Lazy W Marie

Carpeing all the diems in semi-rural Oklahoma...xoxo

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a new shade garden for the farm

A childhood daydream is coming true for me, right here at the farm: We are building a new shade garden.

It will grow beneath the canopy of some blackjack trees, in the sleepy, loamy area just downhill from the house, right between our bonfire yard and my raised beds veggie garden.

 

 

When you stand outside my kitchen and turn right, you first see the herb garden, then past a little expanse of lawn you will soon see this new shade garden adjacent to full sun beauties, then beyond that some sandy hills full of frogs and turtles, then the pond which is blessedly full and glassy right now, and beyond that your eyes fall easily on the back field and western horizon which is every evening ablaze with color.

 

I snapped this photo yesterday evening as some intense winds stirred up those clouds. The sky looked like whipped denim.

 

We all sure do love Oklahoma sunsets. And this telescoping alleyway of one view after another, culminating in a long drink of sunset reflecting on the pond is one of my favorite features of the Lazy W. Especially in warm months between the hours of about 5-9 p.m. because bats and dragonflies fill the dusk. It’s a little bit of magic, and we are working to maximize that.

In my mind, this new space mimics a garden my grandparents grew in Oklahoma City, when I was in grade school and still climbing trees barefoot and using grated blue and purple chalk for eye shadow. Back then, they grew the most beautiful and luxurious examples of everything good and fragrant. And they seemed to do so easily, though I know they worked hard. Here and now, we already have one each of hydrangea, viburnum, bleeding heart, and an optimistic little white azalea. That’s not much for so much open space, even keeping in mind the tree roots. Soon we will add larkspur, foxglove, hollyhocks, extra herbs, more Hydrangea, more viburnum, and definitely more azaleas plus a few thick ruffles of caladium. Because in addition to mimicking my grandparents’ style, I want to nod generously to our beloved French Quarter. The aesthetic there never fails to conjure up a certain mood, a certain pleasure-seeking vibe that both Handsome and I love. More on that another day.

 

 

This afternoon I spent the sunshine hours adding mulched up leaves and composted horse manure to the bare beds, incorporating it into the soil and breathing in the perfume. I was happy to find lots of earthworms but so far no baby snakes. I then spread several bags of black mulch over the newly cultivated areas and stood back to admire how great everything looks with that clean, crisp, uniform backdrop. The white azalea blooms are visible from a greater distance now. The “garden” is more clearly defined from the “path,” and I swear emerald green becomes Technicolor green with that mulch and a heavy dose of molten sunshine.

 

 

All this color and freshness eliminate the feeling of desolation you sometimes get by looking at too much dry, barren earth and dead things. Does that happen to you?

The overarching goal here is to grow more ornamentals and edibles for our private use, near where we luxuriate daily. (Market growing is happening in the front field this year.) We want all of it back here to be part of the landscape, orchestrated more or less with curves and repeated groupings, and far more easily maintained than before. The borders and mulch will do a lot to accomplish that.

I wish my Grandpa could see this latest farm improvement, because he and Grandma inspired so much of it. And all these years since Handsome and I bought this place, Grandpa was so encouraging and supportive.

But he is with me when I smell crushed tomato leaves and when I accidentally mow a garlic row. He is with me when I “double dig” exactly the way he taught me to and when I mulch the grass clippings of course. And on cool mornings when I wear his quilted nylon vest with pockets.

This childhood daydream coming true is already more beautiful than I ever thought a real garden of my very own could be.

XOXOXOXO

 

friday 5 at the farm: feel good meals this week

Happy Friday!! Lots to celebrate over here. Lots of good stuff to press again into our flesh so it becomes more a part of us. 

 

Yesterday I got to nourish my soul as much as my body by gobbling up two hours of top-shelf conversation with my cousin Jen. Actually our moms are cousins. More importantly, we are friends and have been since we were little girls.

 

Jen and me at Roman Nose state park, circa the 80’s. Climbing rocks in flip flops? Since this is a food post, I will tell you that I clearly remember eating cottage cheese with pineapple that day, on a bed of lettuce. We also roasted hot dogs.

