Sunday, May 8, 2011
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
More progress, troubles, and the next week
We are working on the connection between the house and the barn. We moved some solar powered lights from the front, where they don't do much good, to the back. In midwinter, I won't kill myself heading out to the ponies in the dark. J is building an arch out of the cuttings from our trees. It has taken a little playing around, some false starts, and pounding a form into the ground, but it's looking really nice, i think!
And in other news, a rat-bastard, s.o.b., evil, weaselly, hunchbacked, even-i-don't-have-enough-swear-words piece of crap god-damned skunk or fox or raccoon dug under the chicken coop and slaughtered our baby chicks. It was a creepy, 'unnatural' act. Eight had their hearts eaten, and were sucked dry of blood. One was a bag of skin and bones, and one was missing. All the little corpses were 'buried' in a hole, with one of the nest boxes dragged over them. The wanton destruction and waste is specifically enraging, in a way that I barely have words for. We buried their little bodies, and stood over them a while, feeling sorry for not doing a better job; for not taking better care; for not seeing it coming. And I feel, somehow, like I really, truly recognize evil for the first time. If the creature showed up in front of me this minute, I would wring it's neck with glee. And then bury it next to my wasted chicks. And then I would probably feel awful. Because I wasted it. And it wouldn't help. And it wouldn't change anything. All the little live things, with their hearts eaten out, and their blood drained, and all their little peeps silenced forever, just when they were learning what the Sun was about. I am just sick and heartbroken and keep feeling their weight in my hands, as I moved them out of one hole and into another.
And we thought hard about our vacation, which begins tomorrow. But we couldn't stop the carnage, even when we were here. so we will go, and maybe heal up a little before we come home. We are off to go hiking in Goblin Valley, Capitol Reef, Grand Gulch and Valley of the Gods. Red rock loosens the muscles at the back of my eyes, and the person I am in the desert is a different person, with access to a part of me that's usually asleep. Sometimes a change is as good as a rest. I hope it's true this time.
Location:BWF
Monday, April 25, 2011
Opening up...
Sometimes, even though you really love trees, you have just too, too many trees. Squirrely planted far too many willows, far too close together. Today, our famous tree man came to take half of them out.
There was a moment, as he was taking them down, when I thought, 'oh no, what have we done?' But now that I've gotten a little used to it, I thin it's good. The remaining trees will fill in, and we have an opportunity to underplant with fruit trees, berry bushes, and a perrenial border, which would have been impossible in the deep shade the willows cast.
And, in the house, it's no longer so dark, even though it was cloudy much of the day today (will it EVER stop raining?!).
Check another item off the list. The trees have been thinned. Off to vacation, then on to the next item on the list!
There was a moment, as he was taking them down, when I thought, 'oh no, what have we done?' But now that I've gotten a little used to it, I thin it's good. The remaining trees will fill in, and we have an opportunity to underplant with fruit trees, berry bushes, and a perrenial border, which would have been impossible in the deep shade the willows cast.
And, in the house, it's no longer so dark, even though it was cloudy much of the day today (will it EVER stop raining?!).
Check another item off the list. The trees have been thinned. Off to vacation, then on to the next item on the list!
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Ditch Meeting
Today was the annual ditch meeting, in which any troubles with the irrigation ditch are brought up, discussed, and hopefully, decisions are made. This marks our first full year as part of this community, in a pretty profound way. We seem to be two of only eight people who care about what happens to the irrigation ditch that serves something like 100 families. But last year, there were only seven, so things are looking up!
Actually, that's not completely true. I'm sure there are lots of other people who care about the ditch, who use the ditch, who want the water to come to their fields, pastures and lawns, but just don't want to be involved with actually doing the work that makes that happen. Not even the work of coming out one Thursday per year for less than an hour.
I think that's interesting. What do you think would happen if the ditch suddenly disappeared? Yeah, me too.
