Roughly 2 years ago, our beloved dog, Andre, got bone cancer and suddenly died. It sucked. But in modern times, cancer is common in dogs so at the time thought nothing of it and moved on. A book was recommended, The Invisible Rainbow by Arthur Firstenburg. There's a shorter popular book, Dirty Electricity by Samuel Milham on the same topic that covers modern life. We are all being exposed to radio and electric poisoning from poorly made devices. Parts of the argument go back 100+ years to Telsa vs. Edison DC (direct current) vs. AC (alternating current) so it’s not a new conversation, but the research was new to me. Fair warning, not a medical doctor and don’t play one...
The past few weeks have been a little exciting. Finished the spring garden planting, only to have our huge oak tree drop a major tree sized limb in the driveway. Thankfully, nothing was hurt, but got to say all that chopping and getting rid of it was not on the menu. Well, life happens. So back to the grind and discussing new trends. Seeing a number of edible flowers, especially purple and herbs make some inroads at the local farmers market like lavender scones, but overall winners seems to be sauces. Not sure why. Maybe grilling? Also, tea. A really popular tea shop in Monroe, NC is A Cause for Tea which features lovely British teas, Australian soaps, sweet baked...
It’s a busy few weeks here with Memorial Weekend, a bread festival, and Father’s Day happening one week after another. Sales are brisk and people seem upbeat. Construction projects are happening downtown on almost every corner fixing up Raleigh. It is hopeful to see for 2025. Finished the last of the summer herb garden planting so taking a break to focus on new festivals. Don’t have a good handle on which new events will take off, but positive upward momentum. Especially the new health food stores opening in downtown. Natural fabrics also seem to be having a moment in the sun, especially linen. This isn’t the first time they’ve been a trend, but the popularity of The Invisible Rainbow by...
Last week, Raleigh got 3-4 inches of rain with hailstorms an inch deep in a few hours. Weirdly, no cars or buildings got damaged and the plants bounced back even healthier. The apple trees are having their best year ever thanks to pruning tips from Martin’s Fruit Trees for Every Garden. For anyone who hasn’t tried pruning trees, to get those beautiful big sweet apples organically without spraying pesticides, you need to prune in the winter (February is common in NC) followed up by handplucking the extra blossoms off or pips in early spring to leave 1-2 baby apples per bunch. Wow, it makes a huge difference and isn’t time consuming even on large trees like we have. Figure 30...
Realistically, most people aren’t going to spend a year of 5 hours a week redoing their yard to be organic gardens. It’s delicious and highly recommended, but totally get older people complaining about their knees or hips. Raised garden beds and windowsill pots are MUCH more popular and less work. Plus, they’re great for regular meals without reinventing the wheel. While I spent the weekend weeding radishes, pruning apple trees, and planting trays of herbs for the outdoor kitchen garden, definitely had neighbors showing up for free purple basil for their countertops. If you spend anytime in NC, BASIL is the #1 herb as it scares off mosquitoes. The trend brings back visions of the 90s kitchen container herbs: Rosemary,...