Archives for 2015

this wonderful day was for the birds

April 9, 2015

What a day it has been for the birds! From early morning till afternoon I have enjoyed one feathered pleasure after another, and something tells me the evening will bring still more.

The earliest avian beauty happened while waking up with Handsome slowly, ever so slowly, during Hot Tub Summit. The sky was dark and moody and the farm was dead quiet. Then gradually, as if some unseen person was slowly turning up the volume on the world’s most charming soundtrack, birdsong filled the foggy south yard. From tree to tree, from cloud to grass, in perfect proportion to the growing daybreak, a delicate symphony. We started our day with who knows how many species of happy, peaceful, life-grabbing melodies. Divine. This really helped us carpe the diem with love and optimism.

After Perfect Coffee and halfway through Chores Round One, I noticed Pacino’s cage (out on the front lawn) was open (it was my fault; I’d left it closed but unlocked while doing some cleaning) and he had let himself out. His wings are not clipped so he can fly, although it rarely happens. Thankfully he stayed on top of his cage, just perched there all business like calling to me.

Maaaammmaaaaa!!!

I watched carefully and in a minute or so he climbed down the side of his cage to visit Fancy Louise, our sweet, cuddly hen who was convalescing in a smaller sheltering cage nearby. He really loves her so much. Everyone does! The whole scene was so sweet I put chores on hold to sit on the sun-baked driveway and just watch.

As soon as I sat down, Pacino promptly waddled over to me and then Mia joined us and there was much bird competition happening between the two, and so of course that all needed to be captured on video. The commotion drew the attention of llamas and cats and other geese, and eventually (though the video does not show this) the buffalo.

Later in the day I had the very magical pleasure of taking two chickens to visit my friend Mrs. Robinson’s first grade classroom! This is the second time we have done this, and in fact the first time (last Spring) one of our feathered passengers (Ethel, one of the fancy Polish hens) was just a new little chick. The other one actually wasn’t a Lazy W resident yet. Frageelay (as we call him now) was hatched from an incubator in one of the second grade classrooms at Sky Ranch Elementary in OKC, so technically today was not so much a visit for him as a homecoming.

So I loaded a roomy, hay-lined cage into the front seat of my Jeep and drove to town. What a gorgeous afternoon, by the way! Perfect for being chicken ambassadors.

The chickens and I stopped at the school’s front desk to sign in and say hello to all the nice office people. Suddenly Frageelay started crowing. LOUDLY. Do you remember when your kids were little and they did something slightly disruptive in public but it was so cute you couldn’t help but love every second of it?? That’s how it feels when your rooster crows extra loud in a pin-drop-silent grade school. I scolded him gently and then whispered promises of so many apple cores when we got home. My good, loud, pretty boy.

We visited the teacher’s lounge first and made lots of friends. A few wonderful ladies were eating lunch, but no poultry dishes. And I don’t know how we are so lucky, but Mrs. Robinson’s blouse today was just spot-on for holding Ethel. I loved it!!

You almost can’t tell where Ethel ends and her blouse begins. So fun! Then Frageelay made his hot displeasure known again. I accidentally got a snapshot of Mrs. Robinson’s expression. I told you, this rooster is not quiet. This afternoon at Sky Ranch Elementary, his voice drew a crowd several times.

This is his serious face.
It basically always looks like this, but sometimes it’s just extra serious.

Then we started making the rounds through the cafeteria and hallways, attracting sweet little hands and sing-song voices the whole way. I was thrilled by how many students remembered our chicken day last year! They even remembered the white rooster having hatched there, though they named him something else. I still can’t remember his original name! That’s horrible. Only one little boy asked if he could eat the chickens. Ha!

Mrs. Robinson cuddled Ethel in her arms pretty much the entire afternoon, which put that fancy little hen into a state of pure bliss. She napped and relaxed and as far as I know never pooped on anyone. It was the most precious thing.

And just look at this sweet young teacher loving on Frageelay! She absolutely made my day. I told her how much this adopted rooster loves to be held, and she nodded appreciatively, saying that well, that makes sense, because she held him a lot when he was a baby. (xoxoxo!!) I almost cried, not kidding.

Another lucky and magical detail of the day is that earlier Mrs. Robinson had hosted another classroom visitor who was presenting to the kids a book about a polka-dotted chicken. Isn’t that great? It was all complete good fortune, barely planned at all.

