Fascinated by Ferns

I can’t help it. There they are every spring, tiny spirals of goodness, sprouting up out of the ground. From where I sit in my studio, perched on my potters wheel, I can see them. They wave at me in the breeze. The ferns demand my attention. Look at us! Look how intricate we are. We are fractals!!  We are the boss of you! Oh yeah?  I cooked some up with butter and balsamic.”You are NOT the boss of me” I told my plateful of dark green goodness. ‘We’ll see.’

Every year, there are more and more spreading their fans throughout the garden. I do love them. Ferns are fascinating. Ferns were around when the dinosaurs stomped around. Talk about staying power. The ferns won. I have had dreams about how to decorate my pots with them. Sneaky. Now they adorn mugs, bowls, and a butter dish or two. What next? A teapot perhaps.

Pass the balsamic and the butter, of course.

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Greenhouse Study Two

Greenhouse Study Two, originally uploaded by BunnySafari.

After the last six days I have had, I thought we were going to have to dig me off of the couch/sick bed. Lucky me gets to be the one who said, “oh yes, I got the flu shot this year and where is my sticker of honor?” Well, have you guessed what you can do with that sticker this year? I haven’t felt aches in my joints like that since I had an overdose of the Typhoid vaccine, twenty odd years ago. While in my delirium I kept thinking what if that was what I had? Hand out the masks, call the guard!! Pass me the ginger ale and the “name your pain killer of choice” please.

Okay, enough whining. I feel much better. Not 85% yet, but I am working on it. Here I am, taking a break from Warehouse 13 to be with you and post a new photograph.

I am actually going to go outside tomorrow and get some much needed fresh air. Anybody know what it is like living with two senior dogs with flatulence issues. Can you lend me a gas mask til Thursday?

 

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Greenhouse Study

Greenhouse Study, originally uploaded by claygrl.

Waiting for the seed catalogs……they should be dropping into our mail basket any day. Pencils are sharpened, lists are being prepared. No more tomatoes this year. After the blight from two summers ago, I can’t stand the heartbreak from seeing black mottled tomatoes. More basil, as we are still enjoying the pesto from last autumn’s harvest.

My Dad will expect more brussel sprouts. They were spicy last year. More runner beans, cause I do love to eat them right off of the stalks. They attract humming birds. One year while sitting in the garden when my son was three, we heard what I thought was the biggest bumble bee. Trying to remain calm and not run screaming into my studio for fear of killer bees……When I opened my eyes to look, we spotted a lovely lush green humming bird darting about the flowers in the runner beans. They returned all through the summer.

There is a nice thought ~ summer. Wait, we are still waiting for winter. Bring on the snow, lots of it! The garden needs it, heck, we all need it.

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100 Strangers Project #25 Gabriel

100 Strangers Project #25 Gabriel, originally uploaded by claygrl.

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100 Strangers Project #24 Brett

100 Strangers Project #24 Brett, originally uploaded by claygrl.

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100 Strangers Project #23 Rachel

100 Strangers Project #23 Rachel, originally uploaded by claygrl.

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The Hike

Winter in all of its glory as seen through the lens of my Twin Lens Reflex Yashica A film camera.  The photographs that appeared before my eyes once they had been developed are a treat.  Winter doesn’t look so bad does it.  It isn’t -23 like it was the other night…..No, the snow has now turned to perfect snowman making material. All thanks to the mild temperatures that brought freezing rain and then just rain.  BLEH!  I could go and make a snowman out in the yard, but I would be afraid of how many dog turds would get rolled up during the process.  At least I could explain to my son an easy alternative to traditional snowman eyes!  Hold it, just before you get your knickers in a twist we are equal opportunity snow-people builders.  Last year there was a lovely snowwoman (funny how spellcheck doesn’t like that so much).  She was quite voluptuous.  Until it rained. And rained.

My first seed catalog arrived this week, that is always exciting.  I am thinking of ordering some of the most bizarre looking pumpkins, the pumpkins are all warty.  Supposedly they are good eating, just not so attractive.  Never mind, appearances are often deceiving, it is similar to internet dating (so I’ve heard). Although I would imagine that seed catalogs are more honest….. I live vicariously through my friends…. can you tell?

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Taste of Summer

Green, sweet, organic, local = DELICIOUS!!!!! My son and I are eating these straight from the pods as fast as we can open them.  Yes, it is true.  My son, eating vegetables without being coerced or bribed.  Get them in his body before he figures out that they aren’t candy.  Funny how he doesn’t feel the same for the frozen peas (never in the summer) in the dead of winter.  So I am content just to eat them now and forget heating up the kitchen with pots of boiling water to blanche them before freezing…….nice excuse.

These aren’t our peas from the garden. They are from a lovely couple named Ralph and Janet.  Real down to earth people with a nice vibe to them, laid back and friendly.  They are a fixture at the local Farmers Market (one of the few, true farmers to actually sell there, by the way).  Did I mention their carrots?  I’m salivating thinking about them (who knew?).

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Urban Farm-er

Here I am again, on a coldish June day, procrastinating before I start to trim a load of large bowls.  I realized that I haven’t updated the activities in the “Urban Farm”.  New ideas seeded themselves in the mind of the “farmer” over the very early spring.  Plans for a greenhouse and plotting how to prevent the tomatoes from succumbing to the dreaded blight were at the top of the list.  We also welcomed a new gardener to share the patch.  I love the idea of sharing our small plot of land with others in the community who fancy a bit of soil.

Even though spring crashed into summer this year (technically it isn’t summer yet, BUT) we did have a few chilly nights where seedlings had to be wrapped in blankets, heaters installed and bleary nights spent checking temperatures inside the greenhouse.  Farmer Mark really does have a green thumb and a real talent for hard core vegetable gardening (who knew?).  He has even managed to convince one of our friendly neigbours to give his lawn over to tomato plants!

Now that our son is older he can participate in the gardening experience.  I have fond memories of ‘helping’ my parents in the digging of a garden.  I can still taste the sweet of the peas that I picked early one morning all by myself much to the dismay of my Mum.  That was when I think I grasped the concept of the ‘early bird gets the worm’, err, peas!

Notice the ever helpful hen?  We kept the girls over the winter…..why pop them into the soup pot when they continued to lay eggs all winter?

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Eye Spy With my Holga

Eye Spy With my Holga, originally uploaded by claygrl.

Believe it or not, but there is a chicken digging away in the compost heap. I was playing around with one of my ‘toycameras’, the Holga. I managed to develop two rolls of negatives on a lovely Sunday afternoon. One is a roll of film from over a year ago, patiently waiting to be discovered in the back of my refrigerator. I love surprises and that roll was one of them.

Of course, whenever I am chasing the chickens they always show me their backsides. Fortunately, I am not interested in documenting that view of the hens…..aren’t you glad?

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