Maitake mushrooms,
garden sage and spring onion, an irresponsibly-sized spoon of Vermont butter,
East India sherry.
#california #mushrooms (at At Home in Napa)
…. stuffed until bursting…
#itswhatsfordinner #garden #california (at At Home in Napa)
Superorganism, indeed.
#mindblown #napavalleybeeco
#beekeeping #bee #backyardbeekeeping (at At Home in Napa)
No animals were harmed in the making of Sunday supper.
#california #mushrooms #foraging #gardening #fruitsofourlabour (at At Home in Napa)
Egg signed by its creator.
#california #springcoyoteranch #knowfromwhereithails (at At Home in Napa)
Spring color in the Sierras.
#california #spring #sierras
(at Eldorado National Forest)
Fava bean purée whipped with spicy green garlic and Tuscan oil, a true labor of ❤️.
#vegetables #spring #food52 #fava (at At Home in Napa)
Peas.
#garden #spring #vegetables #peas (at At Home in Napa)
🐝 Day Five.
The new hive seems happy and adjusting well, furiously collecting nectar and building comb. My first nibble on their handiwork put me in mind of tasting wine in Alsace: distinct flavors of flowers and earth.
As noted in the bee book, the pollen from the calendulas we planted to herald their arrival has made its way into their hive.
Magical and meditative, I’m completely enchanted by their arduous daily ballet; I actually put a chair close to the hive to peep.
#bee #beekeeping #backyardbeekeeping
A windswept spring day
stirs up nature’s longing,
the plants’ spewing
dusty yellow malehood
across our Valley
seeking a female ovule
with which to mate
to germinate
deep inside
the pounding head
of a happily childless dyke.
Hazel eyes burn and scratch
the nose
a hose
watering the sleeve
of my gardening dress.
Finally showered of pollens
exhausted, cranky
famished
the last hoarded cans
of albacore tuna
line-caught
hand-packed
sashimi-grade
are deemed necessary.
Packed in olive oil
tossed with celery leaves
pickled ramps
lemon mayo
slathered on rye toasts
with bitter garden chicories
and bacon fried to fatty
perfection,
supper is made dinner
with Burgundy
the last bottle
from a long stashed case
reserved for
in case of emergency
moods.
#pollen #dujac #wineasantihistamine (at At Home in Napa)
Carrot cake with cream cheese frosting and candied carrot petals.
#cakeforeverymeal #bonappetit (at At Home in Napa)
“Why am I just as happy as a child
Why am I like a racehorse running wild
Why am I in a state of ecstasy
The reason is ‘cause something’s happened to me.
I’m in love again, and the spring is comin’
I’m in love again, hear my heart strings strummin’
I’m in love again, and the hymn I’m hummin’
Is the Huddle Up, Cuddle Up Blues.”
Cole Porter must have been an apiarist.
#california #bee #beekeeping #backyardbeekeeping (at At Home in Napa)
#becomingcarygrant
#backroads (at Carneros, California)
#hydrangea (at At Home in Napa)
Pea shoots wilted in a wood oven with olive oil, green garlic and salt.
#california #spring #woodfired #vegetables (at At Home in Napa)
Unruly gifts from the garden.
#california #garden #roses #wabisabi (at At Home in Napa)
Word.
#nature #careformotherearth #noplanetb (at Jackson, California)
Visiting church on Sunday morning.
#california #spring #farmlife (at Volcano, California)
Turkeys the size of ranch dogs
traverse the wordless backroads
I’ve opted to travel,
past Gold Mine Realty
U-Stor-It Lockers
Giannini’s Italian Dinners
Tom’s Convenience Mart,
its shelves lined
in the parched
salty-sweet sands
of a food desert.
Hiking California’s northern peaks
in search of a single mushroom
from which to compose
dinner
proved futile
as alas
we jumped the gun
on its fruiting.
Wet still air and
rushing rushing waters
herald Spring’s imminent arrival;
the conifer, oak, aspen
their pollens not yet popped
to blanket a forest floor
now soaked with
melt
from gray banks of snow
laced with ravages of winter.
Flickers and stellar jays
mock-squawk
our lack of success
in extricating bounty
from their home
as drippy fog
dampens woolens
moods
and empty baskets.
A world-weary soul
journeys into the woods
to hunt
silence, renewal
Spring.
#california #spring #intothewoods (at Eldorado National Forest)