The students were all so gentle and sweet and fun with the chickens. They asked both silly and smart questions. I really wish I had a tape recorder to capture the flurry of affection and inquisition. They petted the mostly unfamiliar creatures. They worried over Frageelay’s claws but also overcame that worry. They really wanted to know whether the two chickens were in love, married, having babies, etcetera, and I had to arrest my normally speedy answers and let Mrs. Robinson handle the delicate life-issues stuff. You never know which kids are able to cope with the idea that we eat liquid baby chickens (eggs). I also realize that not everyone is familiar with the idea of chicken husbands (roosters) having more than one wife (Ethel is part of a set with Lucy, you may recall). Life is complicated.

Thank you, thank you, thank you, Mrs. Robinson and Sky Ranch Elementary!! What a fun afternoon we had. The Lazy W would be thrilled to visit your happy, loving school anytime. And of course it’s always the best thing ever to hug the neck of a woman from the past, when our young ladies were babies together. xoxo Sure seems like yesterday.

Not five minutes into our half hour drive back to the farm, these two feathery children of mine were passed out cold. They wrapped up in each other like a yin-yang symbol and slept hard while I listened to the radio and made sure Rascal Flatts never played (Frageelay can’t stand that group and I agree).

And when I got home, guess who was out in the sun waiting for me? Pacino and Mia. Pacino was safely locked up, of course, but Mia was right there. Bothering the heck out of him. They both greeted me warmly. I returned Frageelay and Ethel to their love nest where Lucy was waiting impatiently. And I came inside to prepare our dinner.

Quiche. Made with fresh farm eggs, also known as liquid baby chickens.

Birds of different feathers can flock together
and sometimes they go to school.
XOXOXOXO

early april garden update

April 9, 2015

On Tuesday the weather was balmy. Warm enough to send the llamas for several dips in the pond (which is blessedly high right now) and humid enough to keep my braided hair feeling tangled and matted. I could forgive that small discomfort, though, because my arms and legs were so happy to bake in the open air, soaking up the glorious, energizing sunshine. I wore running shorts and a flimsy tank top and walked everywhere barefoot or with only flip flops and played in the dirt glove-less, touching and massaging the perfect earth until it became part of me. Everywhere I looked, new life was surging forth, growing aggressively, far beyond those first unbelievable sprouts early in March. Now, those plants that had only just broken dormancy are taking shape and boasting new blooms, coming into their own despite whatever doubts I had while they were sleeping beneath the ground all of the long, cold winter.

I worked over one empty raised bed, destined for growing who knows what? and thought to myself that this must be what my firstborn daughter feels like when she stares at a blank canvas or a new sheet of drawing paper. Possibility and thrill. I know from experience it’s how my youngest daughter must feel when she sits with a fresh, unadulterated notebook, an empty vessel begging for her words, making her fingers twitchy to write.

The clean, warm, perfect square of earth was transfixing. I sifted the dirt over and over again, letting it run warm and silky through each of my hands and between my toes, then raking meaningless patterns into the surface, visualizing the colors, textures, and flavors that would soon be appearing there.

At some point on Tuesday I wandered away from the gardens to tidy up the abandoned bee yard. I had intense mixed feelings about how many wild honeybees were at that exact moment visiting the painted hives. I could still smell the old honeycomb, as could they I suppose. The feeling of loss was very real, so I turned back to the gardens where all I could see was life.

Peony divisions my Mom gave me a few years ago are bigger every day. The leaves are lush, green, and healthy. The tight pink buds are numerous. And in my imagination their soon-coming Mother’s Day fragrance is already divine. Behind the peony here you can see a broken clay pot which has become a chalked up plant marker for horseradish, which I only just planted. Both of these developments are so exciting!

The wild Virginia creeper is as old and elegant as ever. If this vine were a lady, she would of course be from the Deep South. She would drink sweet tea and serve unsweetened shortbread. She would read Russian literature but not discuss it openly. Virginia creeper, were she a lady, would preside over the world from her front porch with the blue ceiling and she would bless your heart. It’s possible she’d wear Youth Dew perfume by Estee Lauder.

