Breaking Ground

We've begun our Chicken Coop and Run project. Tom and I measured out an area in our back yard, raked the mulch back, and started digging (Tom has done most of the digging so far, bless him!). We need to create a foot-deep trench around the area of the coop. This trench will hold a foot of hardware cloth, to prevent predators digging under the run. We have plenty of raccoons, skunks, opossums, and even the stray coyote hanging around our neighborhood, and chickens would be an easy and tasty prey. (Recently there have been several Cougar sitings about a block from here, so that's a possibility too, I suppose.) You'd think they'd be satisfied with all the wild turkeys, but we hear horrifying stories of backyard chicken slaughter by predators. Our neighbors with ducks have had several grisly decapitations and use a lock and key on their run. We'll do the same. (Though I wouldn't put it past raccoons to figure out a key.)

We've laid out the tarps to capture the dirt, for several reasons. We'll need to backfill the trench with what we've taken out, and I also don't want the dirt mixing with the mulch. The tarps make everything easier and cleaner. When it rains, we can also fold over the tarps to protect the dirt from becoming mud.

This is the area that we sheet mulched during Thanksgiving break. Our excavation has provided us some clues about how this process is working. First of all, the grass is dead. Main goal, accomplished. The cardboard has not broken down at all, yet, and we've been digging through it, which adds an extra layer of pain to this chore. Then there's the clay underneath, which is hell itself.

Dead grass, cardboard, and the ubiquitous clods of clay

However, earthworms abound. Long and fat, they are everywhere here. They are attracted to the decaying grass, and the layer of compost above the cardboard. Also quite evident - layers of mycelium, the network of fungi that helps decompose all this organic matter. Things are cooking underground, which is good. 

Our plan is to finish the trench today, then dig the foundation piers next weekend and start framing the structure. We also have plans in the works for two new compost bins, made from pallets. I'll need a place to compost the sawdust/straw/chicken poop from the run, and these seem like a simple, inexpensive option.

It's fun to picture the coop, finished, with busy hens inside eating bugs and scraps from the garden, and several raised beds clustering around it, filled with summer produce. There's a lot of work to do, first.

Handcrafted

Lately, I've had some wonderful experiences with folks who are artisans, craftsmen, or who're just really amazing at what they do, taking time and care to make things perfect, and I find it really inspiring.

First up, there's my dad. Tim Killen has been making furniture for nearly 50 years. He's made all the furniture in his house, my house, and my brother's house. He teaches woodworking to whomever is interested in learning. He blogs at Fine Woodworking about using Google SketchUp for design planning, even with period furniture (and he was possibly the first person to use SketchUp for this purpose - he was certainly a pioneer with this new application). The amount of time and care he puts in to each piece is incredible.

Right now, he is making us a new bed. It's been in process for a month or so. It's made of primarily Sugar Pine, though I got a note from Dad today saying that the interior slats (the part no one will see but us) is being made of "straight-grained fir that was milled from an old tree at a winery." Pretty incredible stuff. Here is the bed in progress. I can't wait to show you what it looks like when it's finished (Dad does a pretty amazing job of finishing his pieces, too).

I asked for a simple style, and Dad came up with this interesting headboard that 'floats' where it joins the frame (I'm sure I'm saying that wrong) so that temperature fluctuations will allow it to expand or contract. He also decided on the pencil posts, which I love.  Dad's an artist; he's practicing a skill that very few people use any more. We appreciate it so much - each piece of furniture is a work of art.

Then there is our own work in progress - the chicken coop. We downloaded plans from The Garden Coop, and they are just really thought-out and well done. Tom has done a lot of work figuring out parts and supplies, while my dad has already ordered the redwood from the lumber mill. First up, we have to dig the foundation and the trench where the hardware cloth will be sunk (to deter predators). I anticipate starting that on Saturday, and it will be back-breaking. But it will be worth the effort, to have such a well-made coop and run.

Another shout-out: To Passmore Ranch, located southeast of Sacramento. They farm sustainable fish such as sturgeon and trout. I read an article about them in Sunset magazine, all about how they provide fish for the famous chefs in San Francisco. I contacted them about making a sort of CSA for fish, for my parents for Christmas. The folks there were incredibly helpful, and worked to make something just for me. Today my parents got their first box of fish, which included recipes and a small jar of salt from Oregon.

