Hereford Zone
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Wild Violets
We don’t have a lawn. We have non-wooded areas that get mowed. Occasionally those areas are supplemented with grass seed, and the grass learns to live in cooperation with all the other ground covers already occupying the yard. Right now the yard is sprinkled with delicate little violets, as are my flower beds and the vegetable garden, Continue reading
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Why do today what you can put off ’til tomorrow?
“Why do today what you can put off ’til tomorrow?” Those were the words of wisdom coming from SpongeBob this morning as we slurped coffee on yet another snow day. Yesterday I took my beloved car for an alignment–the wobble was becoming problematic. I could procrastinate no longer and having President’s Day off was a perfect time Continue reading
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A real snow day
Tractor Supply was mentioned on the radio recently as a strong company to invest in and it was described as a company catering to “recreational farmers.” Is that what we are–recreational farmers? Wow, that sounds so la-dee-dah, like we are landed gentry who can just play around at farming while real farmers go bankrupt trying Continue reading
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Snow day!
Baltimore County two hour delay. Schools in the Hereford Zone are closed. Sorry, Julie, that you are teaching at the other end of the county, but as you know, the roads are tricky out here–hilly and windy with guardrails lacking in critical drop off areas, like the sharp bend on Miller Lane! Ok, so it’s Continue reading
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Hibernating
It is in the bleak mid-winter that I most feel a discord between the rhythm of the seasons and our bondage to the clock. Why can’t we hibernate in winter like the bears and the bees? We don’t need the entire winter, just January. Isn’t that why we load up on food at Christmas, so Continue reading
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Adventures in liverwurst
Pioneer John is making the most of his deer bounty. Not content with mere roasts, he decided to use the organ meats (liver and heart) to make liverwurst. For those of you shaking your heads and laughing while saying “Poor Kathy…,” it’s not really that big of a deal. I know for a fact that some Continue reading
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A-Hunting They Will Come
Some people think it’s lonely living in the woods. Not so. Especially during hunting season. There is often someone out there in the woods and frequently they stop in for coffee (in the a.m.) or beer (after an evening hunt). Around the kitchen table, they shoot the breeze with John and debrief from their hours Continue reading
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Leaf management
It was a great day in the Hereford Zone today. John spent the morning fixing the brakes on the Jeep while friend Mike and son Gage were hunting in the woods. It was Youth Day today and 15 year old Gage got a young buck. So Mike and Gage butchered the deer by the driveway Continue reading
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Fall
How do you know you are with a city kid? When, driving up I-83, you enter the Hereford Zone, and he points at the trees and asks, “Is that Fall?” Yes, it is. The leaves are falling by the buckets. We could probably measure the leaffall in inches, like we do the snow. In theory, today is a Continue reading
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October
Hooray for Christopher Columbus! Not only was today absolutely gorgeous, but it was the first of a three day weekend. That meant I could actually enjoy it. By October, the school year is in full swing and is taking its toll on me. What an exhausting week! Most of the exhaustion is mental–the constant busy-ness of each day with the Continue reading
Slightly Off the Grid 