Farm Summer Days, Zinnia Field, and Other News Fresh From the Farm
Inside: Farm summer days past and present, day trip to a zinnia field, and pleasant distractions. Check out all the latest fresh from the farm.
Farm Summer Days Past and Present
I feel like I’ve been visited by the ghost of summers past, but it’s good to reflect on what once was sometimes. Remember what summers were like when I was a little girl here on the farm. I’m one of those grownup farm kids who fondly recalls my younger days running through rows of cornstalks so high you could get lost in a field. (Tip: Stay in the same row so you don’t lose your way.)
Or thinking back to our typical seasonal menu: sliced tomatoes at every meal, cut-up cucumbers in vinegar water, corn on the cob dripping with butter–unless we happened to be at Granny’s house, which meant margarine (not nearly as good)–and watermelon, sweet and sticky. And, please, pass the salt shaker because a little sprinkle makes the melon taste even better.
And what would summer be like without ice cream? Waiting for the yellow Schwan’s truck to appear every three weeks with an assortment of large tubs of Neapolitan, Drumsticks (Dad’s favorite), orange creamsicles, root beer float bars, and ice cream sandwiches. And popsicles. Who could forget popsicles? (Red and orange eaten first, of course.) And lest we put the proverbial cart before the horse, their Tony’s pizzas were a real treat before the treat–just to balance out nutritional needs.
Summers also included endless hours of play–after chores, of course! We’d head up to the farm with our cousins, setting up our toy farms in Grandma’s back yard. Or walking down to Al’s Camp deep in the woods to explore. Climbing the peach tree and eating the juicy, dripping fruit sitting on the roof of the old garage. Riding on the hay wagon as the bale stack grew higher and higher.
But nothing could compare to nighttime games. Catching fireflies in a jar–yes, we set them free. And playing scare the hare–a variation of hide-and-seek–as darkness descends on the farm, and barns and silo cast eerie shadows. Or just sitting outside, hearing the tinkling number chains around the necks of the dairy cows bedding down for the night in the pasture behind the house.
Summers are different now, as an adult–this one more so. And, yet, the corn still grows tall. Fireflies appear with the night, and the barns and silo cast long shadows in the moonlight.
And somewhere, near the tool shed, crouching low behind a sprawling maple tree, a little girl quietly giggles, hoping her brother and cousins don’t find her hiding place.
Day Trip to a Zinnia Field
We took a short day trip to Perryville (MO, for my out-of-state readers) the other day and stopped by St. Mary’s of the Barrens Church, lured by the pictures from a friend who visited the zinnia field. As some of you know, I love zinnias, and seeing a little field of them did my heart good. So many colors to choose from in this little field–orange, red, burgundy, yellow, purple, pink, cream, peach–a feast for the eyes, indeed!
But what also did my heart good was just the short walk to get there. A path that wound around towering conifers and lovely garden beds. A path just right for reflecting. A peaceful path.
Something I could definitely use more of this year.
Pleasant Distractions
File this under “be careful what you wish for,” but at the beginning of this year, when some very specific prayers had not been answered after a year and a half, I was looking and asking for distractions. . .
Yeah.
To be fair, the current situation has been a distraction, but I don’t see it as answered prayer–though it has gotten my mind off my problems.
But those aren’t the distractions I’m talking about. Classic TV has been a wonderful escape. I’ve been spending quite a lot of time in Mayberry where the living is simple and folks care about each other. I’ve also been watching a lot of law and order type of programs where the good guys always beat the bad guys, and in their spare time they’re coaching little league teams or helping old people. You know, that “doing-good” stuff that has been such a staple of our American way of life. (And still is, I maintain!) Another favorite of mine has been Green Acres, which is good for some cornball laughs. Just singing the opening song can cheer a gal up!
On an entirely different distracting note, I recently download an app for playing Wordscapes, which I blame entirely on my nephews who introduced it to me while they were visiting back in June. (Thank you, Judah and Elijah!) I am already on level 711 (blush), but in my defense, it’s good for a wordsmith like myself to exercise my knowledge of words and spelling. Keep me fresh and my vocab muscle in good shape.
Right.
At any rate, I’m spending some time on self care, and not apologizing for it! As a matter of fact, I took the entire week off during Mike’s vacation days earlier this month. He’s taking another week right now, and so am I–mostly.
