Basil from Martina, my Swiss-Italian girlfriend.

Martina told me to never add the garlic and the nuts.  Only do that when I am making the meal, she said.  This is the way her Italian grandmother taught her and I’ve been doing it this way every single year since, which makes this year my 15th year.

1.  Take a big pot and fill with water and bring to boil and then add the pasta.

2.  While that’s cooking, take a big mixing bowl and spoon out some of the “Basil, Olive Oil and Salt” into it.  Let it sit on the counter for a while, and then, take a paper towel and wipe the sides of the inside of the jar, removing any of the mix, and make sure it’s covered with some olive oil; not a lot.

3.  Add some fresh-pressed garlic cloves and some chopped walnuts or pine nuts (or whatever nuts you have), and mix.

4.  Once the pasta is “al dente”, ladle out some of the water from the pot and mix in with “Basil, Oil, & Salt”/garlic/nut mix until it’s the way you like your sauce.

5.  Drain the pasta, rinse, and add to the mix and toss.

Grate lots of the best Italian Parmesan cheese you can afford, get a good bottle of red wine, put some Frank Sinatra music on, and maybe a candle or two, and savor the taste of summer, preserved!
p.s. if you want to see how other people make and preserve their pesto, Culinate, which is one of the food blogs that I subscribe to, shares their tips.  Just Click This!

SADHVI

I knew the moment we saw our house that it was the one.  The place where I would plant the flowers and things that I loved.  I didn’t do much the first summer, wanting to see what kind of things were here…an old snowball tree, lots of “Rose of Sharon”, an old Lilac tree, a huge Oak tree, and lots of hemlocks.  That was also the first year they started to die off around here; some sort of aphid was killing them.  It also started to get warmer and we went from Zone 6 to Zone 7.

MY POTTING BENCH

I got a tree man to come and treat all 24 hemlocks, and they are still standing.

I feel cozy and protected with those hemlocks surrounding our little half acre.  This month it’ll be 9 years living in this old farmhouse.  It was so much work to gut it and redo it, but it’s wonderful having a place that feels like a haven from the world each night when I come home.

Each year what grows and blooms is a little bit different, and maybe in a different spot.  It’s as if the plants and flowers start to have a life of their own – and I love that.

I would be lost without the Maria Thun BioDynamic Planting Guide.  It’s now online, and it is easy to read and use.

MARIA THUN

I highly recommend planting at the time that Maria Thun says to!  It’s the best thing you can do to get the strongest plants and best harvest.

ONE PURE DAISY

With such a small life, with such a small energy source, it is simply stupid to waste it in sadness, in anger, in hatred, in jealousy.

Use it in love, use it in some creative act, use it in friendship, use it in meditation: Do something with it which takes you higher.

And the higher you go, the more energy sources become available to you.

At the highest point of consciousness, you are almost a god.

OSHO

ZINNIA'S ARE MY FAVORITE!

SADHVI

I saw the first leaf fall the other night on a walk with my dog.  It’s not the first time I noticed this right after the beginning of summer, just a few weeks after the longest day of the year.  Just one of life’s paradox’s.  It was orange and it was from a beautiful maple tree.

DEEP BURGUNDY PINCUSHION

The flowers are opening a good month ahead of the “norm” of the last 12 years that I’ve been in these parts.

MAGNIFICANT SUNFLOWER

The wine berries are almost over, and the raspberries have been gone for several weeks.  They were huge.

CORNFLOWER'S

My butterfly bushes are gigantic (but no sign of the butterfly population), my 4 o’clock’s smell more intense than I can ever remember, and the skies seem bluer than I can recall.  I want to enjoy what is in front of me, drink it in.  Love what is.  Find the source behind all that I see, smell, notice these days.  I wonder if you are feeling this way too?  Well, I hope you are having a summer where your senses are taking in the beauty of the magnificent color and delight that comes through flowers, nature, and life!

BUTTERFLY BUSH AND HOLLYHOCKS

BELLO THE BELOVED

ARJUNA

Our friend, Arjuna da Silva, lives at Earthaven, an aspiring ecovillage in a mountain forest setting near Asheville, North Carolina. Everyone living there is dedicated to caring for people and the Earth by learning, living, and demonstrating a holistic, sustainable culture.  Arjuna helped start Earthaven in 1994, where she’s lived for the past twelve years.  She just moved into her earth & straw temple of a house there. Everyone who knows this beautiful woman over 50, celebrates her spirit.  Here is what she has to share…

ARJUNA'S HOME

Originally, I wanted to write a piece about what a joke it is to work my way through a day of living on the land, off the grid, learning to grow food, and recycling my waste into valuable (fertilizer) resources.  But after several tries, I realized those choices deserve much more credit and that my inner voice is the one who’d rather let someone else do all the hard stuff.

