Surprise in the Mail

This morning I suddenly heard the sound of lots of birds chirping.  I looked out the window expecting a flock of birds to be passing by or filling a nearby tree but I couldn’t find anything.

I stepped outside on the porch and it was so much louder.  The skies and trees were empty so I started searching around for a nest somewhere on our porch.  Since we use our porch for the farm, there are a lot of places to look like on top of the cooler, and behind it, but I couldn’t find anything.

The chirping was was so loud and so close, but I was stumped.  Finally I noticed a brown box that seemed to  appear out of nowhere on the floor.   When I peaked inside I saw it was packed with the most adorable multicolored baby chicks.   After a little more investigation and I saw that they were delivered by the post office but to the wrong address and according to the invoice there were 55 little bantam chicks packed in that box including 5 roosters.  Since we get a ton of farm related deliveries here, I guess the postman just assumed the chicks were for us.

But our porch floor is too cold for baby chicks, and the instruction sheet said not to let children less than 5 touch them because of disease risk so I did not want to bring them inside. The temptation would be too much, after one little peak my two year old immediately started talking about kissing them (kiss chicken, kiss chicken).

After a couple of frantic phone calls to the neighbor who was supposed to receive them (no answer, cell phone is off) and the hatchery in Texas,   I moved the box into one of our greenhouses which us currently full of flowering tat soi. The folks at the hatchery seemed to think that would be OK for the time being. But by tonight they will need more warmth and water and a little food.

I am hoping they will be OK out there, they really need an incubated box but it is unseasonably warm today and warmer still in the greenhouse.  I really hope that neighbor checks his cell phone messages soon, 55 new baby chicks is a huge unexpected responsibility.   In fact, I better go check on them right now!

7 pm update:

They are still here, no news from the owner (sigh)!  Now they are under a light from a neighbor, in our bathroom and have water. And here is a photo.

Strawberry Summer Cake in February

I love you WORLD

So it turns out Valentines day is a huge deal in preschool.  My son was looking forward to it for weeks and when the day finally arrived there was a party at school complete with candy, presents and yes dinosaur temporary tattoos.  He even brought home his first Valentine with a carefully lettered “I love you” message on the front. Fishing for compliments, I asked, “Is this for Dad or for me, or for the whole family.”   His answer was stunning, and humbling.  “It is for the whole world, I love everyone in the world.”  Four year olds are truly amazing creatures.

I used to be a Valentine’s day skeptic, I would call it a Hallmark Holiday and laugh at the cheap candy on display at the drug store and grocery stores.  And while you still won’t find me wishing for imported shrink wrapped roses, I have definitely come around.  I think it is my increased sense that life is short and we should focus on adding and not subtracting reasons to celebrate.  And if that means adding some extra holidays to the family calendar,  I think we should do it.

So with that in mind I went looking for a special recipe and found this one for Strawberry Summer Cake at the Smitten Kitchen.  We are lucky enough to still have several large bags of our own frozen strawberries from our farm in the freezer.  My husband throws big bags in the freezer during strawberry season, green hulls and all and we eat them all winter, usually just defrosted in a bowl.  But when I saw this recipe it seemed like the perfect fit.

So here it is, our version of Strawberry Summer Cake in February.  You can see mine is not as pretty as the one on the Smitten Kitchen site. That is in part because some of the strawberries were already pinched by one of my youngest valentines before I took the picture.  Plus, I am apparently not a food photographer!

I would definitely recommend trying out this recipe, and it is a great way to use frozen strawberries.  I think since you are cooking them, they are just as good as fresh.  And during the strawberry season,  I think I will stick with my shortcake recipe like this one from Mother’s Day, the other Hallmark holiday that I have decided to embrace. 

So happy Valentines Day, I hope you found a way to celebrate too.

Sharing a Friend’s Post

My friend and fellow blogger just posted this beautiful piece remembering her mother on her blog, AbiTravelblog.   It contains some interesting wisdom about parenthood and reminds me of the importance of writing to and about our children.

I loved reading the piece and I want to share it here in case you want to read it too.

Shabbat Shalom!

Happy Birthday to my Blog – A Self-Referential Post

A year ago this week I launched this blog with this nervous sounding post.   I offer my apologies to anyone who has waited for the promised sewing posts, they were few and far between.  And also I apologize to the many who arrived at this site searching for instructions for sewing a lettuce edge, my stats say there were lots of you.  I have sewn some lettuce edging, but my method seems to break machine needles and I am sure you will have better luck looking elsewhere like here!

I had been thinking about starting this blog for a while but I had a whole list of concerns. Do I have time for it? Would it detract from other writing projects? Would it be annoying and naval gazing? Would I find myself in a silly endless self referential loop blogging about my blog (like right now)? Do I really have to choose one topic when there are  so many things to write about? People are so busy, why would anyone ever read it?

