That Turkey
Mr Chiots is a hunter and it’s spring turkey season here in Maine. He’s been out a few times without any luck. Of course this past Sunday morning there was a BIG tom turkey right below the house trying to impress our guinea hens with his display.
Needless to say, they were less than impressed and went about their business of eating bugs and grass completely ignoring him. Lucky for him, it was Sunday morning, no hunting allowed. Otherwise he’d be in our fridge.
What wildlife have you spotted in your garden this week?
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Promises of Things to Come
While out planting onions yesterday I noticed that my overbearing strawberries are starting to bloom.
I noticed that one of them was even starting to produce a small strawberry.
Mr Chiots is going to be super excited, I think strawberry season is one of his favorite seasons of the year!
Which fruit do you look forward to most?
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Quote of the Day: Jessica Prentice
“What if I had simply grown up in a time when food was seasonal? When there was, in each year, a time of more and a time of less? When food was not just there in packages on the supermarket shelf all year?”
– Jessica Prentice from Full Moon Feast: Food and the Hunger for Connection
Right now I’m hungering for asparagus. Every couple days I check the patch for signs of spears peeking out of the soil, every day I see nothing. It shouldn’t be too much longer, but it seems like it’s taking forever.
To me asparagus is the epitome of seasonal food, it really is best picked and eaten right away. There is a definite season for asparagus and I only eat it during this time unless I’m visiting someone who serves it. I love food that has such a short season and so long in between, it makes those few short weeks of gluttony so much sweeter!
What vegetable do you see as the quintessential season food?
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Friday Favorite: Planting Things
It’s always nice to finally start planting things I started as seed so long ago. Yesterday evening I planted three of the four flats of onion seedlings. It’s always excited to start putting seedlings in the ground after nurturing them for so long.
The empty seed flats will be filled with more seeds: leeks for fall planting, warm weather flowers, herbs, and other random seeds I haven’t had the space to start yet. The best part about planting seedling is that the garden is finally starting to look like a garden.
What are you planting this week?
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Growing Again
Yesterday we headed down to Al’s Quackery in Saco, Maine to pick up 12 Ancona ducklings. I actually ordered these ducklings last year, but a few things happened and the ducklings weren’t meant to be at the time. This year however, it looks like we’re in business. Al gave me a great mix of colors: chocolate, silver, white, black and one crested bird, they should be really pretty when they feather out. This morning they actually headed off to a local preschool for a week so the kids can watch the difference between ducklings and chicks.
These ducks are listed in critical condition by the The Livestock Conservancy, which is why I decided on this breed for a small laying flock. These are egg ducks, unlike my Muscovies, they will lay eggs all year long providing delicious duck eggs for all my baking needs. With the ducks I can reduce the number of chickens I have or not worry so much about keeping my flock filled with younger birds. These ducks will pick up the slack for my aging hens.
Do you use duck eggs in cooking? Can you find them in your area?
