Flattening the Curve, Day 21

Hello everyone. It's the twenty-first day of my mandatory leave from my job due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and I think I am finally feeling like things have settled down and that the required quarantine our household is required to participate in is in full force. How about you?

At first, learning how to Stay Home, Stay Safe  felt like a huge learning curve. It really shines a light on how insidious we can be, always running from one activity to the next, don't you think? It requires a lot of organization. But now that it's been three weeks, living life at a bare minimum is shining a light on what is essential.

Every morning I listen to about an hour of news and I literally cry for my fellow human beings. The tremendous suffering of those inflicted with this terrible disease fills my heart with sadness and that is what keeps me committed to doing my part to help flatten the curve.

And like everything else in life, it takes practice.

One thing that makes my heart happy though, is to find activities that keep my mind busy and focused. Recently, I decided  to grab my camera and take a close look around my garden to see what springtime wonders mother nature has for me to inspect. As I was looking out there from my kitchen window recently, I was lamenting that this beautiful season has been passing me by, unnoticed, as I, like probably nearly all of you, have been preoccupied by the current state of affairs.

Do you live somewhere that is also experiencing a stay at home order during this pandemic? What activities are you able to enjoy during this time of quarantine?

Flattening the Curve, Day 7

Friends, I was looking at the COVID-19 numbers for Lane County Oregon this morning. As of today, March 25th, 2019, the number of tests conducted for Lane County is 264 and the number of positive tests results is 6 with 1 suspected death from the coronavirus.

I'm sure by now most everyone is aware that the test is not easily available to all that need or want one. And that the numbers for our county could very well be much higher if testing could be more rigorous and available.

Today feels like a holding pattern. While our nation awaits the results of the stimulus package that will hopefully bring economic relief to families in general and those left unemployed specifically by this world pandemic, the best course of action is to follow our Governor's order to Stay Home, Stay Safe.

This isn't easy, is it? I'm sure most of us are struggling with this. I wish I knew the real numbers for my county because what I really want to say is we can do this! But without concrete numbers, doubt lingers...

Until next time, my friends.

Flattening the Curve, Day 3

Friends, it's only day three of my mandatory leave from my job due to the COVID-19 pandemic and ever since yesterday afternoon and into today, I am searching for my empathy, humility and ability to accept my circumstance. Granted, I am not sick nor do I know anyone that is, but when I was at the grocery store I felt a loss in humanity.

It wasn't that I witnessed anything particularly bad - it's just that when I see people being overly anxious in their shopping or seemingly ignorant of the situation the world is facing at this moment, I loose faith in my fellow citizens to conduct themselves more responsibly.

I'm not trying to be the moral police here. But I do want to say that now is not the time to freak out (which I'm sure I probably will at some point) nor is it time to pretend that nothing is unusual about daily life. I would like to encourage people that are worried and uneasy to please phone, text, Face Time or Skype a friend or family member that you can talk to. Or you can leave me a comment.

Now is the time to come together and respect the social distancing rule and be mindful that your shopping habits may not only impact your neighbors but the economy in general and hurt more of us in the long run.

It's a lovely Spring day here in the Willamette Valley of Oregon and I am going to spend the rest of my day in my backyard enjoying my lunch, the sunshine, and I'm staying off media. My hope is that soaking up the sights, sounds and smells of my small garden space will renew my spirit and allow the beauty of this precious life we have to refill my senses and my ability to keep going.

Won't you join me?

From Garden To Table: Leek And Potato Soup

    Welcome back to another season of From Garden To Table, where I share ideas for cooking with the seasonal foods grown in my small backyard garden.  Today, we'll be making Leek And Potato Soup, using the chives from my herb bed.

Chives, also known as Allium Schoenoprasum, are related to the onion family; this hearty perennial herb is very easy to grow.  For the first two or three seasons its size will increase, until, before you know it, there is an abundance of beautiful long slender leaves.  It also produces very pretty purple flowers that make a colorful bouquet for the table.  

