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…from Farm Where Life is Good
We’ll give you an insider’s view of life and growing on the farm. Share the excitement of a great harvest and experience the disappointment of a crop failure.
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Spring has sprung in Wisconsin...wait, nope!
This post expired on May 03, 2023.
Can it be May 1st?
Farm Where Life is Good
May Day
Sequence of events—-
Tuesday all day: I just have to say…California (or Arizona or Florida…) eat your heart out! This morning I walked in a T-shirt thru the snow to turn on the electric breaker for the well pump, then sloshed thru a muddy field to the high tunnel to water the seedlings inside. Only in the Midwest can you experience the diversity of a wild Spring season! 77degrees and full sun allowed for a pleasant maple bucket clean up.
Maple season cleanup in the warm sunshine (for once!)
Wednesday PM: Ok, I am back. Back from that euphoric spring-induced state we Midwesterners get into when we forget what winter did to us; I am firmly back, staring out the door at the blanket of snow and dense falling flakes. California HERE I COME!!!!!
Chives in May…they WANT to play
Thursday AM: Well, we didn’t get to California quickly enough. Staring wide-eyed into the darkness last night, we listened to the trees popping and falling all around us, saw the huge flair of our electric transformer blow from downed lines, and heard 16 nice big thumps all in a row (note: the high tunnel has 16 “ribs”). Steady…. The tunnel survived better than our nerves!
Farm in a blanket
Driveway going nowhere…
Thursday PM: Sanity was restored once some trees were chainsawed, the driveway/road access cleared, power restored (HOT WATER restored!) and a few hours were spent in the 70 degree high tunnel transplanting (with a little help from our friend) and installing low tunnels in preparation for the high tunnel move to Position #2 in a week!
Transplanting assistant—The Yellow-rumped Warbler
Spinach transplants for the Popeyes out there!
Tucking in progress…
Tunnel crops all tucked in for tunnel move next week .
Recipes for your Consideration
I had an inspiration the other day with left over rice. My mind when to “fried rice” but my palate said “nope” to the Asian variety. So I reverted to our stores of canned, frozen, root-cellared produce from last year and concocted a south-of-the-border variety. The “day-old” route allowed it to remain non-sticky!
Mexican Fried Rice
1 onion, diced
4 cups day-old cooked white/brown rice
1 pint homemade, canned salsa
1 bunch frozen rough-chopped cilantro, thawed and drained (or fresh)
1 tsp ground cumin
Optional: 1-2c protein of your choice (cubed tofu, “ripped” wheat meat)
½ lime squeeze
Sauté onion in skillet with 1Tbsp olive oil.
Add rice and stir to heat evenly.
Add salsa, cilantro and cumin (+/- protein); stir and fold to mix well and heat thru.
Squeeze lime over rice and serve.
Did You Know?
Meet the Yellow-rumped Warbler
Common and conspicuous; in many areas the only warbler likely to be seen in winter. (Did you hear that? Yes, the warbler was here and it is clearly winter today, May 2nd!!!)
Nests in relatively open coniferous forests and their edges. (No coniferouses here at FarmWLIG.)
Winters in open brushy habitats, such as dunes and field edges, especially among fruiting shrubs like bayberry and juniper. Often in small loose flocks. (This little fella, actually twins, or better yet, the plump one was probably the female full of eggs, who kept alternating as my assistant, were solitary but both really liked my boots for some reason; they were really quite pleasant companions.)
Often perches upright on relatively exposed perches, flying up to catch passing insects. (These guys/gals loved the flea beetles and earthworms…no MP, native worms not the composting red wigglers!)
A rather large, long tailed warbler, with stout dark bill. Bright yellow rump-patch distinctive and often conspicuous. (These twirps were tiny…but who are we to know what a large warbler would look like. We grow vegetables!)
Song is rather flat (well, that’s downright rude!) soft warble sidl sidl sidl sidl seedl seedl seedl seedl seel (are there any birders out there who “get” this written bird song language?) usually fading at end.
Call a low flat chep.
Flight call a clear ssit. (Well that’s quite clear, isn’t it?)
Yellow-rumped Warbler, take a bow! (From: The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Eastern North America)
Farm News
The Greenhouse bursting at its seams…violas flowering…caution— blizzard outside
The high tunnel is almost 100% planted; we had to call an audible and substitute in some diversity crops when it was obvious the outdoor fields will remain unusable for another (short?) while. Carrots made it in there, along with the salad mix, lettuce heads, boc choi, mustard greens, salad turnips, radishes, spinach. Prepping for leeks this weekend inside, maybe some kale too. These will be some of the early pickin’s.
The basement is in full swing with seed-starts for melon, summer squash, more spinach (!), chard, tomatillos, a steady succession of cabbages, various flowers and herbs to keep it interesting.
Roger is tallying and tabulating and making templates for box labels, etc., so if you are dragging your feet, jump on in and get your all-season subscription while the getting’ is good. There are a small handful left, just for you! (Ok, that’s the extent of my marketing genius.)
We are trying a small number of hanging flower baskets for sale and vegetable transplants for sale too. Keep an eye out; I’ll alert you when they are ready.
Have a wonderful week, and enjoy the anticipation of vegetables.
We hope to feed you soon!
Roger and Lara
