Gold in the Bank!

I LOVE composting!!! 

I've been hooked ever since I started composting almost 15 years ago.

As my sister said, when I excitedly showed her my accomplishments, "You need to get a life!!"

My response:

"Hey, this is LIFE!!"

Can you believe that this pile of kitchen scraps, yard and garden waste...

...can turn into something so beautiful, rich and beneficial,

and, without a tremendous amount of effort.

Plus, it's free!

Is this cool or what?!!!

Here's a picture of my compost bins:

From a gardening catalog, I purchased a system of three wire cages with wire pins that slip in and out of the corners, allowing easy assembly and access.  It's a great concept - simple!  I don't mess with special compost recipes, don't bother stirring it, don't use a tumbling composter.  I simply pile everything into the first bin.  When it's full, I fork it over into the middle bin and start filling the first bin again.  When the first bin is full again, I fork the practically composted waste from the second bin into the third bin, then fork what's in the first bin into the second.  By the time the first bin is full again, the process is usually complete - there is wonderfully rich compost in the third bin, ready to be used in my vegetable or flower beds.

Here's a picture of the second bin:

And, a picture of the third bin:

There's just a little bit of compost left in this bin.  Once this bin is empty, I'll fork the partially composted waste from the middle bin over and let it finish its process.  I usually end up with more than enough compost for my needs.  Last year I had so much that I ended up broadcasting it over my lawn!

As you can tell, I'm hooked!!

I compost just about all my yard and kitchen waste, as well as:

cardboard egg cartons

 shredded newpapers

brown paper bags

paper towels

even cardboard if it's too dirty for recycling!

The only things I don't include:

weeds with seed heads

diseased garden plants

cooked food scraps

meat of any kind

thick branches

paper towels contaminated with non-organic cleaning products

used potting soil (if it's not organic)

I've made the switch to organic lawn fertilizers, so there's no harm in throwing grass clippings or debris from edging the lawn. 

And, since I use primarily organic produce these days, there's no concern about pesticide residues ending up in my vegetable beds and ultimately in my body.

Cool, huh?!

Garden Glimpses

Coral Bells

Dirty Dozen Updated

The "Dirty Dozen" is the list of the 12 fruits and vegetables that contain the highest levels of pesticides when grown conventionally.  You can reduce your pesticide load by as much as 90% if you stick to organic produce for these 12 items. 

I had posted this list back in 2007, but it does change from time to time.  This is the most recent list I've come across - kale (for those of you who eat it!) has bumped spinach off the list.  Actually, I have a good recipe for kale chips - be sure to check it out!

The Dirty Dozen
(in alphabetical order)
apples
bell peppers
carrots
celery
cherries
grapes (imported)
kale
lettuce
nectarines
peaches
pears
strawberries

Eeeuuu....

Report from the Rabbit Trapper!

Two rabbits gone, who knows how many more to go!! I caught my first rabbit Sunday morning, then a second one yesterday morning. This morning would have made three, but the rabbit snuck in the trap, nabbed the carrot and proceeded to chomp on it outside the trap without getting caught. :( Still, I'm feeling like quite the successful rabbit trapper! I drove Sunday's catch across the county line and released in the woods; I did NOT want to take any chances of it finding its way back to my garden! I didn't have as much time Monday morning, so I just drove it several miles away to a park; two miles is usually far enough as rabbits stay pretty close to their area of birth. I almost felt like I was the chauffeur in "Driving Miss Daisy"! :) I do have to admit, though, I did feel a bit guilty uprooting them from their happy home. Both times, the rabbit bolted out of the cage, then suddenly stopped and looked around, trying to get its bearings. He'd hop a little further, then look around again, trying to decide where to head. The one even looked back at me as if to say, "You really aren't going to leave me here, are you??" But then I reminded myself of how brazen these guys are and how much they have seemed to enjoy terrorizing me. They are so tame - they would even watch me set the trap! They also enjoy taunting the neighbors' dogs by nestling down at the end of their leash range. One of the baby bunnies lives in my strawberry patch and startles me every time I pick strawberries; it was getting to the point that every time I heard something rustle in the garden, I'd think it was a rabbit! However, when I read the facts on rabbit reproduction, I lost all sense of guilt; according to the Havahart website, "a female rabbit can produce three or four litters a year, with four to six young in each litter. Over a period of five years, a single pair of cottontails and their kin would number around 350,000." Now can you understand why I am on a mission to rid my neighborhood of these rabbits?!!!