At some point life will return to normal–normal normal, I mean. Not this “new normal” malarkey I keep hearing about on commercials and from other misguided (or misguiding) individuals. But good old-fashioned normal.
After all, they don’t wear masks in Mayberry.
Resources and related posts:
Brighter Sides, New Leaves, and Other News Fresh From the Farm
Bucking Bales: A Family Tradition
Past posts from this month:
Finding my Pace: Slowing Down to Enjoy Life (2017)
How to Distress a Mason Jar (2017)
My Top Ten Must-do Fall Activities (2018)
The Late Summer Garden Update (2018)
Sunflower Disposition, Peachy Harvest, and Other News Fresh From the Farm (2019)
Make Some Summer Simmering Potpourri (2019)
All About Strawberries: A Roundup of Our Strawberry Posts
Inside: We’ve collected our favorite posts on strawberries, including planting, growing, and using the harvest in this roundup of strawberry posts.
A Roundup of Our Strawberry Posts
I’ve been meaning to do this for a while now. Compile the various posts I’ve been writing on the subject of strawberries. When I first started growing this favorite summer berry, I came at it from the perspective of a novice–at least concerning strawberries. Being a seasoned gardener sometimes gives said gardener an inflated sense of confidence extending to all things sprouting from soil. And then a plant comes along that, despite the usual growing techniques, doesn’t succeed. I set out to find out why. The following posts come from my research and experience. You’ll find a small taste, and if you want the full post, just click on the link.
How to Plant Strawberries
Sometimes we make things harder than they have to be. Case in point: how to plant strawberries. Though I’d been a seasoned gardener when I decided to try my hand at the sweet red berries, if I’m being honest, they intimidated me a little. Three different types of plants? Just what kind do I plant? Once I figured that out, the whole business with the crown and not planting them too deep left me confused. Plant them up to the roots, but not the stem, the directions said. Okay, could you be more specific? The perfectionist in me was afraid of making a mistake. And after I finally did get them in the ground, why didn’t they do very well?
This past spring as Mom worked with Bill from Sugar Grove Growers at the greenhouse, watching him trim down the roots of a strawberry plant and plunge it into dirt, she asked him about his methods.
“You can’t kill a strawberry plant,” he said.
After a few successful years of growing them, I’m inclined to agree.
My 3 Essential Tips for Growing Strawberries
Growing strawberries didn’t come easy to me. I’ve been raising the June-bearing variety for about a decade now, and it’s only been the last several years that I’ve finally gotten the hang of it. The problem wasn’t with the berries but rather the grower. I didn’t give them what they needed.
To begin with, the soil wasn’t in the best condition for growing the little gems. The bed needed more organic matter to get that perfect dark crumbly soil we gardeners love–obviously the strawberries do, too. And I didn’t spend enough time watering them. Not that they like their feet wet, but my plants were not getting what they required.
So what changed? I decided that if I wanted a good crop of strawberries, I needed to learn more about them and put that newfound knowledge into practice. And I realized that I had to devote the time to nurturing the plants even though the payback–handfuls and handfuls of fresh berries ripe for the picking–would be delayed a year or two. I focused on growing beautiful green plants and temporarily forgot about the fruit.
Renovating Strawberries the Simple Way
You’ve picked berries until you’re seeing them in your sleep, but finally–finally!–the harvest is over. The strawberries are happily tucked into their frozen home, awaiting their culinary future. So, what to do with that strawberry bed?
Maybe yours looks like mine. Where did those weeds come from, anyway? No matter, it’s time to take action. Time to renovate.
Take courage! It’s not easy taking a weed eater to a carpet of lush green leaves, but your plants will come back stronger than before. How do you actually go about renovating strawberries? First locate your spent plants. Those are the ones with stems that look woody and leaves that are brown around the edges–plants that didn’t yield as many berries. Older plants. For these I chop the leaves and the crown right down to the soil line.
How to Prepare Your Strawberry Plants for Winter
Normally by this time in November, I’m heading out to my strawberry bed to cover plants for winter. It’s not a difficult job, but here are a few things to keep in mind.
Wait until temperatures have fallen to around 20 degrees for several nights. This year it’s been unseasonably warm, so it’s actually not time to cover plants yet, but in a typical year by now I’ve already put a six- to eight-inch layer of hay or straw over my strawberry plants. With the colder temps the plants become dormant and won’t get moldy under the mulch.
