Author Archives: susanmsink@gmail.com

Renovation Central

I know, I know, the posting has been pretty light lately. What can I say? There is still a foot of snow on the ground and a blizzard warning in effect! The seeds I scattered in the cold frame froze … Continue reading

Posted in the Farm | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Renovation Central

Seed Scattering

  Yesterday afternoon I walked out through a foot of crunchy snow and put my hand into the cold frame to see if the soil was perhaps thawed enough to work. It was only about 18 degrees outside, but the sun … Continue reading

Posted in garden, the Farm | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Seed Scattering

The Last Squash

February and March can be miserable months for many reasons. Although I have come to enjoy some butternut squash recipes, I am still not a “fan.” And by February, I’m not really interested in eating squash anymore. Yesterday was probably the … Continue reading

Posted in recipe | Comments Off on The Last Squash

Sister Ruth

My friend Ruth Nierengarten, OSB, died on Sunday night at the age of 87. Although her health was delicate and she had been living in assisted living (St. Scholastica Convent in St. Cloud) for the last two years, this was … Continue reading

Posted in Benedictine monastery, religion, St. Joseph, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Sister Ruth

Flax

Last year, some folks at the college planted a field of flax with the intention of using the fiber to make paper. The paper hasn’t been made yet, but the artist in residence mentioned to me that they were looking for text … Continue reading

Posted in art, Benedictine monastery, garden, religion, St. Joseph, the Farm, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Flax

First Garden Post of 2013

So… last year about this time I was hinting at the new “secret weapon” that was going to extend the season and transform my garden. It turned out to be the cheap piece of crap you see in ruins below. … Continue reading

Posted in garden, the Farm | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on First Garden Post of 2013

Park Slope

Here is a draft of a new poem. Often I start with a concept or a line. I was thinking about my bedroom, which has a very large desk in it. I never end up using that desk, however, because … Continue reading

Posted in poetry, writing | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Park Slope

The Women

My last semester of college, in 1986, I took a course on American women poets that had a profound effect on me– as a writer and as a reader. The few poets I’d been introduced to by the more traditional … Continue reading

Posted in poetry, reviews, writing | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on The Women

Six-Minute Chocolate Cake

I was already craving chocolate cake when I read a long scene in Louise Erdrich’s The Round House about chocolate cake– cut in four pieces and served up with ice cold milk. So after the treacherous drive home from church, … Continue reading

Posted in recipe, the Farm | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Six-Minute Chocolate Cake

February

Here we are in February and it’s hard to figure out what to blog. We’re digging deep into the Netflix queue for films, discovering after a half hour that we’re watching things we’ve already seen and barely remember. We’re thinking deep … Continue reading

Posted in art, the Farm, writing | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on February