Author Archives: Virtual Farmgirl

On Saturday we opted to pay our respects to Terry Harper, SPJ’s executive director, who succumbed to brain cancer after a heart wrenching, yet inspirational two-year fight. His struggle with cancer is touchingly chronicled on his blog Thumping My Melon. The blog captures Terry perfectly. I can think of no other time I’ve read aboutContinue reading “Paying Our Respects”

I got to play farm-to-office delivery girl this morning. Fresh pints of organic strawberries for my co-workers who made requests; parfaits for everyone else. It’s extremely rewarding to hear folks say they were the best strawberries they’d ever had. Yay!

Have I expressed lately how much I love Chicago? Well, I really do. Sometimes I just want to pack up and head to the country. But most days, I’m perfectly content. Days like this, cool, bright and sunny, are shining examples. Here’s a snapshot of my lunch hour: First, I roped the iFarmer into doingContinue reading “What I Did on My Lunch Hour (With Time to Spare to Post)”

There are so many choices already at the supermarket. Add complicated labels with an endless list of ingredients and a trip to the buy weekly staples can become overwhelming. Even eggs are getting complicated to buy. That’s why I really appreciated this piece at Food Renegade, “Healthy Eggs: What to buy.” It’s a very goodContinue reading “Want the Best Eggs? Find the Happiest Chickens (and Happiest Farmgirls)”

A few days ago when I was at The Farm, Hoosier Outsider and I were walking around the property when we came upon the ruins of an old geodesic dome that he built when I was just a baby. There’s nothing left but the gravel floor. But the location was ideal, out of sight atContinue reading “Bucky Fuller's Inspiration Lives (in Ruins) at The Farm”

Excuse me…I know that LA, NYC and San Fran are foodie capitals, but why can’t Chicago be among the first run cities for movies like Food Inc., which debuts next week on the West and East Coasts? Whenever it comes here or goes on sale, I’ll be excited to see the movie, especially after seeingContinue reading “Food Inc.: Everything We've Done in Modern Ag is to Grow it 'Faster, Fatter, Bigger, Cheaper'”

We had so much fun at Future Farmboy’s Jedi B-Day party. My favorite part was his circle of friends. They are all so much fun and well-mannered…even while wielding lightsabers. Thanks to some help from Google and parents who share their party secrets online, we were able to make simple Padawan (Jedi’s in training) tunicsContinue reading “Star Wars Jedi Party Was a Blast”

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While we were at The Farm this past weekend, we had the chance to see some soybeans drilled into the soil our large lower field. The farmer who leases that field practices a no-till method. And yes, that’s exactly what it sounds like. No tilling. The only dust his tractor kicked up was from theContinue reading “No-Till Beans Are in the Ground…Now We Just Need Rain”

We finally made it down to The Farm this weekend. The reason for the visit was to re-introduce my Cali-Sista to rural America. We were treated to good company, fresh eggs, early asparagus eaten on the spot, a bonfire in an old hollowed out apple tree and walk to the river. But the big treatContinue reading “Strawberries Are In!”