I havent paid my dues for this year yet....would you like to see the reminder letter they send you...errr me or anyone absolutely anyone who wants to join. I did call the four season farm, a woman named Barbara answered ( She didnt offer her name nor speak in any manner about herself! So I guess! I asked her if she was Barbara and she said she was too busy writing an article for the Washington Post. But she did brag about her husband being so busy that if he was around if I happened to come vist unannounced ( they prefer not to take reservations, instead please drop By - best not Monday or a Thursday. SHe was quick to put a plug in for the Natural Living Center and she started talking about the Nerrings in a very kind and so respectful...but did agree that their methods were very diferent as the Nerrings were more composty more exclusively with vegetables. While "Eliot" ( dont know why I envision Eliot to be a silly looking dragon and barbara like some brainiac) None the less I am going to drop in on them perhaps this next week and perhaps I'll get lucky and get some autographs- I mena photographs of their rotating greeenhouse. SHe did offer to say that the chicken hoop house that moves around the yard is down- they no longer have any animals! I l'll tell her to get all organic animals or she may pierce the cloth of organic gardening.lol Any ways she said they plan on getting animals to aid in fertilizer for the gardens. I want to work on the rotating garden shared with the goats and the geese and chickens all together if possible and change their residence each year in order to get a healthier top soil. I joined the mandala farm today. I aked for a 250.00 share. This would provide enough food for one year for 2 families. I am too insecure that the garlic I grew is what I hope the season will bring. I am hoping to take it to a farmers market or knock on doors to peddle the 3 varieties I massively planted this year. As I see it the garden area is on the crest of a hill....however the hill becomes like a mesa of wetlands...drainage is poor in Spring, unfortuantely as we all know the rain fall may be drowning my bulbs for a extented length in time since the ground is starting to thaw. Then in a more positive note I know that the garlic may be safe because we had great snow coverage this year...the only problem being too much snow doesnt allow enough photosynethesis or light signal to make a go....I am thinking that that must tell the bubl a message when it cant get any warmth or energy from the sun directly. So, if the bulb was properly fed prior to being pulled for cloves (planting) then there may not be the hardiness in them to survive when energy is very demanding. I hate traveling (I decided). I wish there was a safer and more healthier way to travel than with cars to get to Arizona...any suggestions? How about from Ellsworth to Bar Harbor? I like the thought of a horse drawn cart or wagon. And although I paid taxes that are used to build fine roadways, I am only privilged on them if I can afford to operate a car or be transported by a vehicle allowable by law. Otherwise I have to stay on private property. Help me map a 2 horse or 4 horse wagon drive to Arizona. I also will be taking the chickens and the goats...not sure about the geese. ( I am half heartiedly kidding- but would pursue hypotheticly/curiousity) In bad weather I would need shelter for my animals. What camp grounds would allow me to tent me and my animals and family for the night or to get through poor weather? Awww--- just go along with it and dream with me for a cotton pickin' moment. Would I make it and how much money would it hypotheticly cost. (I had a brilliant idea to apply for a Fulbright or a Watson, and see what they might encourage, but I would have to go back to school. Meanwhile I got to get back to Maine to crack the whip and besure that my gardeners are doing the sowing. At the many garden centers I went to I noticed nobody was carrying the Echinacea double decker. Only one greenhouse actually offered to mail it to me if she found it! Wow, it was a brand new garden center (ornamentals and landscaping) called Pardee ( thats thier real name- the family that owns it!) The women at the sales office was very friendly and I told her to get on the organic forum- yuck lots of roundup there....but the greenhouses and potential and the people there are like really truely caring horts! O especially enjoyed talking to the woman who is married to a man who is the "last of his kind" LIke species like! I told her that he must not be and she assured me he was. She also said she was way past 40 and wasnt thinking nor could have any more children. She would like to change her name back to "Farmer" (n because she really loves that name)but is afraid she will hurt her husbands feelings. I thought that perhaps he could take her name instead, I think at that point she directed me where to find the echinacea I might be looking for- and I didnt but the place is brand spanking new and the people are extremely happy to be there and to help! Very refreshing. So Iam home and there is alot of organizing and cleaning to do- darn it, winter is over, its time to work! How is everyone else doing with Spring Cleaning. (Spike- might we get a conversation forum- I feel displaced) OH yeah, I dont know Barbara at all. I just called information from the book called the New Organic Farmer by Eliot COleman. I knew that his name continually comes up on many different forums and his wife Barbara. I know that he lives within one hour or so from where I do, so I would like to better compare notes and ask a true gardener of organic methods how I can manipulate and convience a bunch of mainstream gardeners and caretakers/landscapers how to go organic and understand it. I told Barabara when I decided it was her, (and guessed that it was actually her) and not an employee "that I felt very honored" I also said that she was spoken on on the organic forums and such, she was surprised that I told her I spend about 1 hour a day at gardenweb visiting and researching ideas and updates. She may be lurking now as she seemed surprised that Garden web could be as progressed as when she was last visiting here....so Hi Barbara, if you are out there! The cart must also be able to hook up to bicycles and or goats for exercise and to assist the horses and be able to carry them too. I Also , I do intend to pay my dues to the garden Club in Bar Harbor. They always have some really great speakers...sounds similar to the garden club that veilchen attends or has spoken of. Hope everyones day was a good day. Cheers Does anyone else attend any of thier local garden club ? :) I may be all talked out now....so what to sow and clean and organize first? I got tulip bulbs trying to bloom through a few boxes in my porch, and there is still too much snow and too wet to plant. I'll try ot pot them in containers instead and see how they recover....long and leggy ....adios for now

Eileen, Fantastic idea for a party!!! You've inspired me to have one of my own. Plus I will actually get to enjoy the party instead of "making sure everyone else is getting what THEY need!".. I'm a big soup maker so it's hard to pare this down. I won't put them in order since it's all a tie but... Pasta E Fagioli Chicken corn chowder split pea w/ ham tortilla soup Maybe we'll all get some good soup recipes we DON'T have out of this thread. Yeah for fall weather!! Have a fantastic party. Question: Do you make any of your soups in advance and in what order, if you did, would you make them? You've got my mind thinking now :)

There's a first step I follow with split peas and dried beans to speed cooking and reduce intestinal flatulence. Put the legumes into a pot of water with at least 3X the volume of water as the volume of dry beans/peas. Bring to boil. Turn off heat, cover, let sit one hour. Pour off water, then use the almost fully cooked legumes to prepare whatever recipe you're making. Soup can be done in as little as one more hour. You can saute onions and other veggies in another pot while the peas sit. Or, take out the peas when done, use the soup pot to saute the veggies, then add back the peas and whatever liquid and other things you use.

just ended a very cold and dreary day (w/rain) in AZ. too cold to stand in the kitchen to do dishes or cook. Tomorrow I'm gonna put on a pot of spaghetti soup. I was thinking I couldn't do it w/out some ground beef, then remembered that the last time I made it with it, I didn't like the taste of it. So I'm gonna go ahead and make it without meat. I'm switching to grass fed beef and will need to try it with that (when I buy some more). We have several more days here of this really cold weather, then it'll warm up. but that doesn't mean it's over for the winter, we'll get it again in the next 2 months. I'm going to freeze soup for when that hits us again.