This Month on the Farm: Flowers on the Table

Earth laughs in flowers.

–Ralph Waldo Emerson

Flowers don’t worry about how they’re going to bloom.  They just open up and turn toward the light and that makes them beautiful.

–Jim Carrey

When you have only two pennies left in the world, buy a loaf of bread with one, and a lily with the other. 

–Chinese Proverb

But he who dares not grasp the thorn

Should never crave the rose.

–Anne Bronte

a sweet gift from a little friend

Project Moon Pie & Other Puppy Stuff

In case you don’t know yet, that’s my doggy, Moon Pie.

Let’s geek out for a bit, shall we? I filmed the above video today. Moo Moo is three months into her training. She is doing better with action words than nominals. Her repertoire of action words includes: Sit, Down, Off, Come here, Get, Outside, Touch, Drop it, No, and Listen.  She’s currently working on Stay. Her nominals include: Ball, Panda, Yip, Nickel, Kitty, and Squirrel.

Due of my own training, my approach with Moo Moo relies heavily on behaviorial theory with a linguistic spin.  Recently though, I’ve been learning about “dog psychology” from Cesar Millan.  Skattur has been telling me to check out this guy for awhile. She watched his show religiously, despite the fact she doesn’t have a dog. I finally broke down and got his book, Cesar’s Way: The Natural, Everyday Guide to Understanding and Correcting Common Dog Problems. It was fabulously undogtrainingguidebookish.

I abandoned most of the dog training books in my gianormous stack within a few chapters (and sometimes within a few pages) because they were horribly boring or just too campy.  But Cesar Millan’s book was different.  First off, he does not consider himself a dog trainer.  He describes himself as a “dog psychologist,” which for me instantly brought up a mental image of a dog reposed on Freud’s couch. Based on that image alone I was prepared to not like this book. Then there’s the fact that he works with all these celebrity people and he frequently uses the word ”energy.”  Psychology, celebrity, and energy — the combination of the three made me roll my eyes in self-righteous derision. So, I surprised myself when I stayed with this book until the end. I was even more surprised when I realized I like him and his book. Millan is a ballsy guy who bootstrapped his way to success. His insights on dogs are based on sound experience.

The only other book I’ve found about dogs recently that I liked was a work of fiction — Nora Robert’s The Search.  The blogger behind roughwighting.net recommended it. I haven’t read Nora Roberts in years, so I was due for one.  The woman has written about a bajillion books and her writing style has definitely evolved since the last one I read. Romance isn’t my usual reading fare, nor is it my go-to genre for dog information, but I felt strangely compelled.  This was no ordinary romance novel.  There were serial killers, murders, a bit of mystery, and lots of dog training tid-bits. The romance seemed ancillary, though there were steamy parts.  Table sex was involved.  It was a good read on all counts.

Back to Moo Moo.  More videos of Moo-Moo’s genius may be found in the following posts.  I highly recommend viewing them at work due to their Power of Kawaii (Nittono, Fukushima, Yano, & Moriya, 2012), which improves your productivity. More information on that following the reference.

This Week on the Farm:Dreams, Rescues, Attacks

This Week on the Farm: Project Moon Pie

Just Another Day at the Office

Reference

Nittono H., Fukushima M., Yano A., Moriya, H. (2012) The Power of Kawaii: Viewing Cute Images Promotes a Careful Behavior and Narrows Attentional Focus. PLoS ONE 7(9): e46362.  doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0046362

This Week on the Farm: Hearts Abound

Keep close to Nature’s heart…

Wash your spirit clean.

–John Muir

clover

Nickel Adorned with Hearts

Tree root heart

Moon Pie Heart

Heart Strings, tugged once daily

This Week on the Farm – Getting it All Wrong

dishing out the dirt

El-D took issue with last week’s post in which I highlighted the rationale behind “His & Hers” seedlings.

It seems I got something wrong.

It happens.

Apparently, this happens a lot.

I confess, not too long ago I wrote about his awesome Amish Friendship Rolls.  Afterwards, Dear Readers, I was informed that I had deceived you. Please realize this wasn’t an intentional deceit. He made Amish Friendship Bread the week before the roll incident. I saw warm steam rising from fresh baked goods and I went crazy.  In my feeding frenzy I shouted the good news of great joy from my bloggy version of the highest mountain.