So, yes, I do start my day by (sometimes anxiously) checking the meter to see how my batteries held up overnight storing solar-accessed electric power; and I do pay attention to the weather report regarding the day’s anticipated power access.  I even pay attention to the calendar that tells me if the stars would treat my tomato seedlings better today than if I waited to plant them on Friday.

When I first started to write this piece, I called my draft, A Drop in the Bucket, intending to convey the double meaning of the “sustainable” life I choose to live.

• Meaning 1: peeing and pooping in containers so those resources can be utilized as soil amendments (instead of depending on fertilizers that have to be bought and shipped, possibly scraped off another part of the earth).
• Meaning 2: then there’s the more cynical reference being the effort us folk (who live in this valley) put into recycling, preserving, using renewables, etc., which is just a drop in the regional (let alone global) bucket.

ARJUNA ON THE LAND

But, today I’d rather tell you I’ve found ways to minimize the things I don’t like (carrying what’s too heavy, smelling what’s too foul, etc.), and feel pretty happy refining my rugged life into something that even fussy people might be able to handle.  In fact, I’m thinking others might choose this path if they could feel the inner rewards that come from paying attention to what we do and what we use to do it.

The  choice to take risks (as if anyone lives without them) and move in what looks like “the right direction” for oneself, one’s neighborhood or the planet, is such an uplifting choice!  The experience of following through on the nitty-gritty details of trial and error with new systems and organic self-reliance is exhilarating at times and is mostly just deeply satisfying.  Maybe you’d like to try it?

Please post your questions and comments here so we can have an open discussion.  Arjuna’s workshop, “Your Enneagram and Your Sub-Personalities” airs August 10-21 at Earthaven.  For more information, please email: arjuna@earthaven.org.  All power to the people!  Make your own, grow your own, and use your own!

THE ROAD TO EARTHAVEN

Annice

There it is – I said it: I don’t garden.  Never did.  Don’t want to, don’t have time to, don’t want to make the time – until l I retire – maybe.  I know gardening is the favorite past-time of baby boomers, but I’m just not that into it.   I dreamed my house was surrounded by beautiful plants and flowers blooming all about, bordered by superbly arranged hedges brilliantly designed by a landscape architect (green, of course).

My Dream

But the truth is, I’d rather do yoga, read a book, walk my dog, work on my novel, or plan a dinner party.

I wish my house had a vegetable garden with a variety of edible plants right outside my door.  And I would love to walk outside swinging a basket in my arms to gather strawberries, blueberries, tomatoes, and watercress, but then again, I’d have to sow in order to reap.  Last year, my dear friend and expert gardener Sadhvi, helped me grow various lettuces and herbs in potted plants for my deck.  She educated me and set me up, and I’ll be darned if I didn’t have lettuce and herbs all summer long.  But now, I can’t even get it together to do that.  So, I went to the garden shop and bought colorful plants (don’t ask me what they are) and I will re-pot them and display them on my deck so I can sit and relax in the privacy of my home.

Front yard

By the way, I must also confess that my yard needs a ton of work.  I looked on the HGTV site to see if by chance I could nominate myself for an extreme outdoor makeover but couldn’t find that option on the website.  I’m so desperate.  If you know of a contest for outdoor landscaping, please let me know.  You see, I live on a mountain, so I’ve convinced myself and everyone else that I don’t need any landscaping because I’m a firm believer in the school of “natural habitat.” In case you’re thinking, OMG, I’m so glad I don’t live next to her, you can’t see my house from the road.  It’s down a big hill (the one my husband slipped on during the snow storm in January and broke his hip), and no one can see it.

Back yard

Last year's deck - will try again

SADHVI

SEDUM AND ROSES

I don’t watch TV.  I just don’t have the time.  Sorry Oprah!  Sorry Dr. Oz!  I realize I am in the minority, and to tell you the truth, that is where I have felt the most comfortable my whole life.  Under the wire, so to say.  I don’t go to the gym.  I don’t go shopping and I don’t belong to many clubs.  Really, I am not that social and am somewhat of a hermit when I am not working.