The Havahart cage traps are pretty slick. I borrowed this trap from friends who are accomplished squirrel trappers (200 plus catches over the past 15 years!). They were kind enough to show me how to operate it and let me give it a trial run. I've found carrots seem to be the best bait; the secret is placing the trap where the rabbits like to nestle down (under the pine trees in my back yard). I can easily glance out the window and check to see if I've gotten a catch; you don't want to leave the rabbit in the trap any longer than necessary. After a catch, it's a good idea to cover the cage with a towel for transporting so it's not too traumatic for the rabbit. I went ahead and ordered a trap for myself now that I know it does the trick. Since these traps are made in Lititz, I figure I'm supporting the local economy! I'll start trapping in the early spring next year when the rabbits start in on my crocuses.

I did wonder if I should start tagging their ears to make sure I'm not catching the same rabbit over and over again, but hopefully that's not the case....

Hope your gardens are rabbit free!

Spring Beauty

Hardy Geranium

Success!

Amazing

Isn't it amazing - this pretty little blossom...

turns into...

something so luscious, so beautiful, and oh so healthful!!

Still waiting...

Strawberry Spinach Salad

This is a photo of today's strawberry harvest - just the right amount for this salad!

Adapted from Pampered Chef

Dressing:
¼ c. sugar
¼ c. vegetable oil
2 T. apple cider vinegar
1 green onion, finely chopped
1/8 t. Worcestershire sauce

Salad:
½ pint strawberries, sliced
8 oz. fresh mushrooms, sliced
½ small red onion, sliced
1 pkg. (10 oz.) fresh spinach leaves

For dressing, whisk all dressing ingredients in small bowl. For salad, combine all salad ingredients in salad bowl. Add dressing to salad; toss.

Yield: 6-8 servings

Garden Glimpses

Poppies

Landis Valley Herb and Garden Faire

Anyone who is interested in heirloom herbs and plants knows about this event - people come from all over!  I had never checked it out until this year - not sure where I've been all this time!

New Battle Plan

A New Battle Plan

The Weapon

The Lure

The Enemy

Edging Prowess

I finally got the motivation to do a bit of edging around my raised beds. (It certainly looks better than the tall grass that the mower kept missing!) I love the look once everything has been edged, but I always dread a sore back and aching muscles. However, the heavy rains Sunday overnight resulted in an exceptionally easy edging process this year.

This is my trick:

I ordered this edging tool from a gardening catalog almost 15 years ago; I think some of the local gardening stores now carry it. It has been the perfect solution for me. A staight-edged shovel works great if you have Amazon legs, but if you have some decent upper body strength, this tool does an amazing job. (It also allows you to skip out on your workout at the gym!)

The secret is the serrated edge. It saws right through the sod - much easier than tramping on a shovel. If the ground is soft enough, you can easily remove the sod by hand. If not, you can then use the shovel to finish up.

I still have a ways to go, but I'm off to a good start!

Square Foot Gardening

I had raised beds installed almost 10 years ago - they have been such a blessing! It means less bending over, and the loose soil makes for easy weeding. I stumbled across the classic book Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew right at the beginning of my vegetable gardening pursuits, and it's been my trusty handbook ever since; I refer to it quite frequently. It's amazing how much produce you can raise in such a small space, and there are no rows to maintain. I'm hooked! I'll include a picture of the entire layout at some point (I don't have a good digital picture available at the moment), but until then, here's an upclose view:

I simply use 4-foot bamboo stakes to mark out the one-foot grids - it's makes spacing seeds and plantings a breeze. It's worth considering!

The Battle Continues...

I am so frustrated with these rabbits!! The other morning I looked out to see THREE rabbits perched around my garden. Is there any hope?? It's just not practical to fence in my garden - it's not simple to implement, and I'm the one who ends up getting fenced out in the process. I guess I'm just stuck on the principle that it's my garden, and I shouldn't have to be the one who is inconvenienced by these obnoxious rabbits! They totally mutilated my sugar snap peas. My four broccoli plants have been reduced to two, so I did put a temporary wire cage around them until I can come up with another solution.

I think the other reason I am so disgusted is that my goal for this year was to grow as much of my own produce as possible and see if I could get by primarily on what I raise. These guys (and gals!) are messing with my plan! I may check into a Havahart trap - it's time for these critters (and all future generations of borough bunnies!!) to find another home!

