Observations

These days, Bidens or Spanish Needle is gloriously at peak bloom. This happy little daisy-like yellow Flower is impossible not to notice as the Summer wains into Fall. The Sun seems not so strong nor long now. Maybe that is why Nature turns up the Yellows in the Meadows.

Richard tells me the Plant goes by several names: Bidens, Beggar Ticks, Tickseed Sunflower, Spanish Needle. We like the names Bidens and Spanish Needle. Somehow Beggar is none too kind. The scientific name is Bidens aristosa. The plant produces 2 needlelike awns that attach themselves to any mammal traveling by. Hence, its names have some more meaning.

We find Bidens growing seemingly in 2 ways. We either find it in areas where it is alone with a single plant here and another there. Or we find it blooming in large prolific communities of many Bidens. The former produces Plants which are shorter. The latter produces Plants which seem taller, each trying to outgrow the other.

These 2 growth habits are found in 2 contrasting areas: in the Prairie areas which were likely undisturbed and in the Meadow which was formerly hayed and tilled. The single Plants dispursed across a larger area are found in the Prairie areas. The large communities of Bidens are found in areas which were disturbed.

We built a new garage almost 2 years ago. Although the Contractor was careful in his work, that project meant extensive excavation of the surrounding Soil. Bidens seems among the 1st of Prairie plants to return. I wonder if it is somehow protecting the Soil. I wonder if in some way it is preparing the Land for the return of the Native Plants.

I look into Missouri Wildflowers by Edgar Denison (2001, 5th Edition). This book, which is becoming a new found friend, tells us that Bidens likes wet places of prairies, waste places, ditches, roadsides, railroads (page 159).

There seems a reason to all the things that grow here. I hope we can still our loud and often self-centered Human Voices and listen quietly for the Voices of the Land.

All In One Day

Melanie is making Relish, Sauce and Chutney-All in One Day today from Barbara Kingsolver's bookAnimal Vegetable Miracle. The aromas from the Kitchen are quite remarkable as I blog along. I am on stand-by to taste test. Life is good.

Almost There

The Sorghum Cane is ripening and is almost ready for Molasses Making. Hollis, Deleta, and Granddaughter Whitley have been coming more frequently to check the Cane. We 3 C's watch the Stalks in the Big Field from the Deck and we make frequent trips to check it out.

These days, we can see the Sorghum Cane change almost on a daily basis. The Pollen Stage has passed. Green Seeds are darkening. Those characteristic "Burnt Sienna" brush strokes are beginning to show up on the Stalks. (Burnt Sienna is a color I grew to love when I was oil painting in my Teens.) The Cane is noticeably sweeter. The Seeds are losing their Milky Juice. Even the Chickens are thrilled about the developing Seeds for Snacks. Until yesterday most of the Stalks were high above our heads at 10 feet plus, waving down on their smaller adoring (and I hope adorable) Human Friends.

Last evening, we had Severe Thunderstorms, with 60 mph winds. The Rain came sideways and mostly from the North. Apples were bouncing down from the Tree. Lightning produced an Unequalled Light Show.

Rachel had joined us for Dinner but we 3 Cs were pretty distracted. "What about the Cane?" With reduced visibility due to heavy Rain and Darkened Skies, we strained through Binocs to watch the waving Cane from our protected space of the House.

As the Rain stopped, we 4 Humans made a Bee-line for the Cane Field. Sure enough, our Beautiful Cane had taken a hit. The middle of the shorter Stalks which were thinner were laying down in the direction of the Wind. The larger Stalks also were played about with the Wind. But seemingly very few were broken.

In case you know little of the raising of Sorghum Cane for Molasses, wind damage can at the very least make the tedious Hand Harvest more difficult. I remember playing Pick Up Sticks as a child. Just think about picking up 10 foot plus stalks of Cane which begin to grow and twist together. Not pretty. Worst case: Damage at this time can end the process altogether. We are reminded by these remarkable things that we Humans with our inordinant sense of the power of Self are not really in charge here.

As expected, Hollis, Deleta and Whitley came over this morning. Hollis said his Field seemed to take more damage than ours. Some of the Cane will begin to right itself. Indeed, the harvest will be more difficult. But still possible. The Cane will be changing ever more quickly now.

The date for the start of Molasses Making is set for September 6 but could be September 13. It will go as long as we have Cane to process and end before frost. That brings a quickening of activity. Stay tuned.

10 til 5

The Digital Clock showed 10 until 5 this morning. The Sky was dark as the Days are noticably shorter. As per usual, Freddie, the Rooster, was crowing. Richard and I chuckle about this often as we lay in bed.

Dear Mr. Freddie is announcing the arrival of another day inside the Hen House. He doesn't just do it once. He does it again and again.