It's so easy to take for granted that "someone else will do it" and "it's someone else's job" and "i'm busier than other people", and a thousand other excuses that all really mean "nobody else is as important as me", and somehow simultaneously "nothing I do really matters". I've been guilty of this myself, that's how I know! But the older I get, the more I realize that every little piece, every tiny little thing, matters enormously, if only because it's a little push in the right direction. As it says on a despair poster, "it only takes one harmless flake to unleash an avalanche of destruction".
But enough philosophy. The ditches are in good shape this year, and there will be plenty of water, which isn't always true. I think I finally understand what an inverted siphon is---at least I have a picture in my head, although I have yet to work out the physics to my satisfaction. And I know that the ones that Squirrelly put in on this property were never going to work in a million years. But at least I know what he was TRYing to do, and that's a comfort. I'm also developing a richer understanding of the whole system of head gates, flapper valves, boxes and culverts that makes the whole thing possible. It's a little shocking that the whole system was dug by hand more than a hundred years ago, and we're still using it today, albeit with tractors to help dig out the cattails... Last year, we remarked that we couldn't believe that it's still all done by hand---that we have to walk a mile up the road to drop a head gate and a bunch of 2x4's, and then trudge through a neighbor's yard, 4 houses down to drop another gate, and then drop our own once we've taken our share so Bill and Nancy can get theirs. This year, I don't know. I'm looking forward to it---to late nights under the stars, watching the water come down the ditch, and hoping the skunks have moved out of the culvert. It takes as long as it takes, and it can't be rushed. It's a meditation of gravity and water and time. Of nature doing her own thing, shaped and steered by man, but running under rules that have been in place since... Well... Very nearly (but not exactly), the beginning of time.
Of course, by August, I'll be complaining about it! But that's human nature, and by September or October, it will come to an end, and I'll be glad. Until spring...
Actually, that's not completely true. I'm sure there are lots of other people who care about the ditch, who use the ditch, who want the water to come to their fields, pastures and lawns, but just don't want to be involved with actually doing the work that makes that happen. Not even the work of coming out one Thursday per year for less than an hour.
I think that's interesting. What do you think would happen if the ditch suddenly disappeared? Yeah, me too.
It's so easy to take for granted that "someone else will do it" and "it's someone else's job" and "i'm busier than other people", and a thousand other excuses that all really mean "nobody else is as important as me", and somehow simultaneously "nothing I do really matters". I've been guilty of this myself, that's how I know! But the older I get, the more I realize that every little piece, every tiny little thing, matters enormously, if only because it's a little push in the right direction. As it says on a despair poster, "it only takes one harmless flake to unleash an avalanche of destruction".
But enough philosophy. The ditches are in good shape this year, and there will be plenty of water, which isn't always true. I think I finally understand what an inverted siphon is---at least I have a picture in my head, although I have yet to work out the physics to my satisfaction. And I know that the ones that Squirrelly put in on this property were never going to work in a million years. But at least I know what he was TRYing to do, and that's a comfort. I'm also developing a richer understanding of the whole system of head gates, flapper valves, boxes and culverts that makes the whole thing possible. It's a little shocking that the whole system was dug by hand more than a hundred years ago, and we're still using it today, albeit with tractors to help dig out the cattails... Last year, we remarked that we couldn't believe that it's still all done by hand---that we have to walk a mile up the road to drop a head gate and a bunch of 2x4's, and then trudge through a neighbor's yard, 4 houses down to drop another gate, and then drop our own once we've taken our share so Bill and Nancy can get theirs. This year, I don't know. I'm looking forward to it---to late nights under the stars, watching the water come down the ditch, and hoping the skunks have moved out of the culvert. It takes as long as it takes, and it can't be rushed. It's a meditation of gravity and water and time. Of nature doing her own thing, shaped and steered by man, but running under rules that have been in place since... Well... Very nearly (but not exactly), the beginning of time.