I am always so grateful to grab time with this woman. She lives in Colorado now, not far from Jocelyn. Needless to say, we have some fun activities planned for my next drive up.

I love you Jen!! Thanks for sharing your heart and your cake. 

 

 

Real quick, five meals that made me feel great this past week. 

I do not “meal-prep” in the traditional hashtag sense of the word, though I admire those of you who do. How fun to see what other people eat, especially folks with similar goals and lifestyles. For us, I just plan loose menus aiming for as many vegetables as I can find, some lean-ish protein, eggs, fruits, good grains and cereals, and, okay, copious amounts of caffeine. Also popcorn.

Close observers might notice a conspicuous absence of tortilla chips these days. Just an experiment to see I die from not eating them?

When I hydrate completely and nourish myself with just a little intention, I always feel better. Happier, more energetic, stronger for good consecutive days of running and farm chores, sleepier at night, comfier with life in general.

Handsome feels better with good habits, too. He and I eat the same more than our friends might believe. I might eat slightly bigger salads than he does, and he might like potatoes more than I do, but otherwise? Like 67.814% the same.

Onward!

 

1. Apple Oats & Strong Coffee with Full Fat Half and Half, no sugar: I ate this late Tuesday morning after running nine miles, six with my friend Sheila and three solo. I was cold, wet, happy, and pleasantly depleted. I got home and craved something sweet. Normally I put runny eggs in my plain oats, but this day a Granny Smith apple was perfect. Loads of cinnamon. I was at max energy for hours. And behold the extreme volume of froth on that coffee, thanks to my $1.79 IKEA gadget. Obsessed. 335 calories, 68 carbs, 3 fat, 12 protein.

 

2. Roasted Broccoli with Quinoa, Lean Ground Beef, & a Parsley Mountain: A few cups of broccoli thawed and roasted, a nice sized patty of lean ground beef, and a hefty scoop of quinoa-wild rice mix. I smothered all of it with fresh parsley and added mustard instead of salad dressing. I was so full and content. 537 calories, 15 fat, 55 carbs, 53 protein.

3. The Egghead at Red Cup: Thursday was lunch with Jen. We met in OKC at the Red Cup, an adorable, artsy coffee shop that has evolved nicely over the last couple of decades. First I ate this picturesque sandwich you see here, and washed it down with some pretty decent French Press coffee. The bread was marbled rye, and the good stuff inside was a fluffy egg or two, avocado slices, some salad type things, and maybe a smear of hummus? Delicious. No exact nutrition data to share, but I felt great after eating it and had energy all afternoon. See below for our dessert…

4. Vegan Peach Cake: Jen and I nibbled together on this cold, fluffy, nutty, fruity mound of indulgence in between updating each other on our lives lately, our hearts’ desires, and what books we both have read. We made this cake last a long while, man! And by the end of our two-hour lunch, still half of it remained on the plate. Not because it wasn’t good, because it was. It was just so dense. And we were both already so full from our actual food! Yum. 

5. Green Salad with Broccoli Slaw & Sirloin: Have you ever tried a baggie of that raw broccoli slaw from the produce department? I grabbed one a few days ago for a great price and have to admit, I love the convenience. I recently saw the idea of using these tiny veggies slivers in a stir fry, which I will eventually do. So far, on a “big salad” night I just added about half a cup of it, plain and raw, to a bed of chopped romaine and tomato, topped it with several ounces of petit sirloin and some vinaigrette, and called it a huge win. I ate a big handful of “air-fryer” russet potato fries afterwards, too. Yum. 464 calories, 38 carbs, 15 fat, 42 protein. 

Food regrets this week? Nope. We were well fed and happy every day, for which I am grateful. I feel super fortunate.

Wednesday night we ate that slightly famous homemade Chick-Fil-A pan-fried “pickle chicken,” this time on toasted hamburger buns, and I added cheese and peppers to mine. This dish did not make my top 5, but it was really good. I call it an extra win because I relaxed enough to enjoy every bite despite not being able to run that day. Still, let’s not discuss nutrition on that. Thanks. : )

Let’s admire a llama instead.