Mom said the fish had been overnighted in ice, which I expected, but that the wrapping was lovely as well. Passmore Ranch didn't have to make it pretty, but they did. Also, they charged me less than they said they would, and didn't charge me until they knew my folks were satisfied. Now, that kind of care and attention is going to make me a customer for life. Meanwhile, my parents will get a different kind of sustainable fish each month, even caviar when it's in season!

I've also been thinking a lot about a question that my brother asked me when we were taking a tour of my garden. He asked, "Do you have enough salad greens growing to have a salad every day?" And I waffled, because I was thinking that we have enough growing for EACH of us to have a salad every day (though really only Tom and I are having them that frequently). And as I was waffling that answer through, I realized that I had planned it that way, and I was pleased with myself for having the result I planned for months ago. I planted just enough. All that thinking and calculating and yes, even worrying, paid off!

I'm also proud of myself in the kitchen lately. I'm making loads of recipes from my new cookbooks, but I'm taking care not to waste anything. For instance, I bought buttermilk for a pork recipe which we had last night, and I used the leftovers in biscuits to have with chili tonight. We had ricotta in a homemade pizza last Sunday, and I'll use the leftovers in chocolate ricotta muffins tomorrow. I'm getting better at thrift. I'm also getting better at baking. I have a 'thing' about flour on my hands. In the last week I've made homemade tortillas and biscuits, and both required a good amount of flour on my hands. I'm building my tolerance!

Overnight to the Napa Valley

Many months ago, Tom's brother Peter gave us a gift certificate for a hot air balloon ride over the Napa Valley. In anticipation of my birthday, I made a reservation - but we had a looooong time to wait. Today finally arrived! And we had an excellent time.

My folks agreed to take the kids and dog, so Tom and I left in the late afternoon on Friday and made it to Calistoga (about 20 miles north of Napa) by 5:30. We walked the streets and found a place for dinner (carnitas, yum) and strolled along window shopping on the main street. Calistoga is famous for spa treatments, such as mud baths and massages, but we had other plans.

We enjoyed our overnight stay at Christopher's Inn, though we didn't spend much time there, as we left at 6:30 in the morning in search of good coffee (found at the local roastery) and to meet our balloon pilot. He took us (and 13 other folks) to a nearby field, and released a regular standard balloon. He watched it float skyward, noting the wind patterns, and then determined that the field was a 'go' for launch. All the other people stayed in the warm vans (it was below freezing), but Tom and I stayed out with the crew and watched the whole process, asking a lot of questions and generally getting in the way ("Are you sure we can't help?"). The sun came up as the balloon inflated.

We were finally allowed to climb in, rather ungracefully. After rising, we could see the entire Napa valley to the Southeast, laid out before us. The fog was spectacular.

There were several peaks and plenty of forest to look at, but mostly we saw large estates and acre after acre of ubiquitous vineyards.

Finally looking North, we could see all the way to Healdsburg.

After about an hour, we started to descend, and thought we might have a pokey landing into grapevines. (The only safety information we got was what to do in the case of a windy landing. Thankfully, today was quite calm. However, we hadn't been told what to do when landing in vertical branches. I think we were all quite 'clenched' at that point.)

Thankfully, we landed precisely in the parking lot of a very surprised vintner, who promptly recovered and opened the doors to her tasting room, where we sampled some delicious Sauvignon Blanc (thanks, Envy Wines!). Of course we bought a bottle.

By the time we got back to our car, it was only 9:30, so we went in search of more adventure. We ended up at Bale Grist Mill State Historic Park. I recently saw this mill on an episode of A Moveable Feast - the host had visited the mill to procure cornmeal for a farm dinner. We were the only ones there for quite a while and our tour was private until the very end. What a cool place. We learned so much about how grain was milled in the 1800's. You'd think this would be a really dry subject, but it was fascinating. A good docent really makes all the difference, wouldn't you agree?

We bought four of the eight flours that they sell there. So much for grain-free eating, at least for a while!

As we were finishing up in the Mill store, one of the docents was trying her hand at flapjacks on a wood-burning oven. Suddenly we were starving. We went in search of a good farm-to-table lunch, which is pretty much like shooting fish in a barrel in Napa Valley. But we found a particularly good place, Farmstead Restaurant, which is part of Long Meadow Ranch - they have gardens, vineyards, olive groves, and grass-fed cattle and lamb, along with farm chickens, in a location several miles from the restaurant. We had some delicious food, including a cabbage and apple coleslaw that we couldn't eat fast enough, and wild mushrooms over grits with greens, a slow-cooked egg, and crispy ham. It was a wonderful lunch. We wandered around the kitchen garden afterward, though they get most of their produce from the ranch. We'll make a reservation in the future to have a tour of that, and enjoy a farm dinner on the premises. When's the next birthday???