I would even say that I need a lot of down time these days in order to survive and stay somewhat sane in a world that I find increasingly fast and intense.

GROUP SHOT OF ORIENTAL POPPY'S

I am a big fan of all the flowers that open in my garden.  That wonderful progression starts in late winter, and doesn’t stop until late fall.  And to think that leaving Cleveland, Ohio back in 1976 made this all possible!

BELLO, MY SHADOW!

It’s funny, but I’ve planted things only to find them in completely different places the next year.  Like the hundred or so larkspur’s coming up in a corner completely different from where they were originally planted; and they were originally maybe a couple of dozen from a seed pack!  Oh I know, those are from the many seeds that were blown there in a strong wind.  But I find that magical!

Then there’s the 3 butterfly bushes which have now multiplied into a dozen thriving plants in different parts of the yard!  It’s like: “Where did those come from?”

I like to let the garden do what it wants, because it simply thrills me to know that I am not in charge!  And it really feels like it has a life by itself, and will continue long after I am gone.

SAGE

These are the pictures of what I saw this morning.  I hope you are finding beauty and joy in the flowers and fragrances that you see in your world.

MANY RED POPPY'S

PINK POPPY

BEAUTIFUL MULLEIN

PURPLE POPPY

SADHVI

Well, I almost stopped doing this blog since some of my friends seemed to be concerned about me after my last posts.  For those friends who don’t know it, I have a very quirky sense of humor.  I think it was developed from all those winters that I spent growing up in Cleveland, Ohio.  At any rate, I didn’t realize that ending a post with Pink Floyd’s “Comfortably Numb” would give anyone cause for concern until I mentioned the weird reactions I was getting to a long-time friend who happens to be from Cleveland too.  She said she read my post, and as usual, simply enjoyed hearing from me.  However, she did say that having that Pink Floyd song might give someone the impression that I was drifting off into a suicidal binge – OMG!

I’ve been doing a post a week for the last couple of years, so if it sounds like I am going off into the deep end, in reality, I am not:  I am simply sharing something.  Consider these posts a little window into my reality, and simply enjoy.

There are just so many things that are in bloom right now.  I love my flowers, and I love how they photograph.

Here are a few that lit up my world this past week:

CORNFLOWER

AN ORIENTAL POPPY

CALIFORNIA POPPIES

PEONY

I also like to bake, and so here’s what I made this past week for my husband, who absolutely loves rhubarb.  This tart is made from the first batch of rhubarb from my garden.  And as usual, it was delicious!  I don’t even like rhubarb but I squealed when I my first taste of this.

SADHVI'S SWISS RHUBARB TART

I shared this secret and easy recipe for this before, so I have not re-posted it.  Just enter it in the search box at the top to get it from the archives.  It is timeless and always good.

What else?  I like to take our dog, Bello, for an evening walk on the trails nearby our house.  It is so quiet, and we usually don’t run into anyone, so it is especially nice.  I wanted to share a picture of the evening light that makes those walks magic for me.

THE LIGHT IN THE FOREST

So whatever your reality is, I invite you to share yours with me, or simply enjoy mine!

BEAUTIFUL SPRING FLOWER "WEEDS"

So much intensity these days, no?  Just about everyone I talk to is overwhelmed…oh oh oh what to do?  I actually sprained my ankle on Monday and had to take a few days off to get better.  I mean, I couldn’t walk!  But, it felt so good to STOP.  Hey, maybe next time I will just be able to take off and not have to have an “accident”?

There is thankfully, Spring which has sprung, which is looking more like Summer around my neck of the woods, but I won’t go into that right now.  This year it’s nothing short of a miracle to see the grass growing and the flowers opening in my garden.

"ATHENS CALYCANTHUS"

A friend named “Buddha” once told me that I had to get a plant that had the most amazing smell of fresh cut cantaloupe.  I had never heard of it until I read in a garden book about a type of sweet shrub or calycanthus called “Athens”.  I bought three baby plants, and put them in a spot that I was having difficulty in figuring out what to do with it.  The plants thrived and just the other day, I walked out on the front porch and smelled the most divine smell of fresh cut cantaloupe!  I ran to the side to these lime-yellow flowers and took a picture so you could see.  If it grows in your area, I highly recommend having one in your yard.

