|
|
|
|
March A Newsletter from Main Street
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
NEWS FROM LUMBY
It's been a long, cold winter, but the first of the spring rains, along with the promise of warmer weather, have finally come to Lumby. Almost every day another brightly colored awning is unfurled along Main Street and members of the garden club are already at work cleaning up the flower beds and repainting the town benches. Crocs are once again on sale at Wools, and at The Lumby Feed Store shovels and bags of salt have been replaced with lawn mowers and fertilizer. Down a bit on Farm to Market Road, Woodrow Lake appears inviting but, as Hank reports, it's still frigid.
Sheriff's Complaints
The Day Before
3:18 a.m. - Driver reported two water buffalo (yes, folks, that's what he actually called them) crossing State Road 541 2 miles west of Priest Pass.
8:08 a.m. - Joan Stokes, owner of Main Street Realty, reported that the weathervane on top of her office has been painted a 'distasteful' magenta.
8:28 a.m. - Denise Thompson and young Jed Hoover were brought in for 'pitching woo' in a public place...need we get graphic?
9:59 a.m. - John Morris complained that the Lumby Fire Department used his hunting shack for fire drill practice and burned it to the ground. Department unsure who had provided the address. Oops.
2:14 p.m. - Owner of Wools reported flooding from broken water nozzle caused when Saint Bernard named Daisy, whose leash had been tied to spout, headed off towards Jimmy D's.
4:18 p.m. - Jimmy D called to report the phone booth on the corner of Chestnut and Hunts Mill was missing. Unknown if Saint Bernard named Daisy was also to blame.
4:22 p.m. - Wools, obviously having a bad day, reported that someone had cut off the antlers on twenty two pairs of on-sale moose slippers that were left overnight on the 'sales' table outside their store.
7:47 p.m. - Lumby resident reported that the genitalia of the cherub statue in the park has been broken off and is lying on the ground next to the trash bin.
Yesterday - a slow day
10:10 a.m. - Cindy Watford reported a raccoon wearing a yellow and blue-flowered shower cap was rummaging through her garage.
3:32 p.m. - The manicurist at the Hair Salon reported that three stolen wigs had been returned - they were stuffed into their mailbox. All needed a wash and a set.
4:47 p.m. - Town's test robot street cleaner is missing and presumed lost.
4:51 p.m. - Mildred Hamper reported an above-ground swimming pool missing from their backyard after she modeled her new bathingsuit to her husband. Edgar is missing as well.
|
|
|
|
|
|
BUFFALO CHILI
We received a huge response from our article about buffalo meat ...remember that one? It has lower fat than halibut, and lower calories and cholesterol than chicken, and it's delicious. How can you go wrong? So, we thought we would share with you a tried & true and an incredibly easy recipe that's a standard at Lazy Goose: Buffalo Chili.
1/8 cup olive oil
1 large onion chopped
1-2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 lbs ground buffalo (available in 1 lb packages at most large food stores)
2 envelopes of McCormicks Mild Chili
2 cups full-bodied red wine 3-4 tablespoons tomato paste
3 cans (slightly drained) 14.5 oz Hunts Diced Fire Roasted Tomatoes 1 27 oz can dark red kidney beans
1 15.5 oz can light red kidney beans
salt and pepper
In a large sauce pan or pot, heat olive oil over high heat. Add chopped onions and saute until soft. Add garlic and continue to saute another couple of minutes. Add buffalo, breaking up the meat while you're stirring, and saute until cooked. Add contents of McCormicks chili envelopes, add wine, add tomato paste, and stir well. Add canned tomatoes and then fold in kidney beans. Bring to boil, cover, lower heat and let it simmer for an hour or two.
Serve in a bowl with a dollop of sour cream or shredded asiago, or you can put the chili over a bed of lettuce (a little Newman's Own Light Sun Dried Tomato dressing on the lettuce is a great compliment). Serve with baguette and a glass of wine that you used in the recipe.
Here are a couple of links for those who want to read up on buffalo, order buffalo or are just looking for more recipes:
|
|
 WELCOME TO
LAZY GOOSE STUDIOS
At the end of a steeply winding and gated driveway lies Lazy Goose, the secluded 40-acre artist retreat, gardens, and private residence of painter Art Poulin and author Gail Fraser. Built over the last several years, the enclave encompasses five architecturally stunning buildings, miles of walking trails, an orchard and several ponds, all of which meld into a picturesque hamlet that ensures a calm tenor and solace needed for creative development and expression.
Inside the 2,600 sq ft dedicated art studio, Art Poulin, considered one of America's foremost folk artists, paints extraordinary Americana landscapes that blend his love for simplicity with a deep appreciation and knowledge of architecture. His work, sold and licensed internationally, redefines the traditional limitations of "folk art" with a style that demonstrates an exacting brush stroke that can reflect life's wonderful details in fascinating manner. His puzzles were recently selected by Universal Studios to appear on an episode of House, and were included in the celebrity 'swag bags' given out by Paramount Pictures at this year's 83rd Academy Awards.