Roasted Asparagus

A friend blessed me with some fresh asparagus from her garden today - how wonderful! Roasting is my favorite way to prepare it. Simply place the asparagus on a cookie sheet, drizzle with olive oil, toss a bit, sprinkle with sea salt and freshly ground pepper, then roast for approximately 15 minutes at 425 degrees. Yum!!!

Here's the link to the recipe:

http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/roasted-asparagus-spears

Storing Mushrooms

OK, maybe I'm the only one who had trouble with this, but I could never figure how out to store the loose mushrooms that I regularly buy at the farmer's market. I would buy a beautiful batch of mushrooms, only to have them shrivel up or turn brown before I had a chance to use them. I knew you should store them in a brown paper bag in the refrigerator, but they always shriveled up if I did that. Then I tried storing them in a plastic bag, but they would get slimy and turn brown. I started adding a paper towel to the plastic bag to absorb moisture. That helped, but still didn't do the trick. So, last Tuesday when I was at Root's and saw that the mushrooms were exceptionally nice, I asked the gal, "What's the best way to store these lovely mushrooms?!" She said to store them in a closed brown paper bag in the vegetable crisper drawer of the refrigerator. Ah ha - so that's the trick I was missing! I followed her instructions, and a week and a half later they are almost as fresh as the day I bought them - yea!! I love mushrooms!

Stain Removal for Ironstone Dishes

I love Ironstone dishes!

I'm always on the lookout for them at thrift shops or antique malls, hoping to find a treasure at a bargain. I was thrilled to find this particular piece at a local thrift shop last fall - I loved the design detail, but the platter had a few stains:

Then I came across an article in a Martha Stewart magazine about how to clean it. I couldn't locate the link on line for you, but all you do is dissolve a scoop of OxiClean in a container of cool water, submerge the dish, and let it soak until the stains subside (two days for me):

Here's the final result:

I was pleased, especially with the removal of stains around the rim. I think I'll let it soak for another day or so to see if I can completely remove the remaining stains.

(Be sure to wash the dish thoroughly to with your regular dish detergent - you don't want to ingest any OxiClean!)

HOWEVER,

The sweet dishes that came from my mother's side of the family didn't fare so well:

In fact, it darkened the stains instead of fading or removing them. Boo hoo!! They aren't ironstone dishes, so maybe that was the reason? Oh well!

First Spinach of the Season

I always find it a little tricky to make the switch to eating fresh produce after the winter months, especially since I've been trying to save money by eating primarily my own produce that I've frozen or canned. So, when I picked the first spinach of the season this morning, I had to stop and think what to do with it! Then, I remembered one of my favorite ways that I discovered to spinach last spring:

Spinach Breakfast Salad

A bed of fresh spinach leaves,

topped with 2 slices of whole grain bread (Ezekial bread works well, and it's a great way to disguise it if you're not crazy about the texture), brushed with olive oil, sprinkled with sea salt or Herbamare, oven toasted, then torn into croutons,

add 2 poached eggs (firmly poached), seasoned with sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste,

avocado chunks (optional),

salsa

This was actually a recipe for a breakfast sandwich that I couldn't eat without making a mess, so I simply amped up the amount of spinach and turned it into a salad. :) Enjoy!

Love and Gratitude

This little necklace reminds me to stay in a place of love and gratitude....

First Beach Trip of the Season!

I made it to Cape May this weekend - a last-minute trip with another beach-loving friend. When else would you see 2 lone beach chairs on the sand (can you make them out? - I don't think I had my camera on the right setting) or get a hotel room on the beach for an affordable price?! It was a wonderful introduction to the 2010 beach season - we even saw dolphins!

Those Blasted Rabbits!!

I finally got around to setting out my parsley plants yesterday evening, both the Italian and curly varieties. Suddenly some strong winds blew in; assuming they would be accompanied by rain, I held off watering the plants. No rain resulted, so this morning I went out to water the plants, only to find that THERE WAS NO PARSLEY!! There was hardly any evidence that they had ever even existed - AAAAAHHH!!! The broccoli, lettuce and spinach is still surviving - I guess rabbits prefer the young and defenseless. Bummer! I'll spray some Liquid Fence again, then head back to Root's next week for some more plants! :(

Reliving My Childhood

My nephew just turned 7, so I gave him a potholder loom for his birthday. He was so excited! He loved it and caught on quickly, much to the dismay of his dad who thinks I am introducing him to too many "girly" things. :) (Actually, this isn't girly at all compared to some of the things we've done together!) Through my nephew, I got to relive my fond childhood memories of making potholders - how fun! Sometimes I have to ask myself if I'm getting the gift more for me than him!!

