Let me Explain
Mr. Chiots here with a guest post. After an extremely busy week around the run we decided to take the day off so no podcast this week. I apologize. I know many of you will be disappointed. We will be back next week with our regularly scheduled program.
For the past three weeks we have been having some ‘technical difficulties’ with the podcast downloading in iTunes. The problem ended up being with Google’s Feed Burner, a feed service that we run everything through. At some point in the near future we are going to shift off of this system which may soon go the way of Google Reader according the chatter on the web.
The good news is that through the troubleshooting, we upgraded the host for our file storage. Shows should download very quickly and without trouble.
I love statistics and according to ours we just topped 180,000 downloads of the podcast. This week we will see the blog surpass 30,000 comments. We are one month away from the 5th anniversary of the blog. We want to thank you all for making the show and the blog a huge success. The community that surrounds Chiot’s Run is pretty amazing and we are constantly encouraged. Many of you know more about what is going on in our lives than some of our family members. We refer to those of you that we have never met as our friends. Thank you all.
If you have not had a chance to listen to the older episodes of Cultivate Simple, I would encourage you to do so. Thank you again and see you next week.
What topic you would like to hear on the show?
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Quote of the Day: Thomas S. Cowan
America is a nation obsessed with finding personal happiness. But the person who sets out to find happiness rarely succeeds. He or she may achieve occasional and temporary satisfaction through financial success or a busy social life, but rarely true happiness. Happiness comes to those people who concentrate on the opposite – who do things for others, who set out to produce beautiful paintings or delicious meals, or who engage in projects that bring beneficial change to the world. Such people not only contribute to a better world as a result but also achieve unexpected happiness. These are the people who move through life with ease, in spite of obstacles and misfortune.
Thomas S Cowan, MD (The Fourfold Path to Healing)
I love this quote, so much of it rings true in my life. My happiest moments are when I’m cooking good food for those around me, when I’m cultivating beautiful things in the garden, when I’m doing things that I know bring change in the world. These actions bring happiness and hope to my life, I find much fulfillment in investing my time where I know it truly matters and makes a difference. (PS: the meal shown is braised duck legs from one of our muscovy ducks).
What things bring you true happiness?
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Guinea Eggs
When I got my new guineas, we also picked up two for our neighbor. A few days later, she mentioned that they had found a guinea egg in their coop. I headed out and checked in the guinea room, sure enough, there were a few eggs.
They’re tiny, about half the size of chicken eggs. We’ve been finding two or three every day since.
I’ve never met an egg I didn’t like and guinea eggs are no different. I’m wondering if they’d hatch a clutch if I left the eggs in the coop. They’re not laying them in one dedicated area yet, so maybe I’ll set up a little nesting area to see if they’ll hatch a few.
Have you ever tried eggs other than the ones from a chicken?
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Friday Favorite: Boxwood
If you remember, two year ago I finally realized my garden dream of planting a boxwood hedge. Fast forward 8 months and we started looking to move to Maine. Lucky for us, the new owners of our house in Ohio told me I could take whatever plants I wanted. I spent an hour digging up all the boxwood and loaded them on our moving truck.
They were nestled snuggly in our main garden in early December and crossed my fingers hoping them survive.
They all survived the winter beautifully, though they did get a little wind burn (this means I need to plant wind breaks to protect that garden space). Now that it’s time to plant the main garden, I need to figure out where these beauties will wend up. Most likely, they’ll be put in a nursery area and be moved to their final resting place this fall or next spring.
Even though boxwood doesn’t bloom and isn’t show, there’s a definite classic beauty about it. There’s something so traditional and grounding in a long row of these beautiful shrubs.
What’s your favorite shrub?
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Keeping Track
I’ve never really had a real rain gauge in the garden. One was purchased a long time ago, but it broke quickly. Typically a straight sided bowl was how I kept track (usually the dog bowl). I really wanted to buy a beautiful Jeffersonian rain gauge, but they’re rather pricey and I’d rather spend my garden funds on compost.
Last time I ordered from Johnny’s, I added a three dollar rain gauge to my order. Now I can tell how much rain we’ve gotten. It’s been a dry spring here, so I’ve only been able to read and empty it twice. Nonetheless, I’m looking forwarding to monitoring how much rain we get this year.
Do you have a rain gauge in your garden?
