Nature Archives - Page 12 of 18

Is It Me, Or Is There Only Weird Stuff in the Fridge?

February 1, 2009 / My Garden / Recipes / By Karen Shanley / 3 Comments

For the tenth time, Andrew opened the refrigerator, hoping that something “good” would magically materialize. For the tenth time, when no miracle occurred and the exact same food stared back at him, he finally exclaimed, “Is it me, or is there only weird stuff in here?”

Because I hate grocery shopping even more than I hate cleaning toilets, I’ve been known to prolong going to the store for as long as is humanly possible, or until no one can stand … Read More

Northern Lights

January 18, 2009 / Nature, spirituality / By Karen Shanley / 8 Comments

The first time I saw them, I was camping out in Nova Scotia on an isolated sliver of a peninsula that jutted out into the choppy Atlantic Ocean. As I’d done since I was a kid, I threw my sleeping bag on the ground so I could have a clear view of the night sky. It was the new moon, so I was anticipating some magnificent stargazing.

What I wasn’t anticipating was what happened next. All of a sudden and … Read More

A Day in the Light

December 14, 2008 / Nature / By Karen Shanley / 6 Comments

Interesting changes in light all day today.

6:30 am

8:30 am

10:30 am

12:30 pm

2:30 pm

4:00 pm

6:00 pm – Power out from an ice storm.

8:00 pm

10:00 pm. Jupiter and Venus, as evening stars, holding hands in the southwest sky – and a dead camera battery. Good nite all.… Read More

Signs

August 22, 2008 / Nature / By Karen Shanley / 13 Comments

Fall is in the air. No need to look at the calendar; there are signs everywhere.

Harvested at the end of July, my garlic has dried enough to cut, clean, and store. One drying screen almost done. One more to go.

Seed saving begins for many of my lettuces and leafy vegetables. This is Chinese Cabbage. Tiny little things, aren’t they?

This is one plant’s worth.

I like to collect enough seeds to also have some to trade on Seed … Read More

We Interrupt Our Regularly Scheduled Programming —

August 2, 2008 / My Garden / Recipes / By Karen Shanley / 9 Comments

— To cook up all this zucchini. This is one week’s worth.

You’ve seen Monster Trucks. How about Monster Zucchinis?

Actually, it’s just one of my seed zucchinis from which I’ll save seeds for next year’s crop.

I’ve shared two of my favorite zucchini recipes here.

This is another family favorite.

ZUCCHINI FRITTERS
3 c. coarsely grated zucchini 2 eggs, beaten 1/2 cup breadcrumbs 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese 2 tsp. flour 1 tbs minced garlic Salt and black

Garden Progress and Yummy Swiss Chard Recipe

July 4, 2008 / My Garden / Recipes / By Karen Shanley / 8 Comments

It’s been about a month since I planted my garden.

Here’s how it started.

Here’s what it looks like one month later. What a little sun and rain will do, when you start with good dirt…

Without a wide-angle lens, I can’t get the whole thing in. But you get the idea.

So far, we’ve enjoyed Swiss Chard, Bok Choy, the usual lettuces, peas, snow peas, beets, all kinds of herbs (most of which I dry for use throughout the … Read More

Garden Experiment 2008

June 1, 2008 / My Garden / Recipes / By Karen Shanley / 16 Comments

With the cost of food skyrocketing, and the prices of organic produce off the charts, my garden experiment this year is to work toward growing enough food to feed my family for the year. Matron of Husbandry over at Throwback at Trapper Creek was the one who inspired me.

This year, I’ve more than doubled the size of my gardening space, as well as added several more fruit trees and bushes. Even with all that, I’ll need to increase my … Read More