nemesis

Right now I am excited because my apricot tree looks like this:

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And in a few weeks, I hope to have a lot of these:

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But while I wait for those beauties to ripen fully, this has been hampering my plans:

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On Saturday I saw him sitting in the crook of the tree, fat and happy, after pillaging at least, from the looks of the ground beneath the tree, forty of my apricots. He was making contented noises and looked like he was considering a nap after the difficult work of plunder. First I threw some fallen apricots his direction, then I pulled up some gardening forums and found some helpful and some amusing anecdotes and advice. Some fell along the "get out your BB gun" lines, while others pleaded for their furry friends the squirrels. "You can get your apricots at the store - they can't!" they claimed. No way; nowhere else will I get free organic produce. That fruit is mine. 

After being cautioned that hot pepper spray can get in beady little rodent eyes, prompting them scratch themselves to their own detriment, I opted for a kinder measure - the toy snakes method. I placed about six (florescent colored, not very realistic looking) toy snakes around the tree, and they seem to have done the trick. Apparently I'll have to move them every couple days to keep up the ruse. So for now, squirrel, you keep your eyes and I keep my apricots. May the best-adapted species win.

as promised

This is long overdue; but I still wanted to write about our farm experience.

Fun fact: the food you eat, regardless of where you get it, comes from a farm (yes, even the high-fructose corn-syrup, even though it doesn't resemble a plant anymore). Our CSA experience was a cool farm-to-table experience. I knew exactly where my food came from, how it had been grown, that the seeds weren't "roundup ready" so I wasn't eating plants genetically altered to repel or kill bugs (I know; I have problems.).

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So, what is a CSA? So glad you asked. This is how it works: you buy a "share" of the farm's spoils upfront - which is the appropriate word because there is some risk involved. In our case, we purchased our share in the winter; the farm has to plan ahead and buy seeds, equipment, etc. At our CSA, the earlier you buy, the cheaper the share is. Your share entitles you to a portion of the spoils, but if there aren't any spoils due to bad weather or pests, you lose. Once a week you pick up your share. In our case, we went directly to the farm in Victor, ID, which was fun . . . for the first 8 weeks or so (Our share lasted 17 weeks). (In other locales, with a greater infrastructure for local food, you can pick up a share at a farmers' market or other such convenient location.) We loved it. Okay, I loved it. I learned to cook new things and appreciate a diversity of vegetables and mushrooms. I acquired a love of fennel. I have to say, if you haven't ever had fresh garlic (before the skin gets papery and dry), you are missing out. The only downside is that it was so much food, and a lot of it was pretty labor-intensive to cook or preserve. I cook, and I don't mind the time in the kitchen. But harvest time is also back-to-school time, and I took a full-time course load while working full time. Clark cooks too, but his culinary vein runs along the familiar instead of the adventurous. So, some of our fresh produce went to waste, and that is my only regret.  I would do it again in a minute and recommend it to anyone who likes vegetables, cooking, and is interested in getting the most vitamin-rich, fresh food available.

There is likely a CSA near you. You can check it out here.

growing and growing

Remember these?




Now they look like this:

Plant your own; it's fun.
It's still not too late to plant lettuce varieties, radish, peas, and some types of beans (and probably some other stuff, too).

thank you, idaho

Dear Idaho,

Here in the Gem State, we try to enjoy ourselves. After almost three years, only this summer have I begun to love what you have to offer. If you asked me in February, I would probably bemoan the sub-zero temperatures and your months of gray skies; I might even cry (i mean, can't the sun shine a few times between December and April?). But today, I'm feeling the love. Summer in Idaho Falls is a beautiful thing. These are a few reasons:

"I picked these yesterday"
-cute farmer boy at market, looked about 15ish

• Easy-to-find yummy local produce
• Rarely gets above ninety
• Easy camping
  
• My garden = amazingly prolific
• Hikes within a 20 minute drive
• Greenbelt - a stone's throw from home
• Walking to the farmer's market
• Daytrips to Teton or Yellowstone = F-U-N
  
• The drive to pick up our CSA vegs is incredible
• This old house and the work we are doing with our own hands this summer (watch for pictures!)

beautiful, shiny zuke fresh from the garden!

So, thank you Idaho for your abundance. We've always known that we won't be here forever, but we're enjoying your spoils while we can.

And thanks for our kitty; we love her.

. . . and a job I love, my paychecks, and grad school tuition.
You're the best. XO

say cheese

In my quest for achieving a respectable level of domesticity, I have recently made my first batch of delicious mozzarella cheese (quest currently limited to making delicious things I can eat). I will probably never rival the creative craftiness and stellar sewing ability of the amazing Gardner sisters (sisters-in-law included. See example here), which makes it a good thing it's not a contest.

Making cheese is so much fun; each time it's a revelation that I can make something that often comes in plastic pods that have been sitting under winking fluorescent-lights for days, weeks, or months. For example, this

used to be MILK - just minutes before this picture was taken - and I made it into yummy CHEESE with some assistance from my friend Jessica. I love that you can trace the short line of where this milk/cheese has been - cow's udder to jug (with some pasteurizing step in between), jug to stock pot, stock pot to my mouth. Incidentally, I also made this bread and nourished the Basil leaves. Many of the best meals are so simple and hand/home made; Y. U. M.

Thank you, Jess, Barbara Kingsolver, and Ricky Carrol. And thank you, Reed's dairy cows, for your locally-produced, artificial hormone-free, creamy goodness.

coming up

My edamame are poking their little heads through the dirt. Seed, compost, dirt, water, sunshine = healthy, delicious food. Doesn't that make you happy?! I can't wait to eat them up. I never knew it would be so much fun to grow my own food.