Here is what you'll need for this recipe:

2 T. oil
3 to 5 leeks (about 6 cups sliced)
3 russet potatoes
1 - 32 ounce package chicken broth
2 cups water
1/2 cup unsweetened soy or rice milk
pinch of nutmeg
salt and pepper 
a small bunch of chives

- Wash and trim the leeks - you only want to use the white and light green parts. Cut in half lengthwise, then cut into 1/4" slices.  

- In a large soup pot, heat the oil and cook the leeks until tender, 6-8 minutes.

- Meanwhile, wash, peel and dice the potatoes.

- Add the potatoes, chicken broth, and water to the cooked leeks.  

- Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until the potatoes are tender, 15 to 20 minutes. 

- Remove from heat and let cool.

- Puree small batches, about 2-3 cups at a time, in a blender, pouring each batch back into the cooking pot as it's blended.  (For this I use a large glass measuring cup and a slotted spoon.)

- Stir in the soy or rice milk and add the nutmeg.  Season with salt and pepper.

- Garnish with chives and serve warm or chilled.  

I hope you and your loved ones enjoy this soup - it's a family favorite around here.

Spring Garden

    It seems like it was just yesterday that it was autumn and I was planting spring bulbs in my garden and anticipating their arrival.  Suddenly, the spring season is upon us here in the Willamette Valley, and I'm feeling like all those moments between then and now have gone by entirely too quickly.  Now that I am getting back into the swing of taking photographs of, well, everything, I thought it would be fun to share both the early stages and the current happenings in my spring garden. 

In the first picture above you can see that these purple crocuses were only too happy to show themselves.  They've been a part of my garden for a few years now and appear to be spreading - there were only one or two last year, but now there are many more.  The muscari and yellow crocuses below, on the other hand, are some of the bulbs I mentioned planting last fall, and are just now getting established. The one thing I've learned about bulbs is - wait.

Daffodils are up next - they arrive right after the crocuses.  I love this bright yellow color - it livens up the garden and best of all, I can see them from my kitchen sliding glass door.  There is nothing quite like a cup of coffee and some flower viewing as the sun rises.

All these flowers coming alive in my garden reminds me that I forget that trees that don't appear to have flowers, such as maples and oaks, actually do bloom.  Jimmy reminded me of this one time.  So as to not neglect those flowers, here is a photo of his maple tree, with its tiny maroon and red flower blossoms.  So interesting!

I love gardening days this time of year... waiting for the rain clouds to break, then heading out into the fragrant air with your raincoat and mud boots on, then not caring when it begins to rain again, because you are just having too good a time digging, planting, and pulling weeds.  We had just such a day recently when I took this photo of the wheel barrow.  Such good memories..

I'm saving the best for last... tulips!  I'm starting to love the variety of them occurring here, and the fact that they have almost entirely surrounded the maple tree.  I think this coming autumn I will be planting just a few more bulbs and will have achieved full tulip heaven in this spot.

Thank you for visiting my garden and please stop by again.  And if you have a garden you would like to share, leave me a comment with your link!

Spring Garden - Candy Tuft, Peony, Strawberry and Camas

At this time of year, the garden seems to change on an almost daily basis.  One day you notice something popping up out of the earth, then before you know it, there are buds and blooms everywhere. Here's a few glimpses into what I've been noticing in my garden:

The candy tuft above did not return this year as hardily as in the past, with only a few rich blooms.  This, and my dracaena, which did not come back at all, may have been affected by the freezing winter temperatures. But the peony below, which has been in my garden for two seasons now and has not produced any flowers, will be debuting some very soon.  I'm excited about that!

The strawberries will be plentiful again this summer.  This is one of the first blooms:

And lastly, I purchased this camas at a plant fair two springs ago, and this year, it has spread from one plant to three.  Soon these beautiful purple buds will be starry bluish-purple flowers:

 I hope you've enjoyed this garden glimpse, and thank you for looking!