This site is an archive of ChiotsRun.com. For the latest information about Susy and her adventrures, visit the Cultivate Simple site.
Thank you for all your support over the years!

Slowly, But Surely

March 31st, 2016

All those seeds I purchased last fall and stratified for months in the fridge are finally starting to germinate. I have three tiny osage orange seedlings and one Dutchman’s Pipe that has germinated so far.
osage orange seedlings 1
osage orange seedlings 2
I’m still waiting on three more varieties to germinate, hopefully they will soon. Some of the varieties I started can take up to 3 months to germinate. One thing I love about gardening is this exact thing, someday, when these osage orange trees are big, I’ll remember the tiny seed emerging from feta cheese container that I kept in the fridge over the winter. It’s so fun to try germinating different types of seeds to see what happens.

Have you started any interesting trees/vines from seed in the past?

Turkey Eggs

March 30th, 2016

Someone asked on Monday whether or not the turkeys are laying – YES!!! I’m actually drowning in turkey eggs, which isn’t bad because they’re delicious!
turkey eggs 1
Turkey eggs are beautiful, large, slightly pinkish, and speckled. The yolks are huge, they pretty much taste like chicken eggs.
turkey eggs 2
I’m planning on using these beauties for ice cream, when we have a flush of eggs I make semifreddo, because it’s so much easier than ice cream. This recipe from Food 52 I usually use as a starting point.

What’s your favorite way to enjoy extra eggs?

Hello Sunshine

March 29th, 2016

Mama Duck started laying again, she’s a Muscovy, so she lays like a goose, only in spring and summer. She started laying two weeks ago and I’ve been saving her eggs. I will let her sit this year and raise up a clutch, but we just separated out the other breed of duck, so I need to collect her eggs for 30 days.
Muscovyyolk
Lucky me, this means beautiful muscovy eggs. These eggs are AMAZING, the yolks are HUGE. I wait for these egs all year long and always hoard these beauties to make custard, the first batch was made last night.

What food item do you look forward to all year long?

The Early Bird

March 28th, 2016

It’s like the robins know when spring officially arrived, on the first day of spring I saw a few robins in the apple tree out front. Later in the week there were flocks of hundreds.
robins in spring 1
They are everywhere, scratching in the leaf litter, eating worms, doing what birds love to do.
robins in spring 2
When we lived in Ohio we’d see robins here and there, even throughout the winter. Here they leave and then come back in droves. It’s quite an amazing things. I’ve been noticing the birds, more and more of them each week. I hear them singing now when I’m outside, it’s a beautiful thing, birdsong, music to my ears. Spring has sprung!

What birds are harbingers of spring in your garden?

A Fun Giveaway

March 24th, 2016

If you’ve been reading here for a while you know that I do social media for Fairy Gardening. Since I don’t have ads on the blog, I have to find other ways to pay the bills associated with it. I have a few social media clients, Fairy Gardening has been one for many years. I first made a fairy garden with my nieces and nephews and realized what a great tool it is for getting kids excited about gardening. Recently, they came out with a few fun new items and I figured I’d do a giveaway here, because they are so very cute. If you don’t have a dedicated fairy garden, you can put them in your houseplants.
Fairy Gardening folk art 1
Fairy Gardening folk art
Fairy Gardening folk art 3
I think these are pretty cute, I’m certain my nieces/nephew would LOVE these. All you have to do for a chance to win is to comment below. In a week or so I’ll choose a winner. Check back next week, I’ll be doing another giveaway of Fairy Gardening doors. And if you’d like to support the blog and keep it ad free, consider a donation, use the button to the right.

Do you have a fairy garden? Any great advice on ways to get kids interested in gardening?

Our winner is Sofia:
Screen Shot 2016-04-18 at 1.11.12 PM

About

This is a daily journal of my efforts to cultivate a more simple life, through local eating, gardening and so many other things. We used to live in a small suburban neighborhood Ohio but moved to 153 acres in Liberty, Maine in 2012.

Admin