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Nature is Culture
The thesis of Michael Pollan’s Second Nature, it seems to me, is that Americans live in a constantly uneasy relationship between nature and culture. Their relationship to the land: from visions of true wilderness (which exists only in the imagination) … Continue reading
Posted in garden, the Farm
Tagged blueberries, cultivating, gardening, Michael Pollan, native plants, nature, raspberries, Thoreau, vegetable gardening, weeding, weeds, wilderness
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Suburban Gardener
I have been wanting to read Michael Pollan’s new book, Cooked, particularly the chapter about fermenting, but it is checked out at the library. So I checked out his first book instead, Second Nature: A Gardener’s Education, which was published … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
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Water
Last night we had our first real “extreme weather” of the season. No tornado, but winds up to 70 mph, and 3-5 inches of rain in the space of a few hours. This morning, it was easy to see which … Continue reading
Posted in garden, St. Joseph, the Farm
Tagged drip irrigation, easy garden irrigation, garden, garden irrigation, gardening, hoses for drip irrigation, irrigation, storm erosion
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Up North
Cabin culture is big in Minnesota. So far I have been lucky to be invited to three different cabins, each a distinct part of that culture. This past weekend I was at a friend’s cabin “up north” near Grand Rapids, … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged cabin culture, mayflies, minnesota cabins, minnesota lakes, turtle lake, up north
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The Twins!
Living on the farm has made me very aware of the fragility of birds. I didn’t really think of them that way before. They could always fly away, and if they died flying into windmills or hitting skyscraper windows, well, … Continue reading
Posted in garden, St. Joseph, the Farm
Tagged bird migration, crane migration, cranes in Minnesota, Minnesota birds, prairie, prairie birds, sandhill crane chicks, sandhill crane family, sandhill cranes, wetland birds
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The First Prairie Flower
It’s always a great day when the lupine assert themselves in the greenery of the prairie. And it’s always a surprise. There in a field of flowers that still seem to just be getting started is a cluster of bright … Continue reading
Posted in garden, the Farm
Tagged American lupin, blue lupine, lupin, lupine, native flowers, prairie, prairie flowers, prairie restoration, purple lupine
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How to Eat Radishes
Last year was the year of raw kale. This year I wanted to try cooking radishes. Having seen a cooked radish garnish on a menu recently, and since a bunch of beautiful radishes have literally popped up in the garden … Continue reading
Posted in garden, recipe
Tagged beet greens, blue cheese, blueberry salad, cooked radishes, greens, radish greens, radishes, salad greens, sauteed radishes
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Ancestors
Before I tell you about yesterday, I know you’ll want to see this photo I took this morning of the sand hill cranes. They are off the nest! I hope this is good news, and it seems like a reasonable … Continue reading
Posted in St. Joseph, the Farm
Tagged Anton Heymans, Dutch family history, family history, family reunion, Frans Heymans, Heijmans, Heymans family, Louis Heymans, Martin Heymans
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Pickled Asparagus
One of my goals this year is to do more pickling. First on the list and most important was pickled asparagus. It’s the first year of eating asparagus from the garden, and I knew that as the spears got thinner … Continue reading
Posted in garden, recipe
Tagged asparagus, canning, pickled asparagus, pickles, spring canning, vegetable canning
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Fieldstone
A recent visitor from the UK asked if this part of the country was “the prairie” and if there were any very large farms around. She had heard of these corn and wheat farms that stretched from horizon to horizon … Continue reading
Posted in Benedictine monastery, poetry, St. Joseph, Uncategorized
Tagged farms, field stone, field stone walls, fieldstone, granite, picking rocks, rocks, rocks in farm fields
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