Fresh Eggs, Cowslips and Herbs, Spring has Sprung!

I venture out each morning to feed the goats, hearing bird song and smelling the balm of gilead ripe in the air. Sitting on the back porch bench, I see the hawks still live here, I am glad to be home, delighted to move slower and once again have the earth touch me in her slow caress.

Nettle is up and in the pot these days, here's a family favorite I'm sure you'll enjoy:

Nested Nettles & Eggs or Green Eggs & Nettle

Simply cook up a pot of rice, brown or otherwise, I like the plump kernels of short grain brown rice for this dish.
Boil up a batch of fresh nettle and poach golden eggs in the nettle by making small nests and dropping the egg into it, then basting the eggs with the nettle broth.
Serve the eggs and nettle over the rice with nettle broth and top with:
Gomasio:
Toasted sesame seed ground in a suribachi with a bit of salt to taste...add a little dulse or kelp for a richer mineral hit from the sea! This is the taste of spring!

Work/Learn Update

Our last Work/Learn Day was a great success. Even with a surprise snowfall we managed to pull a truckload of ivy out of the maple tree and shadow garden. Nettle-potato soup was a hit at lunch and we finished the day off with an elecampane dig, lifting a beautiful large root to divide, share and make a batch of tincture.

Sunday, April 20 Work/Learn Day:

Herbs & Vegies in the Garden

Clearing beds for kitchen garden herbs and vegetables, mini-workshop in the afternoon on the how to plant & enjoy the best herbs for the kitchen and simple propagation techniques for making more!

Work/Learn Days begin at 10am with a Talking Stick circle, then we work in the gardens for a couple hours, break for lunch and have a mini class in the afternoon. This is a casual, joy filled day to celebrate gardens, herbs and each other. We look forward to sharing the day with you. Be sure to RSVP so there's plenty of lunch to share. 206-694-2530 or leave a comment here at the blog

Zoodo & The Rose Garden Brain Trust

http://www.zoo.org/zoo_info/rosegarden/rosegarden.html

The Rose Garden at the Seattle Woodland Park Zoo is undertaking a complete transition to sustainable maintenance begun last year and continuing this year with a call for willing, thoughtful minds to collaborate on the project. The Rose Garden presents a perfect laboratory for the task with it's spacious grounds, rolling lawns and large trees and shrubs.

Under the direction of EJ Hook and Dr. Doo, Dan Corum, lively batches of compost tea, composted zoodoo mulch and organic fertilizers are the core of the fertility program. The roses present a variety of challenges with black spot and powderly mildew among them. The garden is visited by thousands of rose lovers every summer and is home to many old favorites and new trial roses as well.

I'll be working with the Brain Trust on design of a challenging area above the beautiful bass relief on the north side of the garden and will keep you posted on how the workings of this project may benefit our home gardens.

The Rose Garden is well worth a day trip as the weather warms and days lengthen. You can even take in a lion or tiger or bear while you're in the neighborhood!

April showers promise May flowers, walk gently, dig softly and enjoy the sweet caress

of the earth as seeds settle, take root and grow into the gardens of our hopes and dreams.

Bright Blessings until next time,

EagleSong