You might remember that I planted a lettuce bed last fall with a mix of the remaining seeds from different lettuces that I had in my collection.  I called it “Sadhvi’s Fall Mesclun Mix”.

LAST FALLS SALAD BED

I had lettuce just about until the New Year, when the 6th frost and the cold nights of winter pretty much did them in.  I didn’t dig up the wilted and dead looking plants like I usually do to clean up my beds for spring.  To my surprise, all those dead plants came back and now I have full heads of beautiful salad in abundance.  Something that I will remember for the future.

And also because I can’t do everything that my mind wants me to these days, it seems that some miracles happen on account of that, because having these strong, full heads of all my favorite lettuce is a real treat!

NEW SPRING SALAD BED

I also planted a new lettuce bed and will soon start to thin that out for salads.  Growing salad greens is quite possible the easiest thing you can do.  No skills required.  Just some seeds and some soil.  And no store bought salad can compare to that buttery taste of greeness that you get with ones from your backyard.

What else?  Oh. The first Oriental poppy opened this morning!  I had to take a picture to share because it is magnificent!  I love poppies, and there are so many waiting to open.  I can’t wait.  The sheer delight of not knowing what color or type is really a thrill that I also highly recommend to anyone who has some seed and some soil.

FIRST ORIENTAL POPPY!

The first bearded Iris made its Spring 2011 appearance a few days ago…this is the one that smells like Welch’s Grape Juice that is really intoxicating.

THE FIRST IRIS

I am feeling so much better thanks to Spring.  I hope you are enjoying nature wherever you happen to be in this crazy world!

Annice

Sending a Shout-Out to our beautiful women over 50 who’ve been asking about writing a post on the oops50.com blog.

We invite you (all women over 50) to share your stories and experiences with our readers.  We know there are tons of subjects you care about because we know, like us, you never tire of speaking your mind!  And, don’t forget to ask your mothers, sisters, cousins, friends, colleagues, etc.  We all have intriguing and important stories to tell.   We’ll take your article (not more than 250 words) and we’ll edit it, post it, and promote it.

Some of favorite categories are: Friendship,  Aging parents, Children/Grandchildren; Cooking; Gardening; Pets;  Relationships; Health and Wellness; Spirituality; Menopause; Sleep (or the lack of); Work; Retirement (I wish); Starting Over; Books; Films; and of course, if you are inspired, you can always write about Death and Taxes.

If you’re interested, please contact me at: Annice@oops50.com and I’ll send you our guidelines.

I’m all Ears

Sadhvi

I didn’t think I could fit in any fall planting this year in my garden.  I went back and forth quite a bit in my head until a couple of weeks ago, there was a moment out of time where I found myself cleaning up a few beds and amending the soil with some composted manure without much effort. 

Sadhvi's October White Zinnia

Sadhvi's Favorite Salads for Fall

Often, I will make a big thing out of something that really does not take much time…it just has to BE the right time, the right moment!  I watered the beds well, and waited a few days until I sprinkled a mixture of leftover lettuce seed packets over them.  I did want some collards and didn’t have any seed, so I bought a 6 pack of starts for $2.39, planted them, and well, that was easy!   

"Firecracker vine"

Sadhvi's Fall Garden 2

Sadhvi's Pink Zinnia in October

Sadhvi

 As a woman over 50, I do notice myself becoming lazier as a gardener.  It’s as if I conserve my movements and tasks to adjust to where my body is now.  I still shift into automatic, where time just is, and my body is in motion with no sense of hurt or pain or overexertion.  I am just more like a slow-moving dancer, instead of a fast-moving one!  If I am sore the next day, that’s Ok, since my love of gardening will never fade; and I figure that’s what Epsom salt foot baths are for!  

Where I live, summer is officially over.  The leaves are falling, and the color of the sun feels more golden, like honey.  But the temperatures are still hitting the upper 80′s, and I still have the fans running.

Sadhvi's Quan Yin & Cosmos

It’s been such a hot summer with temperatures above normal that I am not feeling too melancholic about it slipping away this year.  Twice I had friends knock on our front door to escape the heat from where they live an hour south.  The night temperatures did not change much here, but where they came from, they didn’t change at all, they said!    

Sadhvi's Sally Chicken

With summer fading, I went out to take some pictures of what is still flowering.  And to show you a picture of one of our 11 hens, all named “Sally”, after my Mom.  It’s so funny to yell, “Sally” and see the whole bunch running fast towards me…it makes me laugh every time.  Well, I hope you are enjoying the shifting of the seasons, wherever you are.  Oh, and Happy Fall!    