I realize that in this season before the garden is completely unfurled, most of my photos are extreme close ups. It’s not to hide anything; it’s just that the beginnings are so amazing. The smallest details are incredibly beautiful, and to see them actually happen and then really take hold, well, it makes the bigger picture too much for a while. The secretive thrills make the wide view almost irrelevant.

For the sake of honesty, here are a few snapshots proving that lots of work remains to be done. Things are still overall a bit messy, but to me they are still magical. Mostly because of so many small beginnings.

Lots of leaves to rake, plenty of crabgrass to remove, and bare spots everywhere pleading for riotous color. Oh, and rusty milk cans that need a new home and a sidewalk owned fully by free range chickens. But already the 2015 gardens are outperforming last year’s, and we haven’t even hit tax day yet. Soon I’ll share what’s going on in Seedling Town. I have tried new stuff this year and am super excited to tell you about it!

I hope you connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, too. I have lots of readers and friends sharing their garden developments daily, and it makes me so happy! Often you remind me to try something new or revisit something old. Between us all, the wide range of climates and specialty plants amazes me; but the common passion for growing things is what binds us. It’s just wonderful.

Okay, that has been my early April garden update. Thank you for joining me here!! Happy growing!

“Won’t you come into my garden?
I would like my roses to see you.”
~Richard Brinsley Sheridan
XOXOXOXO

sweet & salty leftovers salad

April 7, 2015

Once more along the vein of use what you have to feed yourself, last night I gobbled up a huge and hugely satisfying salad that is totally worth sharing with you fine people. Let me assure you that it tasted way better than it may look in this photo.

After Easter dinner, is your refrigerator bursting at the seams with spiral sliced ham? It’s a fine problem to have, of course. But ham can be a bit monotonous after a while. Last night we were not in the mood for quiche, which is my go-to mechanism for food reinvention. This salad makes good use of at least some of your bounty without heating up the oven or loading your belly with more butter and crust.

Start with chopped up romaine lettuce and torn raw spinach, two cups of each, which is pretty much the base for all my salads. Add to that some spiral sliced ham, about a cup of drained canned pineapple (certainly fresh would be better, but we’re using what we have, right?) and a small scoop of cottage cheese. I think I used half a cup. Add some black pepper.

The cold, wet pineapple and cottage cheese meant I did not need a single bit of dressing or oil, so it stayed pretty “clean” as messy salads go. It’s really high protein thanks to the meat and cheese. The ham itself was flavorful enough without adding any of my coveted sea salt. And the fresh greens were so crunchy, satisfying. The whole glorious situation was under 450 calories, and I wasn’t even able to finish this bowl, which is super unusual for me. Like, normally Handsome is giving me the sideways eye after catching me licking my plate or bowl clean.

That’s it! I’m having such fun in the kitchen lately, using what we have instead of seeking out elaborate recipes every day. What have you drummed up recently?

I’m signing off now to run four quick miles, do some yoga, and get the farm going for the day. It’s going to be gorgeous outside and I have lots of gardening on my mind. Wishing you and yours the best Tuesday you’ve had in a long time!

“Discipline is remembering what you want.”
~David Campbell
XOXOXOXO

marathon monday: 8 things on my mind

April 7, 2015

Hello hello hello. (Did you read that to yourself in Matthew McConaughey’s voice? Because I definitely typed it that way.)

It’s Monday! It’s the first Monday of April, actually, and Oklahoma is wearing all of her springtime finery. I sure hope you and your people had a lovely Easter weekend. Lots of thoughts and feelings were swimming around inside me but would never quite form into words worth sharing. Still, of course, I hope your holiday was beautiful. Ours was unusual but still beautiful. Simple. Good. And now that Easter has passed I feel like we are all allowed to really dive into the fresh new season!

Additionally, today is the first Marathon Monday of tapering before the April 26th race, and I feel it. In a mostly good way though.

Some random thoughts:

20 Miles at 20 days Out: This past Friday I had my final “long” run. It was a scheduled 20-miler, but I cheated myself a little and barely ran 19.65 miles. I blame the straight-line winds clocking in at upwards of 60 mph. That was brutal, you guys, but I kept up with a pretty average pace so I’ll count it as strength training on top of a long run. : ) Oh, and to illustrate how extreme the winds were that day, allow me to present this photo of a toppled porta potty. Among my worst fears, truth be told, is being inside one of these when this happens.

