Delaware Bayshore's Reed's Beach after Sandy

Delaware Bayshore's Reed's Beach after Sandy

Are We Losing Higbee's Beach?

Global warming's stealing not only our future, but our childhood memories as well.

22 degrees this morning, summer's passed by, garden remnants are huddled under cold frames and David's just finished the new greenhaus. Fresh organic lettuce and spinach in December will be a revelation- if what I've been reading in the Nearings' and in Eliot Coleman's year round gardening books holds true. And if I pay attention to what I'm doing.

Some new photos here of what we've been up to; busy-ness in real time precludes busy-ness online. Hoping that the lockin weather of winter will result in my paying more attention to this blog.

October here means time to "put up" the garden, canning and pickling are standard procedures. Lots of handiwork to do so, cutting,chopping, measuring, cleaning but there is a presence of mind developed meditating on the fruits of the vegetable kingdom that zeros in on zen. Grasshopper, what is the sound of one hand chopping? I took some photos to share these small beauties with my friends. The jar is filled with Tomatillo pickle, referred to locally as "ground cherries". One pal from my reading group turned down my offer of tomatillos with the following observation, "Ground cherries, no thank you! Mom pickled those when we were kids and - oh gross- they look like eyeballs in a jar!!". These are cut in quarters so the horror is averted :)

mobile blog setup

Testing new service to post on the go

Out late this afternoon in Blue River looking for signs and colors of Spring. These sandhills take my breath away with their quiet beauty and secret details, inscriptions describing the biology of place and alchemical wildness surrounding us, cryptic motifs of an austere environment not yet given over to the rioting of summer seeds and grasses.

We're in the process of adding a permanent note of springtime to Chestnut Street, going from deep winter Addams Family grey to sunflower yellow in a few thousand brushstrokes! Trees are budding and tulips popping on this perfect spring day, going out to enjoy the sun and consider how to layout the garden for this year's crops.

Taxes done, good weather, National Library Week and National Poetry Month all in one day. We live rich lives these days compared to the struggles of generations that went before us. Yet still we and our children war, destroy and live in fear of loss of wealth or status. What species is this that doesn't just get on cheerfully with life when the sun shines. A red cardinal in our feeder flinging black sunflower seeds aside while feasting sings within a joy maybe beyond most of us; and we think we know?

Spring Thaw! Now that our fingers are unfrozen there may be more blog posts :)Busy at the library with programming adventures for April ( National Library Week and National Poetry Month) and Summer Library Program- Bugs! for the kidz and Metamorphosis for t/weens. Also The Art by the Stream festival is coming in June, with much yet to do. Auction at the Central House will be held in a week and we're still working on the Youth Art display. Wow, life out in the country can be just as busy as Chicagoland, never bored, that's a fact.