Another visit to O'Tooles Organic Herb Farm

Back in the beginning of December, my mother-in-law, best friend and I made another trip to Madison, Fl to visit O'Tooles once again.  The mission for this trip was to see a soap making demonstration with the owner of Magnolia Hill Soap.  She was running a bit late that morning, so we decided to browse the greenhouses.  There are two large greenhouses, one containing mostly herbs and the other veggies.

I can't tell you how tempting it is to just pick and eat! Ha!

There were also a few vendors on the grounds (it was open house at the farm), so after browsing the greenhouses we stepped outside to check them out.  It was early morning and they were just beginning to set up, so there were only a handful that we could visit.  One of them was the local Dreaming Cow Creamery from Pavo, Ga.  We spoke with one of the owners, Kyle Wehner, and learned about their sustainable practices on their farm and got to sample their more than delicious yogurt. 

We then stopped over to visit the Golden's who run Golden Acres Ranch in Monticello, Fl.  Bobbie and Fred are a lovely couple and are very happy to share any information they have with you.  They raise goats (you can order their meats) and have a huge lot of mayhaw trees.  We got to sample some of their homemade mayhaw jelly and the absolute best cranberry sauce/jelly in the entire world!  Mayhaws are more of a southern thing, so if you've never hear of them, I would seriously suggest you find yourself some!  To me, it is the best jelly you can get, hands down.

We spent a good bit of time talking with each of these vendors... so much so that we totally missed the soap making demonstration!  We walked up just as she was packing.  We did get to speak with Marge, the owner, for a few minutes, but didn't want to take up too much of her time since she had just gotten through answering those same questions.  I picked up a couple of bars of soap and some calendula salve.  The soaps are amazing and I have been using the salve as a moisturizer. 

Back in the greenhouses, I discovered a method of seed starting that I hadn't even considered yet.

Previously, I have been starting my seeds in a tray with individual cells.  The cells on each are pretty small and it takes a little bit of convincing to get the seedling out without damage.  I imagine just a little scoop in a tray like this will release the little seedlings with no harm and make for easier planting in the ground or larger pots.  If I can ever decide what seeds and which catalog to get them from, I'll be doing my Spring greenhouse seed starting just like this!

This was our last trip to the farm for a little while as she takes a break in January and reopens for the weekends in March.  I'll go back then to get some plants that I only want a couple of and not have to worry with starting difficult seeds!

Are you planning a garden for the Spring?  How about having a small container garden?  You can squeeze in a veggie, herb, or two even in the smallest of places!

Creamed Collards

I just recently, as in about 2 months ago, started eating collard greens.  Growing up my brother was always a huge fan of them, but I wouldn't touch them with a ten foot pole!  I finally tried them at my grandpa's birthday celebration with a little pepper sauce sprinkled on top (the way my brother fixed his). Yum!  Then came New Years.  This year I wanted to cook our dinner at home, including all the traditional New Year's meal foods.  The only problem was I had never even watched someone cook greens in my entire life!  Off to the web I went and found the perfect recipe on Nourished Kitchen.  Collard greens soaked in heavy cream?!  I almost drooled on the keyboard when I saw the beautiful pictures!  My husband doesn't like greens and I thought that making this recipe may actually get him to try them.  Not only did he, but he had seconds AND I had to cook another round to fill us and our 2 friends up!  Try this, you won't be disappointed!



Creamed Collards
     Slightly changed from the original recipe found at Nourished Kitchen

* 2 Tbsp Butter
* 1/2 yellow onion, diced
* 1 bunch collard greens
* 1 cup heavy cream

Wash collards and remove stems.  Tear or chop the leaves into small sizes.  Melt the butter in a skillet over medium to medium/high heat.  Add the onions and cook until slightly caramelized.  Toss the collards into the pan, adding as much as you can at a time, letting that slightly wilt, then repeat until all of the collards have been added.  Cook until the collards are well wilted, about 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Pour in the heavy cream and simmer about 6 minutes until the cream is largely reduced.  Serve hot and sprinkle a little salt on top!

The main difference in my recipe is the amount of collards used. One bunch, to me, seemed like plenty for the one cup of heavy cream. Maybe that's just the Southern Girl in me! I also increased the cooking time. This could be because the author from Nourished Kitchen is in the Mountains and I am below sea level. Adjust this recipe to your own taste. I don't think you could really go wrong!