Of course, by August, I'll be complaining about it! But that's human nature, and by September or October, it will come to an end, and I'll be glad. Until spring...
Sunday, April 17, 2011
I'm sure spring is coming...
I'm so sure of it, in fact, that I started spring 'starts' today. Roughly 400 plants---peppers, tomatoes, onions, eggplant, all kinds of goodness!
It's the first chance to really use the 'greenhouse', which is more sort of an over-windowed potting shed, really. We didn't use it last year because we were just entirely too busy to have a garden of any size. It makes a lovely place to work in the rain, and call people on the phone, while spooning starting medium into large numbers of small pots.
Friday, we had the tenure party for John, and managed to completely surprise him---so much so that he is still sort of trying to figure out what happened! The look on his face, when Brad's talk turned from pictures of birds into a slide of John, with the title 'Tenure!' was priceless, and now he won't trust any of us ever again! ;)
Yesterday, it was actually sunny and warm, for what felt like the first time in months. We made our semi-annual trip to Honeyville in the morning, loading up on all the staples, and today J is making bagels---hooray!
I caught a better picture of the willow fence around the raised beds:
And one of the path from the barn to the back porch:
Still a fair amount of work to do to get the porch set up for summertime. Sure would be nice if the sun would come out and stay for a few days! The sump pump has been running for almost a week, and the south lawn is completely underwater!
The little chicks have moved outside, to the west half of the 'chicken taj mahal', and all 20 birds are starting to get used to each other. As a special surprise for us, three of the new chicks have feathered feet, which looks particularly hilarious when they are small!
This week is finals week, and we have dean candidates coming as well, but that means the big wind-down is coming. Thank goodness!
Oh! I see sun! I'm going to go weed the asparagus bed right quick...
Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
It's the first chance to really use the 'greenhouse', which is more sort of an over-windowed potting shed, really. We didn't use it last year because we were just entirely too busy to have a garden of any size. It makes a lovely place to work in the rain, and call people on the phone, while spooning starting medium into large numbers of small pots.
Friday, we had the tenure party for John, and managed to completely surprise him---so much so that he is still sort of trying to figure out what happened! The look on his face, when Brad's talk turned from pictures of birds into a slide of John, with the title 'Tenure!' was priceless, and now he won't trust any of us ever again! ;)
Yesterday, it was actually sunny and warm, for what felt like the first time in months. We made our semi-annual trip to Honeyville in the morning, loading up on all the staples, and today J is making bagels---hooray!
I caught a better picture of the willow fence around the raised beds:
And one of the path from the barn to the back porch:
Still a fair amount of work to do to get the porch set up for summertime. Sure would be nice if the sun would come out and stay for a few days! The sump pump has been running for almost a week, and the south lawn is completely underwater!
The little chicks have moved outside, to the west half of the 'chicken taj mahal', and all 20 birds are starting to get used to each other. As a special surprise for us, three of the new chicks have feathered feet, which looks particularly hilarious when they are small!
This week is finals week, and we have dean candidates coming as well, but that means the big wind-down is coming. Thank goodness!
Oh! I see sun! I'm going to go weed the asparagus bed right quick...
Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:BWF
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Ris-oat-to
It worked!
So earlier, I posted about falling behind on the oats, so that we now have 25 pounds of rolled oats from Honeyville, and a decided lack of recipes to cook them in.
So then I was thinking of things to do with rolled oats. Probably J's favorite thing that I make is risotto. I make that for him when he's tired, or discouraged, or when he's done something amazing. So it's a little bit nerve-wracking to mess with a good thing.
But he's nearly speechless. He keeps saying, 'you know, it's like, rargh!' so here's what I did...
The basic risotto recipe is to soften the aromatics, add the rice and toast it, add acid to break the outer covering on the grain, and then add small amounts of fluid, one cup at a time, until the rice can't absorb any more. Because you don't know how much broth this is, you adjust the fats and seasonings at the end, to give you the mouth feel and flavor you are after.
