Happy Halloween

I work with a woman who grew up in Romania.  Since one section of Romania is known as Transylvania, the home of Dracula, I had to know, do Romanians celebrate Halloween?  She said in some parts of the Romania they do.  "In the country," she explained, "not so much."  I guess the same is true here.  I'm not country but no trick or treaters have come to my door for a couple years.  I didn't buy any candy this year but if someone shows up I suppose I could share my dark Dove chocolates.  In Romania they go door to door, in costume, to ask for candy much like they do here. My friend also told me that on Christmas day, December 25, it is a custom to dress in animal costumes (bears, rabbits, or deer.  That would be a fun tradition to start. 

Mom's Tree

Mom's tree is still alive.  The tree is impressive.

You Are Welcome

As I was getting in the car this afternoon I saw a hole in the clouds.  My Grandmother next door told me that if you see a hole in the clouds and blow at it, your breath will widen the hole and disperse the clouds.  So I blew into this hole.  The wintry clouds should disperse now.  You're welcome!

Parsnip, Carrot, Potato Soup

Ingredients:  1 cup parnsips peeled and chopped into 1/2 inch pieces, 2 cups carrots peeled and chopped into 1/2 inch pieces, 1 cup potato chopped into 1/2 inch pieces, one medium onion minced, 3 cloves garlic minced, 3 cups vegie broth, 1 1/2 cup whole milk, 1/4 cup fresh herbs (I used parsley, chives, basil and oregano), 1 stick butter, salt and pepper to taste.

Method:  saute onion and garlic in butter for about 5 minutes. Add parsnips and carrots and vegie broth.  Simmer for 20 minutes.  Add potatoes and herbs and simmer another 15 minutes.  Remove half the vegetables.  Puree the other half of the vegetables and add the whole pieces back to the mixture.  Add the milk and warm.  Add salt and pepper to taste. 

So Immature

Offspring #2 and I finished the last railing on the deck stairs.  The last railing was installed the best.  We learn as we go along. We also glued the post caps on the posts. And we glued the cookies under the railings.  Cookies, in deck terms, are not the sweet round bakery treats but two scrap pieces of plastic lumber that will support the lower deck railing.  So we did a lot of measuring and sawing and drilling.  You've heard the maxim, "Measure twice and cut once."  We tend to measure once and cut 5 times which means a lot of walking back and forth from the deck to the picnic table but that is ok.  We can cut a board shorter but we cannot cut it longer.  We have a system down.  I keep the drill bits and screw attachments in the front pocket of my hoodie and we swap the drill back and forth.  And every time we get the giggles.  I laughed so hard my abs hurt for an hour.  And it was a good thing my bladder was empty.  What ever we say when we're drilling or screwing sounds dirty.  Comments like, "I can't get the angle right.  Oh, that went in good.  I felt that bite the wood.  Smooth!  It's in far enough."  We are so immature together.  Both minds firmly planted in the gutter.  Work slows down when we have to put the drill down and hold our stomachs while we laugh and laugh and laugh.  This deck was put together with blood, sweat, and tears of laughter.  All that is left to do is put up the fascia board.  Then I'm on to the next project.  If the next project involves screwing or drilling, it's bound to be loads of fun.

Blue Mind

I've been reading Blue Mind: The Surprising Science That Shows How Being Near, In, On or Under Water Can Make You Happier, Healthier, More Connected, And Better At What You Do  by Wallace J. Nichols.  At the same time I have thought about an uncle of mine who lives in the same house that he was born; a house without a bathroom. He has a toilet in a bedroom, a hand washing sink in the kitchen, and a shower in the cellar but he has no bathtub.  He's never had a bathtub.  As far as I can remember, I've never seen him swim or sit in a boat.  Showers are great and they can be very refreshing but I need more water than that.  If I go an entire summer without floating in a boat I feel deprived.  Now that I swim 3 times a week I don't feel the need to take baths as often.  I crave water.  I always have. In the water I am pliable and graceful and athletic.  On land I'm arthritic and I limp. I was the kid who was the first one in the lake for swimming and the last one out. Other kids would leave the water and sit in the sun shivering under a bath towel.  I stayed in the water.  And when I visit the ocean, I sit and watch the waves come in, come in, and come in because I know, living in the middle of a continent, I'm not going to see those waves for a long time.  I have to soak in the wave motion and savor it so it lasts until I can return.  Waves are as mesmerizing to me as a campfire. This book confirms why the water is so important to my peace of mind.  I remember meeting a stranger in England and talking to him about where I was from.  He asked me, in all seriousness, "How can you stand being so far away from the ocean?"  He lives in a country that is an island.  He's never far from the ocean.  I didn't know how to answer him.  All that could come into my mind is that someday I will live near the ocean.  Being a lover of water, I already believed all that was written in the title of this book.  Water does make me a better person.  This book only confirmed my suspicions.