The 30/30 Hoop Challenge

Last week Rayna McInturf, a most awesome hooper, announced a challenge on Hooping.org.  Starting on the 8th, you commit to hooping for at leat 30 minutes everyday for 30 days.  This is just the thing I need to motivate me to reach one of my New Year's goals!  One thing that really stuck out to me in Rayna's article was this: "It takes the human brain almost exactly 21 days to develop a new habit and after about a month it should feel harder not to do the activity."

So far I have been doing great with hooping well over 30 minutes solid everyday except Sunday, when I was so sore from the hours of hooping on Saturday that I had to break up the practice to a few minutes at a time!  I've recruited several of my friends, and although we aren't posting to Hooping.org, we'll have our own prize at the end of our personal challenges: a wonderful sense of accomplishment from committing and sticking to something, a more toned body, and the ablility to kick ass on the hoop! 

The 30/30 Challenge doesn't have to be about hooping, though!  Think of something you'd like to do, maybe a New Years Goal you really want to commit to.  Turn it into your own personal challenge! 

Me and my neice at the Wanee Festival this past Spring, just as my hooping obsession was taking off

Bar stools make me giggle?

My brother is about to finish up his upstairs bar room and I was looking at getting him some bar stools.  I came across these and had a little laugh to myself!  How funny is that?!?

Hoya Carnosa Krinkle Curl

There's not much blooming around the house here lately.  In fact, I can't think of anything other than my orchid that just started blooming!  Oh, I can't wait for Spring!

About a month ago I uploaded some pictures of my Hindu Rope Hoya to photobucket and forgot all about it.  So to help brighten the dreary days of Winter and make us long for warm weather all the more, I'm breaking out those old photos.

On several gardening forums I've read about people having big trouble getting their hoyas to bloom.  To me, the hoya is one of the easiest, low maintince plants to grow.  Maybe they're trying too hard, as mine seem to do best with a little neglect!

Hoyas like bright, indirect light and well drained soil.  I keep mine hanging in a western facing window, with white blinds that usually stay shut.  On occasion, and more so in the winter, I will open the blinds for a few hours to let a little extra light in.  The soil is a fast draining mix, similar to what you would use for an orchid, with a sphagnum moss and light soil mixture.  Hoyas like to be root bound so if you get a new plant you probably won't need to repot it for some time; mine's been in the same pot for 4 years!   I water it about once a week, sometimes less frequently, judging by the weight of the pot and the top of the soil.  It seems mine do best when I let the soil get almost all the way dry and then slowly add water, saturating the soil.  If you live in a dry climate, it's probably a good idea to mist your plant regularly as well.

The plant itself is beautiful, but the main reason I like hoyas so much is the beautiful and yummy smelling blooms!!  They bloom from Spring to mid Fall here, but colder areas will have a slightly shorter growing season.  The blooms can be born on new stem growth, or on older stubs where flowers have previously bloomed.  The following picture an example of the latter.

It only takes a few days for the flowers to open after you see them appear.  The little round buds you see in the above photo will start to take on a glossy, ballooned star shape and begin to spread apart into an umbrella. 

The petals then begin to fold back, showcasing the "inside" of the flower.

The center "star" is glossy, while the outer has a furry look!  This is when you'll be able to really smell them.  To me, they smell just like chocolate, but I've heard some people think they stink!  What?!?  You do have to get close to the bloom to smell their fragrance, though.  As the bloom ages, the smell with get fainter, until you really can't smell it at all.  For me, the blooms usually last around 2 weeks from start to finish.

This evergreen houseplant truly is beautiful and I highly recommend it!  Treated properly, it will bring happiness to you for years!  And, it is super easy to propagate from cuttings and air layering!

Update: Two days after posting this my I noticed a flower bud just starting to form on my hoya.  The entire process of budding, flowering and finally the blooms falling off lasted until February 25!

Resolutions or Goals?

Ah, New Years!  The time when many people are making their resolutions to lose weight, excercise more, do this, do that.... By the end of Spring it seems like almost everyone who made those resolutions have completely forgotten about them or have just given up! 

In the past couple of weeks the thought of making a good New Years resolution has been crossing my mind.  The idea of making and keeping a resolution sounds grand, but I myself have never managed to keep that idea going into action.  Why is this? 


According to Wikipedia, 52% of people in a study felt confindent that they would follow through with thier resolution, but only 12% actually did it.

It seems we set our minds on the finished product, over looking the actions that will get us there. 

The term "New Years Resolution" does absolutely nothing for me anymore.  Too many times have I said "I am really going to follow through with it this time" only to bail on my plans when the end result seems too far away.  This year I am not resolving to do a damn thing.  Instead, I will be setting myself realistic goals.  Mmmmmm!  There's the word!! 