I started with that concept, but adjusted it to suit the different grain. Because rolled oats are already 'broken', I added acid (homemade white wine and canned tomatoes) in two steps, with the oats in between, instead of adding oats at the beginning. I wasn't sure how to know when they were toasted enough, so I guessed, when they started to smell good! Then at the end of the long process of adding broth (which took less broth than normal), I added some diced sausage, to pump up the salty flavor, and adjust the salt and 'toothiness'. I added a little butter to enhance the creaminess. I could have done both of these at once by adding Parmesan cheese, but I didn't have any.
So that gives me a recipe:
Risoatto
1 onion
4 celery stalks
3 carrots
3 smallish bay leaves
6 dried sage leaves
1 t dried rosemary
1 glass dry white wine
1 pint canned tomatoes
1 pint stock, mixed with about 6 cups of water and juice from the tomatoes
Sauté the vegetables and herbs in butter over medium heat until a fond forms on the bottom of the pan. Deglaze with wine. Cook until dry. Add oats, and pan-toast until fragrant. Add tomatoes. Cook until dry.
Begin stirring constantly and adding broth mixture one ladle at a time, then cooking until, when you drag a wooden spoon along the bottom, you see the bottom for a moment before the risoatto falls in. Continue until the oats are saturated, or, when tasted, they have the consistency you would like.
Adjust fats and seasonings (add butter, cheese, sausage and/or salt and pepper to taste).
I am not aware of anyone else who has ever made this exact thing. Fun! And delicious!
So earlier, I posted about falling behind on the oats, so that we now have 25 pounds of rolled oats from Honeyville, and a decided lack of recipes to cook them in.
So then I was thinking of things to do with rolled oats. Probably J's favorite thing that I make is risotto. I make that for him when he's tired, or discouraged, or when he's done something amazing. So it's a little bit nerve-wracking to mess with a good thing.
But he's nearly speechless. He keeps saying, 'you know, it's like, rargh!' so here's what I did...
The basic risotto recipe is to soften the aromatics, add the rice and toast it, add acid to break the outer covering on the grain, and then add small amounts of fluid, one cup at a time, until the rice can't absorb any more. Because you don't know how much broth this is, you adjust the fats and seasonings at the end, to give you the mouth feel and flavor you are after.
I started with that concept, but adjusted it to suit the different grain. Because rolled oats are already 'broken', I added acid (homemade white wine and canned tomatoes) in two steps, with the oats in between, instead of adding oats at the beginning. I wasn't sure how to know when they were toasted enough, so I guessed, when they started to smell good! Then at the end of the long process of adding broth (which took less broth than normal), I added some diced sausage, to pump up the salty flavor, and adjust the salt and 'toothiness'. I added a little butter to enhance the creaminess. I could have done both of these at once by adding Parmesan cheese, but I didn't have any.
So that gives me a recipe:
Risoatto
1 onion
4 celery stalks
3 carrots
3 smallish bay leaves
6 dried sage leaves
1 t dried rosemary
1 glass dry white wine
1 pint canned tomatoes
1 pint stock, mixed with about 6 cups of water and juice from the tomatoes
Sauté the vegetables and herbs in butter over medium heat until a fond forms on the bottom of the pan. Deglaze with wine. Cook until dry. Add oats, and pan-toast until fragrant. Add tomatoes. Cook until dry.
Begin stirring constantly and adding broth mixture one ladle at a time, then cooking until, when you drag a wooden spoon along the bottom, you see the bottom for a moment before the risoatto falls in. Continue until the oats are saturated, or, when tasted, they have the consistency you would like.
Adjust fats and seasonings (add butter, cheese, sausage and/or salt and pepper to taste).
I am not aware of anyone else who has ever made this exact thing. Fun! And delicious!
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Testing...
Just found out the emailer wasn't working on the ol' blog. Please shoot me an email if you get this, and want to be on the mailing list!
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