Once the plants have been covered, check the mulch a day or two later. You might need to fill in with additional straw or hay in thinner places where the mulch has settled or blown away. Then pat yourself on the back! You’ve successfully put your babies to bed for the winter.
Uncovering Strawberries in Spring Time
Yes, it’s that time of year again–or, rather, it’s past that time because normally I remove the mulch from the strawberries in March. This spring has been unseasonably cold, and I’ve hesitated uncovering the plants until this past week. Nightly temperatures in the mid-twenties will do that to a gardener.
But we’ve had a break–or maybe an end to cold weather?–and that thick layer of mulch I placed on my strawberries back in late fall needed to come off so the tender plants can have access to the sun. Tuesday afternoon I removed the hay I’d used and the strawberry plants were a green-yellow with pale yellow stems. I peeked in on them this afternoon, just two days later, and the stems are turning a deep red color and the leaves are greening up nicely. I’m eager to see them after the rain they’re predicting tomorrow.
I never tire of watching things grow!
How to Care for Strawberries in Early Spring
A few points to consider before uncovering your plants for spring. Take a peek under the mulch and see if your strawberries are starting to grow. If so, remove about half of the mulch layer and place between rows. Weather permitting (nights above freezing), in a week or so you can take off the rest of the mulch, but keep it handy to recover plants in case of hard freezes–below 28 degrees F.
A Simple Fruit Dip for Strawberries, Plus 5 Ways to Use Up the Harvest
So it’s June and my strawberries have stopped bearing. (They’ve always been more May-bearing, actually.) It was a lovely harvest with plenty of fresh berries as well as a few gallons in my freezer for future use. The problem, if you can call it that, is I have limited room in said freezer. I need to start using up some of them to make room for the rest of the fruit and veggies coming my way this season. What follows are my suggestions for five delicious ways to use up strawberries.
All About Strawberries
I hope you enjoy our collection of strawberry posts. Much sweat, trial and error, and plain old determination have gone into the making of these posts through learning the lessons you can only learn through digging in the soil. May you have bountiful bowlfuls of beautiful red berries to grace your table.
Happy growing!
Resources and related posts:
Turn Sprouted Sweet Potatoes into Plants
Stay Cool with Water Infusions
Planting the Late Summer Garden
Past posts from this month:
Backyard Bird Feeding 101 (2017)
Help! The Weeds Have Taken Over my Garden (2017)
Neighborly Encouragement and the Power of Flowers (2018)
Compost 101 and Other Cheap Organic Fertilizers (2018)
Planting Sweet Potatoes in a Cardboard Box (2019)
10 Quick Fixes for the Neglected Garden (2019)
Should You Do an Egg Fast for Weight Loss?
Inside: Recently I went on an egg fast for weight loss with some rather interesting results. Read on to find out how it went and if I shed any pounds.
*This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases through links in this post, at no additional cost to you, when you click on and purchase products. See our disclosure policy.
What Is an Egg Fast?
Earlier last month I went on an egg fast for weight loss. Though the idea wasn’t new to me, it had been a while since I’d followed the plan. The truth of the matter is that I’ve wanted to take off some pounds for some time. Back in 2018 I’d lost around 22 pounds, only to gain nearly everything back last year with periods of emotional eating. The beginning of this year I tried a couple of different eating routines, without much success. I’ve been around this dieting thing a long time now–long enough to know that what worked for me when I was in my twenties, thirties, and forties does not necessarily work in my fifties.
Except (or should I say “egg-cept”?) the egg fast.
So what is an egg fast? It’s a diet consisting of eggs, cheese, and healthy fats followed for a short period of time, usually three to seven days. Basically, for every egg consumed, you eat a tablespoon of fat such as butter, mayonnaise, coconut or olive oil. You can also eat up to an ounce of cheese (full fat) per egg. While that might sound limiting to the palate, if you do a search on the topic in Pinterest, you will find many creative recipes other egg fasters have come up with that are actually pretty good. Think spices, extracts, and hot sauces for flavoring.
Is an Egg Fast Right for You?
Apparently it’s right for me–and many others. Both egg fasts and fat fasts are great for breaking a stall in weight loss. While I’ve lost weight on fat fasts (getting 80 percent of your food from fat), I found the going to be rough because I was hungry a lot. With the egg fast, I was more satisfied. My body does well on protein. (The farm girl genes, I think.)
