The Promises of Spring
Posted at 4:18 AM on March 11, 2009
by Dale Connelly
(32 Comments)
Tuesday's lively conversation about gardening plans took over my imagination for the rest of the day.
After the morning broadcast, I was part of an MPR contingent headed from downtown St. Paul to the State Capitol for a round of good-natured arm twisting with our hard working and under-appreciated representatives during "Public Radio Day".
Even though I was pelted by tiny ice missiles on the walk up the hill, our vegetable discussion caused me to see Cass Gilbert's majestic building through a summer eye.
All those vegetables took root while our group prowled the historic corridors.
By the time I headed back down the hill in the early afternoon, the weather had worsened, but thanks to Radio Heartland listeners and your ambitious gardening plans, my head was full of tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, peas, squash, raspberries and chard.
Amateurish Photo Shop gardening may be the only type I do this year, but at least the fields are well weeded.
Keeping company with politicians for part of the day was a reminder that it is easy to make a promise, and somewhat more difficult to follow through when reality intrudes.
In the spirit of accountability, here are some of the planting commitments made on the blog yesterday:
Onions, tomatoes, leaf lettuce, raspberries, asparagus.
Posted by JulieApples, asparagus, grapes, tomtoes, bees.
Posted by cynthia in mahtowaTomatoes, lettuce and greens, spinach, cukes, beets, green beans, peas, squash, raspberries.
Posted by Gail in WisconsinImpatiens, begonias, thunbergia, purple allysum, fuschia -- maybe even a little bucket of pansies this year!
Posted by sherrileepotatoes, onions, sweet dumpling squash, two kinds of carrots, two kinds of cukes, Swiss chard, tomatoes, gourds, apples, raspberries, blueberries, asparagus, weeds.
Posted by Barb in BlackhoofTomatoes, sweet peas.
Posted by elinorTomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, squash, radishes, onions, lettuce, peas, beans, beets, cabbage, strawberries, blueberries, currants, pear and plum trees.
Posted by Kathy in WisconsinSalsa Garden, chickens.
Posted by KathyA few pots of flowers.
Posted by MicheleTomatoes (seeking the "perfect" tomato).
Posted by Bob in AnokaGarlic, lettuce, peppers, popcorn.
Posted by KateTomatoes, carrots, lettuce.
Posted by Marktomatoes, cucumbers, eggplants, lettuces, beans.
Posted by Joanne in Big Lakelettuce, broccoli, cabbage Peppers eggplants carrots, potatoes, tomatoes.
Posted by Don in West St. PaulAsparagus, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, green beans, tomatoes, sunflowers.
Posted by Amy in St Paul
Is this really going to happen, or are you simply saying what you know I want to hear?
Comments (32)
Wonderful, witty beginning to today, Dale! LOL
Those cherry tomatoes look about as far away from Alba (or Dream?) as the ceiling fan switch in the barn. Good planning with the orange bandana to wipe off the evidence! (Take note, Joey)
On a different note, what a beautiful moon we have this morning.
oh yeah, Dale, that's exactly what we intend to do - fully intend - and every spring bigger, better plans. you know how that goes.
and i thought Dream was in the barn all day during the storm. at least i thought it was she. i'm glad she wore her RH bandanna - did she captivate the politicians?
Joanne - in case you didn't see my late entry yesterday: on the Minnesota dairy goat assoc. "members" page i see a woman from Big Lake - check it out!
http://minnesotagoats.org/members2009.shtml
thanks for today and every day, Dale and Mike and you RH blogfriends.
Well Dale, one can only hope the Radio Heartland constituents are better at keeping promises than our representatives at state capitols. And our garden-catalog-perusing eyes can be bigger than the strength of our backs - but I'm sure we will all try with the best of intentions. Any shortfalls on my part will be totally blamed on the weather...
Morning Heartlanders. I also spent lots of time yesterday thinking about gardening, veggies and flowers. I even went so far as to think maybe I could have a little tiny raised bed in the back yard with LOTS of chicken wire to keep my dogs out, since it's clear that dogs have a way of keeping veggies from getting to the table! So, we'll see, although I'm certainly up to my floral commitment! Gail -- thanks for the reminder to go look at the moon. I had to scrap ice off the window to see it, but it is indeed beautiful.
Everybody have a great day and good luck to all of you who have to dig out the driveway to get to work, like I do!
The apples, asparagus and grapes are all well-established (read "old") plants so whether or not they produce is up to them and how they weather the winter. The apple tree rested last summer, so there is a good chance for a crop this year. Well, I am hoping for at least a good crop of blossoms for the bees who are scheduled to arrive in May.
