Horse and Garden

We are settling into a semblance of normalcy here at Woodman's Lee. The plants are proliferating in the garden, the horses have arrived and I even found a bargain on a fine old wood chipper.

The only critter we've seen in the garden...so far.

The garden is first-rate: beds are in, seedlings are planted and everything is thriving. The only exceptions are the dozen Venus Fly Trap seeds that I planted, inspired by Suzy's green thumb. 

Not one of those seeds sprouted. The garden is still dangerously fence-less. But it was also a risk to plant a month before the June full moon and that turned out fine. Incidentally, that full moon will occur on Friday the 13th and the Algonquins called it the Strawberry Moon. Anyhow, I'd rather take chances with weather than wildlife, but perhaps they will respect our "Posted" signs.

Shah and Twilight in their new home.

The horses arrived safe and sound after a 36 hour haul from Florida. They won't have to get in a trailer again for a long time. Whenever we build a barn here, we'll just ride them a few miles to their permanent home. For now, they are living well in a beautiful barn surrounded by lush, early spring grass. It must be their finest dining experience.

The pair keep Suzy busy: grooming, cleaning stalls, lunging and worrying about a seemingly infinite number of hazards. I have no horse-sense, so all I see are two utterly contented equines. But anyone else can clearly see the lameness, grass over-indulgence, herd-binding, bug bites...even insufficient whinnying - all sorts of maladies, each requiring its own increment of anxiety.

Midnight horse-offload operations.

We received our barn plans and the next steps are to price out the materials, get a permit, then figure out how to build it. Nothing happens quickly, around these parts it's still "six hundred words for every shovelful of dirt", as Sam Hamilton observed in Steinbeck's East of Eden.

The garden beds with thriving plants. 

Suzy cheerfully and busily orbits around her binary stars - horses and gardening. Both are physically demanding tasks, so she seems to work to exhaustion nearly every day. This was the typical farm routine a century ago, hard work but unquestionably good for the spirit and body. 

She's grown everything from seed except for parsley, asparagus, and purple basil. We have thriving tomatoes, lettuce, potatoes (of unknown certification), celery, peppers, peas, onions, kale, oregano, sage, thyme, basil, carrots and beets. It'll be nice to harvest our produce fresh from the garden and promptly cook it up for dinner.

The chipper ready to go to work.

Speaking of dinner, I have a recipe to share, but first here's the chipper I found on Craigslist. Its former owner, one of the nicest guys we've met, runs a landscape business just outside of the park in Hudson Falls, south of Lake George. It's an old Troy-Bilt he had for a long time but sat unused in the barn. These machines were made right here in upstate NY, out of heavy gauge steel and actually designed for maintainability. That means you don't have to throw it out when it breaks, anathema to most corporate business models today. The blades were dull and the carburetor needed a rebuild, but it's not unpleasant work because the machine is so well made. 

Troy-Bilt went bankrupt in 2002 a few years after the State of NY gave them a million dollars to consolidate their operations in Troy. They took the money, didn't pay their property taxes, closed the factory, sold the brand name to Murray, and laid off over 500 employees. It was a classic corporate swindle. The inept and sociopathic CEO had just assured the mayor that business was booming - and two weeks later he issued 60 day notices to the entire workforce. You can still buy a chipper with the Troy-Bilt name, made in Cleveland. I doubt the design and build of the new ones bears any semblance to those old machines. 

Bowtie pasta and artichoke hearts.

If you still have an appetite after reading that sad story, here's a recipe for Bowtie Pasta with Artichokes. Artichokes are an excellent source of vitamin C and anthocyanins, which is an antioxidant. Artichokes lower the bad cholesterol (LDL) and raise the good (HDL). This dish is easy to prepare, too.

Start by bringing a pot of salted water to boil and while that is underway mince up some garlic and shallots. Then open a can of quartered artichoke hearts, try to find the ones that have one ingredient: artichokes. Cook the pasta, strain and rinse with cold water only enough to stop the cooking process while you sauté the shallots and garlic in olive oil. Use the same pot you boiled the water in, that'll cut down on your cleanup. You don't want to overcook the shallots and garlic, a minute or so will suffice. Next add the artichoke hearts, and if you feel like it, a can of drained/rinsed cannellini beans. Heat thoroughly, then add back the bowties and the juice of one fresh lemon.

Oregano, parsley and a carrot cut lengthwise, quartered and sliced will add flavor and color to this dish. Carrots and herbs from the garden would make it even better.