Page 3 of Chicken Book Complete

Page 3 of my large fabric chicken book is complete! I introduce the chickens on this page. But Honey, the Buff Orpington is getting all of page 4 to herself.

Revisiting Wormfarm

Last Friday I made my way back to the Wormfarm Institute where I had done an artist residency this past summer from May 20th to June 20th.  I took the Van Galder bus from Union Station to Madison, Wisconsin.  I spent 2 hours exploring a bit of Madison and then was picked up by Betsy, a past artist resident of Wormfarm who came to the Wormfarm sometime after me.  We drove to Reedsburg and went to the opening reception for the 2012 Wormfarm Institute Artist Residents Show where Betsy, myself and 4 other artists had work on display.

I spent the night at Wormfarm and woke up bright and early the next day to explore what had become my home just a few months ago.

My first stop was the chicken coop.  Jay had already fed the chickens and they were scattered around the field searching for bugs and greens to eat.  But I could tell my plump little Honey was not out there.  I went inside to find her and tempt her with my apple core.  She is the biggest, golden lady in the bunch.

A chicken bum in the doorway.  My favorite.

The new rooster.  He is not fully grown yet.  He is pretty but I am not too fond of him.  When a rooster comes along he takes control of the ladies...those ladies don't need a rooster.  No lady needs a rooster.  Hopefully he won't be too cruel to them for his own good.

Milkweed!  So incredible.

I started my adventure, walking around for two hours.  It was a gloomy, rainy day, but it was beautiful.

These were growing on the tree/bush branches alongside the rode.  I am sure soon I will know the names of many plants.  This summer I collected so much information already.

Trouser is the tiny black dot ahead of me on the path.  He led the way just like Cathi said he would when I came to Wormfarm for the first time.  I will be forever grateful to him for walking with me that day.

Everything looked as if it were on fire.

The path was so empty compared to the summer.  All the plants have died and dried up leaving much more open space.  It felt very different from June.  More quiet and still.

Jay said that back in July when the drought was bad, they had to send the cows back to their farmer because there wasn't much grass for them to eat.  Only five remain.

Wormfarm still feels like my home in Wisconsin.  I was worried that it wouldn't feel that way.  I have the opportunity to come back next summer and I am pretty sure that I will. 

Before I came to Wormfarm, I thought I had everything figured out.  When I left, I was confused about the person that I am and what my future looked like.  I thought that as I got older things started to make more sense.  Instead I have learned that I have to accept life as it comes to me and try less to understand everything at once.

After my walk, Jay drove me to see Farm/Art DTour, "a fifty-mile backroad tour of art installations, Roadside Culture Stands (artist-built mobile farm stands), pasture performances and rural culture education sites in Sauk County, Wisconsin."  I was so glad I got to see it.  Thanks, Jay.

I caught the Amtrak train from the Wisconsin Dells back to Union Station in Chicago.  I sat on the edge of my seat the entire time looking out the window in awe.  

Saying Goodbye to Honey

Honey and I had a talk.  We agreed we will miss each other something awful.  I will miss her plumpness and she will miss my apple cores.

I hope to finish the 4th chicken tonight.  

I went black cap picking again.  This is my stained hand.  I hope to make blackberry jam when I get back home.

My sister comes tomorrow to spend the day at Wormfarm, then the next morning we leave.  I am excited to go home but at the same time, I don't like the thought of leaving here.  It is bittersweet.  But there are a lot more places to experience!

Honey and I

Honey is my favorite chicken out there.  She is super plump and golden.  I am working on sewing three chickens to go with the eggs and egg yolks.  This is the first chicken.

This is Honey and I!  Look how happy we are together!  

*Thanks Sarah for the image.

I decided to sew a white square of fabric to the back of this piece.  It was too round!  

The other day I caramelized some onions and added some spinach from the garden, noodles, salt and pepper.  Super yummy!

Mr. Daisy is no longer with us.  He was found dead two days ago.  He was a super cool bird and I am going to miss him.

Cornbread for Breakfast

Last night was fun with Potluck: Chicago and our guests at Inspiration Cafe. I tripled my cornbread recipe...2/3 of the cornbread was eaten but 1/3 sits in my fridge. Looks like I will have to find a way to make cornbread fit into every meal. So I started with breakfast. I used my honey from Midnight Sun Organics farm now that I finally finished my local honey from Dennanne Farms in Elgin. It's amazing how different the two honeys taste, but both are amazing.

Here is the recipe for Vegan Cornbread from The Angelica Home Kitchen: recipes and rabble rousings from an organic vegan restaurant by Leslie McEachern. My Aunt Laurie gave me this book and I love it! This recipe is fast and simple.

Southern-Style Cornbread

Yield: 8 servings Baking time: 25 minutes

1 cup cornmeal

1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1/2 cup unbleached white flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 cup minced scallions

1 cup soy milk

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup maple syrup

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Oil an 8-to-10 inch round ovenproof glass or case iron skillet.

-Whisk together the cornmeal, whole wheat pastry flour, unbleached white flour, baking powder, and scallions in a mixing bowl.

-In a separate mixing bowl, combine the soy milk, olive oil, maple syrup, and sea salt.

-Combine the wet and dry ingredients. Mix thoroughly with a wooden spoon; do not overmix.

-Pour into the oiled baking dish and bake for approximately 25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

-Set aside to cool.

-Slice into wedges and serve.

Here are the many foods everyone brought. It was very yummy!

And a super yummy Coconut Curry soup that Inspiration Cafe provided.