Cedar Writes

Tag: sanbornton farm

  • Walking in the Woods

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    cedarlili
    in

    Serviceberry (Amelanchier alnifolia) is one of the first berries to ripen, in mid June, because it is one of the first to bloom. Distantly related to apples and roses, the Serviceberry trees look like puffy white clouds as you drive down the road in early May. I have several here on the Farm, and I…

  • Wildcrafting Fiddleheads

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    cedarlili
    in

    I have lived in New Hampshire for twenty years now, and have only gotten around to looking for fiddleheads this year. I’m not sure why – I certainly wildcraft enough with other things, both obvious and obscure. Partly I believe it is because they are only available for a few weeks, if not days, in early…

  • Planting trees

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    cedarlili
    in

    This week I have been planting a lot of things. Yesterday it was raining and I was hurting, so I didn’t do much. Dad and Uncle Mike came down and walked around the garden and farm with Mica and I. Uncle Mike hasn’t seen it in years, as he lives in Wisconsin and visits rarely.…

  • Fast Food and Hard Labor

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    cedarlili
    in ,

    It’s been a busy day. I’d intended to make dinner and put it in the crockpot this morning and slept in instead, so I left for work without doing it. And then I found a craigslist offer of free railroad ties and set it up to pick them up after work. And finally, my other…

  • Happenings on and Off the Farm

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    cedarlili
    in

    It’s been a while since I updated, because my attention was elsewhere. Life here goes on, chores have to be done and spring sweeps onward too quickly. But my father, the Farmer, went in to have a kidney removed this last week, and that held my attention much more than the farm. He won’t be…

  • Popovers and Chicks

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    cedarlili
    in

    My popovers didn’t “pop” but they still tasted awesome, especially with the blueberry jam that we put up last summer on it. I think next time I will use a metal pan, the silicone muffin tins didn’t work well for this! The little golden ones are Golden-Pencilled Hamburgs, and the black and white ones are…

  • Pig Tractor

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    cedarlili
    in ,

    We have about an acre of land we’d like to regain from having gone fallow for almost ten years. And, this being New Hampshire, we have rocks. Lots of big, hidden rocks. So hiring a guy to come on in and till isn’t really an option. That, and we are veering toward a no-till, low-till…

  • Spring Floods

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    cedarlili
    in

    Every spring the rains come, and the snow melts, and the low places flood and the brooks and streams rise… It was amazing to see it this week as the waters rose by 18 inches literally overnight. The other phenomenon I saw was the midday fog that comes over the snow on a warm spring…

  • April Showers… April Flowers

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    cedarlili
    in

    The saying goes “April showers bring May flowers” and that might be true in some areas, and here in NH most people think that is true. But to my eyes, spring is blooming all around us now, in mid April. Our little Sanbornton farm has so many species of plants growing on just our 14…

  • Recipe for Dirt

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    cedarlili
    in ,

    Dad walked in the house the other afternoon, looked down and said “Happiness is having dirty knees.” When I had stopped laughing, I knew he was right. For him,and so many other gardeners out there, happiness is about getting down in the dirt and making things grow. And as an organic gardener, his goal in…

  • Pot Full of Sunshine

    Pot Full of Sunshine

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    cedarlili
    in

    I was making dinner last night, just a simple spaghetti for the three of us adults as the kids were all out for the evening. While I was pulling together the ingredients from the pantry, I was thinking about how satisfying it is to be able to cook with things I put up from the…

  • Whose Mouth First Puckered?

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    cedarlili
    in

    This photo was taken last year, but I was talking to Dad about Rhubarb yesterday and it got me thinking. Ever since I was little, I have been fascinated with wild edible foods. I learned what I could eat, what I wanted to eat (not always the same thing!) and how to safely identify those…