Fleur-de-Blur

For SpringSummer 2010, Mother Nature has been on the fast track, blurring days into weeks. What is “normal” for the week of July 4 at Fleur-de-Lys Farm is happening right now, June 14-18!

We’re picking black raspberries, black currants, and blueberries, while the June-bearing strawberries are fast fading. The bee balm is sending up her blossoms exploding with streaks of crimson that usually herald July 4 fireworks. Another not-so-favorite visitor for Independence Day, the Japanese beetle, is already munching down on the roses and quince. Laurie Lynch

At Fleur-de-Lys Farm Market this week: rainbow chard, several types of kale and lettuces, sugar snap peas, garlic scapes, black raspberries and currants, cilantro, oregano, and other herbs, eggs, honey, and probably a half dozen other things I’ve missed. We still have loads of llama beans for your compost

Life is like a patchwork quilt

And each little patch is day

Some patches are rosy, happy and bright

And some are dark and gray.

But each little patch

As it’s fitted in and sewn to keep it together

Makes a finished flock in this life of ours,

Filled with sun and rainy weather.

So let me work on life’s patchwork quilt

Through the rainy days and the sun

Trusting that when I have finished my block

The Master may say, “Well Done.”

-- Author Unknown

Fleur-de-TheGraduate

I been reading Barbara Kingsolver’s new novel, “The Lacuna.” One simple sentence jumped out at me and gave me a belly laugh: “Even a feather duster will lay an egg in April.”

Ah, the predictability of life. If in April the eggs are rolling in the nesting boxes, you can be sure the 11 other months are unpredictable, at best. Too often, we find ourselves giving reasons why the girls aren’t laying: It’s too hot. It’s too cold. The days are too short. The nights are too long. It’s snowing. Well, it’s not snowing now, but you get the point.

Our son Richard returned from Juiz de For a, Brasil, last week on the heels of good news – he’s going to graduate from Kutztown Area High School June 15. He was the school’s first outbound Rotary Exchange student, so we weren’t sure how the credits and requirements would work out. But, Richard put together two portfolios of his work at the Jesuit school he attended and mailed them to KAHS. Evidently, they passed the muster.

The real proof of the value of his year in Brasil came his first night back when he went to a Rotary picnic. My shy son of a year ago walked up to many of the Rotarians who guided him through the Rotary exchange application process, greeting each with a kiss on each cheek.  Richard is speaking fluent Portuguese with Celso (who stayed with us when he was a Rotary Exchange high school student and who is now a senior at Kutztown University) and he is rocking to the Brasilian beat of reggae, rap and favela funk.

Richard summed up the experience, “It was my best year ever.”

What more could a parent want?

And actually, if he would have been in Kutztown instead of Juiz de Fora for his senior year, I might have been more worried than I was when he was a hemisphere away. First of all, he had a wonderful host mom, Meire, She often reassured me in English (she was a Rotary Exchange student visitig the U.S. in the 1970s) that Richard was doing well. And, had Richard been here, he might have been involved in a senior prank, and I might have been his accomplice. And boy, would we have gotten in trouble!

Our neighbor Lisa once shared this story about a senior prank. Apparently, some students suffering from Senioritis released three chickens in their high school. There was quite a bit of squawking and ruffled feathers. But the chickens were finally captured, and each had a number hanging from her neck: No. 1, No. 2, and No. 4 …  Oh, how those teachers and administrators looked for chicken No. 3!  Laurie Lynch

At Fleur-de-Lys Farm this week:  eggs if you are lucky, garlic scapes, lots of herbs, honey, sugar snap peas, kale, lettuces, and strawberries.

Fleur-de-MysteryRose

Ruth and Jack Flounders run a small heirloom rose nursery in Schuylkill County called Roses in Thyme. I think we first met when they came down to buy garlic for their Sculps Hill Vinegars, and throughout the years we’ve exchanged occasional emails. Last week, they drove down with their grandson to show him the llamas and to buy sweet potato slips.

