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Every Good Day 27: Compost

compostI am one of the oddest people I know. I prefer a simple life and I don’t require or desire much in the way of things. In every aspect of my life I try to find ways to spend less money and to improve the quality of my life without increasing the expenses along with it.

As a lifelong gardener I have a need to have rich, nutrient-dense soil in which to grow the food I eat. While many will spend hundreds of dollars on soil amendments (and I have as well, truth be told), I strive to build soil and soil amendments with compost using everything at my disposal. From grass clippings to coffee and tea grounds, dryer lint to shredded paper, I am always adding to the compost piles and containers with the full knowledge that every item added back to the soil here at home is something that will not find its way to the local landfill where it will not break down naturally as nature intended.

In the next few days I will begin collecting horse manure from the farm where my horse Bravo lives. That manure will be aged, composted and added to the raised bed and soil-building areas of the land I call home and that is a good thing.

If you would like to read up on compost, I highly recommend the book “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Composting” by my longtime friend Chris McLaughlin.

Every Good Day 26: Foraging

 

This post was delayed because of internet issues. Sorry!

MichaelWrites: Foraged Turnip Greens

 

 

On a recent day trip a few hours from home that was mentioned on Day 16, I was taken to an out-of-the-way part of an out-of-the-way town in Alabama. The primary purpose of the visit was to view the devastation caused by the tornadoes of April 27, 2011 but while there, an unlikely bright spot appeared.

It is no secret that I am a fan of foraging and do it often. From berries and fruit trees to wild edibles, there is a bounty to be enjoyed in the wild. On this day though, there was an unexpected find just a few feet from the road.  The photo above doesn’t do well to show perspective, but what you see is a large cluster of turnip greens. Large.  Here are more photos:

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Here you can see the sink full of greens that have been trimmed and separated from the stems. The sink basin is 2/3 full.

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This is the cluster of turnips from the plant. As you can see it was bigger than my hand and weighed just over 3 pounds at this point. Once cleaned and trimmed the turnips alone still weighed 2 pounds.

 

The remaining stems were cleaned and stored for adding to stock later, and the parts that remained were added to the compost. In all there were about 5-6 pounds of food foraged on that day. The greens were definitely more bitter than younger leaves, but a longer cook time with a bit of sugar and vinegar made all the difference and there are several pints of turnip greens canned to enjoy later.

Every Good Day 25: Back in the Saddle

bravo

Taking a much-needed day off from work is enough to make yesterday a good day, but there was more good than I can even fathom to come.

The plan was to walk a large piece of acreage that’s for sale not far from here. Of course I’d love to own a piece of it (it is a gorgeous place with river frontage and creeks) but it isn’t in the cards for me in my current financial situation so I did the next best thing and enjoyed the hike into an area I wasn’t familiar with while dreaming of all that I could do with it.

After lunch we headed toward the farm so that I could spend some time with Bravo (my horse). As luck would have it, my friend Tracy was on her way to the farm as well, as suggested that I pick up a saddle and get back on Bravo.

I did and it was the most moving spiritual moment I’ve had in a while. To recap, I fell from Bravo almost a year and a half ago and my hip injury was so bad that I couldn’t ride for quite a while. Now Bravo is back at the farm and I am back in the saddle. We didn’t do anything more than walk and spend time together, but that was enough.

And it was good.

Every Good Day 24: Chaka Kahn Tells Me Something Good

Every Good Day 23: Safety

Overnight storms destroyed neighborhoods and businesses and claimed the lives of two residents in the area.

Today I am thankful for being here, safe and sound.