The Simple Satisfaction of a Garden

I just finished my lunch. I didn't go very far to get it either, just a short walk to the garden. The dogs and cats following me...they think they help a lot. I picked s good amount of Lima beans to shell. I pulled two Golden beets and then got some of the last lettuce. I tried planting lettuce in stages this year and it worked out well. It has been yielding tasty, tender leaves all summer and now into fall. I have a weird mix of Red Sails, Arugala, Black seeded Simpson and Tennis Ball. Add a bit id oil and vinegar dressing and it is so fresh and good. My lunch was simple and vegetarian. Beets, Beans and salad all right from the earth. It wasn't trucked in. It had no chemicals on it. It was not Genetically modified or enhanced. It was basic and unbelievably good!
Now the peels from the beets and shell husks from the beans and the trimming from the lettuce will find their way to the chickens for their treats. I eat the beet tops when they are young but now they go to the pigs who think they are similar to gourmet dining! It s very closed loop of  natural growing things.
I do find the most basic delights in having a garden. It starts in January with the arrival of seed catalogs. They become tattered and worn by the time I  make my selections. I use tried and true varieties but I also enjoy trying new things I have not seen before, they grow in my experimental garden behind the house. The tomato's and Pepper plants get started early in my south facing front window, a dash of new green in winter that cheers my day and makes me anticipate when I get to plant them. I watch my seed potatoes to see how they are doing and decide how they are storing. I make notes on various attributes plants I grow have and I of course take pictures of them.

 



 

I love the colors of things and this year I grew all sorts of potatoes. Adirondack Red [with red flesh] All Blue [with of course Blue Flesh] And various traditional red and white skinned "taters"! It was such fun. Tasty too! New potatoes cooked with fresh mint and then served hot with home made butter are hard to beat!

Now I am watching the weather and hoping it does not freeze soon though I know it will...the air has fall in it. But the daily trip to the garden with my entourage keeps summer alive a bit longer and is such a balm to ones spirit. If you don't have a garden you really should try a small one, it will delight you with its bounty and make you wonder about commercial food and how it tastes. Now I am going to feed the scraps to the chickens and gather eggs...

Happy gardening all!

Hobbies and Oddities

Imagine jogging along on a big bay gelding. He is one of your favorite cattle horses. The cows need to be moved out of the brush pasture by the river and you want a solid horse for the rough terrain. Maybe your just going out to check the cows?  Well all this takes place in your Kitchen where your making tack for your strange an unusual hobby...Model Horse Collecting. I got into the hobby while I was working for The Stepehenson Family of Diamond Shorthorns, the two girls not only love cows but like all little girls were crazy about anything to do with horses. Their mother is a teacher and one week when I was working show cattle for them she asked me if I could spare the time to take Jamie to a live model horse show.

I shook my head...what a pain...I had a lot to do with the cattle but I guess I kill an hour or two.  As it turned out two days later Jamie and I were totally addicted to this very cool hobby. The models are made by several companies...Breyer Model Horses and Stone to name two. There are also resins and china, original finish and custom, almost anything you can want in all sorts of colors and poses. It was so much fun...we "Showed" Jamie's horses in all sorts of classes, the judges took their time and were serious about their placings. Just like any horseshow I have ever been to with a lot less hard work and stall cleaning.

We couldn't imagine some of the things we saw. Tiny saddles with working buckles and latigo's, dripping with silver! English tack on models that were  jumping over miniature  Three day Event Fences. Horses doing everything horses do from ranch work to heavy draft pulling contests. There were lots of Traditional Scale, they are 9 to 1.  Stablemate that are teeny tine at about 2 inches high  all tacked up and ready to go. All breeds had their representitives  in every shade of bay, chestnut, gray, appaloosa and pinto.

It was just a totally absorbing way to spend time and we both came home with horses. My first Breyer was a deep bay AQHA model called Rimrock from the movie the Horse Whisperer...he led to a good sized collection of plastic and even a few very special resins. I make the tack and gear for them all, just a wonderful fun hobby. I have infected friends and my niece and I have had great adventures showing our herds, herds that I might add have grown over time with purchases from all over the place.

Now back to chasing the cows out of the Brush pasture...Frank has his Chinks on and "Cattle Hustler" is jogging along nicely..its going to be a great day!

PS: Type in Model Horses on you web Browser and prepare to be amazed!