Random 5 Friday

1.  Over the last several years we have had two deer that have made the orchard at the back of our property home.  It seems over this tough winter the group has expanded to five, with one very large one.  When we harvested our dried beans last Fall we had a great yield, but there was also a number of beans that never finished.  We learned a couple of years ago that if we leave our trellis' up over winter instead of trying to de-tangle the vines in the fall, that the vines come right off come spring.  This week, the hungry deer were scavenging the remaining pods off of the trellis.  Truly a complete use of all that the plant had to offer.

2.  Yes, I know we shouldn't encourage the deer.  Yet we seem to have a symbiotic relationship with them.  The garden can sometimes take a hit from their snacking early on, but we have never had complete devastation from them... knock wood, and they tend to come around less frequently come summer.  In fact, last summer they did stick around.  We always grow lots of Swiss chard, but last year we did not harvest any until the end of the season.  For whatever reason the deer came in regularly and ate that, only that.  Almost like it was our offering to them to share our land.  After all, Mother Nature does like balance.

3.  We are trying to settle on our infrastructure project for the farm this year.  I think this may be the year to build a large hoop house over one of our raised beds.  With our extended winter..snow as I speak, and the forecasts for the next month or so remain cooler than expected, we may have an abbreviated growing season this year, and it should be a good year for cool weather crops.  Putting the hoop house in may allow us a taste of summer if the overall weather doesn't support a long warm seasons growth....must have tomatoes for canning!

4.  Have you ever read a book and come across a sentence that was so beautiful or profound that you had to read it over and over?  I find that language is fascinating and what speaks to people can greatly vary, yet some words when strung together just right can speak to everyone.  This week American Scholar magazine came out with a list of the ten best sentences.  Take a look, and see if you are transported.

5. A week of anniversaries, as I'm sure you heard, March 24, 1984 was the date that the Breakfast Club served detention.  Wow, 30 years ago, feeling old yet?  Another 30th anniversary was honored in a fantastic way. Did any of you see Kevin Bacon re-enact his famous dance from Footloose on Jimmy Fallon?  The man has still got it, take a watch, it'll make you smile!

The Roads We Take

As we hit mid week, the hump in the road, my mind swims with new ideas.  I file the early week agenda to the back of my thoughts.  The roads we take, we chose.  Though we may not always have a choice of the terrain, how we respond to it is ours.  Those are the things that allow us to grow and what inspires the roads we choose in the future.  What matters most is that in the rigor of the day we take a moment and recognize the beauty right in front of us.  Do not miss it, it is meant to re-focus us on what is truly important.  How have your roads been so far this week?

The Tastebuds Do The Seven Deadly Sins

Last night we celebrated this months theme; the seven deadly sins.  The seven deadly sins have roots going back centuries.  They have been inspiration for art, poetry and epic narratives.  They hearken back to the beginnings of Christianity and the deeds are described as the root of all sins.  So after hearing about a similar party across the ocean (thanks Julie!), we decided to let those sins be our dinner club muse.

The stage was set beautifully and also represented the sins in a spring-like way, since we are all aching for color (I suppose that sentiment alone could be envy, huh?)  The thoughtful centerpiece was comprised of gold for greed, dark orange for pride, blue for lust, red for wrath, orange for gluttony and light blue for sloth.  A perfect stage laid, without further ado, the seven deadly sins as prepared by the tastebuds:

Wrath

Spicy Bloody Mary's

Lust

Candied Maple Crusted Bacon Wrapped Asparagus Spears

Envy

Bitter Greens in Endive Boats Tossed in a Maple Dijon Dressing

Sloth

Slow Roast Hickory Smoked Brisket

Greed

Fried Curried Sweet Potato Balls

Pride

Spinach and Feta Pie

Gluttony

Sticky Toffee Date Cake with Bourbon Glaze

Redemption

Finally we topped off with a digestif  

a little lead in to our next meeting on Holy Saturday, a perfect contrast to our sins.

Serenade

 After another 30 hour marathon of syrup making B and I headed to bed while the kids caught up on a couple of recorded television shows.  I knew when they were done watching when I heard the piano.  Since Charles started lessons in January, I have not really needed to push him into practice.  Though he typically does not practice as much as I would like, in these beginning stages he very quickly masters and then bores of the lesson.  It is not just with piano, he has much the same understanding of his baritone as well.  What is wonderful is that his piano teacher is teaching him rhythms at the same time and he has a tremendous understanding of the theory of music even as a novice. 

After a couple of duets of heart and soul with his sister, he practiced his lesson.  When B went down to do a final check on our cooking sap, he said the kids were using the computer to play more full versions of the songs that he wanted to learn and then he was trying to key them out and utilize chords (which he is just beginning to learn).  When I came down this morning, the piano and kitchen were littered with printed pages of simple sheet music.  His favorite song thus far is Ode to Joy, and I see he seems to have taking a liking to Beethoven in general.  I would not trade this late night serenade and self directed learning for anything.

Random 5 Friday

1.  We had brunch at a friends house on Sunday.  What could be better than the shrieks of dads and kids participating in some good old fashioned play?!

2.  This week as been a little warmer and the sap has been flowing well.  It looks like we will have another batch of maybe 50 gallons to boil down tomorrow!

3.  Have you ever wondered about what your favorite ice cream says about you?  This is a fun little article.

4.  Here is a very thought provoking article about being too busy, and why we do it.  Shouldn't we all strive for this dream  “leisure . . . will be abundant, so that all can develop the life of the spirit, of reflection, of religion, of the arts, of the full realization of the good things of the world.” Dwight D. Eisenhower

5.  Speaking of dreams, today on the first full day of spring sixteen years ago, I married mine.

Won't you join us for: