We have dirt !!

The snow has been melting for 4 glorious days, finally , after countless snowstorms, roof shovelings and driveway plowings. A winter we'd all like to forget. Four days ago there was no sign of this post for the electric fence.

I got quite excited when its tip appeared out of the snow and must have checked it's progress through the window a dozen times a day. One of those "light at the end of the tunnel" moments. So the whole mess has dropped about 9 inches, with anywhere from 2 feet to 4 feet to go.

This was March 8th of 2010, much more civilized, with nary a speck of snow in sight. The sun has done it's best around the coop and today the girls were estatic to find real dirt to scratch in, indulging in some serious group dust bathing.
I'm watching them quite closely because some predator has been coming around at night and has shredded the fly screen on the coop window, trying to get in at the chicken dinners.

Thing One is looking out at me taking the photo of the clawed up screen.

A lovely day to putter in the greenhouse, listening to the blessed sound of snow water dripping.

Seeds and celebration

Our anniversary was last week so to celebrate we went to St Andrews-by-the-Sea for a great lunch. I had the best seafood chowder while the carnivore I married had what looked like half a raw cow on his plate. He enjoyed that as much as I enjoyed the very chocolatey cheesecake that I just couldn't say no to. Then, groaning somewhat, it was off to Seedy Sunday...

This is an anual event we were checking out for the first time. Gardeners who save their seed or have leftover seeds from last year bring them along and everybody helps themselves to whatever they like or want to try. What a good idea! I met all kinds of interesting people into organic gardening and sustainable living. Some were doing farmers markets, some supplying weekly csa produce boxes, and everybody, like me, cant wait for spring to come so we can get at it.

Back at  home it was back to work to try to keep ahead of the latest snow dump. We have an enormous amount of snow. Most of the horse fences have disappeared so its a good thing they stay near the barn.

One thing a snow bank is good for, I found out is butchering a chicken. Or what I thought was a chicken til it grew up into a rooster. The bird is cooling in the snow all the time I'm processing it and of course no flies. Much nicer than doing it in the summer.

The last rooster, cooked in the oven was tough and stringy so this 5 pound guy, after a rest in the fridge for 3 days, went to pressure cooker camp. Twenty minutes later he's in the large crock pot for most of the day and smelling really good.
From one rooster we got three chicken pot pies with cornmeal crust, a plate of breast meat for sandwiches and in the freezer, two containers of stock plus meat for future soups or stews.

Some things started, some things finished...

As the snow piles up deeper and deeper I spend more time thinking and planning for spring and summer. Its my sanity preserver I guess, I've never been a winter person and this is just too much winter.

This porcupine looking wooden gadget was the result of a pleasant day's puttering in the workshop whilst hiding from the latest blizzard. It's a bunch of quarter inch dowels cut an inch long and glued into a scrap of plywood made the right size for a standard bedding plant tray. One quick press and voila! Little holes evenly spaced an inch apart in the potting soil, awaiting seeds to be dropped in. It saves an endless amount of time and the seedlings come up looking ever so neat and precisely laid out.
 Another project out of the way is the painting I began before the last blog post. I wish I was not such a procrastinator, the trouble is it's easier to go up to the studio and cut mats for next summer which requires no
thinking, than it is to work through all the planning that goes into each stage of a watercolor. Maybe that's laziness plus procrastination.

One of the considerations we've been turning over this winter is the fact that we're not getting any younger and by the end of the last two summers we've been completely worn out with 7 days a week of non stop work. Something has to give. And we've decided that after 10 years of running our B&B that's enough of that. I feel positively euphoric at the idea of no more extra cooking, cleaning, laundry, bedmaking, staying up past bedtime waiting for latecomers, and  and having to get up way too early  for earlybirds. The thing I will miss the most tho, is meeting wonderful people from all over the world. The adventurers who show up with their worn copy of "The Lonely Planet Guide" in hand, the art buyer from the NY Metropolitan Museum of Art who gave me amazing insights into my favorite painting, Rosa Bonheur's "The Horse Fair", but most of all the children.