Sauerkraut (Not)

 I tried making sauerkraut.  I cut a cabbage very fine and mixed it with 1 1/2 TB kosher salt.  I set it in a very clean glass vase.  I topped it with a cabbage leaf and weighed it down with a glass jar full of heavy things (like dice).  I covered it with a clean cloth and set the magic work.  Gradually the moisture left the cabbage and filled the jar to the top of the cabbage.  I set it on my dining room table for  about 3 weeks.  A couple days ago I noticed the top layer of cabbage turned brown.  That was not a good sign.  Next I saw a layer of fuzzy mold on top of the cabbage leaf.  So I threw the whole thing out.  Something went wrong.  According to what I heard Mike McFadden say, I can learn more from mistakes than from success.  I don't agree with Mike McFadden on very much but I believe he's right about that.  When you are successful you bask in the glory and accept congratulations. Failure leads to more introspection. Should I have kept the cabbage out of the sun light?  Should I have put the kraut downstairs where it is cooler?  I'm not sure.  I have one cabbage left and I like my cabbage, fake hamburger, tomato sauce hot dish too much to spend two cabbages on sauerkraut.  A friend of mine is making sauerkraut too and hers is turning out well and she said she would give me some.  That ought to do it for me. 

Packing for Mars

Mary Roach does it again with her book Packing For Mars.  I've read her other humorous scientific books about sex (Bonk), death (Stiff), and the digestive system (Gulp).  This book is about being in space where humans are not meant to go.  Living without gravity poses huge problems in terms of movement, electronics, equipment, and body functions.  Even basic functions like urination are different in space because the urine doesn't gather at the bottom of the bladder sending signals to the nerves that get stronger as the bladder gets fuller.  In space the bladder doesn't sense fullness until it is completely full from top to bottom and it is almost too late.  Astronauts have to schedule their bathroom breaks to prevent accidents.  The author goes into great detail about our #2 function.  NASA has come up with all types of equipment for space toilets but often they don't know how things will work until they give it a try.  Once they tried a space toilet that had a fan with blades to pull material into the toilet.  The fan blades churned the waste and the paper into a paper mache material that stuck to the sides of the toilet.  The part of the toilet worked well.  What didn't work is that the paper mache material was "freeze dried" in the  receptacle.  When the next astronaut came by to use the facilities the material that was freeze dried was churned again and flaked off the sides and crappy dust floated up into the living compartment.  All astronauts are highly motivated people who know life in space will be difficult.  Astronauts really want to be in space.  The chapter on space food was very interesting.  Some of the uncomfortable aspects of being an astronaut  are tested in labs on earth.  Paid volunteers eat restrictive diets while lying in bed.  One experiment involved wearing the same clothes for a month at a time while checking the bacteria on the skin.  If you can't shower, changing clothes is a huge help to the skin.  Not showering and not changing clothes is really bad.  Fecal bacteria was found between the toes and inside the ears.  If you want to learn about space AND be entertained to the point of laughing out loud, this book is the one for you.

