Thursday July 16, 2015  THE DAY IS NOT LONG ENOUGH!

No day is long enough!  No matter how early I get up, no matter how late I stay up, I cannot get done, in  one day, all I want to get done.  Does anyone else ever feel that way?  Why is that?  Are the days too short?  Or am I just slow? (Don’t answer that!) Or do I just have too much to do…or…have I arrived at that place in life where my body can’t cash the checks my mind writes?  That’s what Dave’s father used to say “My mind writes checks my body can’t cash”. He lived to be 101 years old. I now understand what he meant.  If you don’t understand, just live a few more years and you’ll find it true.  However, I think I’ll just keep writing the checks and let my body cash as many as it can.  I hope I never get to the place where I just want to give up.

Today is another one of those days of food obsession.  I have already cooked some from my farm box, cleaned some, put most of it in the fridge and getting ready to put the rest in the pot that’s boiling when it’s time.  And…I think there will be another box to bring in.   A big box packed full of corn on the cobb, green beans, beets, turnips, kale, baby salad greens (2 bags), huge head of cone shaped cabbage, zucchini  and yellow crookneck squash, cucumbers, Swiss chard, beet greens, a huge head of broccoli, another kind of green leaves, and a big fluffy head of lettuce.  That’s in the first box.  Then I have a greens share only box full of greens AND THEN…someone else left their box again tonight (usually someone is on vacation) and so I just brought it in and tried  to get it into the fridge.  Couldn’t quite make it so put some in a box in the garage, the cabbage, broccoli, and beets and greens.  So that makes a lot more work for me to do tomorrow.  Some I will give away if I have a chance.

I have already cooked a great portion of the kale and been greens and Swiss chard and now the turnips and beets are steaming on top of the “mess of greens” flavored with vinegar.  Coming from Arkansas we make what we call “pot liquor”.  Greens cooked down with a bit of oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, a touch of sugar and then put the turnips and whatever other root vegetable you have on top of the greens after they are cooked and let them cook until tender.  If you don’t know what “pot liquor” is good for, just ask me later.  I’ll tell you.  Just not on my blog.

We receive a box like this for 26 week.  The vegetables change with the seasons.  Then we receive two winter box delivers two weeks apart in October and November.  Each deliver can be between 3 to 6 full boxes with each delivery.  That is a lot of food.  I am not so much obsessed about eating the food as I am about working with the food.  I love handling fresh produce and creating delicious concoctions from what I get in the boxes.  I’ve been accused of eating weird.  I guess I like eating weird.

What happens in my day is what you get in my blog.  Today was food obsession day.  Also, ironing day.  Remember all those clothes I had in my car?  Well everything had to be washed and ironed.  So my ironing pile is now completed!  That is a good feeling because now I can wear anything I want.  And the best part, is that they still fit.  Can’t remember if I mentioned how much weight I gained eating across the country.  I seriously thought I had gained 20 pounds, but, it was only 5 pounds.  That was a relief.

Oh dear, I have not written a poem yet for this day.  Let’s see what comes.

SUMMER MAGIC

By Kathleen Martens

July 16, 2015

Summer evening sings it song

In meadow green through shaded trees.

Twilight stillness in reverence sweet

Twinkling lights blink back at me.

Arks of wonder sweep the air,

A magical dance with such grace

Sparkles in wondrous search

For a tranquil mating place.

Warmth and humidity in repose,

Wet earth in fragrance sweet,

The fire flies sparkle their love

Until their lover they meet.

This poem was inspired this evening as I stood at the north end of the house from its high vantage point.  As I looked out the window I could see through the gaps in the tall trees to the meadow below the house.  It was so green and quiet and peaceful.  And the fireflies were dancing their summer dance.  There were so many that the area was just twinkling.  I just stood there for a long time watching as the daylight faded and twilight cast its magical light, fading from light to dark.  The fire flies do a little ark as they fly toward the earth hoping to attract a mate.   It is the male lightening bugs that twinkle their rears hoping to attract a mate.  When the female decides which mate she chooses she has a very small twinkle that will notify the mate. When they finally attract each other they fall to the earth, consummate their union and their life ends shortly thereafter.  Before death the female lays her eggs in the earth where the larva will survive on slugs and worms and other creepy crawly things that live in the soil.  And just for the record, fire flies are not flies at all.  They come from the beetle family.  Whatever family they come from they are magical to watch at twilight.  Often people in this area refer to them as lightening bugs.

My twilight is dark, my day is done. My greens are cooked.  It’s time to go to bed and have some fun (well at least go to sleep).

Good night my friends.  Sandra, it was nice talking to you today!  I love you!

P.S.  My wisdom today:  When you are angry, take time to cool down before uttering a word.  When the anger has subsided you will be glad you did not say all you thought of saying while angry.  Once a word is spoken it can never be taken back.