Spring Beauty

It Won't Be Long...

until my spinach will be ready for picking - can't wait!

I Love...

Bleeding Hearts.

Quotes Worth Contemplating

"There is more to life than increasing its speed. "
- Mahatma Gandhi
(Country Living magazine, May 2010 issue)

Rose Bracelets Intersect with Acupuncture!

This picture makes me smile!!! I had given my CTCA acupuncturist Irina a Rose bracelet last summer as a thank you for all the care she has provided for me. It wasn't until I was lying on the exam table today with needles inserted all over my body that I glanced over and saw the bracelet around the neck of the acupuncture body model. The fact that it was a female body made me smile even more! Irina told me that she had tried wearing the bracelet, but it was a hindrance with her exam gloves, etc., so she found a home for it around the neck of the model. The Rose bracelets have made it all over the world and been given to a wide variety of people in all kinds of situations, but this has to be the most unique scenario!! :)

Chicago at Last!

After numerous trips to CTCA and viewing Chicago only from the air, I finally had a chance to actually see the city up close. How fun! I was surprised by how clean and safe it felt, and how relatively inexpensive things were. We took the train from Waukegan into the city, then did a bus tour. I feel like I now have a good working knowledge of the train and how to get around the city, so I'm eager to check out some more spots the next time I'm there (in 6 months), including the Navy Pier. And, did you know that Chicago was nicknamed "The Windy City" not for the wind but for the politicians and city boosters who were full of "hot air." :)

Quotes Worth Contemplating

"Don't be hanging out with buzzards."
- Mr. Cody, fellow CTCA patient

Quotes Worth Contemplating

"I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing God who is sending a love letter to the world. "
- Mother Teresa
(Referenced by David Ashcraft at LCBC this evening)

Time to Say Goodbye....

Does anyone hate...

... doing taxes as much as I do??!! I just finished mine. UGH!!! I always forget just how much I hate doing them, and slog through them on my own every year, mainly because I refuse to pay someone just so I can fork over some money to the government. But, I just wrote myself a note and tucked it in my Day-Timer for January 1, 2011 that says, "DO NOT EVEN CONSIDER DOING YOUR OWN TAXES THIS YEAR!!!", plus a reminder to get moving on finding someone to my 2010 taxes. I'm guessing you finished yours long ago and are enjoying the fruits of your refund. If so, I hope that's still the case!

Little Mason Jars

Aren't these cute?!  I found a dozen of them at the thrift shop today.  It's unusual to find this size canning jar with a wide-mouth rim.  I love getting this kind of stuff at the thrift shop - I like purchasing something I can use, knowing the proceeds go to something bigger than myself, and it makes me feel connected to another soul who was doing the same kinds of things in another era that I'm endeavoring to do today.

Oh What a Beautiful Morning

Sink Reflections...

I spend so much time at the kitchen sink these days - doing food prep, washing dishes, etc. in an effort to worship the Lord by eating healthfully. Some days it feels insane.... But today, as I caught a glimpse of the hand-knitted dishcloth in the sink, it reminded me that the simplest things are often the most beautiful, and it's often in the common duties that we shine the best. So, I reminded myself of the simple things in my kitchen for which I'm grateful - a pretty sink, a cheerful kitchen, and a beautiful view out my window on a gorgeous spring day.

And Now for Parsley

I bought some Italian parsley at Rutt’s today. I’ll probably plant the curly variety as well, but wanted to get this variety in the ground as early as possible. It has a stronger flavor than the curly variety, and makes the BEST parsley pesto! I made a whole bunch of it last fall as I was cleaning out my garden; I had tons of Italian parsley left and hated to see it go to waste. So, I looked up parsley recipes on line and found one for parsley pesto. I made a bunch of different variations, before I came up with the perfect recipe. Yum, YUM, YUM! It’s fabulous and freezes well. I have just one container left in the freezer and am saving it for special company, or just maybe I’ll just enjoy it all by myself. :)

Click here for the link to the recipe I posted last fall.