The carrot seed: Homegrown goodness

September 12, 2014 by Beth Shepherd

One of Little Bird’s favorite books is ‘The Carrot Seed,” written by Ruth Krauss and originally published in 1945. The story features a little boy who plants a carrot seed. No one in his family thinks it will come up. But the little boy knows better. He pulls the weeds and waters his carrot until, one day, a carrot grows. Just like he knew it would.

Her first crop was decidedly on the petite size. Even though this variety, Nantes, can be grown in a pot, we clearly need a larger pot. But this pot of carrots was her first crop, hers and hers alone.

Planting carrots in March.

September is harvest time.

Picking her carrots.

Homegrown teensie carrots.

The proof is in the pudding–er–carrots.

Taking a bite.

The verdict: “I like them, Mama.”

“Can I try one.”

“No.”

Take the road less traveled, Beth

My garden in August

August 8, 2014 by Beth Shepherd

Gardening is cheaper than therapy and you get tomatoes. ~Author Unknown

My beloved garden, look how you’ve grown.

New plants last fall

And, here she is, in all her glory, August 2014

Take the road less traveled, Beth

Bassetti’s beautiful gardens

July 8, 2014 by Beth Shepherd

Gardens are the result of a collaboration between art and nature.
– Penelope Hobhouse

A good friend of mine, and fellow gardener, invited me to join her at Bassetti’s Crooked Arbor Gardens for their annual ‘Art in the Gardens Event.’ It was my first visit, even though I’ve talked about going for years.

Bassetti’s Gardens are a feast for the senses. Nestled amidst three acres in Woodinville, Washington the gardens, created and cared for by Leanette Bassetti and her husband, Bill Berlemana, include a perennial garden, a Japanese garden, an Italian garden, a garden with herbs and espaliered fruit trees, a woodland garden, and a fern garden. Naturally–given the name–arbors abound, and the gardens are also accented with sculptures of clay, steel and glass.

Bassetti’s father, a cattle farmer, purchased the land in the 1950s. He farmed the land–at that time more than 100 acres–until Leanette took over in the 1980s and turned the property into the artistic garden paradise it is today.

Bassetti’s Crooked Arbor Gardens is open to the public on Fridays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., April 18th through the end of September, and also hosts classes. The gardens are located at 18512 N.E. 165th. For more information about booking the gardens for events or weddings, upcoming classes and a history of the gardens, visit their website at www.bassettisgardens.com.

Take the road–or the garden path–less traveled, Beth

Pretty in pink

June 6, 2014 by Beth Shepherd

Flowers really do intoxicate me.

~Vita Sackville-West

Pretty in pink, my garden in June.

Peony

Bleeding Heart

Delphinium

Astrantia

Cosmos

Clematis

Rose

Take the road less traveled, Beth

Rebirth of a garden

April 16, 2014 by Beth Shepherd

If you would have a lovely garden,
you should live a lovely life.
– Shaker saying

When I first saw the Urban Cabin the garden looked like this:

A few years later, and a couple things planted here and there, and the garden looked like this:

Then we remodeled, tore off the back of our house, moved the sewer line and dug up most of the yard, and put many of the plants in temporary beds. The garden looked like this:

Then, slowly, we started to re-imagine and rebuild, and put in 9 cubic yards of new soil and planter beds in the garden. It looked like this:

Eventually we also added a brick patio, wood chips and more plants…but then we had to take down our two 60-foot Poplar trees, grind out the stumps and roots and removed all the plants beneath them. And it looked like this:

Today, I spent most of the day in our garden. There are new trees, plants, fruit, herbs and flowers, growing everywhere. Rebirth! Our little 18 by 40 foot slice of paradise in the middle of the city. Now our garden at the Urban Cabin looks like this:

And in the front of our home, the parking strip looks like this:

Our garden, like many things in our lives, has been a long labor of love. There is a sign inside our house, given to us by a close friend: Love grows in small houses. And indeed it does. Both inside and out.

Take the road less traveled, Beth

Spring is in the air

March 20, 2014 by Beth Shepherd

I love spring anywhere, but if I could choose I would always greet it in a garden.

~Ruth Stout

Take the road less traveled, Beth

Kubota Garden in Winter

February 11, 2014 by Beth Shepherd

Beauty in the midst of winter at Kubota Garden in Seattle.

Winter rain —
The field stubble
Has blackened

~Matsuo Basho

Pond reflections

Cotoneaster

Raindrops on pine

Pine Needles

Moss at Kubota Garden

Curly Willow

Berries

Take the road less traveled, Beth

The Fish Guys

October 9, 2013 by Beth Shepherd

“The Fish Guys are up in the fan,” Baby Bird stated matter-of-factly a month or so ago, at dinner.