Maybe the easier route is to tell you who shouldn’t do an egg fast. Obviously if you are allergic to eggs or dairy, this fast is not a good idea. And if you’re not a fan of eggs or cheese, I’d say pass this one up. If you have never eaten keto before, jumping headfirst into an egg fast is also not recommended. Try a simple keto plan for beginners instead. You’ll need help navigating what’s called “keto flu,” which isn’t an actual flu but it can feel like one! Admittedly, I never experienced this, and by following the advice of those who’ve gone before you, you can likely avoid this as well.
It’s probably a good time to mention here that I am not a medical professional or a nutritionist. Just a woman who has done research and has tried different foods and diets for weight loss. So I’m relating my experiences only, not dispensing medical advice.
Where to Find an Egg Fast Plan
While plans and information on egg fasting abound, I recommend the blog I Breathe I’m Hungry by food blogger Mellissa Sevigny. She explains the diet in more detail and offers an egg fast meal plan with shopping lists if you are interested. I’ve tried lots of good recipes from this blog, both egg fast and keto, so you’re in good hands with her. She has a knack for creating great recipes. In fact, her book Keto for Life is on my wish list.
As to her egg fast meal plan, I followed most of it as written and really liked the food. With recipes like Snickerdoodle Crepes and Salted Caramel Custard, I was plenty satisfied for the five full days and two transition days I was on the plan. The recipes were simple to prepare, and, as I said, delicious. I had my doubts about the simple lunch of mayo on a cream cheese pancake with a slice of cheese, but I really liked this, too!
Oh, and did I mention, I lost five pounds?
My Simple Egg Fast Chai
One thing I did differently was substituted my egg fast chai for the bulletproof coffee. (Incidentally, it’s one of my top searched posts, and for good reason. It’s easy and delicious!) I love it because the flavor reminds me of egg nog, though it’s nice and hot like a cup of coffee. Good any time of the year, really, and I’ve used it as a quick out-the-door breakfast. I had one this morning, and being nearly out of chai, I used this orange spice tea instead and liked it just as well! (Kroger has excellent teas in their Private Selection brand.)
So, basically, breakfast on the plan has been two eggs either fried or scrambled in butter and one egg fast chai. Very satisfying.
To Egg Fast or Not to Egg Fast?
So should you go on an egg fast for weight loss? Only you can determine that. Do your research online and check out various websites and recipes, including I Breathe I’m Hungry which also has more information on the subject. Maybe give it a test run–you can always abort the mission.
As for me, did I mention I’m doing another egg fast this week? So if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to get a string cheese from the fridge and think about supper in a couple of hours. Something with eggs, of course.
Hen: No! I’m already laying ’em as quick as I can!
Resources and related posts:
Keto for Life: Look Better, Feel Better, and Watch the Weight Fall Off by Mellissa Sevigny
Egg Fast from I Breathe I’m Hungry website
Simple Suppers: Creamy Cheesy Cauli Soup
How to Make Chicken Bone Broth
Past posts from this month:
The Old Farmhouse (2017)
My 3 Essential Tips for Growing Strawberries (2017)
My Simple 5 Day Detox Experiment (2018)
Turn Sprouted Sweet Potatoes into Plants (2018)
How to Make Jelly From Wildflowers (2019)
How to Plant Strawberries (2019)
Spring Healing, MO Reopened, and Other News Fresh From the Farm
Inside: The healing nature of spring, as Missouri reopens, and confessions of an introvert. Check out all the latest fresh from the farm.
*This post contains affiliate links, which means if you click on and purchase items, I earn a commission at no additional cost to you. Read our disclosure policy.
The Healing Nature of Spring
It’s spring here in the Midwest, and I find myself in a different place this year. I’ve been avoiding writing about what’s happening, not even naming it, instead calling it “all this.” I’ve been avoiding words like “pandemic” and “virus” or the more scientific terms like “Covid-19” or “coronavirus,” novel or otherwise.
I’ve done maybe a little too much social distancing at times. I’ve been upbeat, I’ve been down. I’ve been the self-designated encourager in my local Walmart. I’ve been the one who needed encouragement. I’ve been unproductive. I’ve downed an entire loaf of lemon poppy seed bread in one sitting.
I’ve grown tired of certain pesky adjectives I keep hearing: uncertain, unprecedented, chaotic, trying–anything negative inserted before the word “times.” And you can add these to the list of words I’m sick of: lockdown, PPEs, quarantine, sheltering in place. (Really? Sheltering in place? Where else am I going to stay, the Holiday Inn?)