Of equal vibrancy and quality are the color-field, impressionist landscape paintings under the signature of Adrien Colt. His dramatic fusion of representational and abstract art results in canvases that explode with nature's hues. The boldness of his work seizes the viewers and envelopes them in the sublime moods and emotional movement of each composition. Dazzling in concept and color, Colt's landscapes resolve the powerful tension and complimentary harmony of subject and color.
So, who is Adrien Colt?
One may call this either the duality of Art or the art of duality. But with the reputation for folk art forever tied to his name, when Art found himself longing to explore the raw texture and vibrancy of oils in impressionist landscapes, he began painting under the signature of Adrien Colt. Colt's name offered him the opportunity to expand his palette and reach new and very different audiences, while being free from expectations that were inevitable associated with his other works.
As dramatic as Colt's paintings are, there's a calm at Lazy Goose which exerts a powerful influence on visitors and art collectors alike, most of whom develop a passionate loyalty to the property as well as to the individual artists here and return year after year for private showings, open studio tours or garden excursions. It is, indeed, a small haven that creates and protects a tranquil environment that is in stark contrast to today's times.
You're invited to visit Lazy Goose Studios either in person or on the web at
|
|
FOR THE BIRDS
Spring is just weeks away which means it's time to put up (or clean out) a few birdhouses. We're in search for several more this year so we naturally turn to the same folks who have helped us again and again.
Duncraft has always been one of my favorite bird supply companies. www.duncraft.com. They offer an amazing selection of houses for kestrels to nuthatchers, screech owls to chickadees, woodpeckers to swallows. You're sure to find a house for specific local visitors. And if you can't? Give them a call - they are a wealth of information and will always steer you in the right direction. Oh, and they also have great bat houses as well. Okay, some of you may be saying "Bats? Ewwww." But one bat can eat 500-1,000 mosquitoes per hour. If you do the math for 10-12 bats over an 8-hour night, the numbers are compelling and can mean a slap-free, itch-free, calamine location-free summer.
Kinsman Garden Company www.kinsmangarden.com gets huge kudos for their English Postbox Birdhouse! We own a dozen free hanging Schwegler birdhouses and can confirm that they are basically indestructible, and the birds love them. A little expensive, but they'll still be hanging in twenty years.
And of course, there's Wild Birds Unlimited. www.wbu.com I have an expanded version of their Ranchette Retreat feeder and it's great. They also have a nice assortment of houses you can look at first-hand if you're fortunate enough to have one of their stores nearby.
|
|
 HOW ABOUT GRAPES
IN YOUR GARDEN?
If you've been thinking about adding grapes to your garden, consider a Concord, Flame Seedless, or Thompson Seedless or one of the many varieties that are never available in the local markets. Grapes are wonderful fresh, dried, and juiced. If cultivated, they can provide plenty of good eating and drinking year around. In addition to their edible qualities, grape leaves and vines are useful in crafts such as wreaths.
Cultivation in home gardens
Grapes like heat and most of the sweetest grapes tend to like plenty of sun and warm temperatures. Most of the continental US is in the grape belt between 30 - 50˚ N. latitude. Cool season plants produce less sugar and are higher in acid. Most areas can grow grapes but check with your County Extension service for tips on the healthiest, most productive varieties for your region, then research detailed cultivation types specific to that variety for the most reliable performance.
Depending on your purpose (i.e., eating, drying, or making juice or wine), climate, and cultivation, a single plant can produce as much as 25-30 pounds of fruit. To get the most from your plants, plant vines where they will get a good southern exposure. The optimum placement is in full sun oriented on a North-South axis. This provides the optimum amount of light and heat.
The growing season is about 150-180 days for standard varieties, though short and long season types are available. The key to production is to select a variety that matures during your growing season ... the earlier the better.
Grapes like deep, well-drained loam soils. Soils that are either too clay-ey or too sandy tend to retain too much water or drain too quickly, so amending the soil to maintain even moisture is important. They also like somewhat acid soils with a pH of between 5 and 5.5. Mulch with fir or pine needles to eliminate weed problems and maintain the pH.
Plant spacing should be about 5-8 feet apart in rows with 8-12 feet between rows. In home gardens, if you plant a sod walkway between rows and fertilize or compost the grass, you will probably not need to add extra fertilizer for the grapes which have far reaching root systems that are capable of harvesting nutrients from some distance.
Propagation
A range of grape varieties are available in containers at nurseries.
Alternately, you can take cuttings without much difficulty in the late winter or early spring during pruning. Select a healthy cane about the diameter of a pencil. Cut the cane straight across below a set of nodes and remove from the plant. Make a second cut at an angle above the third set of nodes. Apply a little rooting hormone to the end with the straight cut, then plant almost up to the middle set of nodes in growing medium. (The cuts help you remember which end is the planting end because it isn't always obvious from the direction of the nodes.) Stake the cutting with an old broomstick or other sturdy support. As the plant grows tie the cane loosely to support it. Tie to the trellis wires as it achieves the height.
Young grape plants like humid conditions and can be put outside if the temperatures are above freezing. Keep them out of direct sunlight until they are acclimated ... usually a week or two.
- Article reprinted from Demesne http://www.demesne.info/
|
|
|