I finally decided to give it a try and so far blogging has exceeded all my expectations.  While I don’t have a huge number of readers, those of you who do read this blog have been so supportive, and I will take quality over quantity any day.  It has helped me think through some of my decisions and feel less isolated as a stay at home mom.

I was happy to host a couple of guest writers,landscape designer Cheryl Corson and a jewelry maker Emily Rosenfeld. And I have been posting sort of regularly at a Jewish Parenting blog Kveller.com. I would love to collaborate more with other bloggers, and welcome ideas and guest writers.

Blogging here has helped me write more often, which in turn seems to spur more writing ideas.  I have somehow found time for the blog, during naps or while children dug around in the sandbox.  I have published a few articles here and there and I am gearing up for more magazine type writing and other creative writing.  Rather than distracting from other writing, it seems writing begets writing, so it is win-win on that front.

I am sincerely looking forward to year 2.  I am truly grateful to each of you who read this blog, I wish I could hand you each a cupcake, or a lettuce salad, depending on your preference!  I hope you stick around to see what happens here next!

And thanks to WordPress, for making it all so easy.

Nursing our Fledgling Apple Orchard

The Jewish New Year for trees, or Tu Bishvat is coming up next week. In anticipation, I wrote the following piece for the Jewish parenting blog Kveller.com, which is also running a contest where you can win a package of our organic dates from our small business supporting Israeli farmers. Thanks for reading and Shabbat Shalom!

Years ago my husband and I volunteered on Kibbutz Sde Eliahu in Israel, working in an organic vineyard and vegetable garden. On Tu Bishvat (the Jewish holiday celebrating the new year for trees!) kibbutzniks we had never seen in the fields came to help in the garden for a few hours. When we left the kibbutz, the leader of the vineyard gave us a little farewell blessing. We didn’t understand it all but he definitely said to “have children” and “plant trees with real roots, not just tomatoes.”

So, we returned home and pretty much got to work following his instructions.

Six years later, we are grateful to have two small children and a tiny heirloom apple orchard. The orchard is still very young and vulnerable. The trees are spindly and they had a tough time during last year’s flood. A few of them are no taller than our 4-year old boy and have branches as thin as pencils. I am always happy to see a bird rest on one of these little branches, treating the sapling like a real tree for a moment.

Here in Maryland it is still winter and far too early to plant trees on Tu Bishvat. So we are developing our own little Tu Bishvat tradition. This year, we plan to take our children down to our fledgling heirloom apple orchard to visit the trees and give them some much needed attention. We will bring a nice pile of mulch to each tree, check them for winter damage and possibly add a few bamboo support poles if needed. We will talk to the children (and probably the trees too) about our hopes for a day when the trees are full of fruit and strong enough to climb. We will imagine Tu Bishvat in Israel, where almond trees are blooming. And by then we’ll probably need to go inside to warm up.

This article originally appeared here on kveller.com. Kveller.com offers a Jewish twist on parenting, everything a Jewish family could need for raising Jewish children–including crafts, recipes, activities, Hebrew and Jewish names for babies…and advice from Mayim Bialik.

Natural Play on the Farm

I am not going to pretend that my children go outside to play every day.  There are plenty of days in Maryland that are too cold, or too hot, or too windy to play safely outside.  But today we took a little walk outside and it turned out to be so inspiring.  I love how creative children are with play especially when they are out in nature.

A ladder set aside from a job becomes a natural obstacle course for learning balance. We do not have much in the way of an outdoor playground and it is at these moments when I realize we do not need one. There are so many ways to play on the farm and unlike a fixed playground, the landscape is always changing.

The children also spent time tasting the wonderful emerald tat soi and lettuce growing in the hoophouse. It is a challenge to teach a two-year old not to walk on the plants, but she is getting the idea. Her brother is helping by shouting “ouch” on behalf of the plants whenever he hears a crunch. These greens are starting to go to seed, so I was a little less protective of the plants than I would have been if they were younger.

Finally, they spent some time “paddling” an overturned kayak which might have been their favorite part, it looked like an exciting voyage even without any water in sight. These are the kind of play sessions that make me so happy that the children are growing up on a farm. It might actually be the most important thing that happens on the farm and it is so much easier than growing vegetables!

Camellia in the Snow

A little snow squall came through our farm last week, dropping an impressive amount of snow for an hour or two.   I caught this image of our Camellia, which started blooming on New Years this year.  You can read more about this tree in this earlier post on this blog.