Draven loved touching Griffey’s (the retired Mennonite Buggy Horse) soft muzzle, got to see the girls sunbathing on llama beach, and even cranked the bucket on the wishing well as he toddled around the farm. Before they left, they gave us a gift: a beautiful old shrub rose. It is just like the ones they sell at their nursery, only it was mislabeled and they only sell correctly labeled old roses. (Check out their website: rosesinthyme.com). So, the mystery rose has taken harbor with our mystery peonies and our mystery rugosa rose, an alleyway of pink fragrance from the house to the barn. Laurie Lynch

At Fleur-de-Lys Farm this week: We’ve got strawberries, garlic scapes, elderblossoms for making Elderblossom Cordial, lettuces, red Russian kale, radishes, honey, assorted fresh herbs, and eggs.

No Boys from Brasil, Just a Young Man: Our 18-year-old son Richard returns from his Rotary Exchange year in Juiz de Fora, Brasil, tomorrow. So, it will be help-yourself day at Fleur-de-Lys Farm Market.

Starting Thursday: Orphan tomato seedlings – St. Pierre, Rose de Berne, Green Zebra, Taxi, Rowdy Red, Egg Yolk and plum tomatoes Assalito Family, Pompeii and Roughwood Garden.

Llama Beans: They are here for the taking! Pick up a bag and cook up your compost.

Written on Slate: One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living. We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon instead of enjoying the roses that are blooming outside our windows today.

-- Dale Carnegie

Fleur-de-LastDaysofMay

Everything is abloom at Fleur-de-Lys Farm this week! We’ve got strawberries, lettuces, baby Jade bok choy, Russian red kale, radishes, assorted fresh herbs, and eggs.

Sweet Potato Slip Special: Bunch of 25 slips for $15.

Llama Shearing Status: One done, one to go.

Coming Soon: Orphan tomato seedlings.

Written on Slate:

I sing of brooks,

Of blossoms, birds, and bowers;

Of April, May

Of June and July flowers.

                        Robert Herrick

Fleur-de-SchuylkillShastas

 

The best thing about the Fleur-de-Lys email newsletters is the feedback they generate.

Farming can be a solitary life, which is why I treasure customers stopping by and emails from readers. Ruthie lives up in Schuylkill County so I don’t see her often but I love her wisdom and recollections. And yes, I love it that I can occasionally use words to make her smile:

“Your tale about the milkweed brings a happy smile to my face.  When one of my step-daughters was a little girl she asked me to show her how to plant Shasta daisy seeds on our little mini farm.  We planted the packet in a neat little row in my flower section (aside from my husband's very serious vegetable section.)  Archer is now attending grad school in Seattle, Washington, married and has a darling baby girl.  But each summer the Shasta daisies continue to bloom all over that 4 l/2 acres and probably for miles around. My son now owns that property so I still get to see the daisies.  Our little ones do grow up quickly but mine still thank me for all the little things that I taught them.”

We thank you too, Ruthie. Enjoy this sweet potato and Shasta daisy planting weather.  Laurie Lynch

At Fleur-de-Lys Farm Market this week: eggs, asparagus, lettuce, kale, rhubarb, herbs and lovely peonies!

Sweet Potato Slips:  This morning I emailed my sweet potato supplier in Tennessee asking when I should expect the slips. I think he’s busy. I didn’t even get one word in reply, and this is a talkative fellow. The message? “ASAP.” That email came at 9:56 a.m. The UPS man arrived at 11:07 a.m. … with a box of sweet potato slips! ASAP means ASAP down in Tennessee. As always, I ordered more than I can possibly plant, so if you’d like to try your green thumb, give me a call (610) 683-6418, email or stop by.

Brownie Points: Well, Trig’s homemade brownies arrived in Brasil last week. She won Brasilian brownie points from my son Richard and his host mom Meire! And, I just got word this afternoon that the brownie mixes I sent made it too! Happy baking, Richard.

Llama Beans: We’ve got bags of llama manure pellets (AKA Llama Beans) to get your compost bin cooking. Who says nothing is free?

Written on Slate: “My dream is to become a farmer. Just a Bohemian guy pulling up his own sweet potatoes for dinner.” – Lenny Kravitz

Fleur-de-Milkweed

You have all heard of Johnny Appleseed, the pioneer nurseryman who introduced apple trees to the Midwest and became an American legend.

