Tag Archives: seeds

Jan6

Follow The Shining Star to Home

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Follow The Shining Star to Home

Family and Friends,

Looking back to 2025 Dean and I along with our families climbed some rough crags. Our hopes are 2026 will bring us some smoother trails.  Early 2025 was very cold.  We got away to southern Arkansas, Texas, and Oklahoma for a February thaw. We visited family, experienced some new sights, museums, and opportunities to curl up in a chair under a blanket and lamp to read. A short fiction story and lyrics for a murder ballad were born from that week-long trip. I have yet to submit these writings to a contest or two. I have been busy. My 2-volume memoir captured most of my afternoons for the first 9 months of 2025.  I have been working on this manuscript since 2021, sent it to my editor, tweaked it several times, then finally published in September and October.  My publisher wanted the manuscript into two or three books; I chose two books. Entitled Strewn Words in the Stew: A Memoir of Recipes, Poems, Short Stories, and Sayings, Volume 1 and Volume 2 can be bought on Amazon/Kindle. Also, they can be found at our St. Charles County local library. These multi-genre books are about my culinary life since my childhood with pages full of recipes, photos, poems, short stories, and sayings. Last year’s word was “seed”, and I would say I planted many seeds with the words God had me share in my books, poems, and blogs.

“For last year’s words belong to last year’s language and next year’s words await another voice.” ~ from T.S. Eliot’s poem, Little Gidding

One of the biggest highlights in 2025 is the birth of our first great-grandson, River Martin in late March. Such a blessing he has brought to the family.  A happy, smiling child!  The timing of his existence on this earth is God sent. My daughter, Rachel became a grandmother with much joy, and my granddaughter, Hannah became a mother for the first time. This family has endured much loss over the past few years. If you may recall, her family’s house burned down Christmas 2022. They had been displaced living in various housing situations as no one could accommodate them all together.  Rachel’s husband, Mick died from a sudden heart attack this past July 4. Their three kids, son-in-law, River Martin, Rachel, and Mick’s parents were there when it happened right after their family’s BBQ dinner that hot day. Devastating.  But I have to say, God is faithful because God is good! Rachel stayed with her in-laws until December when she and the two youngest, Ella and Eli were able to get their own place near town. They still attend to the needs of Mick’s elderly parents. The holidays brought about a few cherished family gatherings. Dean and I love all our grandchildren.

During late summer Dean and I stayed a few days in Virginia relishing in its wonderment. Beautiful country! We loved the history found in the mountain region and Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello. Throughout the year we made a few trips to Kansas City and Farmington to visit family. This year Dean’s kids and grandkids made it to St. Charles for the 4th of July parade and another wonderful family birthday celebration for Dean during Thanksgiving weekend. My sister has parked herself in the Ozarks, on the Missouri side now. We have visited her a couple of times, and Margie has been up our way a couple of times this year. My sister-in-law, Joan is thriving this year after Rick’s death with the support of many family and friends. We have had some quality time with my cousin, Julie and her husband as she moved to the St. Charles area from Chicago area. We made an October trip to Chicagoland for Dean’s youngest brother’s military retirement celebration.  My writing had me at two writers’ conferences, once again in Clarksville, TN where I presented a workshop, and another in Kansas City in October.

Dean’s work at the National Archives keeps him entertained. Yes, he loves his work. The government red tape, not so much. Dean has some neurological problems in his feet and legs. Thankfully, he is not diabetic, but it remains a mystery for the numbness and pain.  More recently physical therapy has helped him.  My culinary work at the local senior center has been very rewarding. I love being with these people. I have encountered physical limitations due to my spine, lumbar and cervical discs misaligned and more recently diagnosed with seronegative rheumatoid arthritis (SNRA). The MRI report for my hands described my hands as deformed. The RA has been going on for a while undetected because my bloodwork doesn’t reveal it.  It was the x-rays and MRI that showed deterioration of many joints including my hands. When pain hollers, listen. The body is saying something important. Physical therapy and medication have helped. And I slowed down. Nothing like being flat on my back for a few days to do that. I cut my work hours back in April, and again into this new year. 