Mr. Freddie has a habit of finding places which resound and amplifiy his Magnificent Crow. Inside the Little Metal Shed and right against the Wheel Well of the Car are Favored Places. But I think his most Favorite Place must surely be inside the Hen House as the Day begins.

Richard and I have thought about the reaction of the 36 Hennies. On 1st thought, I can imagine they are rolling their eyeballs. "Not again, Freddie." They surely must be trying to do what we used to do to the annoying Alarm beside the bed: Roll over, hit the snooze, stop that irritating noise.

But rather on this Day, I think those Hennies, just as Mr. Freddie, are saying: "It is a Beautiful Beginning to yet another Beautiful Day."

Catsup

On Tuesday, Richard made homemade Catsup, from our Tomatoes which are announcing an end to a bountiful season. Just in case you haven't made Catsup or even thought about making it, let me pass on some information about what he did.

Making Catsup is a long slow process. It surely must be a meditation on patience. The whole process took Richard 6 hours of slow cooking to turn 8 gallons of Tomatoes into 6 pints of beautiful tasty Catsup.

He used the following ingredients: Tomatoes (mostly Big Beef and Goliath, and whatever he had that was ripe), Onions, Garlic, Vinegar, Sugar, 1 Green Pepper, Spice Bag (Cumin, Mustard Seed, Celery Seed, Allspice, Cinnamon Stick), and a very small bit of Jalapeno Pepper to liven it up but not to render it hot. (Richard used the Ball Blue Book Recipe for a starting point, but used less Sugar and Vinegar.)

For a glimpse at the process, he 1st put the Tomatoes in hot boiling water and then immersed them in cold water. This is a quick and easy process for peeling them. He peeled and cored them, then separated out as much juice as he could. He cooked the Tomatoes, Onions, Garlic, Green Pepper and Jalapeno Pepper until tender (about an hour). He ran this mixture through the Food Processor and then hand rubbed it through a sieve. He then put the Tomato mixture back on the stove, adding the Vinegar, Sugar, and Spice bag. He boiled it down to about half. Throughout the process, he stirred the good stuff frequently. After adding the Vinegar and Sugar, the mixture has a tendency to burn. So he stirred more frequently and was ever vigilant. When the Catsup reached the desired consistency, he placed it in Pint jars, sealing them in a boiling water bath for about 20 minutes.

On Wednesday, we were mulling over thoughts for Dinner. Catsup came to mind. So we centered our whole meal on Catsup. Have you ever even considered featuring a meal around Catsup? I suppose if we all made our own delicious Catsup we would do it a little more often.

1st, we decided to have Grilled Hamburgers to go under the Catsup. Add to that an assortment of Chopped Fresh Herbs, Mayonnaise, Tomato Slices, Onion Rings, Bread and Butter Pickles (which we made last year), sandwiched in between Homemade Whole Wheat Bread from an Amish Lady at the Farmer's Market.

What would go with Catsup and Hamburgers? We added fresh Corn on the Cob, also of this season. Melanie also cut up an assortment of Fresh Veggies: Tomatoes, Dikon Radish, Armenian and Lemon Cucumbers.

And what would go with Catsup, Hamburgers, Corn on the Cob, Tomatoes, Cucumbers of the Season? Apple Pie. I made our 1st Homemade Apple Pie from the Golden Delicious Apples on our Tree. I apologize that it was too dark to take a good photo of the Pie and I was way too intent on eating my slice to take time for a photo op. I thought whoever would be reading this could use their imagination in considering warm Apple Pie. So how did you do?

As the meal closed, we broke out into our own special rendition of the song "Catsup" from the commercial on "News from Lake Woebegone", a regular feature on the Prairie Home Companion radio program of Garrison Keeler. We tried not to miss this wonderful program (especially during the winter months) when we lived up North. We smiled. Yum.

What If?

What if we lived our lives in ways our Hearts would Sing?

What if we lived our lives according to our Purpose here?

Things would be different,

1st and foremost in that Inner World,

and we'd see it in All That Is Around.

Joy,

Love,

Light,

Peace and

Magic would return.

Why would we even consider

settling for anything less?

~~~~

Glinda Crawford

Locally Grown Foods

When we eat Locally Grown Foods, we Humans seem more observant of the Cycles of the Earth. We are more protective of what it takes to produce Food, in particular, Her Water, Climate, and Soils. We seem more bound to the Rhythms of the Lives Who Produce our Food.

Life slows a bit. It takes on more of a luster, sparkle and shine. We focus our lives more on the place beneath our feet rather than some distant far off and supposedly more enchanting place.

We express our gratitude for these Simple, yet Mysterious Things. Eating in such a simple way weaves us back into Community, something for which we all deeply yearn.