Where in the Garden Am I?

When the snow finally melted and the sun started warming the ground that never did freeze last winter, plants began popping up all over. Also growing strong was the thickest spring weed cover I'd ever seen. How can I not spend every second working in the garden or the greenhouse?

Beaver Works

Beavers, once common in Iowa were trapped out in the 1800's but were reintroduced along with wild turkeys and river otter (both of which we have seen in abundance around our home) by the Iowa DNR. This fall we started seeing tree gnawing along our creek for the first time, haven't seen the beavers working though. By the time we noticed it, a dozen small trees had dissapeared, leaving behind just the gnawed stumps. Amazing to us though, were the larger trees they started to fell during the winter while the creek was still open. We will have to hike downstream and see if we can find their den. Generally they go upstream for trees so they can float them down. They eat the bark in the winter and use sticks to build their dens.

Busy as a beavers were these beavers!

Squash Chipotle Chowder

Another winter pantry soup I created several years ago when we had a surplus of squash. This is thick and hearty but not too filling and packed with vegetables. The squash and corn give it a sweetness balanced by the lime and the heat of the chipotle. And the basic recipe can easily be converted from a southwest flavor profile to a Thai or Indian curry profile (see variations below). The recipe is vegetarian but it can easily be vegan.

Recipe:
1 Cup chopped carrots
1 Cup chopped leek or 1/2 cup chopped onion
1 Cup chopped potatoes
2 Dried Chipotles peppers

Place vegetables in a soup pot and cover with water and simmer until very tender. Remove from heat and add 3 cups cooked butternut squash (or other sweet winter squash). Let cool until safe to handle, then process in a food processer until smooth, then return to the soup pot. Stir in 1/2 chicken flavored broth powder (or real chicken broth if you prefer). Soup will be very thick at this point. Add 2 cups of milk or (or water if preferred). Add 2 cups of frozen sweet corn. Heat on low until soup is hot.

To season add:
1 tsp. coriander powder
1 tsp cumin powder
dash or two of tamari
Taste soup to determine if it is as spicy hot as you want it. If not add chipotle powder, a quarter teaspoon at time until desired heat is achieved. Stir in the juice of half a lime and cook 5 minutes more.

Variations anyone?
Of course I always have variations. This is really good with grated cheddar cheese melted in the soup. Add to the pot or if some of the diners want to avoid dairy, individuals can spinkle some cheese in the bottom of each bowl and cover with the hot soup.

Currify your soup by replacing the corinader with curry powder. You can also replace the milk with coconut milk instead of water. If using a hot curry, you may want to omit the chipotles.

Serve with whole wheat or pumpernickle bread. Also good with corn chips or corn tortillas.




Ingredient Notes:
Winter squash is easy to grow and store, as are onions, potatoes and carrots which serve as the base of the soup. Eating with the seasons, even in winter is not only possible, but provides an opportunity for creative new combinations of available ingredients.

Squash can be used as a vegetable, in desserts and sauces and makes a richly colored, flavorful soup base. Squash is also very high in Vitamins A and C, contains no fat and contains a variety of minerals.

An Aromatherapy Garden

Those of us with gardening addictions are spending our hours surrounded by seed catalogs dreaming and planning the perfect gardens we expect to have when the snows melt and the ground warms. Many blessings come with gardening; I want to talk about just one of these here - aromatherapy.
We often think of the benefits of aromatherapy coming from a bottle, but those small essential oil bottles are packed with intense aromas that originate in nature – actually a garden in a bottle. The contents of many of those bottles belong to such plant exotics as dusky frankincense, smoky vetiver, sensuous patchouli and mystical sandalwood, but others come from plants that grow well in most any garden – like peppermint, lemon balm and basil.
Try it! Sit in the middle of a garden when the sun is warming and the breezes gentle, eyes closed, nose wide-open and your thoughts gently surrounding the aromas you smell. Take a deep breath and another and relax into the moment. The aroma of fresh growing plants, rich soil, compost and fragrant herbs and flowers all combine to create a feeling - perhaps peaceful, calming, euphoric, grounding or invigorating.
You can make a special aromatherapy garden, an aromatherapy bed or just sprinkle aromatherapy plants where appropriate in an existing garden. The important point is to know your aromatherapy plants and their benefits and to enjoy and share those benefits whenever you need or want them.
Aromatherapy plants do well in an organic garden. Often times their essential oils function as insect repellants to minimize insect damage to themselves and nearby plants. Most are not very fussy and are quite happy in a variety of soils and location. And there is some evidence to show that essential oil bearing plants produce more oil which means a stronger scent when they are stressed and less oil when that are over-fertilized. While any fragant plant that you enjoy create can aromatherapy benefit, certain plants are well known, either because of experiential observations and/or research to invoke certain responses in people.