Wetlands

Last night I went to a chapter meeting of the Master Naturalists to listen to a hydro-geologist speak about wetlands.  He explained that a hydro-geologist studies water in the aquifers while a hydrologist studies surface waters.  He was an interesting speaker and I learned quite a bit about water flows.  Sometimes lakes will contribute to the aquifer underneath.  Sometimes the aquifer contributes water to the lake. You can experience this when swimming or wading.  When you come into a cold spot that indicates water coming in from an aquifer.  Most lakes, he says, both give into an aquifer and receive water from an aquifer.  All of this depends on the geology beneath the lake.  Surface water can be days, weeks and months old.  Aquifers hold water that is decades to centuries in age. The lowest aquifers hold some very cold water than can be a millennium old.  Our speaker used the current situation in White Bear lake to illustrate his points.  White Bear gives water to an aquifer and receives water from the same aquifer.  Even though the area is not in a drought the water in the lake remains low because the cities of Centerville, White Bear, Lino Lakes and surrounding communities pump water out of the aquifer on one side of White Bear Lake.  Both St. Paul and Minneapolis do not pump water out of the aquifer for community use.  They use surface water straight out of the Mississippi.  This hydro-geologist says St. Paul has the best system.  With the chain of lakes on the east side of the city, St. Paul has a 28 day supply with wells available as a back up. Minneapolis has a 4 or 5 day supply.  Drinking surface water is a better choice because it is the more sustainable choice.  Pumping the aquifers dry will not last.  And watering lawns?  He thinks the practice should be outlawed.  I agree with him on that one.  I really enjoyed this engaging, thought provoking lecture.  I am already fairly careful about my water consumption.  But after hearing this talk tonight, I am motivated to conserve even more.  Water is a precious resource.  I don't want our water all used up on silly things. 

Smile A Smaller Smile

I had a busy night last night.  After work and going to the gym I had no time to go home to eat supper before book club.  Since I was presenting a review at book club I had to be on top of my game. So I stopped at Panera for some black bean soup and half of a grilled cheese sandwich.  The soup was delicious.  The sandwich had (what the heck?) a tooth in it.  Gross!  I do not want to eat someone's tooth.  How more unhygienic can food get?  I was about to go back to the counter and complain  to the manager when a dark realization slowly, gradually, dawned over me.  I could feel this realization move reluctantly from my feet up to my sad brain.  Could this tooth look familiar?  Could this tooth be an intimate part of me that I've never seen from this angle before?  Is this my tooth?  Is this a tooth I've been brushing twice a day and flossing daily?  I try to quickly swallow the sandwich so I can look at my teeth.  I run my tongue around my mouth.  Oh, good, the front teeth are there.  I can't feel any missing.  I look in a mirror.  Oh. My.  I'm missing a part of the first molar past the eye tooth on the upper right.  I'm missing the outside - the part that people see.  I find two more pieces of tooth and silver soldier (filling) and set them aside.  I doubt these pieces can be jigsawed back into place.  I smile.  A dark gap shows. I smile a smaller smile.  The gap doesn't show.  In 30 minutes I will be talking in front of a group of book club members.  I wasn't nervous or self-conscious about it before but I am now that my tooth is missing.  What can I do?  Forge ahead.  The tooth doesn't hurt.  The half of the molar that is still there is firm.  I chew my supper on the left side.  I go to book club and present my review even though a piece of me that has been there since I was eight years old is missing.  I can do this.  We discuss Border Songs by Jim Lynch.  We end up having a great discussion which is good because we have some new members tonight.  All the members spoke and no one person dominated the conversation so I couldn't have asked for more.  I'm sure once I get a dental appointment made, I'll feel much better.

CSA Evaluation

Last night I picked up my 18th and final share from my CSA (Consumer Supported Agriculture) delivery.  I got organic apples, beets, bell peppers, butternut squash, cabbage, carrots, kale, Mercado peppers, mini pumpkin, onion, parsnips, pie pumpkin, potatoes and a gourd.  Now that the season is over I am evaluating the service.  I think I got a deal.  I have quite a bit of summer squash, peas, beans, and corn in my freezer.  I ate everything except the beets and the cucumbers.  Offspring #2 takes the beets and my chickens loved the cucumbers.  I tried some vegetables I've never tried before and found out I liked some (but not the beets).  I really liked the onions, lettuce, corn, kale and potatoes. I loved, loved, loved the organic tomatoes.  The squash was good too.  Lucky for me squash keeps because I have 3 left to eat now.  I haven't tried the parsnips yet and I have two weeks of those to eat.  Parsnip - what a strange word. Parse snip.  Par Snip.  I think I'll try some parsnip fries later this week.  Since my delivery came on Monday I changed my cooking habits from cooking mostly on weekends and eating leftovers all week.  Now I do more cooking during the week. I was able to adapt and plan my menu based on what was growing well on the organic farms around Big Lake.  Belonging to a CSA has been a challenge but not overwhelming.  The only vegetable I think I got too much of was green and wax beans.  I think I will sign up again for next year. 