Despite the bright colors and delicate look, these leaves and flowers are super tough and seemed to laugh at our little storm.  The leaves are leathery and remain green all winter.  I love the contrast of these tropical looking flowers weathering a snowstorm.   Thanks for reading!

Camellia in the snow

 

 

Our Trial: Sunn Hemp as a Cover Crop

sunn hemp cover crop

Finally, a real farm post!

We planted sun hemp on our farm as a late summer/early fall cover crop.  Like everything else in life and farming, Sunn Hemp has some pros and cons but was overall quite impressive and we will probably plant it again.  We planted it as part of a federal study to help people solve problems on farms.  We were looking for a midsummer cover crop that would fix nitrogen, prevent erosion and not be a draw for deer. We received a small grant and free seeds to participate in the study.

On the sunny side, sunn hemp is one of the few cover crops that grows well in summer, the deer are not interested in it and it can withstand heat and drought.  We planted it in poor sandy soil and did not irrigate.  It produces a very impressive amount of biomass which can be knocked down for a green manure or moved around as mulch.  Our stand reached six feet tall and had woody stems and lovely yellow spike flowers.

On the down side, some sunn hemp varieties are toxic to livestock and fowl so use caution and do your research when selecting a variety for your farm.  Also, the plant has the potential to become invasive in the south.   According to the USDA, “since sunn hemp will not set seed consistently north of 28N latitude (slightly north of Corpus Christi, TX), it has little potential for becoming a weed.”  So it sounds like we are safe to plant it in Maryland. (Source: USDA: Sunn Hemp: A Cover Crop for Southern and Tropical Farming Systems)

Sunn Hemp has an interesting history and is widely grown in India where it originated and is used for all kinds of things including forage and fiber. It is also widely grown in Hawaii year round.    According to the Handbook of Energy Crops by James Duke, “Sunnhemp is cultivated for the strong bast fiber extracted from the bark, which is more durable than jute. Fiber is used in twine, rug yarn, cigarette and tissue papers, fish-nets, sacking, canvas and cordage. Sunn fiber is stronger when wet, and is fairly resistant to mildew, moisture and microorganisms in salt water. It is one of the oldest known fibers in the Indo-Pakistan subcontinent, as mentioned in ancient Sanskrit literature.”  (Source: James A. Duke. 1983. Handbook of Energy Crops. unpublished.). 

While we don’t plan to weave any rugs out of our crop, it certainly seems like a plant with lots of potential to control erosion and add nitrogen add organic matter to the soil.  As an added bonus, I cut a bouquet in the fall and it lasted a week in a vase and may have potential as a cut flower  or filler for late season bouquets.

This article appeared in the Maryland Organic Food and Farming Association (MOFFA) Winter Newsletter.  You can learn more about Moffa here.

My Antidote to Twitter

I joined Twitter this week and was immediately pulled into the incredibly fast paced flow of information.  I am sure the novelty will pass, but my first days of finding my way around has been truly overwhelming to the point that is is hard to fall asleep with all these # and @ signs flying around in my head.

It reminds me of my very first days on the internet in the early nineties — the potential is blinding.  If you are a Twitter user, you are welcome to follow me at @thelettuceedge (or our small family business @israeliharvest)  where I am connecting with all kinds of like minded people, news sources, organizations and people who inspire me.  If you are thinking of jumping in,  I would just say take it slow and be ready to be overwhelmed.

In the midst of this Twitter mania, I was happy to open an actual paper envelope to find this old fashioned, hand written and photocopied newsletter.

letter from farmers market

The Amish farmers we work with manage to spread the word quite effectively and reach their target audience without any help from the internet at all.  And it isn’t a fake hand written gimmick — it is just the way they work.

Reading this letter which describes 2011 farm season (an extra 1/2 acre of eggplant was added, the hurricane was awful),  offered a wonderful calming contrast to my first week on Twitter.  I thought I would share it here in case anyone else needs a calming antidote to Twitter or an otherwise hectic week before easing into the weekend.

A Petition to Sesame Street on Breastfeeding

A few years ago, someone pointed me to this Sesame Street clip from 1977 with the wonderful Buffy breastfeeding her baby Cody and Bigbird asking all about it.   Since that day, I have returned to the clip several times – both alone and to share with my children.

Today, I was happy to discover this piece on Huffington Post where mothers are calling on Sesame Street to bring breastfeeding back to Sesame Street.  It is actually pretty hard to fathom that it is controversial to include breastfeeding in the mix of ways to feed babies along with bottle feeding.  The piece includes several links to clips which show how breastfeeding was removed from other Sesame Street pieces over the years including this sweet version of  You’re My Baby which includes a brief breastfeeding clip that was removed from a later version.

You can sign the petition too by following this link.  This is Sesame Street we are talking about, lets hope it is an easy win.