Well, in this part of Maxatawny Township we have Marina Milkweed. Yes, I’m talking about my daughter. She’s been living in Belgium for the past two years, but her legacy is showing up in our asparagus field, our strawberry patch, under the basketball hoop, and in the meadow.

Ever since she was a barefoot scamp, Marina was drawn to milkweed pods growing along our stream. Her favorite thing to do at summer’s end was to pluck the teardrop-shaped pods from the plant, pry the sticky, milky shells open with her fingers, and then scatter the hundreds of seeds with their silky parachutes into the breeze.

After 10 years of spreading milkweed seeds, her handiwork is evident everywhere I look. And that’s a good thing, especially this year, which is thought to be one of the worst for the monarch butterfly.

The monarch butterfly, with its beautiful black-and-orange wings, is one of those select creatures that lays her eggs on one type of plant, and one type only, the milkweed. There, the eggs hatch into larvae, and the larvae feed on the foliage.

This past winter, hailstorms in Mexico left 2 inches of ice on the trees where the monarch butterflies spend the winter. This was followed with 15 inches of rain. Scientists from Monarch Watch at the University of Kansas, Lawrence, estimate that more than 50 percent of the monarchs were killed, and the monarch population was already small to begin with.

As spring came to Mexico, the remaining female monarchs began flying north, depositing eggs on milkweed leaves. The migrating monarch mommas die, the eggs hatch, and the offspring continue the migration. It takes three to four generations for the monarchs to reach Canada. In the fall, the final generation migrates back to Mexico.

It isn’t just the severe weather that hurt the monarch population. Illegal logging in Mexico has destroyed its habitat and the use of genetically engineered corn and soy in the Midwest has also had a deleterious effect. Farmers can spray herbicides on the genetically modified corn and soy without killing the crops, but the herbicides kill the milkweed.

So, if you would like to help the monarchs this summer, stop by Fleur-de-Lys Farm and I’ll dig up a milkweed plant for you. Plant it in a wild spot on your property and you will create a much-needed habitat for the beautiful monarch. Special Note: Our milkweed is called common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) and is considered invasive, i.e., a weed. There are two other milkweeds, butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa) and swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata), both good for the monarch and the garden. Laurie Lynch

This Week at Fleur-de-Lys Farm Market: Eggs, asparagus, sorrel, chives and other spring herbs, and a 19^th-centruy French heirloom lettuce called Sanguine Ameliore. A photograph of this butterhead-type or “cabbage” lettuce caught my eye in this year’s Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds catalog. The catalog calls it by its French name, “Sanguine Ameliore” or “strawberry cabbage lettuce”. As you know, my knowledge of the French language is extremely limited but I was curious. To me, “sanguine” has something to do with blood, and that is the color of the “sprinkles” of red on the chartreuse leaves of this lettuce. So, I Google-translated “sanguine ameliore” to “blood improves” and double-checked it with my French-speaking Marina Milkweed. I guess in seed cataloguese, “blood improves” translates into “strawberry cabbage”.

Sweet Potato Slips: They should be arriving any day. When they arrive, I will send out emails to everyone who pre-ordered. If you’d like to reserve slips (12 slips for $10), let me know. We still have the following varieties: Carolina Ruby, Centennial, Yellow Jewel, Red Japanese (white flesh), White Triumph, and Nancy Hall (white flesh).

Llama Bean Bonus: We are attempting to spread goodwill and llama beans throughout the Lehigh Valley and Berks County, one bag at a time. Mix these llama beans (AKA llama manure pellets) into your compost pile and you won’t be sorry. Free!

While the Cat’s Away: This weekend Paul will be getting a much-needed break sailing on the Chesapeake. If you are in the Fleur-de-Lys neighborhood, stop by for a glass of refreshing elder-blossom cordial and give me a much-needed break.

Fleur-de-BrowniePoints

Our son Richard has been a Rotary exchange student in Brasil since July. I can count the telephone calls we’ve received from him on one hand: the day after he arrived, Christmas Eve, and a few days after his 18th birthday. He sent us one youtube video of himself from a news report of a professional soccer game. (He was in the stands. I thought I spotted him wearing a striped shirt, but I was wrong. Had it been so long that I didn’t recognize my own son? He was the shirtless wild man waving his jersey above his head like a helicopter.) Over the last 10 months there were never enough emails and the majority concerned problems getting money from his U.S. bank card through Brasilian ATM machines.