Sunday At The Farm

The first opportunity of the day, after breakfast, was to track a deer.  We went to the deer stand and started looking for a doe with an arrow.  Four of us scanned the maple basswood forest floor.  The layer of leaves made our footsteps very loud. We headed uphill which is where the doe was last seen.

She rubbed the arrow against a tree and broke the top third of the arrow off.  We looked and looked for ten minutes and didn't find her.  We searched for drops of blood but could not find any.  Would we find her?

But there she was.  She died with her legs under her. She died before she got very far.  We hope she didn't suffer very much. 

As long as we were there we walked down to the shore.

To look around and appreciate the beauty of Block Lake.

This was a beautiful place to be.  Maybe this is what heaven looks like.

Getting out of town for the weekend always eases my mind and gives me a fresh perspective.

The Long Way Home

After cooking and cleaning all day my cousin and I decided to take the long way back to the farm.  We visited another adjacent farm.  I opened the gate and she drove in.

The cattle here misunderstood.  They assumed we came in to fill their feeder with food.

They ran with the car toward the feeder.  They were booking it.

I talked to the cows through the open window as I took their photos. "Oooh, you are looking pretty today.  You look marvelous.  Have you been working out?"

But the cows don't fall for my flattery.  We have turned our car around to leave and they stand in front of us with expectant looks on their faces.  "Where is our hay?" they seem to be asking.

I see some anger in their eyes.  These are dirty looks I'm getting.  I remember that more people are killed by cows than sharks every year.

We move slowly and don't touch any cows but they don't move willingly.

At the end of the line is this big boy.  I notice his muscular physique and burly shoulders before I notice he's not a girl.  We speed up a little bit and get the heck out of Dodge.  Well, that was fun.  A little excitement always adds to a good trip.

A Weekend To Remember

I had a most amazing weekend full of random and unique experiences.  The weekend started with a drive to the farm with a cousin.  We haven't spent much time together but get us in a car together and holy cow, we're talking so fast and so furious we miss our exit off of Highway 94.  I think the conversation must have been riveting to miss seeing the lights of Alexandria after the sun goes down.  We made our way to the farm safely but not out of things to talk about.  The next morning we went to cook and clean for an uncle.  My Grandparent's house, the one I have not been in since the 1970's was a lot like I remembered it.  Only smaller; it was a lot smaller.  This tiny kitchen, where there is room for a small table and one chair, how did we fit so many people around it?  The kitchen counters and sink are so low I have to bend my knees to wash the dishes.  I learned that my Grandfather made all these cabinets and I marvel at his carpentry skills.

The kitchen cabinets knobs are just how I remembered them.

The pictures I remembered were about Europe but not quite the impressionistic pictures I thought they were.

This is the old wood burning stove stored down here in the cellar covered with plywood and surrounded by wood for the furnace.  it was cream colored with blue knobs.  Wow.  A Blast from the past.I remember my Grandmother using this stove.  She put wood in underneath the burners and fed a big family that way.  Even though I worked hard cleaning the house (that wasn't all that dirty) I felt priviledged to be able to enter this home and help.  Someday I will need help like this myself, no doubt.

Was Tonight The Last Ride of 2014?

