Bodacious Garden

I really love our Potluck Sundays.  I made a Kale Quinoa Salad with tahini, garlic, olive oil and lemon juice.  Yum!

Work in progress of the 3rd page of my fabric book.  This page will introduce the chickens.  Honey the Buff Orpington is not on there because she is getting her very own page.

I still have to add the beaks and feet.  I call them Dinos because these chickens look the most like their ancestors and there is so many of them that is hard to tell them apart.

Baby Barn Swallows!  They look so angry and tough!  They hardly fit in their nest anymore.

Snap peas!  We have been harvesting many snap peas and snow peas.  Today we harvested 64 pounds of snap peas!

Cauliflower is so cool.

When they get about the size of a fist we "blanch" them, which means we tie the leaves around the cauliflower to keep it white, or else it turns yellow.

Little purple kohlrabi!

We will be harvesting green beans tomorrow.

A bed of carrots growing bigger each day beneath the ground.

And my favorite, onions!

Second Page Complete!

I completed the second page of my 18 x 24 inch fabric book about the Feathery Ladies at the Wormfarm!

I made some Strawberry Jam for my Momma.  Naomi and I made Strawberry/Rhubarb jam as well. Yum!

Moo.

More Transplaning, Kitties and Chicken Feet

Today I transplanted different types of lettuces into the ground.  3 rows, a foot apart.  Above are the lettuces before I put their roots in the soil.  Another benefit to transplanting verses putting seeds directly in the ground is that the rows will be neater and properly spaced.  It's often a bit of a mess when the seeds go directly in the ground.

But today we planted rutabaga seeds (above) directly into the ground and parsnip seeds (below).  For the rutabagas I sprinkled 2-5 seeds every 6 to 8 inches.

For the parsnips we just scattered them along the rows.  Jay said that usually the rule to covering seeds with soil is to double the length of the seed.  So for the parsnips we covered them about 1/2 an inch.

Trouser likes to sit and watch us work.  It's nice to have his company, but sometimes I wish he would grab a shovel and do something.

The kitties continued to hide today.

I started putting together the chicken feet with twigs and wire.

Then to my surprise, Jem decided to join me!

Earth to Table at the West Chicago City Museum

Today I took the metra to West Chicago to install Harvesting the Carrot in the Midwest and Harvesting the Strawberry in the Midwest at the West Chicago City Museum for the Earth to Table show curated by Anni Holm.

(The lighting was not set yet) 

The work will be up from now until May 25th.  The artist reception is May 18 from 1-3pm.  

I am very excited to be a part of this!  Anni and Sara will hang farming tools around my work as well.  I can't wait to see the end result.

My strawberries on the front of the postcard!

And the back of the postcard.

Farm Friday at Midnight Sun Farm

This may have been my last day farming at Midnight Sun Farm.  The season is winding down and there isn't quite as much to do.  Today we harvested beets, carrots and turnips.

Dill gone to seed.

Turnips!  I ate all the blemished ones that weren't ok for market....mmm.  Sweet and crunchy.

Thank you Nick and Becky for a great season at Midnight Sun Farm!

Dinner!

Tonight I made soup with the last of the tomatoes for the year, some basil, chard and beans.  I received some Tokyo Bekana and Lettuce in my CSA share today and made a salad with them and added beets that I pickled.

This summer I was dedicated to eating as locally as possible and it has been very rewarding.  I waited all summer for tomatoes and peppers and when August finally rolled around I was happier than ever before to eat a pepper and a tomato!  Spinach comes around in the spring and again in the fall (tasting extra sweet from the frost!).  I am excited to have spinach again.  Sometimes it is nice not having everything I want when I want it.

By next summer I hope to be a master canner and receive a full CSA share instead of the 1/2 CSA share I had this year.  I would receive twice as much veggies and I would can and freeze the other half so that all winter I would have my summer veggies.  This has been a great summer of learning about eating locally and farming!

Harvesting the Carrot in the Midwest

I finished Harvesting the Carrot in the Midwest!  The carrot is harvested in the Midwest from July to November.  It is time to be more connected to our carrots and their growth!  This work is 48 x 58 inches (though the size can vary depending on how it is installed) and is made of watercolor on paper, jute, burlap, and fabric.

They grow in a variety of shapes and sizes.  It is always a surprise when I pull one from the ground.  And although one might seem a bit strange, it tastes just as good as an average one!  

Farming at Iron Street Farm in Bridgeport!

Iron Street Farm is in Chicago!  I am happy to have a found a farm nearby me to work on.  It is a 7 acre, urban farm located in Bridgeport.  My friend, Matt and I transplanted fennel into the ground and moved a mixture of beer mash and wood chips.  The beer mash and wood chips had been surrounding the hoop houses from the outside to keep them insulated but now that the weather is getting warmer they no longer need the extra heat. 

 


We shoveled beer mash and wood chips into the wheel barrow, then brought them over to a huge pile and dumped them out.  Compost bins are in the background!

It was a great day!  I got my first sunburn of the year.  I always make that mistake once and then I learn to have sunscreen on at all times.

If you ever want to volunteer with me on a farm this summer let me know!

I have been accepted as an Artist in Residence at Wormfarm Institute!

I found out a few days ago that I have been accepted to be an artist in residence at the Wormfarm Institute from May 20th to June 15th in Reedsburg, Wisconsin! I am so excited. I will have a month to work on a farm and create some new artwork. This will be my first time away from home for a long period of time without friends or family. The residency will be an amazing growing experience for me. I will blog about my days there too!

I started the day out right with some Mango Sticky Rice! :0 ) I have tried 2 recipes so far that weren't quite right and finally the third recipe is perfect! Here is the recipe. The only thing I did differently is add a pinch of salt to the sauce and add some mint to the plate. Also, if you never have had this before, I recommend putting the mango in a fridge, it's super yummy to eat warm rice and cold mango together!

A rock painting I finished. I wanted to study the many colors I was seeing in the rocks at Lake Michigan, the shape was less important. This is 10.5 x 13.5 inches, watercolor and acrylic.

I painted my duck eggs I bought from King's Hill Farm. I loved the pristine shape of the eggs and the varieties of colors and sizes I saw in my dozen. But the painting did not turn out as nice as thought it would. I still liked the eggs though so I cut them out and created the piece below. This piece was 11 x 14 inches, watercolor, marker.

I hand sewed the watercolored eggs onto the fabric (something I have been wanting to try for a while now) and it worked wonderfully. I can't wait to do more with paper and fabric. This is 23 x 23 inches, fabric, watercolor, marker, paper.

Midnight Sun Eggs and More Plushie Corn...

I went to the Glenwood Winter Market this past Sunday and bought some eggs from Nick and Becky from Midnight Sun Organics Farm. I always enjoy seeing them. I can't wait to volunteer on their farm. :0 )

It felt good to paint again. I believe it has been at least 6 months since I last painted but I plan on doing them more often!

Another corn finished, two more to go...they are getting better and better each time.

I received exciting news last night that 80 Becomes 40 was accepted to be shown for Our Earth at Flow Art Space in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The piece can be seen from April 18-May 5 and the opening reception is Friday, April 20 from 6-9pm...just in case I have a friend who lives in Minnesota that I am not aware of!