I belive that in order for you to achieve your goals, you have to take baby steps all the way and do things that are appealing to you.  So you want to lose weight?  Why?  Will it make you happier?  Make you feel better?  Ok, then consider the things you can do that won't focus solely on your weight.  Have a goal to incorporate more nourishing foods into your diet, make time in the morning to simply walk around the yard observing what you see.  Simple things will lead you to your goal a whole lot better than focusing solely on the finished product.  Isn't it true that if you weigh yourself every day you will get disheartend when the scale is not so nice to you?  So why put yourself through that?

I'm not saying don't set big goals- not at all!  Go as big as you want!  Get your big ideas and commit to them, then step back and break it down into do-able sizes and set yourself a time line.  It seems like waaaay too much work when you have everything sitting in front of you, but if you were to break it down into monthly goals, it's not so daunting. 

A couple of my goals for the comming year....

• Put more home grown food on our table. This means I will be working toward building beds, testing different types of veggies, learning to save seeds....
• Become a better hooper.  Learning a new trick at least every two weeks, practicing for a solid hour or two at least once a week, getting together with the girls more...
• Pulling myself out of debt.  Learning to use what I have, cutting out disposables, growing more of our own foods...

See how one thing kind of leads to another?  Small simple goals, at least for me, are best!  Think about how you can take some of the pressure off of your resolutions simply by making small goals for yourself instead! 

And have a super fantastic New Year!!!

Twas the Night Before Yuletide

Twas the night before Yuletide and all through the glen
Not a creature was stirring, not a fox, not a hen.
A mantle of snow shone brightly that night
As it lay on the ground, reflecting moonlight.
The faeries were nestled all snug in their trees,
Unmindful of flurries and a chilly north breeze.
The elves and the gnomes were down in their burrows,
Sleeping like babes in their soft earthen furrows.
When low! The earth moved with a thunderous quake,
Causing chairs to fall over and dishes to break.
The Little Folk scrambled to get on their feet
Then raced to the river where they usually meet.
“What happened?” they wondered, they questioned, they probed,
As they shivered in night clothes, some bare-armed, some robed.
“What caused the earth’s shudder? What caused her to shiver?”
They all spoke at once as they stood by the river.
Then what to their wondering eyes should appear
But a shining gold light in the shape of a sphere.
It blinked and it twinkled, it winked like an eye,
Then it flew straight up and was lost in the sky.
Before they could murmur, before they could bustle,
There emerged from the crowd, with a swish and a rustle,
A stately old crone with her hand on a cane,
Resplendent in green with a flowing white mane.
As she passed by them the old crone’s perfume,
Smelling of meadows and flowers abloom,
Made each of the fey folk think of the spring
When the earth wakes from slumber and the birds start to sing.
“My name is Gaia,” the old crone proclaimed
in a voice that at once was both wild and tamed,
“I’ve come to remind you, for you seem to forget,
that Yule is the time of re-birth, and yet…”
“I see no hearth fires, hear no music, no bells,
The air isn’t filled with rich fragrant smells
Of baking and roasting, and simmering stews,
Of cider that’s mulled or other hot brews.”
“There aren’t any children at play in the snow,
Or houses lit up by candles’ glow.
Have you forgotten, my children, the fun
Of celebrating the rebirth of the sun?”
She looked at the fey folk, her eyes going round,
As they shuffled their feet and stared at the ground.
Then she smiled the smile that brings light to the day,
“Come, my children,” she said, “Let’s play.”
They gathered the mistletoe, gathered the holly,
Threw off the drab and drew on the jolly.
They lit a big bonfire, and they danced and they sang.
They brought out the bells and clapped when they rang.
They strung lights on the trees, and bows, oh so merry,
In colors of cranberry, bayberry, cherry.
They built giant snowmen and adorned them with hats,
Then surrounded them with snow birds, and snow cats and bats.
Then just before dawn, at the end of their fest,
Before they went homeward to seek out their rest,
The fey folk they gathered ‘round their favorite oak tree
And welcomed the sun ‘neath the tree’s finery.
They were just reaching home when it suddenly came,
The gold light returned like an arrow-shot flame.
It lit on the tree top where they could see from afar
The golden-like sphere turned into a star.
The old crone just smiled at the beautiful sight,
“Happy Yuletide, my children,” she whispered. “Good night.”

By C.C. Wiliford

I hope you all have a Blessed Yule and don't forget to try to get up to see the Total Lunar Eclipse!  It's the first one to occur on the Winter Solstice since 1638!