Quilt and Bees

For all of you who offered ideas for restoring the quilt my mother made for her and Steve, her husband and my stepfather, that upon his death she gave to me, the news is that the quilt is back on our bed splendidly restored. Dwight and I have adorned our bed and kept warm with this quilt ever since we moved to MuRefuge. The restoration process was vast since the binding was worn and many spots tattered as the quilt was made from scraps, some pretty old, others not so much so, not to mention the wear and tear by the four leggeds who have lived at MuRefuge and shared the bed with us.

A corner with the replaced binding

Susan Vorbeck of Designs in Fabric, Petaluma, was the person who restored the quilt and educated me in the process. To make newly purchased fabric antique she boils the fabric in a cast iron pot, repeating the process until she likes how aged the fabric looks. 

Extra fabric for future restoration

And she points out that handmade quilts are imbued with the spirit of the person performing the intricate work, which is readily felt by those touching the quilt. Susan was creative.

A rent in the lower right hand heart Susan creatively repaired.

And she spent many hours lovingly repairing what my mother made over a quarter of a century ago. Yet she honored the amount I was willing to pay for this rather large project.

Restored quilt on bed

In a recent issue of Nature Conservancy appeared the following: "Food Security. The Farm's Best Friend. Wild bees are better than their domesticated cousins for pollinating crops, according to research recently published in the journal Science. Led by Argentina-based scientist Lucas Garibaldi, a global team of 50 researchers found that  wild bees and other native insects are twice as effective at pollinating crops - such as almonds, apples and coffee - as managed bees whose hives are moved to farm fields for that purpose. 'These results dispel the myth that managed honeybees can make up for the loss of wild pollinators.' says Christina Kennedy, a Nature Conservancy scientist who was coauthor of the study."

Gung Hay Fat Choy!

"Best wishes and Congratulations. Have a prosperous and good year." 

Chinese New Year :: 2014/ 4712

Green Wood Horse

This Saturday past was Liu Ming's annual Chinese New Year presentation in Marin. Such an awesome few hours to be in the presence of such a powerfully spiritual BEing, a FIre Pig by his own admission. He had sage advice for anyone dealing with the epidemic anxiety of the modern world: Be who you are rather than "what you ought to be."  This suggested way of moving in the world is sort of like letting go of the habitual practice of pounding a round peg into a square hole. So Liu Ming suggests focusing on balance or equanimity 

which is a moment to moment practice of tuning in to NOW and making adjustments which can certainly be an antidote to the over the top sensory overload of these modern times.

In the past few cycles there have been secretive or hidden aspects. In the Year of the Wood Horse "what you see is what you get. What is perhaps most troubling about the Wood Horse is also what is most hopeful - that is, a kind of adolescent qi. . . When choosing business partners or consultants choose young ones. . . the Wood Horse expresses his/her feeling through action and not words. . . Injuries will be more common than illness and ignoring them more common than seeking treatment. . . Choose doctors with experience and integrity. . . the Spiritual Path is found embedded in work, ordinary routines and, if it is not too worn-out a phrase, the Zen of everyday life. . . Small things will be accomplished but big projects will stagnate. . . This year's immature Qi gives everyone a chance for new horizons and the great benefit of education. . . great year to enter school, start new disciplines, travel (for insight), stop postponing and reinvent your self. The Qi of the Wood Horse when shaped by wisdom and discipline matures into a profoundly capable and willing force for good. Harness it, geld it if necessary and then let it be a great servant."

From Liu Ming's brochure

Reflecting on this past Sunday's Super Bowl game, the most watched sporting event ever, the young football team of Seattle far out played Denver with its older, experienced quarterback, fully demonstrating this adolescent Horse Qi harnessed.

A bit more wisdom from his printed handout:

"The system of astro-cosmology in China has always suggested that the Universe is reciprocal - so what each person does adds up to the only Universe that is . . . do not be disempowered or enslaved by statistics, media morbidity, constant criticism or pop-science or religious dogma - make a better world! We can do it - we have no other job!"

As does Liu Ming throughout his presentation,

Interspecies Love

As Dwight and I walk Shasta down Hessel Avenue to Hessel Road we pass a small pasture with a black cow whom we call Miz Cow. Ever since Miz Cow has come to reside in this pasture Shasta bounds up to the fence to greet her if she is near the road.  Up until recently MIz Cow just did not know what to make of exuberant Shasta but this past week or ten days Miz Cow and Shasta have been making a sloppy connection through the fence. In fact Wednesday past as Shasta and I were walking past MIz Cow's pasture Miz Cow saw Shasta from midfield and came racing down to the fence to get a kiss from Shasta and give Shasta one big sloppy wet kiss with her very large cow tongue.

Today we took our camera with us just in case we would be presented with this wonderful exchange of interspecies love.  Here are the results

We certainly did 

Winter happenings

The usual activities of this time of darkness aka Winter are varied and many, most readying MuRefuge for Spring and bursting forth of the new. This calendar year past was marked "the driest calendar year on record" in all of California. And to my amazement, the Phoenix Area where my dear, long time friend, Shannon, lives got more rainfall than we did here in Sonoma County.

