Celeriac – Delightful Surprise

  • Post published:02/10/2009
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Celeriac was lauded in our daily newspaper, The Recorder, on Saturday by Aaron Falbel of Sunderland for its brightness of flavor, versatility, and modesty. He says,Relegated as you so often are, to the back and upper shelves in the supermarket,Tossed among horseradish, jicama, salsify and other strange,Unidentifiable rooty things.Little do they know that you are the storage champion of all time, Leaven even butternut squash in the dust. . . .You persevereon, and on and on, Keeping your…

Art of the Plant

  • Post published:02/09/2009

Beverly Duncan is known to her Ashfield neighbors, and colleagues at Mohawk Trail Regional High School as a friend, as a helpful worker, as a gardener, and as an artist who sells cards and sketches of flowers and other plants at Elmer’s Store. Some know her as a freelance artist and illustrator for books and magazines, but many are not aware of her reputation as a fine botanical artist whose work has been exhibited at the Denver Botanic…

Art all Around

  • Post published:02/06/2009
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Beverly Duncan grew up amid the lush landscapes of Hawaii, and her art has always tended toward the natural world, but it was not until a dozen or so years ago, when paintings that she had done of autumn leaves for a Buffalo (NY) Science Museum, that she rejoiced "to have found a place in the art world".Those paintings caught the eye of someone at the Hunt Institute of Botanical Documentation at Carnegie Mellon University and she was…

Starting from Seed

  • Post published:02/05/2009
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                The seed catalogs are filling my mailbox. I’m starting to make lists of vegetables to grow, paying particular attention to those that can be stored with the least amount of trouble and energy, including winter squash and root vegetables like beets.   Of course, I need lots of veggies like lettuces, green beans and tomatoes, too. Many of the vegetables I plant get seeded right in the garden, but I usually buy a few flats…

Groundhog Day

  • Post published:02/03/2009
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                   Yesterday, February 2, was the day the whole United States celebrated the groundhog. TV cameras were set to watch Punxsutawney Phil come out of his burrow to determine whether or not spring is upon us, or whether we will have six more weeks of winter It is recorded that about 90 per cent of the time Phil does see his shadow which means spring is only six weeks away.             While the United States, or at…

Groundhog Day

  • Post published:02/03/2009
  • Post comments:1 Comment

Yesterday, February 2, was the day the whole United States celebrated the groundhog. TV cameras were set to watch Punxsutawney Phil come out of his burrow to determine whether or not spring is upon us, or whether we will have six more weeks of winterIt is recorded that about 90 per cent of the time Phil does see his shadow which means spring is only six weeks away. While the United States, or at least readers of the…

Tis a Gift to be Simple

  • Post published:02/01/2009
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Simple Gifts'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free,'Tis the gift to come down where you ought to be,And when we find ourselves in the place just right,'Twill be in the valley of love and delight.When true simplicity is gain'd,To bow and to bend we shan't be asham'd,To turn, turn will be our delight,Till by turning, turning we come round right.This little song was written by Elder Joseph Brackett at the Alfred, Maine community…

Three Friends of Winter

  • Post published:01/28/2009
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Since I have just posted about Spring Festival, the Chinese New Year, I thought I would continue with a mention of the Three Friends of Winter, the pine, bamboo and plum blossoms. These plants symbolize survival under adverse conditions.The pine is considered the chief of trees. Its trunk is straight and powerful (although I have to say that the pine that shows up commonly in Chinese art is less than tall and straight) like an upright man of…

Don’t Throw It, Grow It!

  • Post published:01/27/2009
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            Garbage isn’t always garbage. Sometimes it is the beginning of an indoor garden.             Who among us hasn’t taken an avocado pit, planted it in a pot and enjoyed a large lush houseplant?  It would never bear fruit, but it was fun to see this large seed grow into a substantial plant.             Growing seeds, roots and tubers from the kitchen is a great way to remind children of the different ways edible foods are propagated. This…

Chinese New Year

  • Post published:01/26/2009
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For days now Chinese people have been travelling all over the country to return to their home towns to celebrate Spring Festival, the beginning of the lunar new year. During the two separate years (1989-90 and 1995-96) we spent in Beijing we learned about the importance of this holiday.In the west, New Year's Eve means a party and greeting the new year at midnight, but in China it means 20 days of celebration with family, surrounding themselves with…