Minnesota Yurt

My friend Barb and I had a lovely dinner last night at Red Cedar and she filled me in on her plans to visit Earthrise Farm in Madison, MN. Earthrise is an organic community supported agriculture (CSA - subscription farm) run by Kay and Annette Fernholz School Sisters of Notre Dame on their 240 acre family farm. Kay and Annette are also bio sisters and returned to the family farm in 1996 to develop a CSA to use it as part of a spiritual 'green' ministry. They do an amazing job and are part of a thriving local food and artisan culture in western Minnesota. I used to take my students there for field trips. They have a small building on the farm called the Rachel Carson house where they prepare meals for guests and provide environmental education. They also have a 'yurt' on the property for overnight lodging. Barb is going to stay in the yurt and do a little farm work for a little R&R next week. I look forward to her interpretation of the experience. You can learn more about CSA's or Kay and Annette at their web site: http://www.earthrisefarmfoundation.org/index.html

Jam Days

My friend Betty and I hit the Farmers' Market in Meriden Township on Saturday morning and came home with 10 quarts of fresh picked organic strawberries. Four quarts went into making homemade strawberry jam! We produced 24 4oz jars and 5 6 oz jars. Quite the morning's productivty if I do say so. My sister is the queen of jam - she makes a 'lot' each summer - typically blackberry. She lives in Kentucky so access to blackberries is easier. She also makes strawberry and pear from time to time. This is her recipe, thanks Penny!

Recipe:

2 qts berries

7 c. sugar

1 pkg pectin (Sure-Jell)

1/3 c. lemon juice

Don't double this recipe. If you want to increase the amount, it is advised to make two (or more) batches.

Home Sweet Morris

I once lived - for a short time - in Morris Minnesota. Morris is three hours from the Twin Cities, 1 1/2 hrs south of Fargo and 30 mi east of the South Dakota border. Life on the prairie did not sit well with this southerner but while I inhabited the region that Garrison Keillor undoubtedly was contemplating when he conceived "Lake Wobegon" I made a number of good friends. This past week I had the good fortune of visiting my old home on the prairie and catching up with them.

Unfortuantely the trip got off to a rocky start. I left Grand Rapids, MI headed for Minneapolis with a layover in Milwaukee on the day the rain storms were in full force. After several delays in Milwaukee, Midwest ultimately cancelled the flight altogether around 5:30 pm. We were given the choice of waiting until the next day to fly out in the afternoon or - well that was it - the only option we were given by this 'upstanding' airline. A group of us rallied and rent a car and drove the remaining 5 hrs from Milwaukee to Minneapolis. I arrived near midnight getting my lovely reunion off to a rocky start.

The delay simply meant we had to put things in high gear and move full speed ahead. The weekend consisted of visiting with good friends Carole and Dennis and eating lots of good food in their home, taking a road trip with Dorothy to reconnect with our rural Minnesota roots and enjoying a day of Scandanavian music at the Nissaw Stamman Scandanavian Folk Music Festival. Of course the highlight was our annual pilgramage to see Lucy and Gene. Carole has long been close friends with stoneware artisans Lucy and Gene Tokheim. They live and operate the coolest pottery studio (see photo above) near Dawson, MN. Their amazing studio is comprised of restored farm outbuildings detailed with Scandinavian wood carvings. Lucy and Gene specialize in wheel-thrown stoneware pottery in the ancient Scandanavian tradition. They started their business in the 1970s and have now developed a reputation as experts in the art. Their work is part of the permanent collection of the Norwegian-American Vesterheim Museum in Decorah Iowa. It has also traveled in several international exhibitions and was also at the Smithsonian Istitutute of Art.

Yeah, yeah, they are very good...and very popular in folk art circles but the thing that rejuvenates me when I visit annually - besides Lucy's infectious laugh and hearty welcome - is that I find it amazing that they have been able to raise a family doing the thing they love on a small farm in rural Minnesota. This takes courage. If you are interested in pottery or all things Scandanavian check them out at http://www.tokheim-stoneware.com/. They are also part of a thriving folk arts and local food scene in western Minnesota that rocks. Check out the Milan Folk Arts school just up the road where they teach classes in the winter term. There are days -like the ones I had last week with good friends - that I wonder why I ever left western Minnesota - and then the winds whip up to 60 mph or the temperature drops to 20 below and it suddenly comes back to me.

Celebrating New Beginnings

My friend B defended her dissertation yesterday! Yeah B!!! She has worked very hard and yesterday she gave a great presentation to faculty and students - 33! I was amazed at the number of people who attended. In my program there was not this custom of inviting guests to join the committee for the presentation and Q & A but I like it - it is a nice way to build academic community. We celebrated afterward by hosting a gathering in the horticulture gardens on campus. We organized a 'surprise' potluck to be held immediately following the defense. The surprise didn't really come off as planned - B asked too many questions - but she was pleased with the outcome. There were a good number of folks there and since the weather was great we had a nice party. It is a big day and I hope she savors some of this time to herself - the protection/safety net of school has run its final course - thats all there is.

$4 Fuel and New Wheels

I have decided that with obscene fuel prices something must give so I today I bought a bike. I would like to ride it on the trails to and from work every day. We'll see how that goes. It's been a while since I rode so it will take some time to get back into the swing of things. I can tell I am already sore from the riding I did today. It is a Schwinn Ranger 26" and thus far I am quite pleased.