Meh the llama wondering why I take so many pictures of him.
Meh returning to his lunch of dried pine needles.
Klaus pouncing like a kangaroo to interrupt the pine needle lunch, actually having underestimated Meh’s agility. Yet again. The fight was short and sweet.

Why is food so fun to talk about?

Time for my long run! And then one already nicely assembled weekend about to launch. Gotta go.

xoxoxoxo

lazy w honey maker update

You guys, this is gonna be “the year” for beekeeping at the W. I feel it. I feel it in my belly and my bones, and the stinging ladies whisper it to me every time I walk downhill. They dance in the sunshine and crawl between the clover blooms and beat their wings in a furious but happy Morse code message that says, “We like it here. We will stay. And if you get your hobby farming act together we will even make you some honey.”

I think that’s what they’re saying, anyway.

They’re probably Italian bees, and I barely remember my Spanish lessons from high school.

Let me introduce you to our three royal majesties who are each overseeing a completely unique colony, each acquired in a very different way too:

At the far left, nearest the pond, we have Princess Grace. She and her bees are building up their population at an incredible rate since last Spring, when my friend and fellow beekeeper Terry brought that swarm to the Lazy W. With Grace we enjoy gentleness, calm, and elegance, plus important lessons about leaving too much space in the hives, lest industry takes over and the bees one day explode with burr comb. Ahem.

Princess Grace, from a captured swarm… xoxo

Near the center of the middle field is Queen Shakira: So named because she and her ginormous family literally never stop dancing. Ever. And she can be a little spicy, but oh how beautiful! How dangerous and mesmerizing! I want to draw your attention to Shakira’s upper box, painted as a tribute to the 1980’s. Here we have Mr. T as well as a “Bee Box” instead of a beat box. Ha! Get it? There’s even more on the unseen sides. I have my talented and hilarious husband to thank for this treasure.

This was a “package” of bees I purchased at the 2016 spring conference, delivered from the vendor a couple of months later while I was visiting Jocelyn in Colorado. In my absence, my friend and mentor Maribeth and our (now mutual) friend Amber cared for this small group of stingers until I returned home. Handsome took charge of assembling and painting the wooden ware, and by the way he is the best hive artist ever.

Since then, month by month, Shakira and her fuzzy humming clan have grown like gangbusters. They have more than filled up the first deep box, overflowing out of it really, to the point that I recently added that second box you see. The concern was that the bees were so overcrowded they might swarm out on a warm spring day. I waited until winter weather had passed (specifically, until we had 24+ hours of temps above 55 degrees) then supplied them with new frames sprayed down with sugar-water (to encourage them to draw out the comb) and am continuing to feed them heavy syrup infused with drops of “Honey Bee Healthy” for their guts and immune systems. So far so good! They are still here, and they are voracious.

So, Shakira now has an upper story and deserves it. She has a bottom deep stocked with brood and honey and pollen, and I could not be happier. She and her bees seem to be draining their syrup supply faster than the other two hives. I suppose all that dancing? No pests yet, hallelujah.

Queen Shakira on the left (a purchased bee package one year old) and Queen Anne of the Damned with her Las Diablas on the right (cut out colony from this spring). That is my running trail in the back ground.

Nearest the Pine Forest you see the new home of Queen Anne of the Damned, matriarch to all of her Las Diablas: This queen got her cool name because the kids in charge of naming her originally suggested “El Diablo,” the translation and literary connection for which was too good to resist. Shout out to our fellow Anne Rice fans! Her drones, of course, shall henceforth be known as Los Diablos. Love it. Ha!

This is my brand new colony, the result of my first “cut out” supervised and assisted greatly by Maribeth. An old friend of my husband’s (my friend now too) contacted me several weeks ago reporting that while cleaning out a shed, he and his brother discovered honeybees. He asked whether I might want them then sent photos. It was an established hive, tons of gorgeous comb, not a swarm, so we were in less of a rush than we might have been.