The little horse lovers, the bold ones, the shy ones, the ones who let me read them bedtime stories and begged for "just one more". The families who came back year after year..how many times have I said to gangly kids on the doorstep "Oh look how you've grown!" And the special moments I've been priveledged to peek in on...sending a child into the henhouse with a basket and watching the delight spread over her face as she spots the eggs. I guess they will still drop by, but it's a little sad that the sleepover is over.



Where did january go?

The month has flown by. I've been occupied with preparations for next summer mostly, cutting mats for our prints, building this and that, trying to get things out of the way before gardening season. The mesclun lettuce mix I planted a month ago under lights is outgrowing it's tray so today I transplanted these babies into the earth bed in the greenhouse. Beautifully warm in there with the bright sunshine streaming in, a perfect antidote to january's deep snow.

The leeks started at the same time are looking good, and four types of onions seeded last week are unfolding themselves from their trays.

I got started on a watercolor painting at last. First I wet the paper and gave it a wash of  dilute yellow ochre because I was thinking of the scene being in early morning warm light. I sketched out the scene and covered the light areas that will be the highlights, with masking fluid. Then came wet sloppy colors that were alowed to blend and merge.
When all was dry, stronger but still loose and wet colors were applied to the background.

Next came the shadows and local colors of the wharf and the boats.

Then I rubbed off the masking fluid, tidied up the edges and deepened shadows. I lifted off color to create the third building in the background and added some foliage texture. I hope to finish this in a few days, adding seaweed and rocks to the foreground and reflections on the water.

Portrait of Riley

I loved this photo of my son's fiancee the moment I saw it because it captured a moment between them in a wild and beautiful place not far from here on the Bay of Fundy. This pair is all about the outdoors, enjoying nature, camping , hiking, skydiving, adventures they squeeze  into  their busy hard working lives. I wanted to help remember this special day so the pic became the inspiration to the only painting I got done before Christmas.

This started out as a watercolor on toned pastel paper then evolved through charcoal, conte, and pastel. I wanted to capture this lovely lady's adventuresome windblown spirit along with her sort of 1940's glamorous look she pulls off without even trying.

      I am having the same battle of procrastination I face every winter in getting back to painting...can't seem to focus on it when there's other things to "get out of the way first." I'm sure the only reason I finished this portrait was the looming deadline of Christmas. So since the end of the tourists in november I have been having a prolonged slate clearing exercise, cutting hundreds of mats for next summer's print sales at our shop. Tomorrow I'll clean up the studio and then I should be out of excuses.

Dreaming of springtime...

Christmas is over and the days are getting longer, so I'm dreaming of next season's garden and starting seedlings. For years and years I've needed some kind of indoor growing space with good lighting so I'm not constantly carrying seedling trays from the daytime sunny greenhouse to the house at night for protection from cold. Veseys Seeds sells a deluxe 3 tier lighted steel stand for $629.00 plus tax and shipping..a bit out of my league, so finally I got around to building one. For about $80.00

Which could be done a lot cheaper but the Habitat for Humanity Re-Store was out of fluorescent light fixtures, and I was impatient and bought  them new. The 2x2 frame was $11.00 and the 5/8" plywood pieces came to about $10.00 The dimensions are 4'x20", 5'8" tall. On the back side I pinned one of those foil emergency blankets to reflect light back towards the plants and after things are up and running I'll put another on the front. Also some angled white deflectors made of flashing will go on the top of each light fixture.
Every home should be blessed with a friendly handy neighbor who can be called upon to do tricky and dangerous things like plumbing and wiring. Here is our multi talented Jean-Marc from down the road doing an efficient and safe job of wiring up the unit for me.

I have a new toy to play with, it's a soil block maker. It will make compressed soil blocks, 4 at a time.  A standard plastic plant tray will hold 50 blocks. From my favorite seed nursery, Johnny's Selected Seeds in Maine.

I'm experimenting to find the right mix of compost, peat and soil for them to hold together well. Each block has a dimple to receive the seed. Today the first leek seeds went in, as I just had to plant something! With the sun shining it was T shirt weather in the greenhouse today, perfect for playing in the dirt. If the weatherman is being truthful we are in for a milder than average winter, so I hope to get little leeks into the garden in late march.