Sadhvi's Everbearing Raspberries!

Sadhvi’s Sunset Torchflower

   

Sadhvi

Every year, I like to pick one plant to grow in my summer garden that is different, an ”exotic”,  just so I can experience the taste of that particular fruit or vegetable right off the vine.  So growing next to the usual tomatoes, swiss chard, lettuce, basil, carrots, beets, fennel and figs, this year’s  “exotic” is a cantaloupe called Hearts of Gold.  I love that name, and found the seeds in my local health food store from a local seed seller, called Sow True Seed.  And yes, I do believe in buying local!

I plant everything based on the planting guide of Maria Thun’s BioDynamic calendar.  I cannot imagine gardening without it.  I even get my hair cut according to this calendar! If you don’t know about this, you really should try it because it really does make a difference.  

So growing vertically along the fence that surrounds my raised beds was the cutest plant with yellow flowers that became little baby rounds that soon in this record-breaking summer heat became heavy and firm cantaloupes.  I was thrilled to watch them grow, I was thrilled to bring it in when it fell from the vine into my hands, and I was thrilled to taste it…it was like eating warm sunbeams with a sweet taste and heavenly aroma.  Ahh, summer!

Sadhvi's First Cantalope

Sadhvi

I listened to Bloomberg News on the radio while driving back from Cleveland this past weekend.  That was over 8 hours of pure fascination hearing the latest scandals, news, and interviews on the health of our nation’s economy.  I should tell you that I have never listened to this kind of news since I have been living on the edge my whole life, travelling a different path than what might be called “the norm”.   

Here is what I heard: there was talk the whole day about the big H-P (Hewlett Packard) scandal that not only ruined CEO Mark Hurd’s reputation (although the 28 million dollar severance package should help get him over the shame of the sexual harassment charges, and I heard he is actually negotiating for more!), but H-P’s stocks fell sharply. 

Then the 2nd quarter reports were in and would you believe Goldman Sachs broke a record in that for the first time in 3 years, there were 3 consecutive days of losses!!!   After hearing this over and over while driving through towns so depressed that they felt dead, what I suddenly realized was that not once did I hear what Goldman Sachs made in the other 87 days!  I have a feeling that it was just too obscene to report.  Ok, I just Googled it, and they only posted a profit of $613 million, or 78 cents a share, down from $3.43 billion.

The company reporting the most profit surprised me: it’s McDonald’s!  It seems they are hugely popular in Europe, and Japan, and then of course, the US of A, solely because of their “Dollar Meals”!  That means that more people are eating a meal for a dollar in America…is that a good thing?

There was a bit of news on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac being in trouble, and mabye even going under, but hey, didn’t they just get a huge amount of money a few months ago from the government to bail them out of something, and are they anyway not government owned?

 By now, if you are still reading this, you might be catching my drift…I cannot keep up!

So I think I will do something that makes me happy, like go disappear in my garden for a while and commune with the flowers and vegetables.  And the next time I take a road trip, I think I will stick with my own music mixes! 

Sadhvi's Mexican Torchflower

Sadhvi

It’s the 4th of July tomorrow, so before the summer is over, I want to share some pictures of the poppies that came up this spring in my garden.  I think I might have one or two that are blooming right now, but most are gone.  I’ve seen a couple of birds eating the seeds out of the pods, which helps the seeds to spread.   I always save some seeds to give to others…there is always more than enough poppy seeds to go around!

I picked my favorite pictures so I hope you enjoy them.  For me, having some joy in my life is important.  I don’t think I would be still around at 52 if I didn’t!  So I have planted my garden only with the flowers that make me happy.  It’s one of the main reasons that I love living in Western North Carolina.  It has such a long growing season.  Oh, one of the best sources of poppy seeds to plant is the online store onestoppoppyshoppe.  Seriously, this is the place to go and get you some poppy seeds!  They have an amazing selection…just looking through their online store is a simple delight!

So, on with the show…it really was a spectacular season of poppies! 