This is me painting the shed with mouthwash, where we had removed honeycomb. It is supposed to discourage bees from returning to that spot.

I basically could not say yes!! fast enough and scrambled together a plan. About a week later (holding our breath through some risky wintry weather) Maribeth and I performed the cut out, photographed almost the entire time by our friend’s brother Eric. LOL He was super chill!

Thank you for documenting the fun, Eric!

He wore an extra bee jacket but no gloves and was right up there with us, just quietly admiring nature. I had the best afternoon! Then Maribeth and I installed the bees here at the farm, with a classic Oklahoma sunset lighting it all up. Magical. 

Since that exciting afternoon, things have gone remarkably well. Queen Anne and her Diablas have acclimated to their new surroundings, happy I am sure to still have so much of their native comb. These bees came with loads and I mean loads of capped brood, dozens of baby bees already hatching, pollen in colors ranging from pale yellow to crimson, and a little honey. Maybe enough to feed on during the dry weeks ahead of nectar flow.

I am so very thankful to our friends for thinking of us and letting us wait a week to fetch the bees safely! Eric and Erin’s mom Lynn gets first dibs on Anne’s honey harvest!

The only hurdle I have so far noticed for Queen Anne is that Meh the llama, or possibly my horse Chanta, has been happy to knock the lid off in search of that sweet syrup. Which is so dumb! Because often we have looked outside to see one or more of the three bachelors running away and rodeo kicking in objection to (most likely) a sting.  They were doing this to both Anne and Shakira.

Dumb, the narrator said darkly, shaking her head.

Anyway. A few strips of duct tape and two ratchet straps later, the problem seems to be solved. I am just so thankful that at each disruption, the bees were nonplussed. 

Maribeth answers my questions tirelessly and offers complicated but useful guidance every time something changes. I love and appreciate her so much for this. Beekeeping is nuanced, and my learning curve has been a roller coaster for sure. I also love that she makes a point to ask about my Papa Neiberding often. I also also like that my bees tend to sting her a lot more than they sting me. That’s funny. I’m sorry but it is. 

Okay, that’s it for now! I could talk about this cool stuff all day, but I don’t really know what you guys think of beekeeping, or how much you want to read about it, ha! So if you have any questions feel free to send em!

“Plumbers get wet
and beekeepers get stung.”
~Maribeth Snapp
XOXOXOXO

 

motivation monday: weeks 4 & 5 recap & keeping a confidence journal

Hello, happy Monday! I am ready to get all over this new week ahead. Let’s recap training weeks four and five and talk about confidence.

One of my favorite features of Kara Goucher’s half marathon plan is that she encourages you to keep a “Confidence Journal.”

CONFIDENCE JOURNAL: I keep a log of my runs and workouts. But I also keep a small “confidence journal” and I keep it with me. I write down workouts or runs that have gone particularly well. Or workouts that were hard, but I was able get through. Flipping through the journal when you start to doubt yourself is a good way to confirm you’ve done the work. In many ways, you’re just asking your body to do what you’ve already done.

I have for a long time been tracking my food and  miles and along the way paying attention to how different habits make me feel, both physically and mentally; but often this becomes a critical inner dialog about how things could be better. How it’s never good enough, you know? 

More miles, faster miles, cleaner eating, stronger core, better stretching, everything. Nothing wrong with that exactly. We all are trying to get better at stuff. But focusing only on room for improvement can erode the long view and stall progress.

I don’t know about you, but my inner voice can be pretty discouraging. I should be using it to motivate myself. Positivity matters. You guys know that gratitude is a big deal to me, being actively thankful for the gifts and blessings we are given. Now I am just tacking on some active confidence. Just noting the things that are going well, small accomplishments that make me feel closer to my goals. I groove it. My goal right now is to run a half marathon in well under two hours, without dieting. Ha. Yeah, I need to build up my confidence.