Frost

Nights have been clear and frosty, here, with temps hovering around 30 at night. Not cold, but certainly chilly. Going out in the morning shows a fascinating world of tiny ice crystals.

Freesia leaves

Lantana branch

Dead Sycamore leaf on grass

Fence rails

It's beautiful. I like when the sun hits the fence rails, and then they start to steam. I wonder how the tiny hummingbirds make it through the night, or any birds, really. How do they stay warm? But somehow they do it, because they start visiting the fountain very early. Today, I watched an Anna's Hummingbird feed from the Manzanita, then take a drink from the water feature.

You can see his pink throat, top left. He's just landing at the fountain.

I also watched the Lesser Goldfinches drink and bathe, and the Black-Capped Chickadees eat from the feeders.

Later, a whole flock of Titmice and Pygmy Nuthatches came by for the seed. They were too quick and shy for my fumbling photography skills.

But I was able to capture an industrious native bumble bee sipping from the Manzanita blossoms. This is a queen, just living on her own until spring, when she can make pollen loaves underground and lay one egg on each loaf.

I seem to have a lot of different kinds of Inky Cap mushrooms in my yard. This group came up in a moist, shady section, appearing to be dusted with powdered sugar.

The frost has killed many flowers, most of them non-natives.

I won't cut them back, even though they are ugly, until threat of frost is over - the more dead stuff I leave, the more protection the plants will have through further frost.

On the flip side, lots of plants are thriving:

Blueberry bush

Asian Braising Greens

Garlic

Rainbow Chard

Herbs

Red Russian Kale

Sugar Snap Peas

Poppy

Romaine

Shallot

Spinach

The colder temperatures feel right, and make being outside exhilarating. The views are clear and the sky is a beautiful blue, and all our December rain made the earth green.

Can you find the clump of mistletoe?

Now, we need more rain.

Books!

My favorite Christmas gift every year is a box of books from my parents. This year, my box included several cookbooks, and Tom also got me one! I've perused them all in the last few days and yep, I'm inspired.

The book from America's Test Kitchen is great for standards; I made a buttermilk coleslaw recipe from it the other night, and it was tasty. You can always trust their recipes, as they have tested them so thoroughly. Tom and I are both interested in preserving food, hence Mrs. Wheelbarrow's Practical Pantry. Wow. This is an exhaustive resource for preserving; I can't even imagine using every recipe in this book. The Nourished Kitchen is a beautiful book filled with recipes using whole, nutritious, unprocessed foods. The Kitchen Ecosystem is set up in a systems-fashion and goes by ingredient, using a sort of flow chart for each one, with recipes for eating fresh, preserving, using the preserves, and using the scraps. It's a very different way of looking at recipes and ingredients. And finally, Fresh from the Farm is a seasonal cookbook - what's ripe is what you use to make dinner. This is helpful for those of us cooking out of our gardens, or from a CSA.

I also was the recipient of several mushroom books, yay! One I borrowed from a neighbor, one was given to me by a dear friend (Field Guide to Mushrooms of Western North America), and the last was in my book box (Mycophilia). Two are for identification and one is stories, history, and facts from the same author as Kitchen Ecosystems. I'm having fun going through these, too.

Speaking of cooking, it's hard to go back to normal eating after the holidays, isn't it? (It's in fact so hard that instead of typing 'cooking' just then, first I actually typed 'cookies.') My body is craving nutritious food, but my mind is craving sweet doughy things. Ack. So we've had simple dinners here at home the last few days. The aforementioned coleslaw with a vinegary pulled pork. Roasted chicken with Brussels sprouts and tiny potatoes. Italian Wedding Soup, using the stock from the chicken, greens from the garden, and meatballs. Delicious, plain food, geared to provide our bodies with what they really need.

However there is still leftover chocolate and a few stray Christmas cookies at dessert time. Hey! Moderation, right?

Today I've been reading Jacques Pepin's autobiography. It's full of what can only be described as fancy food! It does sound tasty. Maybe in a month, I'll be ready to try some rich French sauces.