Category: Home and Garden

HONEY, WE HAVE IGNITION

~ Jnana Hodson ~ 8 Comments

Finding the perfect fire starter for the wood stove or outdoor grilling has been a challenge. Paper burns too quickly and usually with insufficient heat to do the job, plus it can quickly clog everything and then simply smolder.

Small twigs occupy a lot of storage space, at least during winter. You want to keep them dry, by all means.

Corrugated cardboard leaves a lot of papery ash – nothing you want flying up into the food on the rack.

And so on.

Maybe it was by accident I discovered that using cardboard tubes – those found in toilet paper and paper towels – works much better. Plus, you can crush a few and insert them inside another for extra oomph. They’re firm enough to allow air to circulate while the fire’s starting. And they’re easy to store.

You never do know quite what’s going to turn up in the Barn, do you?

PREPARING FOR THE TREE

~ Jnana Hodson ~ 3 Comments

Although we don’t bring the Yule tree indoors until Christmas Eve, baking and decorating the gingerbread cookies that will adorn its branches can be done days ahead.

An acorn on a pine tree? Why not, when it's among these?
An acorn on a pine tree? Why not, when it’s among these?
Large gingerbread snowflakes just might be suspended in our windows instead of the tree. Unlike those three oranges, just waiting to be peeled and eaten.
Large gingerbread snowflakes just might be suspended in our windows instead of the tree. Unlike those three oranges, just waiting to be peeled and eaten.

BRUSSELS SPROUTS & LETTUCE (INCLUDING UNDER PLASTIC)

~ Jnana Hodson ~ 9 Comments

Some vegetables turn sweeter if you leave them in the garden after the first hard frost. The Brussels sprouts and kale are good examples.

My wife’s best friend and I are the ones who love the miniature cabbages, and that’s led to a tradition at our Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners, regardless of whether we’re all sitting down to eat at their place or ours. Yes, like me, she’s especially fond of the sprouts, any way they’re served. So here’s looking ahead, with anticipation.

BRUSSELS SPROUTS ETC.

out in the garden, I use an ax to dig out Brussels sprouts
from under two feet of snow
for Christmas dinner

and maybe some kale
to boot

 poem copyright 2014 by Jnana Hodson

WAKING TO THE FIRST SNOW

~ Jnana Hodson ~ Leave a comment
It's a lot of weight stressing those branches. Falling limbs through the night had the power flickering. We were lucky, though, the lines kept running.
There’s a lot of weight stressing those branches. Falling limbs through the night had the power flickering. We were lucky, though, the lines kept running.

It’s pretty but also heavy, wet, dense — you much prefer the lighter, fluffy stuff when it comes to shoveling. Still, you can’t help but admire it as the sunlight starts strumming through the branches.

We’ve had several rounds of flurries before this, when some of the neighboring towns found their ground covered. Real snow, in my book, means digging out the driveway.

I like having the raised garden beds to be covered by a blanket of snow, especially when the thermometer plummets. The wrought iron loveseat by the bushes is one way I easily calculate the depth of our snowfall. I'm wondering how soon before it's completely buried.
I like having the raised garden beds covered by a blanket of snow, especially when the thermometer plummets. The wrought-iron love seat by the bushes is one way I easily calculate the depth of our snowfall. I’m wondering how soon before it’s completely buried.