Blue Cross collage








Mixed Media Collage

Another recent collage, this one featuring spirals and petal shapes.  These collages are all made from torn strips or pieces of paper, decorated with spattered, sponged or brushed on acrylic paint.  I use good quality acid free glue, and finish with two coats of acrylic varnish for protection from moisture.  These are meant to be hung unframed.  I attach a wire to the back for hanging.  This collage is 29 1/2 inches by 21 inches.  The bottom photo shows the detail in the textured border.  It was made by glueing tissue paper pulp onto a strip of watercolor paper.  I added pock marks with an orange stick for even more texture, and painted it with brown and metallic paint when dry.

Autumn Leaves, Fungi and a New Collage

It seems like fall arrived overnight.  The leaves are changing by the hour and the woods is full of curious fungi.  Fairy rings are everywhere.

The farmers' market season is over for this year, now it's time for fall clean-up and artwork.

Here is a recent paper collage.  I am trying out a new style and love it so far.

The Best Peas

I've started peas in cell paks as I always do to get a jump on the season. We like Super Sugar Snap peas the best. You don't have to shell them, which gives you much more good tasting crunch and saves a lot of time. Super Sugars are earlier than the regular Sugar Snap peas, not quite as tall so they don't get blown off the fence as easily in a wind storm, bigger and less prone to mildew. Supposedly they're not as sweet at the old time Sugar Snaps, but I think they're every bit as good. We start two rounds of them about 10 days apart for a longer season. They don't freeze very well, so we just eat them fresh and raw, straight from the garden, or very lightly steamed (just enough to warm them through).

Other garden news: broccoli and cabbage are planted, to be transplanted into cups as soon as the first true leaves unfurl. They'll go out into the garden around the first of April, depending on the weather. Lettuce, kale, arugula and mustard are up, also parsely, cutting celery and chives. Snapdragons, feverfew and some dianthus are also up and growing. Snapdragons and feverfew are super hardy and can tolerate a good bit of freezing weather.

Bluebirds are warbling, the yard is full of robins, the geese are flying over in big flocks, and I heard the first redwing blackbird. Now I'm just waiting for some warmer weather to get going on a million outside projects!

Starting Seeds!

Feb. 4th was a good root day according to the BD calendar, moon in virgo. It would have been better had the moon been waxing, but nothing's perfect! I planted two kinds of leeks, King Richard which is a big one that holds well in cold weather, and Tadorna, a summer leek with a nice long stem that matures early. We sell lots of these at the market. For onions, we love the Sierra Blanca white sweet onion. (It used to be called Superstar). It's wonderfully mild and sweet, large and beautiful and it keeps quite well too. It also matures early, and we sell oodles of them all summer. We grow Copra yellow onions, a very good keeper, and as for red, we switch around according to what's available. We're tried Mars, Mercury, and this year we're trying Red Bull. The red onion sprouts tend to damp off easily, so water with care and give plenty of air circulation. We also have problems some years with root maggots. The tiny fly lays eggs in the flats, and the larva, very small white grubs, eat the bulb and stem almost as soon as it germinates. The last few years I've been sprinkling generous amounts of diatomaceous earth on the soil in the flats before I plant, then put the seeds right on top of it, cover with a sprinkling of more soil and water it all in. I believe it helps. Giving onion seeds a loose, sandy mix also helps with damping off.

Fishing at the Slough

The slough is a deep, long, spring fed pool running at least 600 feet at the base of a bluff before it feeds into the Bryant Creek near where we live in southern Missouri. It's banks are overgrown with cane and brush, but there are a few spots you can get through and throw in a line. Turtles live here, and fish and snakes, sometimes you might see a beaver or otter. It's savage and wild and mysterious. There are always weird noises that make you start, and the sound of water trickling down the bluff. Deer snort from the ridge top. Huge old sycamores sprouting moss, grass and mushrooms line the water. Yesterday when we fished, a woodchuck poked up out of his/her hole in the bank, assessed us, and, deciding we posed no threat, ambled out to get a bite to eat in the bottom field. We caught bluegills, sunfish and one bass. We ate some and I have a pot of fish stock (heads included) simmering on the stove. Another batch got cut up, mixed with salt, lemon rind, garlic, peppercorns water and whey and put into a jar to ferment for fish sauce. Now, this is a daunting activity for even the most stalwort meat eater. For me, a 30+ year vegetarian just now changing her diet, it was pretty major. But it's done, we're fed, and I've decided that if I'm going to eat meat, I need to participate in the whole process. Being a vegetarian is a kinder, gentler, easier, cheaper way to live, but for many reasons, the main one being health, I have decided to change. I have never questioned the rightness of animals being on the land. The interaction of plants, animals, humans and the stars makes a sacred circle. I struggle often with my part in that circle; I'm still working on it.

Fermenting Daikons

Daikons (winter radishes) are good subjects for fermentation. Here is a quote from Sally Fallon's book: "The daikon radish is greatly prized as a digestive aid in the Orient where it is eaten in a great variety of ways - fresh or preserved, dried, salted and added to soup or meat dishes. Fermented dailon radish, or 'takuan', is commonly served with macrobiotic food. Tests have shown it to be especially high in lactobacilli. It is also valued as a diuretic, as a decongestant and as a source of substances that inhibit cancer. Folk wisdom claims the daikon rids the body of accumulated fats. The root is an excellent source of vitamin C."

Here is a simple recipe:

3 pounds daikon radish, peeled and grated

1 tablespoon sea salt

4 tablespoons whey (optional, but it helps speed fermentation. You can get whey by draining good quality, plain yogurt through cheese cloth or a dish towel.)

Place all ingredients in a bowl, mix well and let sit awhile till the juices separate out. Press into a wide mouth quart jar, letting the juice cover the radish mixture. Leave 2" at the top of the jar. Cover tightly and let stand at room temperature for 3 - 7 days before transferring to the fridge.

If you want a spicier mix, add 6 - 8 cloves minced garlic, a sliced onion or some chopped scallions and two tsps. of chili flakes,

I made one jar of plain daikon in thick cubes and some spicy ones, one with fancy crinkle slices and some shredded.