Taking the Time to Walk in the Corn....

Corn on Long Lane, August 2010

Have you ever taken the time to walk in the corn? If not, I highly recommend it. Get out of your car and head right in between two rows.....stop and listen. It will probably be hushed, you may hear a car once in while, but mostly you will hear the rustling of the stalks, a crow in the sky above, maybe the footsteps of another creature somewhere up ahead. Closely look @ the colors of the stalks....green, yellow, red....and look on the ground. There will be evidence there of critters who came before you....deer hooves and droppings (watch your step....wear you mucking boots for this!), feathers, eaten ears of corn, a variety of interesting bugs. And then, look up @ the sky through the stalks. The blue and the clouds are there looking down @ you in the field....imagine yourself in the middle of the field....let your imagination go. Give yourself the gift of taking the time to do this. It is something I have often thought of doing, but hadn't done until this week. When I did it, it was comforting and quiet, interesting and intriguing--real fulfillment for my soul....the world is a wonderful place.

Expect good things....

Tulips, 2009

So due to some strange feelings I was having around my heart, my doctor sent me to a cardiologist. I am convinced that the feelings are hormonal in nature, but they decided to run the gamut of tests anyway. I was happy to oblige as a way to eliminate any guessing as to what the problem might be. I got flying colors on the EKG and stress test, and today had an echocardiogram. I was on my left side, facing away from the machine for most of the test. And then, the chatty, friendly technician asked me to turn and lay on my back. I could sort of see the screen from where I was, but I turned my head for a better look, and the tech turned the monitor toward me and turned the volume on the machine up....and I had one of those amazing moments of complete awe....it took my breath away. I thought: I am looking inside myself. That heart is mine, it is keeping me alive, it is making me breathe, and think, and see and do all the things that I am doing all the time. Wow....to see it and hear it, and to acknowledge it drove me to think about giving it the highest respect that I can....it is why I am here.

Expect good things.....

Rainy Sunday Morning

Tomato Cucumber Basil Salad, 8/22/10

I got up this morning with the specific intent of going on a bike ride. The rain was coming down, however, so I moved on to Plan B. I baked a batch of corn muffins and made this Cucumber/Tomato/Basil salad. Cucumbers and tomatoes are from the gardens of friends, basil is off of my deck, and scallions, I will admit, are from the supermarket. I dressed it with white balsamic vinegar and olive oil. I am having some now with a few oil cured olives thrown in....what a delicious, rainy, Sunday!

The piano teacher next door is playing something lovely, and life feels good today.

Expect good things.....

Here they are....

My Tomatoes, August 18, 2010

My Tomatoes....what I mean by this is that I grew them....actually, I didn't grow them, they grew themselves. I think I bought the plants at The Seedlings Project greenhouse sale in the Spring. These plants plugged away through the incredible heat and drought we had....I had to water almost everyday this Summer....and just this morning when I went out, all of these were ripe and ready to go....now we will have to eat a lot of Tomato Sandwiches!  These little pieces of fruit feel really nice in your hand when you pick them, and you can taste the long days of Summer in them when you take a bite.

Expect good things.....

Something in the Air....

Sunflower, 8/15/10

....the light has a different slant, the breeze feels different--not quite as humid and sticky....Summer is slowing down and not as fierce in temperament as it was even last week. There is a definite shift going on.

I love this sunflower. It brought great joy to me as I admired it's progress over the past few weeks. It has been eaten by someone so it was a food source. It also looks like bees could have been in it (see the pollen on the bottom petals). So this single flower served many purposes for the short time it graced my deck. I am going to dry it out and save the seeds (the ones that are left after the birds get at them!) and plant them next summer.

I met a wonderful woman today, Georgia Van Ryzin, at an art fair in Montauk. She is making darling bags and skirts from vintage fabrics. You should try to find her at a fair next summer. I bought a sweet little shoulder bag that looks like Marimekko, but I don't think it is. I just love people who make things by hand, especially when it is out of recycled/reused materials....hers was one of the few booths that did not have inexpensive, mass produced merchandise (junk!) that was imported from China or India....she had the best booth @ the fair....I wish her great success and would love to buy one of her skirts next summer!

Tomatoes, tomatoes, tomatoes!

Amber Waves Farm, 8/14/10

I don't know what it is about tomatoes, but I love them!

There may not be anything better than eating a cherry tomato, warm,
right off the plant. Let yourself go, experiment & try a different variety of tomato @ the farmer's market each week! Talk to the farmer selling them, find out what they like about the different varieties.
The small ones are wonderful (you can eat them like peanuts!), the big ones are great for slicing and eating on sandwiches or with mozzarella and basil, the green ones, the orange ones, the yellow ones....the list is endless, sumptuous, delectable!! And, they are so photogenic. I must have hundreds of tomato pictures...they just always look perfect!

If you are a gardener, you should definitely check out Seed Savers. This organization is passing on seeds from one generation to the next, and you can get some of them for your own garden. There is something really wonderful about eating a tomato that you might actually know the history of....where it came from, who grew it, how far back the seed lineage goes....and even if you don't know that, it is a great place to start and let your imagination run wild!

I took this photo @ Amber Waves Farm this morning....an awesome place that everyoneon the East End should visit!

Tomato & Basil Morning....

It is perfect now, this time of year. I am eating food I have grown and
bread I have baked....they taste better because I know where they came from.
I feel good feeding this fare to my family...it fills their stomachs,
nourishes their souls and puts my spirit at ease.