Marinated Fresh Asparagus

No will power.  Many already eaten.

Just picked these tips.  Marinated in olive oil and seasoned rice vinegar, fresh herbs with a sprinkle of garlic salt for about 24 hours brings yummy eating. 

CUTTING FOR STONE by Abraham Verghese

A gal sitting in front of me at a recent Civic Chorale rehearsal heard me say Cutting for Stone and she immediately turned around and said  -- This is the best book I have ever read!   She went on to say her primary care physician wanted to invite Verghese to do a lecture but his fee was ridiculously high.

The link above notes Abraham Verghese did a TED Talk.

For Lovers of The Ring Cycle - Radiolab Again!

Produced in 2008, for lovers of The Ring Cycle, this piece is a must. This production won Jad Abumrad of Radiolab the  MacArthur Foundation Genius Award in  2011.
  
Neal and Carla will move to Seattle where he will assume a position as a geochemist!   The Seattle Opera, mentioned in the Radiolab piece, is performing the Ring Cycle this August.  I have not seen the first or last of the Cycle so maybe a trip out there in August???   

On our Front Porch

Four perfectly formed eggs with Mama providing warmth.  Mama does not let me get closer but, hopefully, when the eggs hatch, I will get a closeup of the babies.  Because the nest was not built in the branches of a tree or shrub, the activity is easy to observe. 

I thought this was the Mama but my friend
the Rev. Dr. Ruth Gnagey an avid birder,
 informed me this is the Papa.

Radiolab - The Distance to the Moon

The latest episode of Radiolab is so enjoyable I am hoping Ed can take a listen.   Liev Shreiber reads, The Distance of the Moon.

Those Asparagus Tips and Rhubarb

Asparagus and rhubarb are the first crops to bring to the table other than the early herbs, the chives and tarragon.  Our dear friend Jennie King gave me a tarragon start from her garden about 5 years ago and is thriving beautifully.
 
Everything is late coming up this year so the asparagus are just beginning to peek through.  A few days ago we had a cold evening so the few tips that came up turned mushy but today I counted 22,  all nice and hard.  Raw asparagus and strong coffee -- now that's a delectable breakfast. To keep an asparagus patch producing takes some work.  

Fertilizer Plant Explosion in West, TX, 76691

Kolaches, 
Ethnic Czech pastry, West, TX

 When we learned about the fertilizer plant blowing up in West, TX, we thought of this baby town 70 miles south of Dallas-Ft.Worth and 20 miles north or Waco.  When we drive from Laurie's and the girls in Arlington between Dallas and Ft.Worth to go to Austin to see Neal and Carla and Gretchen we get off I-35 at West to buy kolaches, the Czech pastry filled with either fruit or sausage.  The selection is huge.  This store is a combination bakery, deli and gas station. 

The kolache bakery in West, TX

Czechs immigrated to West in the 1890's bringing their culture and opening up many businesses which remain to this day.  Here is this little town with a majority of European's from the former Czechoslovakia -- the overlap brings us smiles.   A hotel in West is called the Czech Inn.  The bakery is always busy and is open 24/7.  Business continued as usual when the accident occurred.

Ed's Colgate 50th Reunion Singers and The High Line

Before getting to Ed's singers and the High Line, let me tell you about our gardens.  Last night there was sleet for about 30 minutes and two days before we received so much rain we thought we would float with small rivers on two sides of the house. Governor Quinn put much of Central Illinois into a disaster area.  Very scary.  This is when we are thankful we do not live near a river or a lake. 

The water flows through the culvert which goes under 
Old Sawmill Road and drains into a small pond.  Prairie flood control!

But today is beautiful!  The Prairie Dock, Blue Baptesia, Black Berry Lilies, Coneflowers, Royal Catchfly, Gas Plant and many others perennials are up in both the Prairie Garden and the Patio Garden.  But the garlic is not pushing through in the veggie garden although the rhubarb is looking great enough to pick some for sauce.  Such a thrilling time of the year.   And I trimmed the Sarah Burnhart Peonies because the new points are popping through the earth.

Now on to Ed and The High Line --------------  

Several months ago Ed decided to put together a group of Colgate Glee Club Singers - not the Colgate 13 which he was devoted to and he created the Vintage 13 singers about 8 years back.  These are the Glee Club singers.  About  20 fellas are interested in being a part of this group which will perform at the 50th Reunion, so Ed decided to have a rehearsal and he decided Albany would be a good locale.  One of the fellas found space in his UU Church!  I was sure to wear my flaming chalice earings!.  I accompanied the fellas on two of the songs, Great Day, and There is Nothing Like a Dame.  Such fun!!!! I worked so hard to get the accompaniment just right. 

The First Unitarian Universalist Society of Albany 
began meeting in 1830. 

 Emerson Hall -- a contemporary addition 
we had the good fortune to use thanks to Peter Brown.

Here is a nice view of the older sanctuary. 

They they will lead the entire class contingency at the reunion singing 4 Colgate songs.  These guys are great and many have not seen each other since the graduated in 1961.  

Next day, Sunday,  Ed visited an ill colleague from his SUNY Albany days and I took the Amtrak down to NYC to stay with my twin and WALK THE HIGH LINE, beautiful this early in the Spring with tulips, daffies, and many other early bloomers.  

Laurie said she would like to walk the High Line with me and so we are making plans to do this in early November.   Hope we can stay with Uncle Jan -- Life is too short....  

When I First Visited the New York City High Line, July 2010

When my twin brother Jan and I turned 70, two years ago, I invited myself to New York City for a short visit.  I said, I would love to be with you as we turn 70 but when I am in NYC, I want to do two things.  1) visit the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, and see Promises, Promises with Sean Hayes who attended ISU.  Though my twin never attended a Broadway musical he intended to accompany me to Promises, Promises and......  he was the first to pop up from his seat to scream "Bravo, Bravo!"




Before returning home to the Central Illinois Prairie, my twin told me there is something I would like to show you.  We took the subway to 14th Street, climbed three flights of stairs, and in front of me was the Illinois Prairie!   Here were prairie plants, the same cultivars in our prairie garden back home!  Rattle Snake Master, Coneflowers of all colors, Lead Plant, Little Blue Stem, and many others.  Trees, shrubs, all artistically placed with the old railroad tracks showing at various places, many places to sit, wooden chez lounges, steps, the creativity used to build the High Line captivated me, so much so, that I developed a PowerPoint about the High Line to show to my Master Gardener group.  

If spiritual connectedness exists, then I would say I am spiritually connected to the , the decrepit elevated railroad that ran down the west side of Manhattan until several prominent NYC citizens decided this eyesore could be reused. Thus in 2009, the first mile of the New York City High Line opened. 
    
I did visit the Brooklyn Botanic Garden,  not botanical, on a beautiful July morning and ambled through this massive garden for 5 hours.  The Garden is located  in the heart of a commercial Brooklyn neighborhood and when I got off the subway, I thought I was at the wrong stop!   As I entered the Garden, I could not believe I was in one of the largest and oldest botanical gardens in the country. 

Simplifying my Life

Five orchids and now four taking on a new life as compost.  The one I am keeping has sent up two new stems with one growing out of the cut-off stem from last year.