Author Archives: Virtual Farmgirl

I haven’t had much chance to get out of the office at lunchtime, but today I slipped out to walk through the Daley Center Farmers Market. I was on the hunt especially for rhubarb so I can finally make some strawberry rhubarb pie this weekend. But, of course, I ended up coming back to theContinue reading “Arabesque Farmers Market…Only in Chicago”

While we were down in Central Indiana last weekend we picked up another Easley Winery red to give the winery another chance: Sweet Barrel Red. I should know better by now not to even try wine bottles that boast “fruity” flavor. Fruity indeed. Fruit packed in corn syrup sweet. Add some bubbly and you haveContinue reading “One More Wine Down”

We were only at The Farm for two days and two nights, but it seems like we were there for at least a week. Here are the highlights: — Picked seven quarts of strawberries…brought home two (since the rest were eaten or sold out from under me). — Swam with the kids.— Collected eggs. —Continue reading “Taking Advantage of Every Summer Solstice Minute”

The Washington Post quotes environmental experts who argue that the record-breading Iowa flooding these last few days aren’t simply acts of God. As the theory goes, the levee breaches can be attributed to radically remade landscapes: Plowed fields have replaced tallgrass prairies. Fields have been meticulously drained with underground pipes. Streams and creeks have beenContinue reading “Are Farmers To Blame For Midwest Flooding?”

Don’t these look fantastic? I’ve been worried I wouldn’t get to see these for myself this season, but it looks like we’re finally getting a chance to get to The Farm this weekend. And the very good news is that there remains and abundance of green berries that should be turning red in the nextContinue reading “Busy Weekend Plans…Off the Grid”

We lost power this morning at about 7:45 a.m. when a storm whipped through our area. I’ve never seen our elm tree move so much and I’m relieved its healthy branches stayed attached. I stood watching the storm for a while until the hail started to pelt our house. At that point, we scooped upContinue reading “Powerless on Father's Day”

This last couple weeks of heavy rains in the Midwest is doing a job on small and large farming operations. Looks like hundreds of thousands of acres are under water. And the livestock? I haven’t heard much about the toll on that front yet. But in Iowa alone, an estimated 20 percent of the grainContinue reading “Flooding Close to Home”

Still recovering from my trip to NYC, I was headed to bed when I heard that Dickson Despommier is the guest tonight on the Colbert Report. Despommier is my vertical farming/urban farming hero so it was very cool to see him sitting with my late-night comedy hero. Not to mention that Colbert showed us aContinue reading “The Vertical Farm Report”

Here’s an incredibly balanced piece about the destruction of a community garden in an East Hampton affordable housing complex. According to the East Hampton Star, the garden was demolished not because of development. That’s what I expected when I read the headline: “Residents’ Garden Was Removed With One-Day Warning.” But apparently the residents are elderlyContinue reading “Garden Squabbles End Home-Grown Tradition”

I met this little princess on my trip out East. While farming is probably not in her near future, she’s certainly got what it takes to be a farmgirl. Besides being smart as a whip, she seems as comfortable outdoors as she does in. And one of her favorite things to do at home (besidesContinue reading “Natural Born Farmgirl”