Late last week his email was a little different. It started off with “One month from tomorrow I’ll be leaving this paradise.” With that timetable, I actually allowed myself to get excited for his homecoming. Then, he asked a favor: Please send a few boxes of brownie mix! 

A little background: When Richard packed his suitcases last summer, he was under strict baggage weight restrictions. One of the suggestions for exchange students is that they occasionally cook for their host families. So, Richard packed a few boxes of pancake and brownie mix, and Pennsylvania maple syrup. The boxes traveled well; the syrup did not.

Getting back to last week’s email, Richard wrote that his host mom, Meire, loves his brownies and they’re a real hit with his friends in Juiz de Fora. “I made them for my class on my birthday and the requests won’t cease.”

So, I went to Weis and bought six boxes of Betty Crocker Brownie Mix with Hershey’s chocolate, which gives them a “local” twist. I found a strong cardboard box and packed them. Then I dashed an email off to my mother’s college roommate and life-long friend, Trig.

I saw Trig over the winter while visiting my mother in State College and she told me about a book she’s writing called “Brownie Points.” The book revolves around her delicious brownies that have sweetened palates from San Francisco to the North Pole to Singapore, and everywhere she has traveled in between. Trig once gave my two nephews who visited her in Tiburon a goody bag of brownies to take for the road, and a second bag for the Golden Gate toll-takers. She is quite the character. While others go quietly into their 80s, Trig became an actress with a leading role in a short film called “Grand Ma Takedown”. In the film she is dressed from hat to hem in hot pink, packs a handgun, and confronts bank robbers and ninjas.

Trig responded to my email about Richard wanting brownie mix by asking for his address so she could send him some “real brownies”.  Meanwhile, I took my box to the post office and filled out the requisite custom form. Contents: Betty Crocker Brownie Mix. Quantity: 6 boxes. Weight: 9 lbs. 0 oz. Value: $15. Postage: $53.25.

$68.25 for six batches of brownies. An extravagant expense, yes. But in my book, Richard baking brownies for his host mom and Brasilian friends is priceless when it comes to brownie points. Laurie Lynch

I asked Trig (AKA Joyce Turley) if I could share her recipe in this newsletter and she responded, “Sure. It will be on the back cover of my book. Recipes are like ballads -- gifts of love to be shared.”

Brownie Points

4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate (Trig uses Sees chocolate chips from California)

1 ½ sticks butter, European-style if possible

3 eggs in blender; add ½ cup flaked coconut and liquefy in blender.

1 ½ cups pure-cane sugar

1 ½ teaspoons good vanilla (Try to get 100% pure Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla) 

1 cup flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup chopped walnuts and 2 cups whole or pieces of walnuts (less if desired)

¼ cup chopped black walnuts (optional)

Microwave chocolate and butter in large bowl on high for 4 minutes or until melted. Dump in all other ingredients.

Spread in greased 7½ x 7½ baking dish. (Trig lines the dish with parchment paper.) Bake at 350 degrees for 31 minutes. Turn oven off and remove when cool. Cut into squares when cool or best if cut after sitting overnight. If you’re having a sugar attack, cool in refrigerator for an hour, then cut and lift carefully so they won’t crumble.

                                                                     

Farm Visitors: It’s been a busy week at Fleur-de-Lys Farm. A neighbor brought three visitors from China for a tour and then a photographer from “Organic Gardening” came to check out our garlic field for possible photos to illustrate an upcoming article.

Last Set of Easter Peep Names: Our buddy Otis likes random, rhyming words for animals and dolls, so he named his Easter chicks Shaggit and Naggit.

Fresh at the Farm:  This week we have dozens of pastel-colored eggs from our pastured hens. With the heat and rain, we’re cutting Purple Passion and green asparagus twice a day, and watering our heirloom tomato and pepper seedlings at least as often. Lots of herbs in the cutting garden as well.

Written on Slate: “Life is a privilege to be seized and nurtured until every joyful, exasperating, shocking, fulfilling moment has been savored. Then – you go back for seconds.” – Joseph Alioto

“Make sure you have Brownies when you go back.” – Joyce Turley