“What?!”

“The Fish Guys are up in the fan. Look,” she said again pointing to our kitchen ceiling.

Ah, the minds of children. Since that evening, it seems that The Fish Guys have taken up residence in our ceiling fan, because she mentions them a least once a day. Not that this is a surprise. Baby Bird loves The Fish Guys. She gets really excited when we head to our neighborhood farmers market for a visit.

Dave, Tim and Gene have become Baby Bird’s best buddies. Each and every Friday afternoon during the summer, I make a pilgrimage with my daughter to the Madrona Farmers Market, where she hits The Fish Guys up for free smoked salmon samples at Wilson’s Fish stand (along with free beans to munch on from Rand at One Leaf Farm).

After she’s chowed down as much salmon as they’ll allow her to take (yes, she frequently cleans out the Tupperware container), we move on to the ice holding portion of the visit. This is where she takes out a large chunk of ice from the cooler, licks it and then watches it melt in her hand (or mine when she hands it to me to “take home to Dada”). She’ll exclaim “BRR! Cold,” while holding shaking her fists like she’s freezing (or very excited).

The Fish Guys laugh and play along, joking and laughing with her. I always have a smile on my face because I love knowing my daughter is forming happy memories of being at the farmers market, just like I did as a child. She gets to eat veggies and fruit straight off the farm, and get to know the growers (and fishermen) who make it possible for us to enjoy delicious fresh food.

Seeing The Fish Guys is the high point in our week, which is why I was sad that our neighborhood farmers market season came to a close. How could I explain to Baby Bird that we might not see The Fish Guys for several months, at least at the Madrona Farmers Market. I told her that we could make occasional treks to the Sunday Ballard Farmers Market for a special visit, but they wouldn’t be blocks away from where we live. At least until next May. Minutes, hours and days are a big concept for a two year old, much less months and seasons.

On this last visit, we brought The Fish Guys a thank you fish card, and I purchased my “usual,” a pound of fresh salmon to grill, along with wine and maple smoked salmon which we sprinkle on salads and toss in omelets. We never cease to be amazed at the deliciousness of their fish. It is the freshest, tastiest, melt-in-your-mouth fish I’ve ever had, absolutely worth the couple extra dollars per pound I might save if I bough fish at my neighborhood grocery store. It truly is that good.

Plus, we get to spend a few minutes with the fish guys. And that is priceless. Now if we could just figure out what they’re doing in our fan!

Take the road less traveled, Beth

For more fish stories and other great food, check out Wanderfood Wednesday!

Soergel Orchards and Country Store in Wexford, PA

August 13, 2013 by Beth Shepherd

When Big Papa was a little boy, he would go with his family to Soergel’s roadside stand for fresh-picked fruits and vegetables. On several of our trips to visit his family in the Pittsburgh area, we’ve stopped at Soergel’s, even though its days of being a small roadside stand have long passed.

Soergel’s is over 150-years-old. In the mid-1850’s, John Conrad Soergel, a German immigrant settled on the spot where Soergel Orchards is now. He began planting apple trees and, for several decades, the apples were sold wholesale in town. John Soergel’s descendents continue to operate Soergel Orchards. When the business outgrew its original farm stand, a larger stand was built. Eventually, in the early 1970s, the Soergel family felt it was time to expand their business further and built the market that exists today.

A bevy of surprises await little ones:

Goats, sheep, bunnies, chickens and one VERY large pig are in the out-buildings with feed available to purchase (25-cents a handful)
Pirate ship playground
A cute electric train that circles the perimeter of the ceiling in the country store
Toy shop
Butterfly house ($2)
Firetruck rides

Inside the country store you can find:

Ice cream parlor
Sandwich shop
Dime store candy
Wine shop
Bakery
Deli
Oodles of fresh fruit and vegetables

Baby Bird loved feeding the goats, staring at the enormous pig, and, when we went inside to grab a sandwich for lunch, she couldn’t take her eyes off the miniature train that chugged in circles around the ceiling. If you find yourself north of Pittsburgh, Soergel’s is definitely a great place to take kids, and it’s a lot of fun for grown-ups too.

Take the road less traveled,

Beth

Timber!

July 16, 2013 by Beth Shepherd

Of all the trees we could’ve hit, we had to get one that hits back.

~J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Alas, poor Poplars. We knew thee well. But last Friday: Timber! Down they both came. All sixty feet of them.

Thank you Ballard Tree Service for doing such an awesome job of removing two very tall trees from a very tight spot. We were amazed as we watched the crew shimmy up those trees–saws in hand, attach ropes and pulleys, and then carefully take our trees down foot by foot and inch by inch.