“But few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” ~ Luke 10:42 NIV

This year’s word is “purpose”. This year’s phrase, “living with purpose on purpose while at home.” I will have more “free” time, though I want to be a good steward in what God has called me to.  For this moment it is being still, waiting to hear God, taking care of my whole self, and my husband and loved ones as Mary chose. My writing and volunteer work is still work, “so I need to pace myself”, I am telling the Martha in me.  A February R & R trip to warmer southern air is in the plans. The place is TBD. On this Feast Day of the Epiphany, the baby Jesus was revealed to the whole world. Jesus is Home to each of us, for each of us!  Invite Him into your home, your heart today.  Make every day in 2026 the Epiphany!  Follow The Shining Star to Home!

Sep26

This Month’s Preoccupations

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This Month’s Preoccupations

September is finishing up nicely. Cooler weather and rain after a few very hot days in the midst of a seven-week drought in our parts of Missouri. Some humid late afternoons led into early evenings bringing huge thunderheads, and spotty rain showers. In St. Charles they didn’t produce precipitation. Our trees, shrubs, and blooms were begging for some. We watered occasionally with the garden hose, and filled the birds’ fountain a few times these parched weeks. One Friday evening while the Main Street boutiques stayed open a couple of hours later, Dean and I did some early Christmas shopping. While out we captured the sun reflecting on a huge thunderhead, creating this beautiful orange sunset. Finally, much needed rain came the past two days.

September is a few weeks away from October’s first freeze, typically mid to late October. We start preparing for the planters of perennials and herbs to come indoors. Probably next weekend for the big move as the mid-40’s is predicted for the week after next. Our ferns and arrowhead plant won’t like those low temperatures. My potted herbs are sensitive to the cold air, especially my basils. I grew Genovese Italian and Tai basils this year. I clipped their blooms a couple of weeks ago to allow them to dry on a paper towel in my kitchen. Last evening I spent an hour extracting their tiny black seeds from the Italian variety. I will take on this tedious job with the Tai variety another evening next week. I enjoy the satisfaction of growing from my own plants’ seeds and cuttings. This autumn purple asters grace our front porch. They are a lovely contrast to the nifty turquoise door as well as the orange pumpkin and front door wreath. I have to read up on how to care for them. Asters look similar to mums though have ferny-type leaves that are attractive. I have not much luck with mums, so thought to try something different this fall.

This autumn season fabric pumpkins and pillows are all the rage for me. Dean is into Halloween doodads and widgets. A stop at the antique mall last weekend was successful with reasonably priced, handmade finds for both Dean and me. We had a fun evening at the Smartt Field hangar dance last Saturday. Dressed in tropical casual, with many others in period clothing and WWII uniforms. The band was led by my OB doctor when I was pregnant with my son 31 years ago. So nice to see he is still using his musical talents as well as still active in his practice in the community. Reminds me of someone else I know, using her technical and creative skills to serve her community. I am still at it in the kitchen of our community senior center as well as writing.

Sep23

An Almanac Autumn’s Arrival

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An Almanac Autumn’s Arrival

Autumn comes in with a cool morning and the promise of warmth by noon with the full sun. A London Fog tea latte is calling my name. The leaves are turning golden with oranges and amber peeking through already. I am reminded of the abundance of autumn with berries plump, zucchini and yellow squash almost the size of a toddler’s leg, and the many varieties of tomatoes overflow the gardens and baskets. I read this poem many years ago and always enjoy reading it again every September …

Blackberry Eating by Galway Kinnell
I love to go out in late September
among the fat, overripe, icy, black blackberries
to eat blackberries for breakfast,
the stalks very prickly, a penalty
they earn for knowing the black art
of blackberry-making; and as I stand among them
lifting the stalks to my mouth, the ripest berries
fall almost unbidden to my tongue,
as words sometimes do, certain peculiar words
like strengths or squinched,
many-lettered, one-syllabled lumps,
which I squeeze, squinch open, and splurge well
in the silent, startled, icy, black language
of blackberry — eating in late September.