This Saturday past a quick moving storm deposited a mere 0.1" of rain, the first for 2014. When we left home late morning the fields behind us, plowed, disced and planted with grass seed for the Riboli organic cattle on Cunningham Road was just dirt. Upon our return late afternoon the barren fields were covered with newly sprouted grasses, looking very green! Happenings in the natural world are nothing short of astoundingly awesome!

With the daily sunshine and no rain I wonder how all the plants here at MuRefuge will fare. I must admit I have been watering this WInter: the young peach trees, the red raspberry patch, all of the Fall planted native grasses as well as all the native plants planted in preparation for the rainy season.

As Shasta napped on a Winter's afternoon 

I sat on the couch in the sun looking over the seed catalogs in my possession. Only open pollinated seeds are considered. Each year I chose a few seeds I have not grown before that look to be a good fit here at MuRefuge where there is much coastal influence: fog mornings, warm middays, then cool nights.This has been the climate in the past. With the climate change effect of this year past: no morning fog which was great for the absence of peach curl on the peach trees, moderately warm days and very little wind, and the night time temperature gradient less. The result in the food production here at MuRefuge was the highest ever in the 20 years of food growing. Not knowing what climate change will deliver I decided to stick with my usual guidelines while perusing my most favorite seed catalogs: Bountiful Gardens, John Jeavons' organization in Willits, CA; Turtle Tree Biodynamic Seed Initiative in Copake, NY which provides "grower information" so the exact location of the seed can be identified; Ed Hume Seeds, Inc. in Puyallup, WA who "freshly" packages seeds i.e. seeds gathered in 2013 are sold in 2014 whereas most companies have a year lag time from gathered to packaged; and Territorial Seed Company, Cottage Grove, OR from whom I am purchasing fewer and fewer packets of seeds.

Once the seeds have arrived, the planning, using the Zodiac signs in the Moon phases, will
happen. Identifying on my calendar the dates for starting seeds, transplanting seedlings and setting out starts seems, for me, to maximize the food production as well as providing a "gardening container" with all other Spring, Summer and Fall activities happening outside of the container.

I am most interested in hearing how all you gardeners out there go about your gardening activities so feel free to comment. Also, I  would love to hear about planting sweet peas in other growing seasons. Here in the Pacific Coast "long growing" season I have had the most success with abundant sweet pea blooms by planting the seeds from the season just ended in the soil in early September. The seeds sprout with the warm daytime weather of Fall then rest when the cooler WInter temperatures occur, and as the daytime weather warms again in Spring the plants have a burst of growth followed soon by fragrant blossoms.

As those of you know that have visited MuRefuge, the vegetable beds are pretty much used year round. With so little rain and extended nights of freezing temperature the "Winter" garden struggled. I love the gorgeous dark red leaves of Radicchio which add glorious color to the otherwise just green pallet. This year most of the Radicchio had severe frost damage but cutting 3 to 4 heads provided just enough delicious leaves for the recipe below. This version is an adaptation from Sunset Edible Garden Cookbook: fresh, healthy cooking from the garden, a copy of which I received for Christmas past from my niece, Callie Weitzel.

Morro Blood Oranges, Radicchio and Oregano Salad

• 2/3 C. blood orange juice reduced over high heat, about 5", to 2 1/2 T.
• 1 T. very tasty organic extra virgin olive oil, I use McEvoy Ranch
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt
• 1 T. chopped fresh oregano + 2 T. whole leaves
• 3 Morro Blood Oranges (we buy 10# bags from Twin Peaks, Placer County)
• 1 head organic radicchio shredded

Cool blood orange juice in a small bowl then whisk olive oil, sea salt, chopped oregano. If this is too bitter for your taste 1 T. organic maple sugar can be added.
Peel blood oranges, removing as much of white membrane as possible, slice thin then quarter. In pretty pottery bowl toss shredded radicchio, oranges, oregano leaves with olive oil mixture. Best served immediately.

How many of you have been honored with a visit from our Pacific Great Horned Owl? Frequently when I am out in the very early morning providing Jax with some petting and breakfast I hear the rhythmic hoo of these owl which are "large (like Red tailed Hawk) and bulky, with broad body and large head; stout ear tufts create catlike head shape" according to David Allen Sibley in The Sibley Guide to Birds. A few early mornings ago with the sun barely lighting the Eastern sky as I was sitting, a large bird swooped from the eucalyptus trees on the adjacent property into the East most Oregon White Oak just South of our property line fence. I strained from my sitting position on the floor debating whether I would have time to get binoculars. The bird crawled, much like a large cat  would, out the branch on which it was perched showing its ears. By now binoculars are at my eyes and this Great Horned Owl wowed me, showing itself to me for some while before it flew over the house Northward. This was a life altering experience or as my friend Lynette Sheppard often said about such an event, "the room tilted." In Spirit Animals by Victoria Covell, illustrations by Noah Buchanan "Owl represents introspection" asking the honored one to look within with integrity and know herself as one with all life. "Encountering Owl can also signify that one facet of your life is coming to a close, and that with inner awareness you will safely take a step forward into your next experience." During 2014 I will celebrate my 70th birthday, certainly a beginning for the next chapter.

