We had several days with some rain last week so our surroundings are pretty and green. The early purple iris are still blooming and a few of the yellow ones on the south side of the house have begun to open. Jim mowed the yard again over the weekend and on Sunday he used the Weed Eater, filled the bird feeders and put the new pump in the fish pond. We're all set for enjoying some outdoor living next month.
I've eaten the last of the watercress sister Nancy brought me. I rationed it out and ate a little at several meals. Jim and I returned from a drive to Oklahoma Sunday before last and found Nancy had visited again and left a bag of poke greens on the front porch. I added a few stalks I'd found around the yard, cooked them and ate them all that very evening. I picked another batch recently at the home of a friend and I'm looking forward to enjoying more soon.
I read recently that, according to the USDA, farmers' markets have increased 76 percent nationwide in the last 10 years and have almost doubled in Arkansas during that time. Our local farmers' market has been open two weeks. We visited on its opening day even though it was a rainy morning. They were offering delicious baked goods, jams and jellies and nice brown eggs, but I was unable to find the green onions I'd hoped to buy to add to my scrambled eggs. I then went with Jim to a home west of town where he went to turn up the thermostat on a water heater he installed recently. The homeowner gave us some of his onions, so I've got that covered now.
This last Saturday we drove to a home on Meadowlark Lane so Jim could check on a roof that needed repair. We dropped by the farmers' market when we returned to town and learned they'd had radishes, asparagus and green onions earlier in the morning but were all sold out. You have to get out and about early in the day to get those first goodies.
Last Wednesday was the 45th year of the Earth Day observance. I did my observance the previous day, on Earth Day Eve. Tuesday afternoon I got out with my trowel and scratcher and planted several flowers my friend John had shared from his yard. I planted a clematis on each side of the arch at the end of the fish pond. I put up a trellis beside Jim's lawnmower storage shed and planted another clematis there. I set out a peony and a couple of lamb's ears between the brick walkway and the cellar. I watered them well and, with a couple of showers in the succeeding days, I'm hoping they've gotten off to a good start.
One of the phrases often heard around Earth Day is the old motto, "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle." We are fortunate to have bins available beside the police station to recycle glass, aluminum and steel cans, paper goods, number 1 and 2 plastic. The upcoming spring cleanup day (May 5) will be an ideal time to "reduce" by clearing out our clutter and placing unwanted items at curbside. And I gleaned some good ideas for reusing from a new publication, "Ozark Hills and Hollows." An article in its premiere April-May issue offered suggestions for making a scoop from a milk jug and self-watering pots from 2-liter pop bottles, making seed starting pots from toilet paper rolls, using an old mailbox for storing hand garden tools and turning an old pair of jeans into a handy garden apron.
I was delighted to discover this new magazine, published in Exeter, Mo. It's filled with beautiful photographs and interesting articles about our area. This initial offering featured stories on gardening, the fish hatchery at Neosho, marketing grass-fed beef and teaching your kids to love the outdoors. The cooks in the family will love the articles on edible mushrooms, raising backyard egg layers and cooking with bacon grease. Accompanying recipes range from fried morels to wilted lettuce, egg salad sandwiches to chicken pot pie. I'll definitely keep my eyes open for the next issue of this free publication.
Susan Holland is a reporter for the Westside Eagle Observer. She may be contacted by email at [email protected]. Opinions expressed are those of the author.
Editorial on 04/29/2015