The other fruit to take notice of this autumn is the persimmon. The Old Farmer’s Almanac isn’t predicting a terribly cold autumn for the Midwest, but what about winter? The persimmon seeds are supposed to tell us what kind of winter we are to have. Look for the persimmons to be ripe soon in your area, if not already. Missouri is to have a spoon winter. According to this article with the Old Farmer’s Almanac here is how to predict weather with a persimmon seed:

1. Find a locally-grown persimmon. (A locally-grown persimmon is necessary because it will reflect local conditions!) Wait to pick the fruit or cut into the fruit until after it gets a bit soft—almost mushy.

2. Open the fruit and cut open a persimmon seed. 

3. Look at the shape of the kernel inside:

  • If the kernel is spoon-shaped, expect plenty of snow to shovel.
  • If it is fork-shaped, plan on a mild winter with powdery, light snow.
  • If the kernel is knife-shaped, expect frigid winds that will “cut” like a blade.

I hope you enjoy your autumn and all it entails in your part of the world. It will prepare us for the next season, the winter whatever that may bring. There is a season for everything …

“There is a season (a time appointed) for everything and a time for every delight and event or purpose under heaven—” ~ Ecclesiastes 3:1

Apr15

Pots and Sprouts

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Pots and Sprouts

Spring came a bit late this year. The subzero temperatures in February stiffened the green sprouts on bushes and trees, as well as the gardeners such as myself who stay indoors during the severe winter. The cinder block basement houses our potted perennials under timed plant lights. In late January I was able to get cuttings from those perennials and put them in water or planted in small pots of soil. They all sprouted roots. This past weekend I designed and filled hanging wire planters with organic soil and my new tender plants. I have four lovely planters with room for new spring & summer growth. Tender herbs (parsley, lavender, golden & lemon thyme, basil & oregano, and chocolate & pineapple mint) were purchased from the local greenhouse down the street, and repotted into bigger pots. Adorable, and oh does that pineapple mint smell delicious! Cannot wait to make some delicious sweet bread and tea with it. Begonias and sweet alyssum grace the front porch at Deanna’s Cottage.

I am about a month late sowing our greens bed, but an early spring/post-COVID vaccinations vacation to Arkansas, Texas, and western Missouri kept us away for 2 weeks. We saw more spring sprouts each hour we traveled further south. A bucket list item was to experience a field of blue bonnets, and we accomplished that. On Sunday afternoon we added more organic soil, then I sowed lettuce and spinach seeds in the bed. Very tiny sprouts of green appear in a couple of rows after 4 days from sowing. Where the greenhouse and screenhouse is housed, Boone Hollow Farm is lovely especially in the spring. The crab apples, pears, dogwood, and red buds are all abloom. The peaceful surroundings welcome Dean and I at every visit. And I welcome the pots and sprouts every growing season.

Mar14

Spring Surfaces

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Spring Surfaces

We finally had our daffodils surface 2 weeks ago, and they opened this week with the warmth and sunshine. I love spring! The promises of long hope appear. It was a mild winter up until February, and then a severe cold that has been hard to shake off. When green life appears, I know spring is not too far away. This week I read a mime “Sometimes when you’re in a dark place, you think you’ve been buried, but actually you have been planted.” Like seeds, hope surfaces and eventually blooms nourishing our souls. But nothing says “spring” more than a babe, or two. Fresh joy springing forth in every smile. Grandbabies, Clara and Jefferson chatting on Facetime.