While you muse over your comment, feel free to

A Winter Solstice 2013 Greeting

"Help us to be the always hopeful

Gardeners of the Spirit

Who know that without darkness

Nothing comes to birth

As without light

Nothing flowers." 

May Sarton, The Invocation to Kali

Golden Toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia ‘Davis Gold’)

The Winter Solstice marks the beginning of a new cycle which is filled with the promise of new growth, new beginnings, both in gestation during this dark time of the cycle. May we each be flexible with the consequences of humans living on Planet Earth and awake to the opportunities not heretofore known to us human inhabitants.  Climate change . . . well, climate change seems to shifting, altering all we have experienced or known, often with a loud and certain unexpected force. While letting go of our remembered past and embracing what each day presents, may each of us celebrate with gratitude the preciousness of living at this time and in this space, while we, also, joyously honor our interdependence with all who call this planet "home."

"To care for the living earth

is to care for ourselves."

Anonymous

During this Winter Solstice and throughout this coming year/cycle as we cultivate a healing interspecies community, may we all

Spectacular Fall Color

We returned from the Eastern Sierras not long ago, staying for the first time at Twin Lakes Resort in a cabin. This particular cabin was a remodeled house moved from Bodie and we found it very charming and comfortable. The fishing season was still open so most of those staying at the Resort were fisherpeople.

Shasta and Cathie enjoying the sunshine
and spectacular Fall color

The BIG attraction for Shasta was all the deer that arrived mid to late afternoon.
Unfortunately we saw a buck with an arrow between his shoulder blades.
What was the hunter thinking leaving the buck in this condition?

The first full day we drove down the mountains into Bridgeport where we ate breakfast in our favorite spot: The Hays Street Cafe, visited the library where Shasta was welcomed with treats. An awesome dog book fell into my hands: The Possibility Dogs by Susannah Charleson and I checked out and read Luanne Rice's latest book: The Lemon Orchards which I highly recommend. We visited with friends we've made over the 20+ years we have spent time in this tiny town.

We took some hikes, mostly in our favorite places.

Shasta and Cathie along Lee Vining Creek.

Mono Lake as seen from the Lee Vining hike from
the town of Lee Vining to the Visitors Center,
which was closed at the time of our visit due to the craziness in our Nation's capitol.

Another view of Lee Vining Creek on our returning trek.

A lazy afternoon stroll along the Eastern end of Lower Twin Lakes.

A view of the Sawtooth Mountains from the Western end of Lower Twin Lake.

Aspen trees in all their splendor just a short hike from our cabin.

The full moon rising over Mono Lake.

And the full moon risen above Mono Lake.

Our very favorite canyon we visited, as well.

The beaver pond in Lundy Canyon.

Stunning color in Lundy Canyon.

Dwight looking out over Lundy Canyon.

Mono Lake as seen exiting from Lundy Canyon.

While taking in the beauty of these pictures

Celeriac and more

Celeriac root is now ready for harvesting. Celeriac root can be eaten in a variety of ways: soup, mashed like potatoes, fritters and, of course, salad. It has a mellow celery flavor which I prefer to celery.

Celeriac planted companionably with leeks

Two celeriac roots just harvested

Roots up close

Once harvested the fine hairs are to be removed as well as the tops.  Wash all the dirt off and bring inside.  Peel the root once you are ready to add it to the recipe of your choice.  Here are two of my favorites

Celeriac Salad Remoulade

• One large (about 1 1/4 pound) celeriac root
• 6 T. organic kefir milk
• 6 T. organic mayonnaise
• 3 T. organic Dijon mustard
• 4 T. finely chopped organic fresh parsley
• 4 T. finely chopped organic fresh chives
• 3 T. finely chopped organic onion
• Sea salt and freshly ground organic pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients except the celeriac root.  Wash the root, trim off the tops and peel. Grate the root and mix with all the other ingredients. Prep time is about 30 minutes.  Best if sits at room temperature for at least 30 minutes.

Fresh Herb Celeriac Fritters

• One celeriac root about a pound
• 2 organic duck eggs, beaten
• 1/2 C. finely chopped organic fresh chives
• 1/2 C. finely chopped organic fresh parsley (or arugula)
• 1/2 C. organic sprouted bread crumbs (I dry ends then whirl in food processor)
• OR sprouted spelt flour works also

Prepare and add all of the ingredients except the celeriac root to a large bowl. Wash the root, trim off the tops and peel. Grate the root and mix with all the other ingredients. Fry in a bit of organic olive oil at a lower temperature than potato pancakes or zucchini fritters. Simply delish with a bit of organic kefir cheese mixed with fresh organic herbs OR Dwight enjoys with homemade ketsup.

Fall visitors

Stunning color of two Roger Red grapevines

A few mornings after our return from the Eastern Sierras while preparing Shasta's breakfast at the kitchen sink I noticed four bluebirds, one mockingbird and a gold finch all companionably enjoying the succulent grapes.  What a colorful sight!

Fall now past, Winter arriving.