Bigger and Better?
In October we did a production run of elderberry syrup in a larger commercial kitchen. This kitchen sported a huge (100 gallons!) kettle that allowed us to produce 4x more than we normally produce in a day. The automatic filler was great too. We typically fill the bottles by hand, a process that requires a lot of concentration around hot liquid. Children aged 3-6 are introduced to the practice of pouring liquids in the Montessori curriculum, and maybe if I’d attended a Montessori preschool I wou…
Ironweed
In late August the elderberry bushes are nearly finished fruiting, and as the dark purple berries fade a new palette emerges across the fields: purple ironweed and goldenrod, now fully in bloom. Ironweed intrigues me perhaps because, unlike goldenrod, it is a flower I didn’t grow up with, but one I first met as an adult in southern Ohio. It’s also a plant that starts as a humble florette of spear-shaped leaves at your feet in May. Then you turn around in August to find the flower head nodding d…
SWD
SWD is a fruit fly from Asia, first detected in California in 2008. 2008 doesn’t seem that long ago to me, but this little fly is no laggard.
Is this Elderberry?
Elderflower Eruption
Violets in Spring
A thousand wild violets dot the lawn, welcoming the early bees. I set the mower deck high and shave the grass above their heads. Mowing so high means I’ll have to cut it again soon, but it’s worth it to let the flowers continue their bloom.
Spring Garlic
Rare Catbird Sighting
It’s difficult; they’re small, far away, and move quickly. So it was with some excitement that I heard an unusual birdcall the other day.
