Sowed Peppers and Leek

Vegie update Of the Black Seed Simpson Lettuce, sowed last Saturday, all but 3 of the 36 plugs have germinated. I took off the dome and moved the flat to the seedling area, which isn’t heated or enclosed. It’s a steady 65F there, underneath the fluorescents. The Clear Dawn Onions, which I also sowed last …

More Seed Purchases

This time I went with Bountiful Garden, because they were one of the only companies selling the French Green Lentil we’ve been looking for. And while I was at it, I ordered the veggies I had forgotten and some more herbs for teas and bees. Here’s the list with Bountiful Garden’s descriptions (BF), which speak …

Amie Talks about Death and Jesus

I had three very strange conversations with Amie today. Part one Out of the blue (we were washing hands) she said: – Pooh Bear is very fluffy so he will never die again. – So you think if you’re fluffy you can’t die? – Yes. But I am not fluffy, so I am going to …

We’re a Go: Germination!

Just two days after I wrote about sowing my first seeds, and being so nervous about it, I went down into the basement to check on the seeds and there it was! Ah, a sight for sore eyes! I love it! In 50 days or so we’ll be eating lettuce: our very own, with a …

First Seeds Sown

Yesterday I sowed the first seeds of the season: early lettuce (Black-seeded Simpson) in one flat; celery (Redventure), onion (Clear Dawn) and eggplant (Applegreen) in another. Amie joined me to sow the larger eggplant seeds. What a joy it was to see her nimble tiny fingers handle those seeds! Then I watered the flats and …

Maps: Return to the Map Book

I found Amie’s Map Book. It had gone missing in the move.  The Map Book, or Place Book, is a collection of maps, pasted in or drawn, of where we have been living and traveling (you can see some more scans here), with anecdotes and journal entries addressed to Amie. Amie became very interested in …

Amie and Jesus

We were looking for a good example to draw from, and I pulled out the huge tome about Paintings in the Louvre Museum that DH and I lugged home all the way from Paris. We leafed through and as the book starts with art from the Middle Ages, the predominant image was of Jesus on …

Poll: Why Do/Don’t You Simplify/Prepare in the face of Peak Oil/Global Warming?

{This is a second attempt at this poll. I deleted the first one: the polling service wasn’t working properly. My apologies to those who already voted; please vote again.} I am curious about how my readers think about Peak Oil / Global Warming. Do you think the threat is real? What do we hope/fear for …

Animal Tracks in the Snow

The temperatures have soared (in the low 50s today) and all the snow is melting. Funny, how all the stuff that fell on the snow but was covered up again is now showing on top: dust, twigs and leaves, tiny seeds… whatever snow is left now is no longer purely white. But last week, before …

Garden Plan and Onions and Potato Order

I am having fun with the garden plan. There are so many possibilities, so much to do! I’m cautious about planning too much. I want to concentrate on the food growing areas first: the veg garden, herb garden and some container gardening, and perhaps some berry bushes around the perimeter. But we need to address …