Articles written by Mary Honrud
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Sunny Florida
Dear readers - I’m sending this dispatch via the magic of email from sunny Florida. I’ll try not to gloat about the fact that it has been in the 80s every day I’ve been here. Well, I’ll gloat a little bit, but I also realize I’m going to su...
Winter's Early Onset
A last mowing to suck up leaves from the lawn has been accomplished. The mower is stored for the winter, with the addition of a shot of Sta-bil in the gas tank to prevent gumminess next spring. All...
Mowing Leaves, Winds and Pesky Bugs
We did have our harvest festival potluck after church last Sunday, and the ginger carrot cake (recipe shared last week) turned out wonderful. Of course, as usual, there was too much food offered, and...
Indian Summer
Finally, we are enjoying some Indian summer. I wasn't sure if that was an allowed expression any longer, or if we'd gotten so P.C. that the term should now be "Native American summer," so I looked it...
Family Reunions Are Always Great Ways to Catch Up After Years Have Passed
We have been away from home for the past week, traveling for a family reunion. My two younger sisters made the arrangements, and since they both live in southeastern Missouri, that's where we went....
Winter in the Fall
Last week was not conducive to finishing my garden-clearing plans. Translation: the carrots are still in the ground. Or should I say, still in the mud? A couple more inches of heavy, wet snow fell...
End of Summer
It's official. Summer is over. We woke up to a light coating of snow this morning. Yuck, yuck, double-yuck! I'm never ready for the end of summer, but I'd rather ease into winter than get thrown in,...
Fall Has Arrived: Tomatoes and Green Beans
An unexpected early frost has pretty much ended my gardening for this year. It was late in the evening on a cold and rainy day when I realized it might freeze that night. A sense of fatalism set in,...
Cleaning the Garden?
It seems as though our hot summer weather has departed. I don't expect prolonged heat to return so I've taken our two window air conditioners out. They're stored for the winter. If we do get an...
Living in a Mess
Another week has passed me by, and I still haven't been able to do any housework. In fact, it's gotten to the point that once I do find the time I won't know where to start. Does anyone else face...
The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men
None of my plans for last week panned out. First off, while I had seriously contemplated dusting and vacuuming, Dennis decided we would make a run to town for various things on Monday. We headed down...
The Big Harvest and All the Go, Go, Go
There hasn't been much gardening or cooking done this past week as we've gone after harvesting our yearly income. When the wheat is ready to combine, that's what we do, almost to the exclusion of all...
Procrastination Rears Its Ugly Head Again
I feel like I've done a lot of dilly-dallying these past couple of weeks. I started painting rocks when it got too hot to work outside. Even though we've since had cooler days, I've continued staying...
Running Hot and Cold
This is being written on Monday morning, Aug.13. After enduring several days of extreme heat, I'm searching for my sweatshirt and beanie instead of a tank top and sun hat. I had planned to pick green...
A Case of Mistaken Identity
Since both the raspberries and green beans are slowing down, I've had a little time to look around more at the rest of the garden. I'm still picking some of both, but there aren't nearly as many to...
Raspberries and Beans: The Magical Fruits
I will admit to having been a bit hasty recently when crying about my poor raspberry crop. I was doing the opposite of “counting my chickens before they hatched”. I’m not sure what you call that, but I was seriously wrong. There are sections...
Gardening and Grandsons
My garden has been producing summer squash from those too many plants I put in. I took a couple of the round ones, along with a couple zucchini-type ones, and arranged them to form the eyes, nose,...
Tarragon and Beets Makes a Delicious Treat
I have an abundance of the herb, French tarragon. When I'd first planted it a few years ago, I treated it like parsley: as an annual that I'd have to replant yearly if I liked it. So it was a...
In the Forecast? More Weeding and Deck Maintenance
I've taken a few days to work on our decks. I know this should be done earlier in the spring, but farming and gardening always seem to get in the way. Don't judge. The front deck is made of redwood...
Weeds, Corn and Cookies
We’ve been getting more rain, for which we are grateful. However, all that wetness means the weeds are really sprouting. The crops we want to grow are not the only plants thriving out there. So, while my husband is trying to get our wheat crop...
Mourning Doves and Home Grown Deliciousness
I did finally make some rhubarb muffins, but was disappointed in how they turned out. They tasted fine, but the topping wasn't the best. I do, however, feel that is my fault, not the fault of the...
Weeding, Mowing and Rewarding
It’s that time of year where the garden is really starting to look like a garden, but it isn’t producing much yet. The weeds, however, are trying to take over. Therefore, I’m doing lots of weeding, trying to give my veggies a leg up. Weeding...
The Brouhaha
The controversy raised by Colin Kaepernick had been resurrected by none other than our president, who had suggested those protesting are not the children of morally upright mothers, and that their right to protest injustice is not legitimate. I...
Green Spaces in Rural Places
This harvest has been extra long for me. That’s because the crop is so poor we decided we couldn’t afford to hire our usual custom cutters (and we are sorry they are hurting, too) to cut a third of it for us. It’s just Dennis and me doing it... Full story
Letter to the Editor
Valley View: There were several interesting letters to the editor last week regarding the upcoming vote on supporting Valley View. While we agree that some assistance in funding the home is needed, we feel the committee is taking the easy way out....
