the chicks are three months old today

In honor of the girls' birthday today, meet one of the chickens, 

Playboy centerfold profile style

Name: Owl
Favorite activities: Roosting, pooping, taking dust baths
Guilty Pleasures: Midnight spider binges
Ambitions: Lay lots of eggs
Best Concert: Mötley Crüe - I love cock rock!
Favorite Books: Henny Penny
Favorite Movies: Chicken Run
Favorite TV show: Little House on the Prairie
Sports played: a good game of chicken
Pets: Pucci, Bunny Lee
Foods I crave: live crickets, ants, grass
People I admire: Sue
Jobs before modeling: biker chick
Favorite song to sing: Old Macdonald
sexiest city in the world: Kingsley

the zen of weeding

If you plant a garden, you have to care for it every day.  Part of this responsibility is weeding.  I actually like weeding. It gives you a chance to really get up on every plant that you planted, check out how it's doing, what is going on with it, see its growth.  I throw the buckets of weeds to the chickens, who love to eat them.  Contrary to many myths, the yellow or orange-ness of egg yolks is determined by how much green the chicken is eating.  I weed for hours on end, up and down the garden aisles.  Your mind goes far away when you weed, to good places.

zachwycający!

When Agnes and I visited Poland several years ago, it was fresh fava bean season there, and I found them to be incredibly delicious, especially prepared by Agnes' Aunt Barbara.  I found some local fresh favas today!  Here they are as I bought them

Here they are shelled - it's totally fun to shell them, the bean pods are fuzz-lined

Sautee in some butter, onions, breadcrumbs, thyme, salt and pepper.  This is my best interpretation of Aunt Barbara's preparation.  Early Summer delicious!  If you find any fresh favas, try this simple recipe - you can't make it wrong, and it's fun to shell the beans.

sky study #3

June 28, 2010

the goldenrod spider

This is the goldenrod spider

We found one this weekend on one of my daisy plants - this picture isn't very clear, but the spider had a fly in her mouth, biting it by it's head.  They are so beautiful and exotic, it's hard to believe they are common garden spiders.

super most fun weekend!

Power friend Raquel came up to the farm this weekend and we had the best time!

All the Mission Peninsula cherry stands are open on the sides of the road 

Beer sampler at the Jolly Pumpkin microbrewery

Kingsley had village wide garage sales - I got an 'I'm a Happy Hooker' hat

The vineyards on the Mission

Raquel + I modeling vintage hats at an antique shop

We played with Bunny Lee on the bed

Goodnight bonfire!

beautiful eggs

Until my own hens start to lay eggs this Fall, I buy mine from a family in Kingsley who sells a dozen of the most delicious farm fresh eggs for $2.00  The blue-green eggs are from Araucana chickens - I have two of these (Owl and her sister, Owl) and though they are different colors, all the eggs taste exactly the same.