Anyway! Confidence Journal. I urge you to keep one. It feels silly at first, kinda like Stuart Smalley talking to himself in the mirror, but on the days you need a little boost, it’s great. So much healthier than scanning social media and slipping into the comparison trap.

Week Four Recap: 35.8 miles total, plus barre twice, some abs and yoga, and one really short but really fun day of “hiking.” 

Highlights: On Wednesday that week the prescribed workout was called “Ice Cream Sandwich!” LOL. It is basically speed work book-ended by tempo miles. Friends, that was so much fun. The first 2-mile tempo (8:25) was easy and fresh feeling. The speed work in the middle was truly exhilarating! It felt like flying uphill! (400x repeats at a 6:45 pace!) And although I had trouble on the second tempo getting up to speed, I felt so happy. It’s true that you get a completely unique physical sensation from running “fast” (whatever that means to you) than you do from running long and slow. Both feel great. Total that day was 7 miles exactly.

“Most of training is just teaching your body to be okay with working hard – and setting the bar a bit higher. A workout will make you sore, but that’s okay. It just means you’ll be that much more ready when race day comes.” – Kara

Short, easy, refreshing hike with hubby and friends at Mt. Scott. This really made me crave both a cool weather, challenging hike in Colorado and a hot summer’s day in Oklahoma.

Week Five Recap: 41.9 miles plus barre once, a tender knee, a sky-rocketing metabolism, and lots of mental clarity. Last week I needed running to smooth out the extremes of life, and it worked like a charm. 

Week Five Highlights: I was happy to get my mileage up a tiny bit in the midst of stress and noticed that “easy” paces are gradually improving, all while my heart rate is nice and low. I also liked making running more of a scheduled priority than I had the past few weeks. This past week l felt better mentally and physically, despite some tough family news, which of course oozed good vibes into the rest of my days.

Another highlight from week 5 was grabbing a Saturday morning run with my friend Robin. I don’t run with other people very often, and every time I do, I wonder why I don’t make more of an effort. It was so lovely. The miles (3 alone then 8 with her, average pace of 10:01) clicked by like nothing. Runners are fun people.

Side story: The day after our easy run, Robin ran a spontaneous half marathon and PR’d! She hit the time I have set as my next goal, running just by feel, which gave me the best little thrill of encouragement. She is also quickly approaching the Boston Marathon, so send her all your good vibes. She is currently one of my favorite running inspirations.

In the midst of so many great workout days, week five did present some eating challenges. Ha. Hello life stress and a really fun social outing. Thank goodness for a cranked up metabolism!

Thursday evening we attended Oklahoma City’s 30th annual Chefs Feast benefiting the Regional Food Bank. The food was amazing and plentiful. I ate like a… Well… I did not go home hungry.

This photo was snapped after two solid hours of grazing. No longer able to suck it in. We had fun!

Then on Sunday I let some negative household vibes and funky weather get me down and made less than stellar food choices, on top of not running. No biggie. I woke up Monday morning with some tummy regret but am thankful to know exactly how to deal with it all:

RUN. Run and focus on the positive stuff.

Over and out.
XOXOXOXO

 

 

lazy w browned butter oatmeal cookie dough base

Hey hey, happy Thursday! The sun is out again, both metaphorically and in the actual sky, and it’s all gorgeous. Our week started out kinda rough with some difficult family news, but we have pulled out of the tailspin. Deep breaths. Big smiles.

I am in fact having a really great week of running and gardening. The prairie winds are strong and full of big, stormy ideas for the weekend. And my kitchen smells like heaven for two reasons.

First, I am boiling up a triple batch of sugar-syrup for our honeybees, which this time is infused delicately with a mix called “Honey Bee Healthy,” an essential oils-based product meant to bolster the bees’ immune systems and other fun stuff. It smells like lemon, wintergreen, and something else I can’t quite place.

Also, I just pulled out of the oven a half batch of my favorite cookies. I’m going to share with you guys the basic cookie dough recipe we use here at the farm. It’s fantastically versatile and easy to memorize, and it freezes well. In case you are the cookie dough freezing type? Oh let’s just eat it raw. Much more fun.