Yes, I'm steamed...letter to the editor yesterday

The other day I was fuming about a letter to the editor in our newspaper, The Telegraph Journal. It was by the president of Monsanto's canadian branch, extolling the 'virtues" of genetically modified crops, and how we should be breathlessly awaiting the gmo apple and pear that won't turn brown when cut. Since I prefer my fruit the way God designed it and am horrified at the idea of frankenfish, and the disappearence of non gmo seed diversity I get really steamed about this bio-meddling. Since Michael Taylor has worked alternately at the top of both Monsanto and the FDA it's little wonder there is no required independant safety testing for gmo products. Add to that monsanto's powerful lobbying against labeling requirements, we in north amerika are entire populations of guinea pigs. If you eat processed foods you are consuming gmo's in corn, soy, canola, sugar in sugar beets and the myriad of products made from them. Following is my response Letter to the Editor  yesterday, Telegraph Journal, Saint John, NB :


Lorne Hepworth, president of Croplife Canada, a branch of Monsanto, paints a fantasy picture of a biotech industry with a sordid history of putting profits ahead of health. This is the company that brought us dioxin and PCB's that now contaminate the far reaches of the earth.
Jeffrey Smith, author of Seeds of Deception and Genetic Roulette, has documented 65 serious health risks from genetically modified (GM) products of all kinds. Among them:

* Offspring of rats fed GM soy showed a five-fold increase in mortality, lower birth weights, and the inability to reproduce;
* Sterility or fertility problems among pigs and cows fed on GM corn reported worldwide;
* Fertility problems, abortions, premature births, and other serious health issues, including deaths, among buffaloes fed GM cottonseed products in India
* Allergies among British children went up 50 per cent with the introduction to Britain of GM soy;
* The advent of "superweeds" requires ever-increasing loads of the toxic herbicide, roundup, to be sprayed on GM crops. Peasant families routinely exposed to roundup sprayed on GM soy fields in Argentina are seeing a 25 per cent to 30 per cent increase in childhood cancers and birth defects.
*Six European countries have recognized the dangers and do not allow GM crops to be grown within their borders.
No one knows the full extent of what happens to the end product when you splice in new genes, and then eat that product for several generations.
Consumers seeking to avoid GM foods can download the Non-GMO Shopping Guide and look for the GMO Free Project label on store products. the website of The Institute for Responsible Technology is a good education  on the dangers of gmo's and for an in depth look at tremendous problems worldwide caused by Monsanto, watch "The world according to Monsanto", a documentary found on http://www.documentaryheaven.com/

And on a happier note, here are some lovely healthy non-gmo greens and herbs in my greenhouse this morning.



Christmas is coming...but it's not winter til the garden is frozen...

Christmas wood working is a good way to pass the time when its blowing a gale outside and driving rain and sleet. My sawdusty workshop is cosy with a wood stove warming all but the corners, and I can make lots of mess and it just makes it all look that much more productive. This little wagon is 11"x16" and just needs a piece of sisal tow rope with a wooden ball on the end to finish it.  

The blocks and wagon are sanded smooth and oiled with cooking oil. The fun part is playing with all the pieces before they are packed into the wagon for the new owner.

                                                                                          Winter has held off long enough for one last garden tilling 2 days ago. We spread 2 truckloads of leaves on the new garden plot on a rare windless day and got them tilled under before the next round of rain. They should break down more quickly mixed with the garden soil than they would have piled up dry in the compost pile.

With the weather so unsettled I keep alternating indoor and outdoor chores. Here is batch of granola bars just about cool enough to munch. Tomorrow if the wind settles down we'll go find a Christmas tree to bring home before we have snow to wade through.

And since this blog started out being a place to post my watercolors, here is a little one I did recently while longing for warm summer sunshine. It's a doorway of one of the famous waterfront buildings in Lunenburg, NS. Details of this and our other works are on our new art site http://www.saltydogarts.com/



The Everything Good Cookie

I'm going to see the 'kids" and my toddler grandson soon so today was a baking day. Whole wheat rolls and banana bread, and Nana's 'everything cookies". Everything good goes into them. And Connor devoures them because his smart parents have given him good food, fruit & veg right from his first solids. Must remember to take him some of my greenhouse tomatoes. Here is the Everything Good Cookie recipe :
1 1/2  cups organic dried fruit (raisins, cranberries, chopped apricot etc.
1 cup water or fruit juice
2/3 cup olive oil
3/4 cup sugar

2 large eggs

1tsp real vanilla

2 cups organic whole wheat flour,( part white if you like) Soft whole wheat flour is for muffins & cookies, hard whole wheat is for yeast breads.