As I walked by the television set at the gym tonight after work I glanced at it to see the weatherman say the high today was 71 degrees.  71 degrees?  I treasure days of 71 degrees.  So instead of doing my normal chores when I got home, I took my bike out for a spin.  I told myself that was also a chore. I do not want a clogged carburator in the spring like I had just 6 months ago. I added 1.5 ounces of Stabil to the gas tank.  When I had my carburetor repaired earlier this summer the mechanic told me about weatherizing my bike.  He told me to run the bike for at least 20 miles after adding the Stabil. He said I would be able to smell the Stabil when it started burning.  So I took off north toward Saint Francis to mix the Stabil in thoroughly.  On the half hour ride I passed 18 other motorcycles.  Every biker must be mixing Stabil in their machines tonight.  I kept my nose alert for a change in the smell of my exhaust.  I thought I smelled a change twice but both times I was passing auto lots so I'm not sure.  I had a nice ride.  I passed acres of corn standing dried in the fields.  I passed red oaks, orange oaks and brown oaks.  With the sun so low in the sky the oaks were especially beautiful.  A few scarlet sumac leaves remained attached to the branches.  Enough leaves were off the sumac that I could pick out the distinctive branch pattern of staghorn sumac.  The poplars had yellow-orange leaves.  I saw a couple of Trumpeter swans swimming in a pond so still it looked like a mirror.  I passed a flock,  herd of beige alpaca.  They all watched me go by.  After that I went through an intersection with a 4 way stop.  Cars were behind me so I wanted to accelerate at a good pace. The speed limit here is 55 mph.  But I saw a deer dithering in the ditch.  And another deer stood behind the first one.  Just the face of the deer stood above the tall brush.  Everything is fun until you see a deer.  I slowed down and made sure my brake lights came on.  The deer decided against crossing so I sped up again.  Two V formations of Canadian geese went by overhead.  The first V was a capital V and the second one was a lower case v.  The best part of the trip is the S curve on Highway 47 over Trott Brook. I throttle down to third gear going down the hill.  After the bridge I pour on the gas and move into 4th.  Halfway up the hill I move into 5th gear. I make changing gear noises out loud inside my helmet.  I'm Mario Andretti!  Woo Hoo!  Will this be the last ride of 2014?  Well, if it was, the motorcycle season ended on a good note.  

Quarantine

When I was a child my Grandmother told me about when she was a girl. Someone in her house had a communicable disease.  I think it might have been measles.  The sheriff came to their door and nailed a quarantine notice to their door.  This meant no one in the family could leave the house.  No one could go to school or to work or to get groceries.  No one was allowed to visit them.  Baskets of food were left on their porch until the quarantine was lifted.  I thought this was odd and old-fashioned.  Never once did I think it could happen to me or in my lifetime.  Then when I was in second grade I didn't feel so well.  I remember sitting on my neighbor's glider on their swingset.  I leaned my head against the pipe of the glider seat and did not have the energy to glide.  I was completely exhausted.  Next thing I know I'm in the hospital and in an isolation room.  Everyone who came in my room was wearing coats and gloves and face masks.  I remember being a little scared.  And I wasn't at all happy about the 3 penicillin shots I took in the rump every day.  I had band aids all over my backside.  After a day or two they took me out of isolation but they kept me in the hospital for a total of two weeks for my bout of pneumonia.  Back then people were kept in hospitals much longer than necessary. I completely missed Easter but I did get lots of visitors. My uncles came and played checkers with me.  Someone brought me a picture book about the 101 Dalmatians that I loved quite a bit.  And now, with the Ebola virus in the United States, quarantine has become an issue again.  People are being quarantined again.  They are not allowed to leave their homes.  Wow.  I never thought I'd see the day that quarantine notices would be put on homes.  At times like these I wish I had my Grandmother back again so we could have another conversation about quarantine. 

The Miracle of Mindfulness

I read The Miracle of Mindfulness by Thich Nhat Hanh.  This was a short non-fiction book about being mindful.  Mindful is where your mind and your body are focused on a single topic.  Part of being mindful is being aware of your breathing.  I was taught to breathe from the bottom of my lungs to the top.  You know you are doing it right when your belly goes up with an intake of breath before the chest rises.  Another technique is to count your breaths.  Breathe in on 1 and breathe out on 1.  Breathe in on 2 and breathe out on 2.  If you loose count, start over at 1.  Later in the book we're given tips on what to think about and how to catalog and separate our feelings.  This was an interesting book and I've been practicing what I have read.  Today I had a tough meeting that dragged on and on and on.  You know the kind.  This meeting involves people who don't have filters on their mouths and who don't accept people as they are.  Like nagging really helps.  Well, maybe it does help because I become mentally exhausted listening to nagging.  Anyway, to counteract the mental exhaustion listening to these people I started applying my breathing techniques.  Breath in on 1 and out on 1.  Breathe in on 30 and breathe out on 30.  Wow, feeling dizzy now.  Also I can't seem to stop yawning.  Maybe I took this breathing thing a tad bit too far but I was totally mindful in figuring that out.

