A Little Garden Update and Recipe Call

I haven't given any updates about the garden since we first started seedlings back in February! Above are pictures of the Swiss chard and spinach. The broccoli and herbs are coming along too, but the peppers that looked so promising are struggling a little bit since transplanting them.

I've been on a bit of an anti-veg kick lately, which is very unlike me, and my usual go-to recipes for spinach and chard seem boring. If anyone has some favorite recipes for greens, I'd love to see them! I can't grow these little plants and then not eat them.

I did make this recipe again, with chard from our CSA box, and it is delightful!

A Spring Manifesto

I seriously love it when one of my favorite bloggers, Julia, publishes her seasonal manifestos. It's such inspiration for me to sit and reflect on what I have to look forward to in the months to come. Sometimes I operate more on a "to-do" list level, and I like that these manifestos (more here, here, and here) urge us to slow down and enjoy life rather than ticking things off a list.

So without further ado, here is my spring manifesto:

• Keep on nurturing our little garden. We have little seedlings that are thriving now, and I can't wait to enjoy our harvest. It feels so good to come home from work to water and get my hands in the dirt.
• Enjoy the fact that we now have a yard. Sit on the patio with each other, with coffee or beer and a game of cribbage, throw the ball to the dogs and enjoy the cooing of our neighborhood doves.
• Cook from our garden and from the CSA box we just signed up for. I'm hoping that a random box of fruits and veggies, supplement by our own little garden and the farmers market, will inspire me to think outside the box, to try new recipes and combinations.
• Take more pictures. I've been loving my Diana camera and spring is so beautiful and fleeting, even here. I want to capture a tiny piece of it.
• Explore. With my camera or otherwise. We live in a beautiful place, and I still feel like I've seen only one tiny piece of it. Perhaps after Taos, Jemez Springs is next.
  
• Let it flow. Lately my fingers have been itching to do some drawing and writing more than printing. I'm happy to let the inspiration come and go and create however I see fit, even if it is unrelated to the shop.

Thanks, Julia! That's always harder than I think, but so very satisfying.

In All His Stinky Glory

This is just a quick note to say that after spending time creating the perfect mix of potting mix, lime, and organic fertilizer yesterday afternoon, and then carefully planting two rows of spinach and Swiss chard . . . I looked out into the backyard to see Chesney chowing down. His little beard was covered with dirt and he was in his absolute stinky glory. He probably would have jumped into the Earth Box and rolled around a bit if I had not caught him.

I guess I'm grateful we used organic fertilizer, because he didn't get sick at all. But sometimes I could strangle that dog. Eight years old, and he's still never outgrown the puppy stage.

Succulent Love

We stopped at Lowe's today for potting soil so we could plant our spinach and Swiss chard in the Earth Boxes. While we were there I became enamored with these little succulents they were selling for $3 each. It's my goal to have more plants indoors as well as out, so I transplanted three into a pretty pot for our living room. I love the varying green tones and shapes.It may not be the terrarium I keep talking about, but this little arrangement is so pleasing and easy-peasy. Hopefully I won't kill these little sweeties!
I'm really just longing for live green things. Next up, I want to do an arrangement of ferns under a bell jar, or perhaps a spider plant. These might be harder in dry conditions, so again, I'm welcoming any tips you might have!

Growth

We are starting our first garden this year (along with the compost pile we started a few months ago that Chesney keeps launching himself into with gusto). Unfortunately our shiitake mushroom log has been a bust, but I'm hoping for good results with the more traditional plants. Can I just say how excited I am that we finally live in a place where drunken frat boys won't rip up the food we're attempting to grow?

Because we're renting and because we live in an arid climate, we decided to use Earth Boxes, which we're hoping will conserve some water and still yield good results. It's been very warm here and I think we're past danger of frost, so we've already started broccoli, peppers, basil, chives, and parsley indoors (see broccoli sprouts above). I'm thinking that I should start the dahlias indoors, too. I'm also considering sowing the Swiss chard and spinach outside this weekend. Supposedly these greens do well in colder weather, but is it too early to start these outdoors in the southwest? It's been in the high 60s here!

My grandmother, who is 96, continues to garden an impressive half acre at every summer. She eats from her harvest all year round, and while I've "helped" her (in the most childish sense of the word), I don't know much about actually getting plants to produce. I'd love to hear some gardening tips (I'm looking to you, Julia!) from more seasoned veterans. Anything I should know as we get started, readers?

The Little Things

First off, I want to thank everyone for their kind and supportive words after my last post. I had a lot of trepidation about moving on (because of what Billy describes as my New England/Puritan work ethic), and it was wonderful and affirming to hear from people who had been there. It's also one of those moments where you realize, Wow, people are actually reading my blog!

This is turning into a more personal blog of sorts, but I hope it does not stay that way. I certainly miss the time I spend creating, and I'm seeking out a few new projects to start. But those posts will just have to come later.

In other news, yesterday was simply wonderful. It was my birthday. In the morning, I don't think I could have been less excited. I think I've been feeling tired and run down in general, and that somehow translated into I feel old. But then the little things kept happening to remind me that even if I am a little older and a little sad about it, I'm still incredibly lucky.

I started the day by doing a one-woman show at a local bakery cafe (the owner, Barb, is the nicest woman ever and if you are local you should visit her shop. The website is here.) It was just so nice to get out, meet more people in Albuquerque, and talk about my work. Barb also sent me home with some delicious treats when she found out it was my birthday. Later in the day, I was really taken aback by the generosity of my family. A few dropped in during the show and they really surprised me with some wonderful gifts--- indulgences that I would not have done for myself and which I am so looking forward to.

The photo above is one of the "little things" from yesterday that made me tear up with joy (and I am not a crier). Billy surprised me with lots of little fun things to open, including some seed packets for starting a garden. The little packet above was set aside from the others, and it's place of honor made me curious. Dahlias are my favorite flower, blooms I always adore at the farmer's market and had in my bridal bouquet. It's not something I would have though Billy would ever taken note of, and the fact that he did, along with the idea of starting a garden together, made me all smiley and sentimental at the same time. Like I said, the little things.