1/4 cup wheat germ

1/4 cup freshly ground flax seed

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt  

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp cloves

2 cups organic oatmeal

1/2 cup chopped nuts

1 cored and chopped fresh organic apple

Simmer dried fruit and water/juice til raisins are plump, about 15 minutes. Drain, reserving the liquid. You will need 1/2 cup of this. Top up with water if needed.

Heat oven to 375F. Mix oil sugar eggs & vanilla. Stir in reseved liquid. Blend in remaining ingredients. The batter will be quite wet. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls about 2 inches apart on cookie sheet bake 8-10 minutes til light brown. cool. (This is a very adaptable recipe, I have used up extra shredded carrot and zuchinni in these cookies, also coconut, chopped pineapple.) Put in cookie jar. They get fuller flavored after being in a covered container for a while. Now gather some up and go visit your nearest grandchild!

Maybe I should pick my tomatoes....

Damn, I wasnt ready for this yet. Always in denial at this time of year, my garden fork with snow on the handle is where I left it, sticking in the patch of weeds I was digging out of the garden. Looks like this is an inside day, I am baking trays of acorn squash which, when cooked I can scrape the squash off their skins and freeze it.

Yesterday we went to an auction on the trail of a pony model troy bilt tiller, but having a look underneath I could see where the transmission fluid had been leaking out of the seals in the tine housing, the tines were

worn and needed replacement and judging from the big hairdo on the girl on the maual cover I guessed it was made in the mid 80's. So I didn't feel too bad when someone else took it home for way too much money.

 We got this magnificent solid walnut table for just $100! I am SOOO happy with it. Wonderful condition and the center leaf kind of telescopes in underneath when not in use. Our other amazing buys were this pretty wicker seat chair for $10. and two small tables made of the most beautiful wood, for $40 and $60. Now we have a perfect excuse to go to the next auction in search of dining room chairs to match the big table.
Auction shopping has been my antidote to feeling really sad and heartbroken over losing my sweet but dumb golden polish hen. She tended to wander about in her dazed sort of way, apart from the flock. She didnt know enough to avoid open places like the other girls and sometime while I was indoors she disappeared. I imagine a fox grabbed her. There were no telltale feathers, nothing. I have been obsessively checking on the silver polish, but thankfully she has learned to follow the other hens. I have started an outdoor fenced run to protect them when I cant be outdoors.

Gardening - Phase 2- Winter

We have had several frosts in the last week so its time to switch gears and prepare for the winter garden. The sweet million cherry type tomatoes have been SOOO prolific, but they are slowing down now so I've yanked half of them out. The growing bed is being sweetened with loads of leaf mould compost before the next crop goes in. Standing on the horse barricade across the chicken door are my two supervisors, the Polish Girls. They have been watching the wormy compost with great interest.

They wandered in to the greenhouse, to see where the worms were going no doubt. Remember those wild haired creatures in "The Cat in the

Hat" book? Thing One and Thing Two? Thats what I call this goofy pair. They are quite irresistable, friendly and docile but not too bright. I have to hunt for them at dusk to put them to bed as they cant figure out how to get back to the coop. Maybe they just cant see anything.
Some treasures turned up in the compost as I was digging out the bin.
These round sprouted things were avocado pits I threw into the compost in early summer. I potted them up but dont hold out much hope for them.

These gigantic potatoes grew from potato peelings. Wow, there's a testimony to the growing powers of good natural compost.

So now the baby greens that I planted in early September are moving into the greenhouse bed where they will feed us fresh salads all winter. Here is a shovelful of arugula about to be transplanted where the tomatoes came out. They are neighbors to green and red oak leaf lettuces, parsley, rosemary, lemon tyme, and kale (so far) Perhaps I'll leave the rest of the tomatoes in there as they are, just to see how long they will produce. Fresh homegrown tomatoes would be lovely with Christmas dinner.

Cascade tomatoes in the greenhouse.