Pink Poppy

Purple Poppy

Watermelon Poppy

  

White Mauve Poppy

Red Orange Oriental Poppy

Double Red Poppies

 

 

Poppy close up

Oriental Poppies Group Shot

Poppy and Calendula

Farmer Nancy

Nancy, a gentlewoman farmer, beloved friend of Jane, and amazing animal rescuer/healer who has turned her farm into a haven for lost and unwanted dogs, cats, and horses, splits her time between her husband’s Republican farm in Rocky Mount, NC and her Democratic one in Hillsborough, NC.  She routinely hustles 6 dogs and 4 cats back and forth with her and has been known to include a chicken in the front seat.

 First of all, I’ve been chasing rabbits.  No, I’m not speaking in the voice of my awesome rabbit dog Loretta (that’s another story!).  I’ve been cutting hay, and although it has been years since I read Watership Down, I think I’ve become the villain.  These are baby rabbits, three of them.  They always want to run into the grass, the grass that will get cut on the next pass, so I get off the tractor to shoo them across the windrows, preferably into the woods.  Two cooperate, but the third runs under the tractor, right up against the tire, waiting to be flattened.  When I try to get him from the outside of the tractor, he scurries up even closer to the tire.  I have to grab him and then quickly release him, into the direction I want.

The front of the Hay Baler

 Baby rabbits are fragile, and any handling can kill them.  As I get back on the tractor, I think of the large copperhead I hit a couple of years ago.  After that I wore boots to mow in for a while, but I’d forgotten about that this day.  So I have tennis shoes on.  The next time I see movement in the grass, I think I’ll just leave that row and go to another part of the field.

Nancy with the Hay Baler

 Whenever I start to mow, I say a little prayer of sorts–for all the mammals, reptiles, and other living things to leave the field.  Like that’s going to happen!   But when I can, I try to avoid those little creatures.  It helps only a little to think about the food chain–and that what I hit will feed the red tail hawk who sometimes shadows me or the turkey vultures or the fox–or the coyote.  Yes, coyote.  I’ve only seen them once.  I was absolutely stunned when two nonchalantly trotted across the field in front of me.  Once, late at night, I heard what could only be a pack singing hauntingly.  It was thrilling. 

Back to cutting hay… we’re not bona fide farmers.  My husband is a radiologist, and this is his “hobby.”   The trouble with hay is that it is always on its own schedule, which usually doesn’t fit my husband’s vacation schedule.   Every year, I point out to him how much we spend on fertilizer and how we could buy hay to feed our animals,  but I also know he’s right when he says that, when  you grow it yourself, you know the quality both in the grass and in the process. 

 Here’s the thing:  you don’t just decide to cut hay.  You wait for it to seed up, as most of the protein is in the seed head, and you also have to catch a moment of opportunity in the weather, at least 4 clear days, to do it.  Some springs, that moment only comes once.  If you miss it, the hay keeps on growing, getting stem-ier and eventually dropping the seed.  I usually check 4 or 5 weather sites before deciding when to cut.  And on those 4 days, it helps if there is a little wind–and heat, too.

 This year, my husband was on vacation for hay cutting time, and I thought, boy, this is going to be great (He was upset because he wanted to go to the beach.)!  We cut on a Wednesday.  The weather was supposed to be clear through the weekend.  I cut 4 of 6 fields while he teddered, which means flipping the hay over and spreading it out to dry faster.  The next day, “they” changed the forecast, so I couldn’t cut anymore.  The hay looked dry on Friday, so we raked it, and I started baling.  I’d done one field when I noticed that the first bale in the second field, when observed closely, had way too much green in it.  Anyone who has watched “The Amazing Race,” will know what we did had to do next:  cut the strings and roll out all the bales.  The tractor helped, but it was still a pain, and once it was rolled out, it had to be teddered again. 

 The next day, we got 3 fields baled, and my husband proudly raked the 4^th field to leave it overnight–which turned out to be a bad idea, since the weather forecast changed again, too late to cut the remaining fields.  The next day, we beat the hell out of that last field.  He teddered it twice, raked it again.  My old Ford  tractor started giving me trouble, but somehow we got through it and got 39 round bales total.  His vacation was over;  we were worn out and sore.  (The jarring does a number on your body.)   He was too tired to drive the trailer back to our other farm in Rocky Mount that night, so he left on Sunday, and I stayed behind to make sure the bales weren’t heating up on Monday.  That’s important because we shelter the hay so that it will be horse quality.  We’ve got 28 horses (another story),  so we need a lot of hay.  I got back to Rocky Mount on Monday, and the weather changed, so Tuesday, I drove back here and cut the last two fields today.  Hopefully I can get it dry by Friday.  If not, I’ll be baling by myself on Saturday because my husband’s on call.   Just hope the weather doesn’t change again.