Except I shouted it all wrong.

They were yeast rolls people. YEAST ROLLS!

I’m sorry if the error offends your sensibilities.

And here I stand wrong again.

El-D does not, in fact, require “an intricate mix of dirt samples taken from various points in the yard.”

He informed me that the dirt he used in this year’s seedlings came from the yard of our OLD HOUSE, as in the house we moved out of when we moved to the farm last June.

During the chaos of moving somehow this detail managed to escape my radar.

That means that all last summer as I was writing about stuff like the practice of letting go, I had no idea the dirt from my former life had followed me to this one.

When I heard this I had a momentary existential crisis:  Is my whole life a lie?

Then after meditating on it awhile I recalled the words of a great yogi:

I have affixed to me the dust and dirt of countless ages…who am I to disturb history?

–PigPen

…and now I’m happily back to everything being right-wrong.

Another Week in Food Life

Here’s what was on last week’s menu.   You can following the links (in bold) for recipes.

quinoa and avocado salad

Wednesday

Breakfast: Vanilla yogurt on toffee granola topped with fresh raspberries, and tea.  As far as nutrition, we’ve got calcium, fiber, iron and B-12.  The raspberries add a little extra  fiber,  vitamin C and a whole lot of yum.

Lunch: Arugula salad (picked fresh!) with oil and vinegar dressing, flatbread, and an orange.

Dinner: Ok, I admit this is an odd combination — corn chips and guacamole and a side of grilled asparagus.

 

Thursday

Breakfast: Vanilla yogurt on toffee granola topped with fresh raspberries, and tea.

Lunch: Annie’s Shells & Cheese with fresh steamed broccoli.

Snack: Rice pudding

Dinner: a 3-ounce fillet of salmon, sauteed squash, and 1/2 an avocado.  Yes, I ate fish. This was the main source of my B-12 this week.

 

Friday

Breakfast: Vanilla yogurt on toffee granola topped with fresh raspberries, and tea.

Lunch: Vanilla yogurt on toffee granola topped with fresh raspberries.  Again!  It’s that good.

Dinner: Eggplant parmesean and a salad.

Dessert: Eggless chocolate cake.

 

Saturday

Breakfast: Leftover chocolate cake and tea.

Lunch: Homemade yeast roll drenched in butter and honey.  I know — sugar, sugar, sugar!

Dinner: Blackbean tortillas, salsa, cheese dip and salad.

Dessert: Eggless apple cake.

 

Sunday

Breakfast: Leftover apple cake.

Lunch: El-D’s amazing vegetable soup with yeast rolls.

Dinner: Sharky’s for El-D’s birthday.  I had fried oysters, a bit of fried fish, and edamame and corn succotash.

 

Monday

Breakfast: Vanilla yogurt on toffee granola topped with fresh raspberries.

Lunch: Quinoa and avocado salad.

Dinner: El-D’s amazing vegetable soup.

 

Tuesday

Breakfast: Yeast roll with butter and honey.

Lunch: Bombay House vegetarian lunch buffet. I treated myself to my comfort food.

Dinner: Mushroom stroganoff and roasted cauliflower.

 

Wednesday

Breakfast: Peanutbutter on crackers.

Lunch: Popcorn sprinkled with nutritional yeast.

Dinner: Not sure yet.

 

This Week on the Farm: Blooms, Creatures & Projects

in bloom

I started a garden journal this week to help me learn the names of everything blooming in the yard so I can get a sense of when, where, and what action is happening.

tulip, daffodils, & weeping forsythia

I don’t know what the thing with the pink blooms is yet. Help please?

violets

crab apple blossoms

I had no idea the crab apple trees offered a double feature — white flowers in April, little red apples in August.

