Eden of Garden

Rural Life

  • A Eulogy for the Butterboy

    The garden is officially winding down. The boss man harvested all the green tomatoes off our wilting plants and pulled the last of the corn — oh Butter Boy you served us well, time to put you away until next… Continue reading

    A Eulogy for the Butterboy

  • Varmints

    “I’m going to have to go Mr McGregor on the rabbits that took out my beets,” a gardener friend recently told me. (In the UP, it is probably more like Elmer Fudd, but I digress.) When I asked him if… Continue reading

    Varmints

  • String Bean Theory

    I was going to write about our incredible garlic harvest, but the beans are stressing me out. They tend to overwhelm. Just when I had things under control —  peas, broccoli and lettuce —  the beans start to appear.  If… Continue reading

    String Bean Theory

  • The Third Best Farmer’s Market in Michigan

    Some of our farmer’s market vendors are threatening to defect. They’ve experienced the greener grass of another farmer’s market, and by “greener” I mean more lucrative, and are feeling under appreciated at our market. They’ve been complaining that the Garden… Continue reading

    The Third Best Farmer’s Market in Michigan

  • Strangers in Paradise

    This weekend we celebrated the 25th annual “Portage Bay Invitational” — our weekend-long solstice celebration/golf party and the best way to lure our friends out here to the hinterlands. People come from far and wide to camp, party, and play… Continue reading

    Strangers in Paradise

  • Exactly how much pig would that be?

    I was a vegetarian for many years. After a stint as an editor at a cattle breeding magazine, I had learned a little too much about commercial beef production. Then I moved to the U.P., tried an especially tasty venison… Continue reading

  • Carrots and Canned Peaches

    Perhaps spring, or maybe even summer, has arrived in the rest of the United States. But here in the Upper Peninsula, it is still chilly. And I’m realizing I’ve got to wait too long until there are fresh garden goodies… Continue reading

  • Harvest Till You Drop

    Tis the season of late-night canning sessions. Saucing tomatoes before the fruit flies take over the house. Preparing plums for drying until my fingers are purple. Making pesto cubes until I can’t stand the smell of basil. Yanking the squash… Continue reading

  • Eating Season

    Gordy sleeps with his tomatoes. At least that is what he told me. That way he can feel what the tomatoes are experiencing. Are they getting too cold? Too wet? Maybe too lonely? He plants them six feet apart. His… Continue reading

  • Communion

    Last day of July already. No wonder the harvest is becoming more and more bountiful each day. I’m overwhelmed by its abundance and most appreciative. One thing all of us who attend the weekly Farmer’s Market, to sell and to… Continue reading

  • The Lull

    A quick visit to the farmer’s market can be so inspiring. Continue reading