Fresh cut hay

My husband says next year, no matter what, we’re taking a real vacation and going to the beach.

By the way, here’s a picture of me, relaxing in the tub after a long day.

Sadhvi

These are certainly interesting times we are living in, don’t you think?  I mean, with so many ways to connect, everyone I talk to is simply overwhelmed with “life”?   If the call is not lost, or they are in the middle of doing something, or their computer is down, or there is another call coming in, or I have to run, god forbid any daytime conversation can go a little deeper than actually hearing stress.  It is very apparent that everyone, even retired people I know, are about at their limit of what they can handle!  Oh, I forgot to mention the pressure to get the latest, or to upgrade.  My husband thinks that I should soon get the iPad, because it would be so good to be able to have it with me when I have clients with me while driving – geez louise!

Therefore, I think it is more important than ever to have something that makes one very happy, that is thrilling even, and does not cost a lot of money.  For me baking something from my garden satisfies that need.  And in the moment it is rhubarb time!

Sadhvi's Swiss Rhubarb Tart

I didn’t grow up eating rhubarb, but being with my Swiss husband has made me very aware that there are some people who consider it a divine comfort food.  Actually, my mom, who grew up in a small town in Pennsylvania, also swoons with the mere mention of the word too.  She told me that there was a patch of rhubarb growing in their yard, and they used to eat it raw with a bit of salt on it.  Well, it IS a vegetable she told me!  So when we moved into our home some 8 years ago, I made a point to plant some in our garden.

Sadhvi's Rhubarb Plant

They say that for the first year or so, you shouldn’t pick too much because the plant is getting established.  I went out a few days ago to pick, or rather, “twist”  the first batch, and I made a simple Swiss tart.  It was so delicious that I ate some and decided that I now love rhubarb!  My friend who is German told me that the first rhubarb, called  ”May Rhubarb”,  is the most tender and delicious, and he got weak in the knees just hearing me describe the tart!

Here is the recipe.  It’s easy.  Take a break from FaceBook, from email, from the routine of your day, and try it.  You’ll like it!

Sadhvi’s Swiss Rhubarb Tart

So many people have their own pie crust recipe that I say to go ahead and use it!  I have my own recipe that I use all the time, for savory and for sweet tarts and it is good, but so is yours.  I would say to make it yourself and not buy one pre-made though, because there is such a big difference!  And honestly, it takes just about the same amount of time  to make your own that it does to take one that is made with bad ingredients out of the freezer. I like to chop hazelnuts pretty fine and put them on the bottom.   Then take a fork and poke the crust.

At this point preheat the oven to 425 F and position the rack the second from the bottom.

Then wash and cut up the freshest rhubarb you can find, which is hopefully right out of your garden!  I spread the cut pieces over the crust.  Then sprinkle 3 T. of sugar or so over the rhubarb.  Now mix 1 cup of organic half-and-half with 2 fresh eggs, and  1 T. of pure vanilla extract, a pinch of salt.  Pour it over the tart.  Slide it into the oven and bake for about 20 minutes.  Take it out of the oven and sprinkle another couple of tablespoons of sugar over the top, and return it to the oven, but now on the second down from the top rack, and broil it for a few minutes.

Whip up some fresh organic cream, put it on top, and enjoy!

Content coming soon.

Sadhvi

I tried to fax one piece of paper to a client of mine today.  It didn’t go through.  Hmmm, I called her to tell her that there seemed to be a problem.  I asked her if she had gotten any faxes recently?  She said no, that actually, she had never received one; she just sends faxes on occasion.  Well, she tried to find out if she could get it working, and couldn’t.  Too bad, right?

Then I emailed a terrific coupon to a friend of mine  from the local health food store: a pound of organic coffee and a big package of granola for free, with any purchase – wow!  My friend wrote me back saying thanks, but her printer wasn’t working today.  Darn!

iPhone

My husband rarely gets any bars around where we live with his iPhone because the service is so bad with AT&T.  But it’s supposed to be so great now that our area has finally got 3G service, and now I see they even offer 4G service – oh boy!  It never makes any sense to me as to why someone would want a cell phone with little or no coverage, unless it was really just a toy, which it is.  I had one for about 3 days, which was the limit of my patience with no coverage.  Strange enough though, the comments I got from people just seeing me holding that worthless phone were kind of funny…they all thought I looked cool holding it!