I’m tired of masks, of people looking like they’re either going to say, “This is a hold up” or “Scalpel, nurse.” I’m tired of not seeing smiles, regardless of whether or not the person is sporting the latest designer nose-and-mouth covering.
But you know what I’ve noticed through “all this”? The trees haven’t stopped budding. The grass still needs mowing. And nobody told the birds singing outside my window about the latest projected figures–economic or viral.
The flowers keep blooming. The neighbor’s dog still barks too loud, and the squirrels are just now frolicking in the yard.
In short, the Earth–she’s still a-spinnin’.
So I’ll try to be patient with my unproductive, binge-watching, comfort-food eating self, and try to extend that courtesy to others.
After all, these are challenging times.
As Missouri Reopens
So we’ve been officially reopened for two weeks now, and while things are different, they are not as different as I had thought–and hoped. Folks are slow at getting back to life. The “experts” had said it would be so. No flipping on the light switch. More like slowly turning on a dimmer. But we’re moving forward.
I remember back in mid-March, standing in the laundry detergent aisle–the first week of facing empty shelves. A young man stood there, staring as if frozen in place.
“What to choose?” I joked. “So many choices.”
He then told me how he’d been to several stores and couldn’t find the sensitive skin baby wipes his kids needed. He didn’t know what he was going to do. His face was a mixture of fear and anger. He was young enough to be my son. I stood there with him, just listening to him talk. Offering suggestions, wishing I could do something. When I turned to go, I said, “We’ll get through this.”
He reluctantly nodded.
Fast forward two months later, Mike and me waiting in our car outside a Pizza Hut for chicken wings. There’d been a mix up with our order, and a young guy–high school aged or maybe college?–was sorting it out for us, going back and forth between the store and the parking lot. He was friendly, chatting. Something upbeat about this young guy. Hopeful. Despite it all, smiling.
And there was something about that encounter that told me we were all going to be just fine. We were moving forward. Maybe not at warp speed.
But definitely headed in the right direction.
Confessions of an Introvert
I will confess, at times, to being a little smug during “all this.” Let me explain. . .
You see, when you’re an introvert, your whole life you hear things like, “She needs to come out of her shell” or “She should get out more.” Some extroverts love to tell us what we need to do because they think we’re somehow broken, in need of repair. Or, at the very least, they feel the need to check on us. Make sure we’re okay.
And there were a lot of years I thought they were right–even though their suggestions never felt right. But then I read Susan Cain’s Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking and realized there was nothing wrong with me. And, truth be told, I got a little angry at those advice-dispensing extroverts and thought, “Oh, yeah, well maybe what you need is some quiet introspection instead of being around people all the time.”
Enter: a nasty virus and a national shutdown. In pretty short order, many extroverts were getting just that, and going crazy, having to be confined for such long stretches. Meanwhile we introverts were just peachy–and, at times, dare I say, happy? No, not for the bad things going on, but for the extended, perfectly solid reason to stay at home–home being our “home turf,” so to speak. No having to come up with excuses for not wanting to go out.
I was happily content for weeks!
Then, somewhere around week six–yeah, it took that long–I started getting fed up with the whole situation. “I’m done,” I said to anyone who was there to hear me–Mike. Winston and Clarence (the cats). I was counting the days to Missouri reopening, arguing passionately with my cell phone or the TV when “the experts” said otherwise.
So the moral of the story? Even we introverts have our limits in our fortresses of solitude–or at least most of us. I admit it–I need people. Just much smaller doses. A little dab of socializing in between long periods of wonderful, soul-restoring introspection, quiet, and plain old alone time.
Now, to my extrovert friends, just checking on you. You doing okay?
Resources and related posts:
Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain
Finding my Pace: Slowing Down to Enjoy Life
Weekly Frames, Simple Update, and Other News Fresh From the Farm
Colorful, Mini Milestones, and Other News Fresh From the Farm
Past posts from this month:
All Winding Roads Lead to Nausea (2017, humor)
My 3 Essential Tips for Growing Strawberries (2017)
Crunchy Green Bean Snack (2018)
Weed Beauty, Unusual Gifts, and Other News Fresh From the Farm (2018)
How to Make Jelly From Wildflowers (2019)
How to Plant Strawberries (2019)