Posts by Harriet Kattenberg

“Your weather,” said our Mexican waiter, trying to make conversation, “so strange.” Up came his hands. “Snow!” Down went his hands. “Sunshine!” Up with his hands, “Rain and snow!” He shook his head, “Sunshine?” And he didn’t mention the worst of it … MUD. We have been slithering in mud for weeks! Snow mud is…

Henry and I enjoy a local Mexican restaurant. We (Henry) is not an extremely adventuresome eater so we order something safe, fajitas. We always order the same. And we share the huge meal. Pollo Faliz; Happy Chicken. Our favorite waiter knows us. He nods and smiles as we come through the door. And hustles to…

Gulp! Where did summer go? The last time I sat in front of this keyboard and tried to put coherent thought into text was mid-July. Really? With the heat and humidity of this past week, it felt like July or August. But here is September!!! As uncomfortable as we were this week, the thought that…

Ok, I know … Some people like to be naked. In the shower and bathtub? Yes. In bed? Some of us. On the beach? … Well…. It probably depends on the beach. But on the whole, we spend more time in our clothes than in our birthday suits. Soil feels the same way. Rototill the…

My eyes were opened this week. Shockingly opened! I shared with Joel. His eyes suddenly opened. I shared with Faren. His eyes suddenly opened. All in the neighbor’s corn field. Michael Poellen wrote about King Corn in The Omnivore’s Dilemma. Corn is in so SO many foods. Anything processed has a high probability of having…

I want bats!  I SO want bats!  Especially when I read that bats eat cucumber beetles.  And mosquitoes.  And a thousand other bugs.    But I never (or I should say, seldom) see bats.  We had one living above our garage.  When we had a water leak and then a hole in our ceiling, we’ve…

Skies are blue. Sun’s shining. Wind is calm. The soil is lightly moist: its texture a fine crumb. Seeds are pushing up in tiny green rows. What a beautiful day to be farming! Coffee brewing. Two little kids are upstairs sleeping. Dirty dishes in the sink. Rugs need vacuuming; floor needs mopping. Alissa and her…

Lovely word.  Chitting. I have always wondered where this word came from.  Google, Wikipedia, World Book Dictionary, World Wide Web … are not telling me much. Greenspouting.  Preparing seeds for faster germination. Since its spring and time to plant potatoes, let’s focus on chitting potatoes. Potato eyes will sprout in total darkness in late winter,…

Suzie was complaining during coffee break to her co-workers.  “I think John is nuts!”   “Your husband, John?  Why do you say that?”   “Well, he’s been dreaming about squirrels.  Every morning he tells me about his dream of the night before and it’s always about squirrels.”   “Squirrels?  Like … cute little bushy-tailed squirrels?”…

Hybrid? Open pollinated? Heirloom? Genetically modified? What’s it all mean? What is the difference? What’s better? How do we choose? Here’s my general guidelines and a few reasons why I choose what to grow …. Let’s start with what we do not grow … gmo. Never. Let’s hope honest science and honest research can catch…