Something I groove so hard about this cookie dough method is that, since you are browning the butter, you can make it in a flash. No advance notice needed to soften the butter to room temperature. Because that’s annoying, right? This way, you can have cookies mixed, baked, and cooling on a tray in under half an hour total. I like that. Keep the unassuming ingredients on hand, and you are prepared at all times for sweet tooth emergencies.

Side note: Become an avid runner and you don’t have to call this a “sugar indulgence.” From now on you can call it “carb loading,” or “replacing your glycogen stores,” right? Okay. Onward.

Base Dough for 20 large, thick cookies:

  • 1 stick butter
  • 1/2 cup shortening
  • 2 large eggs
  • generous splash vanilla
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 3/4 cup white granulated sugar
  • 1 1/2 cups plain flour
  • 3 teaspoons baking powder (better results in my opinion than using a tsp of soda)
  • heaping teaspoon sea salt (my personal fave, you do YOU)
  • 2 cups quick oats
  • 2+ cups add-ins

Possible Delicious Additions, use a total of about two cups for a full recipe:

  • walnuts, pecans, or almonds (I add cinnamon & nutmeg when I use nuts)
  • chocolate chips, your fave level of sweet or bitter (Handsome likes only milk chocolate, weirdo)
  • dried cranberries or dried cherries (try adding almond extract with either of these, so good!)
  • bits of toffee, peanut butter chips, or even chopped up candy bars
  • flaked coconut!!
  • pistachios & white chocolate chips (idea from Sandy the Reluctant Entertainer)
  • a combo of nuts, some seeds, & dried fruit would make it like granola
  • hazelnuts…xoxo
  • powdered malted milk along with chopped up Whopper candies (not usually my cup of tea, so more for you)
  • The possibilities and combinations are endless!! Like drinks at Sonic but better!!

Method:

  • brown the butter in a small pan and let it begin cooling while you gather the other stuff
  • mix (slightly cooled) butter with shortening, eggs, vanilla, and both sugars
  • stir together then add in flour, baking powder, and salt
  • use a wooden spoon to fully incorporate oats, achieving a consistent dough that will be neither sticky or dry and therefore infinitely taste-testable
  • stir in your delicious add-ins of choice
  • use an ice cream scoop sprayed with non-stick spray to get uniform balls of dough onto a prepared sheet pan
  • bake at 350 degrees for 15-18 minutes, cool afterwards (Today I let the cookies sit beneath the broiler on low for about 90 seconds, because sometimes I like that cooked top look and crunch. Otherwise they come out pale more tender, more gently browned. Also yum! But pale cookies are delicate and need longer to cool.)

See? Simple basic pantry ingredients, total freedom with add-ins, fast to pull together, and easy to memorize. The best features of an everyday cookie recipe. And the cookies always come out perfectly tender with little crispy edges everywhere, which make them great for dunking in cold milk.

Since my husband and I like different add-ins, and he is currently not wanting many sweets, today I made only a half batch loaded with walnut pieces. One of my top three choices for this base. Quite against my nature I packed up the other half of the dough to freeze for him to enjoy at a moment’s notice, probably with weirdo milk chocolate chips. 

He does eat kale now though, so we’ve got that going for us. And while oats in his cookies is not his most favorite thing in the universe, he has learned to accept it as a nod to heart healthy eating, ha.

Oh! This a great time to mention that if you want the flavor of the oats but not that much texture, feel free to grind them up in a coffee grinder first. It gives your cookies that chewiness you taste in a Double Tree hotel cookie!

Okay, time to feed this perfumed syrup to the bees, do some ironing, get showered for a fun date night, and edit a really cool project I still have not stopped to tell you guys about! Soon. Soon.

Have a most beautiful Thursday, whatever remains of it. Thanks for stopping.

“Think what a better world it would be if we all, the whole world,
had cookies and milk about three o’clock every afternoon
and then lay down on our blankets for a nap.”
~Barbara Jordan
XOXOXO