A thread of hopeful cilantro

I planted two or three pots of cilantro over the summer, which all bolted before I cut more than a few leaves from them. The seeds I tried to start outside got eaten by slugs and snails with gourmet tastes. But I’m not giving up hope. This cilantro shoot is part of my winter garden. […]

Twin mystery squash are fraternal

The two mystery squashes are definitely different squashes. One looks to be descended from a sugar pumpkin that went rotten last winter, the other from one of the acorn squashes I ate. It’s nice to have a clear idea what they are, but no way are they going to ripen before the first frost hits. […]

In which I inflict a grainy photo of a goldfinch on you

The sunflower patch is getting so ratty looking, I’m considering cutting them all down. But just when I begin to contemplate such drastic action, I come round the corner of the house and get rewarded by the up and down swoops of a goldfinch flying away. I can’t cut the sunflowers down yet! There are […]

Separated from the soil, separated at birth?

I thought I was just pulling up a scallion, but look — it’s Sideshow, I mean Scallion Bob!

Sometimes red means go put on a sweater

The first bits of autumn are hitting the yard. There’s red in the leaves on the Burning bush. There’s red in the leaves on the blueberries. There’s red in the leave of the Virginia creeper. Are there oranges and yellow? Probably, but what I notice is the red warning of the coming cold.

An attempt to cook chicken with brown rice

So I’m trying to cook with brown rice, but it just doesn’t act like white rice. Tonight I cooked a batch of chicken and rice, semi-encouraged by this recipe.

Sometimes red means go ahead and eat

The various bright reds in the garden are catching my eye. Tomatoes are red. Strawberries are red. Raspberries are red. Even crabapples and rose hips are red. They are the reds of little round traffic lights, Reds that mean Stop and pick me, Reds than mean Go ahead and eat me.

Multiple monarchs

I’ve seen as many as four Monarch butterflies nectaring on the butterfly bushes in the last few days. The weather has been so nice, I think they’ve forgotten all about migrating south. Fuel up, little guys! You need to get a move on.

Facing down the bee mimic

On these beautiful sunny days, I never get tired of watching the bees. It’s so soothing to watch them forage on the asters, the butterfly bush, the goldenrod. Bumblebees, honeybees, Carpenter bees, flying up and down the hill over and over again. But one of these bees is an imposter.

Brazilian style Collards with rice and dal

Today was a good day to catch up in the garden, and at the end of it, I collected a big bunch of collard leaves. That makes it a good evening to cook dinner again. Having cleaned out the fridge, I turned to the pantry for some rice and dal to make a meal.