Wild Life

I have finally managed to capture photo evidence of my “pterodactyl.”  Granted, the heron is not particularly lizard-like, but he’s huge and prehistoric-looking, which has earned him the name “Pterry.” Pterry often visits the yard outside my office window in the morning. The feathered fiend tends to emerge in slow motion into my peripheral vision while I am busily typing at something.  As soon as I make a move for the camera he stretches his gigantic wings and flaps about 10 times before managing to lift his forever long legs off the ground.  The sight is so mesmerizing I usually forget I’m holding a camera as I watch him.  When I finally remember to snap pictures, they turn out about as fuzzy as a dream in fading memory.

The other day I spotted Pterry wandering near the koi pond.  Nickel and I both went stalking after him. I’m not sure what Nickel was thinking - the bird is nearly as tall as I am. So far this is the best picture I’ve snapped of Pterry.  I am hoping he stays away from the koi.

Pterry the Pterodactyl

A couple days ago I also captured a picture of my first noncaptive raccoon. He was wandering around the neighbor’s front yard. In this picture he was looking for the source of the all the kissing and whistling sounds.

Projects

We have a new fence! The Angry Russian made it curvy and El-D hand-cut every one of the 134 pickets.

To celebrate its completion, Lady Bug (Nilla Bean’s sister) came over last week for a play date with Moon Pie. They romped around all day and wore each other out.

Lady Bug and Moon Pie

Last weekend we planted wave one of the seedlings – his and hers:

His Method: Dixie Cups on a Teacart

Why his and hers?

Because things must be done a certain way.

He prefers little cups he can write on with a sharpie.

She wanted to reuse the 2-liter bottles before sending them to be recycled.

He requires an intricate mix of dirt samples taken from various points in the yard.

She’s good with store bought potting soil mixed with a bit of compost.

He wanted squash, okra, and tomatos.

She is more interested in growing radishes, herbs, and flowers.

He likes to plant any old seed packet from years gone by.

She likes heirlooms and fancy things.

Only one week later, things are already sprouting: squash, marigolds, petunias, radishes, and beans.

Her Method: Cut 2-liter bottles with printed labels

xx

Dandelions

dandelion lawn

white fluff drifts across blossoms

the wind makes a wish

–Lunar Euphoria

Success

 To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a little better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. 

This is to have succeeded.

–Ralph Waldo Emerson

I am so happy to be celebrating the success of a friend.  She has certainly succeeded by Emerson’s standards — and tomorrow my shimmy sister, Debra Parmley, releases her fourth book, Trapping the Butterfly. This one is set in the 1920s in one of my favorite weekend getaways: Hot Springs, Arkansas. I cannot wait to read it!

Last night she had a radio interview about the book, which you can listen to HERE.

You can watch the book trailer from her third novel, Aboard the Wishing Star, below:

And be sure to check out her blog!  She does a fun series of interviews called “Cover Model Corner” with those hunky men of romance novels.

Just in case you missed the other book trailer I posted (I love these things), you can find it HERE.

Yay Debra! You’re awesome.

Vegetarian Menu Part I

A Week in the Food Life of a Vegetarian

First a disclaimer: I am not a dietician! Please consult with someone more knowledgable if you want medical advice about your diet.  I am merely a carnivore turned (mostly) vegetarian, trying to find my way in a meat-eater’s world.

I say I am “mostly” vegetarian because I have added the occasional dash of seafood (usually one meal a week) to my diet to get vitamins B-12 and D.  For example, just a few ounces of shellfish (e.g., oysters) are loaded with B-12. There are other ways to get these vitamins, but my personal preference in avoiding malnutrition does not involve chugging milk by the gallon nor ingesting tablets made in a lab or factory.

So this week I’m posting what’s been on this vegetarian’s menu.  If folks want recipes, maybe El-D will provide them, ’cause he’s the chef around here.

Friday Breakfast: I skipped it.  Bad me.

Friday Lunch: Veggie plate at the Silver Caboose, which included cream corn, okra and tomatoes, and sweet potato casserole.

Friday Dinner: Mushroom Stroganoff.  (You can click the bold link for the recipe.  Scroll down it’s the second recipe. It’s delicious.)

Saturday Breakfast: Waffle with maple syrup and a banana smoothie. I know he uses Bob’s Old Mill Waffle mix, Flax seed meal, and EnerG Egg replacer (in place of eggs) for the waffles.  Oh, and rum – El-D recently informed me he also puts homemade vanilla rum in those waffles.  Who knew? The banana smooth is easy – he just tosses about 5 frozen bananas in the blender with about a cup of almond milk.  He garnishes the smoothie with nutmeg and honey.