The tomatoes...well, we'll see...
Good morning, all!
Kathy, if the weather continues in this manner, we can all legitimately blame it for our gardening negligence. Fortunately for me, I committed to just two types of plantings.
Sometime during the time leading up to St Patrick's Day, it would be awesome to hear some Dolores Keane, not that her voice isn't worthy of being heard at all times of the year!
Good Morning!
Well I have most of the lumber I need for the raised box gardens and my sweetie has been reading up on the technique so I think we will actually make it happen. We have the outdoor part of last fall's kitchen/deck remodeling project to complete so it's pretty likely that we will be able to follow through on the garden as well. The new realities of our economic situation have been inspiring additional frugality such as making our own artisan bread rather than buying.
Good Morning RH,
That picture is too good! I'm wondering how many of us grew up on a farm? Did anyone else, as a child, sit in the climbing tree in the grove and sing to the cows, or occasionally catch a lethargic chicken and treat it to a ride in the tire swing? (I was holding it, of course.) My mom and older sister worked hard reaping vegetables - I played with the animals.
I admire all you gardeners and farmers beyond words.
Do you have a song about talking to animals?
well, i forgot to celebrate Dream and Dodger's BD this year. but my gal Alba's was last Sunday, the 8th. it was minus 26 in the pole barn that early morning of her birth one year ago. her full name is Sogni Alba (what we've constructed to mean) Dream at Dawn or Sunrise. so i know you played Prairie Sun just for her on Monday. but could we stand to hear Peter's "You Are My Sunshine" one more time? i don't know. i always sob, but maybe this will add a happier note to the song.
thanks again
Thanks. :-) That sure is The English Country Garden song to which I was referring!
In response to Donna's question about growing up on a farm...I grew up in a small town, but spent most of my summers in southern MN on grandparents' farms. I don't remember helping much with a garden, I preferred the animals and tormenting my uncle who is only seven years older than I am.
Guess it's in my blood as the first property I owned as an adult turned out to be a few acres of meadow, woods and swamp up north...almost a farm.
Oh...Dale, the lyrics in John Hartford's Tall Buildings just came slipping into my brain...you know, the ones about leaving the flowers, the sun and the dew to go to the big city...then coming back for good when I retire...sigh.
Any chance to hear it from him?
While I didn't grow up on a farm, as a child my father (who did grow up on a farm), brother and I planted a vegetable garden in a plot supplied by my uncle, to provide fresh vegetables for my mother's little cafe' - tomatoes, peppers, onions, etc. The seeds were planted early in my psyche for community gardening, and fresh locally-grown food.
Thanks for the comments and requests.
Donna, I'll play a tire-swinging-chicken song coming up, and Cynthia, if there's enough light by the lp's, I'll try to find the John Hartford disc you're talking about. Stay tuned!
Did anyone see the moon dogs (moon dogs?) this morning with the full moon. Far out to the sides were the glows including hints of rainbow colors. What a way to awake!
No farmers in my family as far back as I know but my dad was in the Civilian Conservation Corps. and instilled a love of the outdoors in me from a young age. He worked cutting many of the trails in some of the state parks in northern MN and I think of his work every time I go up there.
Good morning everyone-
Donna's message triggered a childhood memory. I also grew up on a dairy farm and played with the animals. One summer my parents decided to raise some chickens and ducks (for meat, of course!). My siblings and I felt sorry for the ducks being "cooped" up with the chickens, so we decided to take them swimming. We gathered them all up and deposited them in the cow's water tank. My dad worked out during the day and we could never understand how he figured out what we had done. We thought we had picked out all of the stray feathers after the duck's big water park experience!
He forbade us to ever do it again. If I remember correctly, the temptation was too great and we did it at least one more time. . .
Donna, all of my Dad's brothers and sisters farmed and i spent a good deal of time on farms during the summer. i loved helping to milk with my Uncle Clarence, who named each of his cows and all of his numerous cats. the cats always got the first milk. and Uncle Ernie let me drive his little Ford tractor and fish for bullheads in the stock tank. and my paternal Grandmother was a huge gardener. when we went to see her we went in the front door and always, immediately, out the back door to see the garden. my cousins think i am crazy to be out here. they had to work on their farms and i guess never grew to love it. and i feel so very fortunate to be doing this in my retirement. and, as you can tell, i love sharing my joy :-) this blog is great because it helps to spare my poor friends' ears and tolerance.