Appetite One of these days I will compile all my thoughts and some of the great resources I’ve found on running, eating, and weight loss (or lack thereof). For now, let me say how thankful I am to have learned a few things about how my personal appetite works. Key? Running long and hard makes me much hungrier than normal. And when I listen to my body and eat accordingly and not junk, I feel good. Great, even. On rest days I am not that hungry, and as long as I mellow out what I’m putting in my mouth I continue feeling great. Also, pasta trumps rice every time. And veggies trump bread for all of eternity. Amen. But marathon training has not helped me lose more than water weight.

Finally Registered! I only waited until the last few hours of the last day before prices went up. No biggie. Once more, big thanks to the fine folks at the OKC Memorial Marathon for the race discount! All I had to do was participate in a focus group afternoon last summer, which I would happily have done for free.

Water versus Diet Coke: I’m making an effort. That’s all we’re gonna say at this point. The same applies to carb restriction (i.e. fat loss) (translation, wishful thinking) which is really kind of silly to attempt this late in the game. Never mind, ok? Somebody get me a freezing cold Diet Coke.

Need for Speed: I’m so regretting my lack of consistency this spring (crazy to the max, unpredictable life schedules and Oklahoma weather, which together resulted in one week of set backs after another, seriously!) because apparently I care a lot more about speed than I have been admitting. In order to register for the race you have to guess your finishing time, so I used a calculating tool to estimate that and was appalled. It is silly, of course, because what was I expecting? Magic? “Just finishing” was a fine enough goal last year for my first time, but I am bummed out to not have improved very much with regard to speed. I am really happy that endurance comes easily for me, though. This is just proof that reading about how fast other women are can be motivating; but it can also be just as destructive to your spirit as comparing your body to bikini models. Realistic perspective, ma’am, let’s keep a realistic perspective. No comparing ladies! Be happy. xoxo

Shoes I don’t like my new Sauconys anymore. At all. They are pretty to look at (see photo below) but not good for my feet. Stay tuned for a break up letter. Oh, and since it’s taper time I reserve the right to blog about running on more days than just Monday. Hope nobody hates it!

Garmin Handsome surprised me recently with a snazzy Garmin, and despite all my declarations of “not caring about technology and whatnot,” I love it. It allows me to just run and not count laps; it also keeps me from having to remember what time I started, how many breaks I took, etcetera. So no more guessing my pace. Plus: On those rare occasions when I run somewhere other than around the llama field, I have a better chance of looking the part of a real runner, right?

Sluggish: So, heavy legs are normal at this stage? Both Monica and Janae have written recently about heavy-feeling (sluggish) legs being normal if you’ve been properly training for a marathon, so I am trying to feel okay about this. Did I feel this way last year? Cannot remember. But I have been feeling some anxiety about how tired my legs are after any double-digit run, and Monica’s and Janae’s encouragement really calmed my nerves. Maybe I am more ready than it seems. Or maybe I am living in a fantasy world. We shall soon find out.

survivor tree on the grounds of the memorial museum, OKC xoxo

That’s all the running randomness to which I will subject you tonight! Overall I feel terrific and am excited for the race. Really excited. Local news channels together with the Memorial foundation have already started sharing remembrance of the events from this month twenty years ago, honoring the victims one at a time, and promoting the Oklahoma Standard. It’s a very emotional community experience, and I cherish it all.

How are you doing? Are you participating in any of the running events on April 26th, or maybe volunteering? I know at least one reading friend I’ve made here and her adult daughter who are both running the half marathon. I really hope to finally meet them at the Expo. Hi Marcella!

Run to Remember
XOXOXOXO

early season pleasures

April 1, 2015

Since the fresh new season is in full swing, we are spending more and more time outdoors. From sun to sun, the farm offers more work and more fun than ever. Actually my work is more fun this time of year! I love it. Cleaning animal habitats, collecting dried manure, filling troughs, watering and doting on plants, just (as my Grandpa Rex would say) puttering around… None of it is difficult in this season. Physical and spiritual pleasures abound.

Right now, upstairs in a sunny window seat in our bedroom hallway, dozens of seedling containers are growing all kinds of tiny crops, not the least of which is basil. You heard me right, friends, basil. The king of herbs. Now sprouted into fluffy little leaf-topped groves, less than a week after touching that sexy black soil you see there, baby basil is a soul-deep pleasure. It awakens everything culinary and horticultural in me. Several times per day I walk slowly past this nursery of miniatures and gently scan the pads of my fingers across those verdant ruffles. I dare to lean down, pinch a leaf bud or two, and inhale the nearly imperceptible perfume. And the fragrance of all that moist peat is intoxicating, too. I just adore it. This productive collection of seedling trays promises me food and flowers all season long.