Saturday Lunch: Bombay House — This is my absolute favorite Indian restaurant in Memphis.  They know how to make hearty vegetarian fare.  I call it my “comfort food.” I feasted on the buffet, which included Aleo Tiki (I call ‘em potato fritters), Mushroom Bhaji, Sag Paneer (a creamy spinach), Aloo Bangan (eggplant), Naan (flat pancake-like bread), and Desert Burfi, Rice Pudding, and Chai.

Saturday Dinner: I ate so much for lunch that I didn’t need dinner.  I may have eaten some popcorn as a snack.  I don’t remember.

Sunday Breakfast: Amish Friendship rolls smothered with butter and cranberry-strawberry preserves with tea.

Sunday Lunch/Dinner: El-D’s amazing homemade carmelized onion pizza.

Monday Breakfast: Amish Friendship rolls smothered with butter and cranberry-strawberry preserves with tea.

Monday Lunch: El-D’s leftover amazing homemade carmelized onion pizza with grape juice.

Monday Dinner: Amish Friendship rolls smothered with butter and cranberry-strawberry preserves.

Tuesday Breakfast: Amish Friendship rolls smothered with butter and cranberry-strawberry preserves with tea.

Tuesday Lunch: Two plums and two flatbread crackers with tea.

Tuesday Dinner: Blackbean and avocado dip wraps.

So that’s the last five days of my food life.  I’ve probably consumed enough sugar to kill a hummingbird.  I’m not sure if this qualifies as “healthy” but it’s been really, really tastey!

Book Review: Flight Behavior

butterfly

How was that even normal, to cry over insects?

–Delarobia, Flight Behavior, Barbara Kingsolver

There are very a few authors whose collections I feel compelled to devour in their entirety. Barbara Kingsolver is in that select few. She’s brilliant. Her mastery of the English language inspires me. Her intellect humbles me. Her reverence for nature motivates me to observe, conserve, and appreciate the natural world.

Her latest book,  Flight Behavior  is set in the Appalachian Mountains. The story centers on Delarobia Turnbow, a young wife and mother, literally running away from her life in someone else’s cast off boots. Delarobia chances upon a discovery that changes her life: millions of monarch butterflies unexpectedly alight in the forest.  Miracle or sign of impending environmental doom? You decide. Kingsolver, a trained biologist, throws in enough science to make you feel like an armchair lepidopterist.  Staying true to the region, she also smacks down some religion. Any time you pass by the Bible Belt you can expect a good spank.  It’s a good mix that creates a nice tension.

I relished most of this book, but there were parts that made me really tired.  I understand the story is set in Tennessee, but I could have done without the Honey Boo Boo vibes. I like my fiction to take me away from my real life, not put me right back at the heart of it.  I live in Tennessee.  I have relatives that wear shirts that say things like, “You mess with me, you mess with the whole trailer park.”  If I wanted to experience a marital dispute in Wal-Mart I could just load up the family in the pickup truck, drive a couple miles down the road, and go at it.  I’m already familiar with this routine. I don’t need to read about it. And if I wanted to experience Wal-Mart scenery, but felt too lazy to drive down the street, I could surf the People of Wal-mart website from bed without having to read pages and pages of dialogue devoted to this sort of thing.   Wal-mart drama does not make good literature. In Kingsolver’s own words, “It could not be more tedious or familiar, any of it.”

Also, I wish academia was half as fabulous as described in this story.   Kingsolver paints an idealized version of this endeavor featuring researchers with the purest intentions who are blessed with outlandish funding, and the most understanding of spouses.   It’s a really lovely picture, even true to a degree, but still incomplete.  (Where are the turf wars, conspiracies, and petty squabbles over the minutia?)

Despite my minor gripes, it was an awesome story.  I was smitten with the real main character of the story: the butterflies.  In the end I cried for what was revealed about the interconnectedness of individuals to each other and to the environment.

~~@~~

And only because I brought it up, I have to include this video of the People of Wal-mart.