I saw the "moon dogs". I had never seen or heard of such a thing, but I was riding the bus this morning and noticed a rainbow just to the right of the sun just half an hour ago. It was really nice to see. My car doors were frozen shut this morning, so it was nice to have a rainbow.
Julie's story about the stock tank brought back the memory of bullheads in my uncle's stock tank...then Barb mentions them...the stock tanks were always green with algae scum, guess the bullheads helped keep them clean-ish...one of my vivid memories is my uncle carrying me off to dump me in the stock tank with the bullheads...eeek!
My grandfather fished for bullheads in the Watonwan River that flowed through the pasture...and Grandmother picked the gooseberries that grew along the banks then made pie and sauce.
this is a lovely conversation.
Thanks for John Hartford, Dale & Mike.
Karen, my car doors are frozen shut this morning too. With all of Dale's "staying home" songs, I am lacking any determination to go out there and try again soon. My toes are frozen anyway. Already called in to work about being late. All you retirees - Barb, Kathy, et al - I'm just pretending I'm sliding into retirement today.
Loved the fotos this morning, Dale!
I spent most of my formative years in Madison, WI, but my paternal grandma had a farm just outside of Madison and we spent many Sundays on the farm until I was 9ish. By the time grandkids came along, Grandma just had a large veggie and flower garden and she rented the field to her neighbor the dairy farmer, so I "rode" a cow before I ever rode a horse... lots of great memories of playing in the corn crib (i.e. locking each other in), getting water from the pump, playing hide and seek, and checking out the small stream back on the property. Lots of hollyhocks and other flowers; Gram loved to garden. Seeing and hearing red wing black birds still takes me back to the farm. Sad going back now-- it's a small sub-division out in the country and looks so different even though the house/barn are still there.
The photos are precious, and I commend Heartlanders for resisting the temptation to make cheap comments about weeds, fertility, and especially manure.
Dale's comment about promises and following through reminded me of Stan Rogers:
"Watch the fields behind the plow
Turn to straight, dark rows.
Put another season's promise in the ground."
Gardening is all about the promise. Between the optimism of May and the reality of the harvest come heat, cold, rain, hail, disease, critters, and who knows what else. Some promises will be fulfilled, some won't, and you never know in advance which ones. I have developed tremendous respect for those who do this for a living.
I tried growing corn for many years, and always lost it to any one of a number of things, but mostly raccoons, with their unerring sense of the night before I planned to pick it. Then one year I was able to harvest one precious, delicious ear. I declared victory and haven't touched a corn seed since.
Speaking of hope and promise and gardens, was there any talk at the Capital yesterday about expanding MPR's HD radio signal to outstate MN? We who live in the sticks are really missing you in the mornings.
BTW, I like the idea of cows in St. Paul. Given the waste they produce, they might fit in better if they were to graze at the governor's mansion. You can see where I'm headed with this so I'll just quit.
thanks, dale, for the laugh this morning with the photos---love it!
but, wait a minute; don't we need to be thinking out of the box these days? Why NOT plant the capitol grounds with vegetables and fruit trees? with all produce going to the food shelfs?
i like it! and i like it much better than a bunch of grass that just takes a lot of mowing and watering :-)
What fun reading this! Can't wait to pull up the archive later and hear the chicken/tire swing song. BTW, cows love being serenaded - you can see it in their eyes.
For anyone interested:
You can go to www.eattheview.org to see an old photo of sheep on the White House lawn. There is a campaign in progress to request the Obamas convert the WH lawn to a sustainable vegetable garden.
Barb in Blackhoof - yes, I saw your blog yesterday, checked out the website, sent an email and just heard back from her today! I guess she has "kids" coming soon and expects lots of goat milk and will be making cheese soon. Very cool -- thank you.
My internet was down this morning so I was incommunicado.
Regards,
I want a Radio Heartland poster with the photo of the Capitol farm. Love the goat!
Your Photoshop skills made my morning, Dale. I love that picture!
All the gardening talk is making me hungry, especially for tomatoes. My grandparents, and then some of my uncles and aunts farmed, so we went back for summer visits. After my grandfather moved to town, he still maintained a huge vegetable garden until he died at 92. We spent many hours out there picking beans and peas for him.
Dale,
Your photo makes a great screen saver for a government employee. Do you think the goat will eat my icons?????
Thanks for the interesting discussion today. There might be something in here to "seed" the blog for tomorrow. I noticed some requests in there that I missed in the rush to keep everything running smoothly. I'll try to work them into Thursday's show.
Kay H, there is a component of MPR's legislative agenda that seeks funding to continue the transition to digital broadcasting outside the Twin Cities area. That is part of what we were talking about with the legislators.
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