When you decide to be a farmer, you have to start somewhere. How about a row of raspberries? Last April I drove an hour and a half to East Troy WI for the “Berrylicious Workshop” at the Michael Fields Agricultural Institute , which promised and provided hands-on training in pruning, […]
By now, five years into the relationship, I no longer feel it necessary to call my land Ms. Forty-four Acres. Sometimes I feel it’s perfectly appropriate to call her Forty-four, or even Dear old Double F – but that doesn’t mean I actually know her really well yet. Whenever I […]
People say sometimes you can’t see the forest for the trees. It’s even more true that you can’t see the prairie for the grasses. But we really should see those grasses. Ornamental grasses are gaining respect in landscaping, and truly, what is more beautiful than a sea of grass flowing […]
When we first walked our land, it was a week before Labor Day 2003. I’m sure there were wild flowers everywhere, but I can’t remember them. I was trying to feel the whole 44 acres at once. What is too big? Was it too little? Was it too flat? Was […]
I vividly remember the fireworks of flavor that erupted with my first taste of pizza. I was about 10, and our family was dining with friends. The pre-Martha Stewart mothers in our crowd competed to feed 10 to 20 people at a time with something tasty that didn’t break the […]
GUEST POST BY DELLA HANSMANN Whole Trees Architecture and Construction Before you even start thinking about the specific design of your building, you can have a huge impact on its comfort and cost by choosing the site wisely. Issues of solar gain, prevailing winds, and drainage are key, as well […]
When I say we have a pond on our land, you need to realize it is a tiny, little jewel box of a pond. The former owner, making use of Department of Natural Resources grants available at the time, dammed a little ravine and created a modest water catchment basin. […]
Last Sunday, the sun was shining. The birds were singing. Doug and I were dipping buckets of water from our tiny pond and hauling them in our Powerwagon (learn about the tool that has turned us into superman and wonderwoman here) to all the places we started new plants this […]
I’m hosting far-flung family from Seattle, Houston and Albany this week, so I’m going to post a link today to an article I wrote for the July/August issue of The Organic Broadcaster It begins: We’ve all read the headlines trumpeting the destructive potential of global warming, filled with phrases like […]
Mom was right. We should eat our vegetables. Now even some insurance companies want you to supersize your salad (read about this below). But more than that, if we choose vegetables that are produced locally as much as we can, we will improve not only our own health but the […]
Digging in the Driftless 