Ten plants to try:
1. Basil has a fresh, clean, anise-like scnet and comes in many sizes, colors and aromas. I like to plant a hedge of basil alongside my tomatoes - they are good companion plants in the garden as well as the kitchen. Basil helps me to stay alert, to clear the mind and to focus. It is also helps open up the sinuses and relieve headaches.

2.Chamomile flowers have a fruity, fresh, herbaceous aroma. It is deeply relaxing and makes a good before bed tea. Be care with this one though as it reseeds prolifically and quickly becomes a

weed.

3. Clary sage is a bi-annual which sends up a showy flower stalk the second year with blue and pink flowers. Its' sharp, musky, sweet scent promotes emotional balance and relaxation

.

4. Geranium - the smelly leaf as opposed to the showy flower kind - has a sweet, rosy, herbaceous-minty aroma that I love. This is one to take inside to overwinter but it does quite well in pots or in the ground and will grow quite large. Geranium is relaxing and balancing and it help sooth the tensions of PMS and stress.

5. Lavender is well-known and appreciated for its lavender flower spikes and aroma. It does not over-winter for me and isn't happy in the greenhouse. Still, it is the most popular essential oil in the world and for those that can grow it and like, it is a must. Lavender is relaxing and helps alleviate stress. It is often used to promote restful sleep, to treat tension headaches and is excellent in healing and alleviating the pain of burns, stings and wounds.

6. Lemon balm is easy plant to grow and it has lovely lemony scented leaves. Often called melissa oil in aromatherapy ( the essential oil is very expensive) it is prized for its ability as an antidepressant and calming effect on the nervous system.

7. Marjoram is a low growing plant that is a tender perennial in my area but it overwinters beautifully in a cold greenhouse. Its sweet, spicy aroma helps to strengthen the nervous system and is deeply relaxing.

8. Peppermint (and other mints) are easy to grow but their spreading habits can make them invasive. Peppermint has a fresh, strong minty aroma that is very cooling and helps alleviate cold symptoms such as sinus congestion. It also is stimulating and helps me stay awake on a long drive.

9. Rosemary is a favorite of mine - a small woody shrub- that I have to overwinter in the greenhouse. It does well the rest of the year in a pot or in the ground. The fresh, herbaceous cent of rosemary is invigorating - helps clear the mind and increase concentrations.

10. Thyme, a low growing perennial, has a crisp, clean, herbal scent. It is well known for its antiseptic properties and was used in hospitals before the advent of modern antiseptics. The aroma stimulated the mind and tonifies the nerves. Inhaling it with any type of sinus or lung congestion or infections is beneficial.

Fog Frost

Yesterday was foggy again. Conditions were just right for the formation of hoar frost, what I prefer to call, fog frost. The cyrstals formed were beautiful and in many cases, very artsy.


Car mirror framed


The entrance to WindSong Farm (our place). Like entering a fairy land.

A peach tree twig.

Flower stalk of a hydrangea.

Another hydrangea flower

Hayrake

Close-up of hayrake tines.

Spokes of hayrake.

Maple twig

Bittersweet vines on the garden shed.

Frosty-headed peach twig



Gate across the bridge, leaving WishSong Farm