First Dish of Strawberries

Today I made the first dish of sliced strawberries.

I picked from one of the two beds (25 plants) and this is the result.

D suggested adding sugar and serving with cream.

I don't think it's needed, since they are so delicious plain,

but I'll try and let you know.

Mara des Bois Strawberries

Our first 11 strawberries.

Oh, my, are they ever good.

They definitely live up to their reputation.

The first flavor is strawberry sweet.

Then you notice a tang.

Marvelous!

They are ever-bearing, so we should have small quantities off and on all summer.

Mmmmmm.

June with Berries, Chicks, Garden & Dog

One of the broody hens has been sitting on eggs for over a month.

Another one had one chick.

A different one had two chicks.

But the third just sat and sat and sat.

We decided that her eggs were not viable,

so we went to Frog Pond and bought five pullets.

(Pullet is a girl baby.)

The fifth chick is probably under her keeping warm.

We were worried that she would not take to them - or them to her - but everyone seems quite content.

The dog enjoys the chickens, especially now that he has figured out that he can steal eggs if they lay them in the bushes. That's a disadvantage of keeping free-ranging chickens and dogs.

We tried never giving him raw egg so he wouldn't discover it,

but he's not as stupid as he looks.

~

The strawberry beds are caged in case the chickens get through the fence.

There are two hills of berries and one fallow area for next year.

They are just starting to turn.

The berries are a French berry, Mara des Bois, prized for its flavor.

They do not keep and they do not ship well.

Restaurants pay a premium because of the flavor.

There are none ready yet - sigh.

There is a great article in Smithsonian Magazine about them.

~

The raspberries are not ready yet, either.

Sigh, again.

But I could be picking Swiss chard.

Not quite the same. . .

June 18 - one of the gardens.

Happy Gardening!

Chickens and Tractor

It's still early spring, and the trees have just begun to think about putting out their leaves.

The gardens need to be readied for planting.

Oh, Boy!

Now we have happy chickens.

They run after the tractor to scratch in the newly turned earth.

Sometimes the chickens lead the way.

"Over here, guy, turn it over here!"

They don't seem to have trouble staying out of the way.

And this is sooooo much easier than scratching hard soil!

Tommy the Water Dog - 4/29/11

Tommy insists on being taken to the stream each day.

This time of year there is quite a bit of water in the stream.

He likes to open his mouth and race through the water.

It is nice if he dries off before returning home.

Well, at least a little bit dry!

He leaps over the bridge at the stream.

And carries D's walking stick.

The house is in the center of the picture.

Tommy and D walk up to the top of the meadow almost every day.

This is their view from the "valley",

which is about a third of the way between the house and the top.

The stream is behind the photographer (D).

Early Spring Wildflowers

It's the end of April, and after horrendous thunderstorms led to flooding (that closed schools), we went off to see the damage.

It was interesting - see other blog entry - but it was the wildflowers that captivated me.

We used to call these "Russian Dandelions", the first blooms of spring.

In the 1980s they were rare here, but now they bloom in huge clumps in the sandy, gritty, edges of country roads.

It's actually Coltsfoot.

Tussilago farfara.

The flower emerges before the leaves do.

It's in the aster family.

Spring Beauty

(Claytonia virginica)

There is a pair of opposite leaves, lance like, I would say, but Illinois calls them cauline.

The plant is perhaps 2-4 inches tall.

The plant is 3-6 inches tall.

It's in the purslane family, like portulaca.

Here it grows in the dappled sunshine on the edges of woods.

The speckled leaf on the right in the picture above is not from Spring Beauty.

It's from Dogtooth Violet.

The Dogtooth Violet is also called Trout Lily

(perhaps because of the speckled leaf?)

Erythronium americanum

A drive through the state forests and country roads shows so many wonderful plants!

This is about 4-6 inches tall.

Finally it's Spring!
I thought the daffodils would never arrive.
They are very late, but welcome.


Today Henrietta brought her chick out to see the world.
It is the only survivor. Two others hatched, but did not make it.
The rest of the eggs were not viable.

After the kids left, poor Tommy was sad. Not as much fun without a kid to play with.