Curator of words & other curiosities
If you missed Part 1, it's here! Charles and I are deep into our first summer of large-scale gardening on the farm. We started in the cold days of early spring, babying our tiny seedlings in our "work room." We set them up under grow lights and watered diligently. They were (mostly) successful, though we… Continue reading The Year of Experimental Gardening, Part 2
Our year of experimental gardening has produced at least one gargantuan success so far: our plants of the squash family. We planted two types of pumpkin ~ Dickinson and Chioggia ~ and several types of squash: Costata Romanesco zucchini, Golden Pattison pattypans, white pattypans, yellow summer squash, and lemon squash. All but the white pattypans… Continue reading Sunshine Squash Casserole
by Harvey Ussery When I joined my husband's family, I knew I was getting into a totally new experience: these are people who have dinner-table conversations about compost, Johnson grass, and sheep bloat. His parents bought this land as their retirement home, but have turned it into a working small-scale farm that provides all of… Continue reading The Small-Scale Poultry Flock
I have loved gardening since I can remember. When I was little my dad would plant a yearly vegetable garden; I remember eating apples from our backyard tree while watching him till up the dirt in the spring. As a teenager, I kept a garden for several years and had reasonable success with tomatoes, beets,… Continue reading The Year of Experimental Gardening, Part 1
Here in upstate South Carolina, we are on the tail-end of winter. Some days it feels like summer (because ... South Carolina), but some days, like today, there's still a bite to the chill in the air. Just enough to make a warm bowl of stew sound like just the thing for supper. So before… Continue reading Chicken Red Pesto Stew
by Alasdair MacIntyre I read this book at the tail-end of a philosophy kick a few years ago. For three semesters, I audited philosophy classes at my alma mater (which, fun fact, offers one free audited class per semester to alumni!). I sat in on Intro to Philosophy, Medieval Philosophy, and Modern Philosophy. These classes… Continue reading After Virtue
This is a recipe born of "not having all the ingredients" ~ a common ailment in my cooking. Or a blessing in disguise, since it forces creativity and I'm always figuring out how to make something new. We haven't ever had white potatoes in our house as a married couple, since we're trying to be… Continue reading Farmer’s Pie
There are some beautiful things about living on a farm. Like peaceful, pastoral scenes every day: And amazing sunsets nearly every night: And little hidden gems all over the place waiting to be discovered: HOWEVER. There are also some messy, gross, and downright disgusting things that come with farming. Like sheep poop pellets ... And… Continue reading The Fall of Mousetopia
In my search for good snacks on this ketogenic eating experiment (to replace the crunchy, starchy things I love but my body doesn't), I kept thinking that mixed nuts would be a good alternative. Or a trail-mix type thing, without the typical sugary dried fruit and chocolate chips and M&Ms. However, a store-bought trail mix… Continue reading Spiced Mixed Nuts
by Avi One of my bucket list goals is to read every Newbery Medal book. So when I find one at 2nd & Charles or a thrift store or a used bookstore (like this gem Charles and I found recently), I snatch it up. (Aside: if you are a book lover and you don't frequent… Continue reading Crispin: The Cross of Lead