Then I get an email from a friend saying I should check out this system called EVERNOTE that says it will help me  ”Remember everything”.  Now that is a tempting proposal, but really, just looking at their web site just made my migraine worse (click on the big bold EVERNOTE link above and see if you don’t get an immediate reaction to run away.  I double dare you.)

I cannot handle another thing to make my life simpler, and that includes hearing about it either…including, but not limited to: Kindle, the latest Smart Phone, the new GPS device, getting more business using Twitter, or any of the  other new and wonderful Social Media that keeps making me feel like I have to keep up…that’s it, I think I have reached my limit!

Instead of trying to keep up with the latest s0-called technology, I am going to go back to what I enjoy the most: recipes and gardening.  And being curious about other people…maybe I will start to interview my interesting friends and family for a while.

Now excuse me, I have to go through the emails that came in while I was writing this post before they build up to the point where it becomes my new part-time job.

then click your mouse and  move it over the page.

It’s almost Spring!

Sadhvi

Where I live in Western North Carolina, this past winter has been unbearable in that there has not been a lot of sun, something I really need.  Some might say that the snow has been too much, but I happen to like snow.  There is a certain stillness and quiet that comes with snow that I find calming and nurturing.  I don’t really mind the cold either, because as a gardener, I know that it’s good for a lot of things, like killing off bad bugs and poison ivy.  And besides, the old farmers that I sometimes run into driving their tractors with their well-worn overalls on say so!

I also like being in a place that has winter because I can rest from the garden fever that I get during the growing season.  Every year, without fail, I have to fight the urge to start growing everything right about now.  Magically, just a few days ago, I woke up to birds singing and I knew that the green has been awakened from its winter sleep.  Everything feels different now.  I always act calm and disinterested when the seed catalogs start coming, which this year was not too hard because they started coming around Christmas!  But just a few sunny days with temperatures in the 50’s like it’s been, and I find myself drawing on a piece of scrap paper what I imagine the garden to be this year.

Sadhvi

Every year I plant flowers and seeds and marvel at whatever comes.  But this year, something happened in that I got flowers all summer long – a first!  I feel like I have reached a new level of understanding as to how a garden works.  In August, I planted cosmos and zinnia seeds –and even some more summer squash and basil seeds–because I thought I might be able to extend summer and make it stay.  And you know what?  The first cosmos just opened a few days ago; we ate the first zucchini from that second batch; the basil is really healthy and vibrant, and the zinnias are just about to open.   So I feel like I have fooled fall into thinking it still is summer for just a little bit longer… 

My summer garden still brings me delight with the four o’clock’s still blooming and oh-so-fragrant.  The moonflowers are amazing, and their fragrance is divine.  The morning glories are incredible, and so are the Mexican sunflowers.  But still, it’s all fleeting and will be gone soon.  So, if you are like me and feel a little melancholic at the thought of winter, you can make it stay just a little bit longer if you can remember to throw some seeds into the ground just when you feel like summer is at its peak, so that, maybe, it will last forever. 

Sadhvi's Morning GLORY!

Sadhvi's Lovely Blanket Flower

Sadhvi's Sally Chicken and Pink Zinnia

Looking under Sadhvi's Torchflower

Hello, and welcome to my first post on the Oops50 blog.  My name is Sadhvi, and I want to share secret recipes, things that are useful, and things that make me happy.
At this time of year, something that will make me happy very soon is one of my favorite flowers, the poppy!

I have hundreds of them that are getting ready to open.  And I can’t wait.  Even saying their names (like “Early Grey” and “Watermelon”) makes me smile.

I love looking at poppies.  Maybe it’s because they are so shy and unassuming before they open up.  I almost don’t even see the buds!  Maybe it’s because they don’t last for long.  Or maybe it’s because each one makes me stop and be filled with wonder and awe.

The anticipation is a wonderful experience…that’s the great aspect of planting from seed!  I like to take pictures of my poppies so that when I share the seeds with family and friends, they know what to expect.

These wonderful flowers are so special that everyone should have some in their garden.  Like any flower or living thing, if you give them what they need, they will flourish.
Here is a site where you can order your seeds.  Julia is the owner, and she loves poppies the way I do. Take a look at her site and her fantastic assortment and start your own poppy collection in your garden!

http://www.OneStopPoppyShoppe.com