February’s arctic blast did so much damage to plumbing systems. My oldest daughter and her family are bunked up in a Super 8 motel while their homeowners insurance company get their house repaired after several pipes froze and burst, and damaging their furnace. It seems pretty dark to them still, but once repairs are completed they will have a new furnace, all new plumbing system, and much more. A real life “Schitt’s Creek” drama going on. Waiting for restoration is hard. So many more families have similar stories. Snow is being replaced with rain, thunder, and even a rainbow. The birds appear at the the feeders earlier.

I awake every morning now before 5:00am with those creative thoughts running in my head, those kind you just cannot tune out. It is like my body knows spring is almost here. A fresh garden project or recipe idea surfaces to respond to. My days as an employee wellness coordinator are drawing nigh on June 1, and God has already provided a semi-retirement job opportunity for me. I am now a culinary instructor at the local continuing education program. My joy of cooking and baking will be renewed to share with many others once again. Take a gander at my new page “Culinary Classes, Too” https://deannagreensandgardenart.com/culinary-classes-too/ on this website.

Jan10

For Our Songbirds And Squirrels

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For Our Songbirds And Squirrels

While at our local nature store during the holidays purchasing bird seed and gifts, we (and all their loyal customers) were given a cranberry seed bell, wrapped pretty in red & green tissue paper in a brown paper gift bag. Such a kind gesture. We saved the seed bell for this last weekend of Advent. A delicious dessert for our songbirds, or at least that is what Dean and I had in our minds. A neighborhood squirrel has another idea of who that seed bell belongs to. Within in minutes of hanging the cranberry seed bell on a hook, a squirrel is chewing on the rope so the dessert falls to the ground for his partaking only. By the time Dean got outside that blanky-blank squirrel is gnawing on that seed bell like a succulent buttery corn cob on an August day! In disgust, Dean shoos the squirrel away and rescues the cranberry seed bell from the ground.

Making do with what we have in the basement Dean finds an old metal curtain rod, metal wiring, and duct tape. Dean jimmy-rigs an extension pole from a current bird feeder pole. He is hoping this will deter the squirrels, or least make it more difficult to get to the cranberry seed bell. We still have squirrels feeding on the cranberry seed bell, but not totally taking over for their own pleasure. It is being shared amongst the songbirds and squirrels now. Such is the theme of the squirrels in our neighborhood, and I guarantee yours as well. We have learned to live with the squirrels, just make it a bit more of a challenge for the squirrels. And don’t take over what is meant for the common good.

Co-existence. Isn’t that the word? Much like the children’s tale of the king, mice, and cheese illustrates. The king dislikes sharing his cheese with the mice. So he brings in a cat to take care of the mice. The king doesn’t like the cat clawing on this furniture. So he brings in a dog. Then the dog’s fur gets on the king’s nerves, and he brings in … So the story goes on until the king realizes he has a much bigger problem than he had with just the mice. Can we apply that story to our current state of affairs in our nation? I think so. We can do so much better than we did this past week. We need to co-exist, agree to disagree, and respect boundaries despite our political views, creeds, races, genders, ages, and choices. So the lion and elephant do not crowd out our nation void, and you and I null.

May30

Greens, Greens, and More Greens

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We were unable to get to our greenhouse last week due to weekend travels and heavy rain storms, including a tornado touchdown just 3 miles from Boone Hollow Farm where our greenhouse sets.  Dean and I finally were able to get out there this mild late spring evening. Gorgeous green and peace surrounded us while we worked for an hour before sundown.  Dean mowed the grass of our 1/4-acre plot.  I cut flowers and picked the greens.
The seeds sowed late March have been very prolific. Greens, greens, and more greens. Arugula, soft leaf lettuce, and mizuna mustard greens. Dean and I cannot personally consume it all, so we are sharing the abundance with family, friends, and co-workers this growing season. The greens bolted with all the sunshine and warmer days, so I pinched those new buds off.  A couple of weeks ago voluntary cherry tomato plants came close to being plucked and pitched into the weed pile outside of the greenhouse.  I decided to have mercy on them and transplanted them into the huge tub of compost that sets on the edge of our 1/4-acre plot. Look, a whole nursery of them! All the rain and sunshine has done wonders.  I will cage them anticipating a fruitful season for them as well.