Felt Like A Hero

I love my job.  I have an office and a desk and a computer. I have a drawer full of pens and paperclips.  They gave me keys and an identification tag that opens doors. I get paid every two weeks.  People know me there.  Some of them think I'm funny.  They pay me to talk to people and do paperwork.  And today was really great.  I got paid to feel like a hero.  One of our drivers had a van accident.  I overheard the phone call where the news came out.  I put on my coat, stuck my phone in my pocket, grabbed some keys and went "To The Rescue!"  I drove another van to the scene of the accident. I passed the two highway patrol cars, pulled over ahead of the van that was in an accident, and put on my hazard lights.  I got out of the car, hugged the driver who was feeling a little shaky, and moved the five clients, one by one, into the van I drove there.  No one was hurt. I chatted with everyone and offered reassurance.  Then I got in as a passenger and she drove us back to work.  I know it wasn't much but dang, I felt good.  How often do I get to feel like a hero? Like never!  So today was good. 

Sunday Drive

Today I went for a drive in the country.  I believe my yard is at it's most colorful peak today and much of the countryside was down right beayootiful.  I brought some squash soup and mini spinach pies to a family reunion in Harris.  I enjoyed being with people who knew me when I was a girl.  I met one man.  He's the brother of an aunt.  I thought I was meeting him for the very first time.  He looked at me and said "I remember playing with you when you were a little girl."  I don't remember that.  I also don't remember that he got a hold of a bb gun and shot out the headlights and all the windows of my Grandpa's car. Funny story!  When asked why he did that he explained that he could really see the impact of the bb when he struck the glass.  Makes sense to me. I cannot imagine the reaction of my Grandfather.  I could tell this man wasn't so happy that his misbehavior was brought up again but I found it entertaining. Everything about this trip was entertaining - the scenery, the food, the fudge (2 pieces), the company and the conversations. 

Open Lands in Andover

A friend of mine is on the Open Lands Commission in Andover.  She asked me to go on a hike and inspect a property owned by the people living in Andover.  She wanted to get my opinion on the natural resources of this property.  Daunted by my lack of knowledge I talked another Master Naturalist friend into coming along.  The three of us hiked this property for two hours on Saturday afternoon.  The first resource we found we princess pine.  I thought this stuff only grew in the big pine forests up north.

We hiked through forests, grassy fields and prairie.  It was a work out.

We found berries.  Are these high bush cranberries?  I don't know.

Mid October is not the best time of year to identify plants.  This one looks like a day lily to me but I know that is not right.

And then we found this magical place.  In the center of what used to be a corn field was a bare spot in a short grass prairie.  A round 30 foot diameter spot of mostly bare sand surrounds an oak tree. What is this? Some kind of ritual site?  Strange thing indeed but this is part of the reason the city of Andover was so smart to buy this property and keep it natural. 

Mushrooms push themselves up through the sand and cast long shadows in the fall afternoon light.  What is growing under this bare sand that would send up a mushroom?  This area seems so barren of life.

But the oak tree thrives.

What kind of track is this?  A snake?  Or a mouse with a long tail?

And what insect makes these patterns?  I remember seeing something like this in a movie about Walt Breckenridge but I can't remember what insect it was.

Those mushrooms push powerfully through the sand.

Here's a puffball next to another track - snake maybe?

We tried to identify the trees we saw.  White pine, blue spruce, apples and crabapples were planted. We saw only a very few buckthorn and we pulled those. We saw white oak, red oak, poplar, ironwood, chokecherry, and a few good sized tamarack.

I have no idea what this tall reed grass is.

I thought this was a goldenrod until I saw a fruity thing at the top.

This is a beautiful spot even though the entire time we were here we could hear the back up beeping of a bulldozer.  A local developer is in a hurry to get houses done this fall so they're working late on a Saturday..

Raspberry or blackberries encroaching from the side.

Shelf fungus.

This one is not a red oak or a white oak.  It's a bow oak.

I'm not sure if we were any help but we sure had a great adventure!