Miscellaneous things relating to Spring

Here it is a Saturday afternoon in February and we are poring over seed catalogs dreaming of Spring! We want to expand our green bean varieties and have found several promising types. I think we'll stick with the potatoes that we love best and not try too many different things in that area. Our favorites are Rosegold and Russian Banana Fingerlings, both available from Wood Prairie Farm.

I'm on a quest for a particular kind of cast iron kettle and while out today we stopped at Lehman's. We found a 6,8 and 10" cast iron skillet set in the bargain room for $14, so we snapped those up. I also bought 2 more Eric Sloane books, An Age Of Barns and Once Upon A Time: The Way America Was. The second title is basically a survey of how America has changed because our sense of who we are has changed. We were once looked up to because of yankee ingenuity and a can-do attitude, whereas now materialism is what most people think of when they think of America. If you think the present day American "culture" is a fabulous thing, then you probably won't enjoy this book. But, if you realize that without a proper respect for our past and an understanding of the sense of peace that comes from doing for yourself, we will never have the riches that our forefathers did. They certainly didn't have the ready cash or the leisure time that we do, yet they left a legacy that we can only wonder at. What legacy are you leaving? What will your children remember you for, or your great grandchildren?

We are also planning on what herbs to grow this year in addition to the "old faithfuls". I want to grow ox-eye daisies because they're good for asthma and borage which is useful for many things including colds, fevers and bronchitis. Two of the herb books that I use the most are Culpeper's Color Herbal and The Modern Herbal 2 volume set. Both are worth their weight in gold, in my opinion, along with a field guide for identifying wild growing flowers and "weeds". I love to look up some unknown plant that grows here, positively identify it, look it up in the herb book to see what it's good for and then put it to use! I find that a lot more satisfying than buying herbs but you have to start somewhere. Especially for those of you who are city or suburb dwellers (be very careful not to harvest herbs from places that use Chem-lawn type products) and can't be assured that your weeds are pesticide free! ;-)