 

May8

First Spring Crop

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April came and went.  I realized I have not posted any pics or words about my gardens in over a month.  I have been occupied with the employee wellness program at work, Easter, family birthday parties, mowing, and caring for the gardens and the yards between the rain showers and storms.   We sowed lots of seeds the last week in March and first week in April.  My first crop of arugula, Mizuna lettuce, and mustard greens were ready on Sunday, just 39 days after its sowing.  What a lovely and refreshing salad it has made for Dean and I.  Today I added boiled egg and roasted turkey for protein to a bed of my fresh greens tossed in a light lemon vinaigrette to make a chef salad for our lunches.  Cannot wait.

Mar28

First Sowing

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I put on my rain boots anticipating a muddy walk to the greenhouse at Boone Hollow Farm.  Sure enough the storms we received earlier in the week produced quite a bit of rain, and the creek beds were full.  Dean and I parked near the barn, gathered our gardening gear, jumped across the rain-filled ditch, and walked up the hill to our 9-month greenhouse/screenhouse.  We had not been there all winter season as it was too frigid cold for 3 solid months, a true Missouri winter like I remember years past.  And unlike last year where it drug on for 5 months!

Spring has arrived in Missouri!  The frogs croak and birds tweet in harmony making an evening song of peace!  What a welcome greeting to Dean and I!  I love gardening.  Not the exact science-type gardening.  Care-free and whimsical like.  There is work involved, but less so with a bed of organic soil inside the screenhouse side of our structure.  We pulled old tomato vines and prepped the soil.  It turned up nicely, loose but a little dry.  We had enough snow and winter rains to keep the soil moist even without being in direct exposure. We watered the soil with the rain/snow water from our barrel just outside the structure.  And then the first sowing.  We made 11 rows altogether.  I sowed 8 rows of greens seeds.  My favorite, arugula, and then various lettuces.  We are trying a oriental variety this year.  The other 3 rows are beets.  My first stab at growing these, too.  As an apprentice with EarthDance Farms, I learned to love this root vegetable, greens and all.

Next weekend the herbs will be sown as well as zinnias, forget-me-nots, black-eye susans, and wildflowers at the farm along with the cottage gardens.  The evening drive back from the greenhouse was lovely, a longer drive to the cottage than our other house.  We will make every trip to the countryside count.  Savoring the frog and bird chorus, smelling the blossoms along the strolls at Boone Hollow Farm, and harvesting delicious organic vegetables, herbs, and flowers for our dinner table.  And we trust our God and Mother Nature for plenty to share!

Feb9

A Seed

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“What shape waits in the seed of you to grow and spread its branches against a future sky?” author David Whyte writes.  So much hope from a seed.  And the size of the seed does not matter according to Jesus’ parable. “The simple truth is that if you had a mere kernel of faith, a poppy seed, say, you would tell this mountain, ‘move!’ and it would move. There is nothing you wouldn’t be able to tackle.” (The Message Bible).

Just how complex God has made each of us, “fearfully and wonderfully made”. Holy words to behold …  From seed to a tree … providing beauty to delight in, cooling shade to the weary, whispered wisdom from the leaves in the breeze, wood for a warm fire, roots as a foundation, fruit for the hungry, and sweet sap for those special moments.   Is not that a mother to her child?  A grandchild to a grandparent?  A man to his kin?

 

From seed to a tree, we each grow to be.  Taking care of self and our brother. Each can learn from the other. Growing branches at different directions, new skies to explore, yet rooted in the love of family and friends. Faith in self and who our God is, our Perfect Father.

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