Fortunately, while we wait for the new herbs, a few stalwart specimens overwintered very well outdoors and are now fresh and green again, offering me perfect little bundles of bright flavor for all kinds of recipes. It’s been a while since I’ve had the pleasure of walking barefoot out to the herb garden to clip just the right amount of herbs for dinner. And what a true pleasure it is! Soon the sage, rosemary, and oregano already producing will be joined by so much more. Gardening for the sake of cooking more than doubles the pleasure. These endeavors are far more than the sum of their parts.

The vegetable garden is renewing herself slowly but surely, too, and just watching the gentle evolution is a total pleasure. Spinach, mesclun, kale, snow peas, radishes, two kinds of cabbage (different varieties than what I’ve grown in the past), and these fluffy red sail lettuces you see, which were gifts from the Will Rogers Garden after a recent work day. Everything is still small and perfect. I am enamored by the petite sprouts of spinach and kale and by the rounded, optimistic faces of snow peas when they break ground and timidly unfurl that first pair of leaves. They say, “Surprise! I’m here!” And then an angel’s harp chimes once.

A half dozen tomato plants are sitting out there too, also gifts from Will Rogers. This is exciting if a bit risky, considering the last frosts we often get. A few days ago I scattered some extra basil seeds among the first tomato plants. Because, you know, Caprese. And adjacent to the edibles out there are so many perennial flowers and bulbs that come up on their own every spring. This year I can already tell they have multiplied like crazy. Clematis, day-lilies, bleeding heart, thornless blackberries, caladium, so much. A slow, easy meandering walk down toward the vegetable beds is worth doing any time of day. It quiets me. And excites me. I am quietly excited. Or excitedly calm. Both.

Whenever possible I have been venturing out around town here and there, exploring different garden centers and spending all the money I make selling eggs. Ha! This is its own kind of pleasure. Exploratory. Stimulating. The garden centers get me thinking of how things look together and of what my eyes are craving this year.

I’ve been to the big box and hardware stores when other farm errands require it, a fancy schmancy place way out north I keep hearing good things about (it’s drop dead gorgeous but expensive), and finally and with the greatest affection… Earl’s Nursery about ten minutes east of here. I love that place. They know me and I know them and we love each other. (Or at least, I love their plants and they love my money. This is a healthy arrangement.)

All the colorful displays are dizzying, you know? A kaleidoscope of color and texture unlike anything else. I walked through their greenhouses yesterday in a thin cotton sundress and straw cowboy hat and nearly sweated to death. That would have been a wonderful way to go.

More on this soon, but the curved flower bed and flagstone patio near our hot tub is getting a makeover. Yesterday I cleaned out most of that ocean of dried leaves, pulled what few weeds straggled up, celebrated the flowers emerging on their own, added composted horse and buffalo manure, and planted more pretty stuff, both edible and ornamental. So fun! I’ll share more photos and ideas from this project as it look better.

And as always, Mia the overly attached gander is right there ready to help. He provides unlimited cuddles and an unflinching goose soundtrack. “Hooooonnnk…” xoxoxo

After spending so many weeks planning and daydreaming about the new year’s garden, it is such a physical pleasure and mental relief to actually got outside and work. Move things. Affect change. Improve your surroundings. How divine to end a day sweaty and caked with dirt, decidedly in need of a second or third shower before cooking dinner.

Please share with me some details about your gardening so far! I so love hearing about what other people grow, how they do it, what plants they love best, and more. This personal exchange is one of my favorite parts of answering phones for the Country Extension, too.

Okay that’s it for today! Enjoy your outdoor spaces, friends. Move stuff around. Touch, smell, watch, love. Abandon yourself to the constant river of miracles. It will take you to good places.

Oh! And use manure and compost. If you are local and want some, drop me a line. We have a lot. Cheap.

“Gardens are not made by singing ‘Oh, how beautiful!’
and sitting in the shade.”
~Rudyard Kipling, Complete Verse
XOXOXOXO

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