If a Tree Falls in the Forest...

My home is deep in the forest near the roots of the mountains. -Treebeard 

For some reason I am on this strange enchanted-woodland-cuckoo-clock-fair-isle-knitting  kick.  Maybe it's the antlers I got for Christmas from my grandmother, maybe it's just springtime and the birds are chirping, or maybe I've watched too many episodes of Faerie Tale Theater... the bottom line is there is something incredibly romantic and frightening about the woods--which is probably why it is so darn enticing.

And so, dear tree huggers, I have composed two lists; some of my all time favorite woodland-themed songs and some of  my all time favorite woodland-inspired movies.  So grab your dirndl, skip to grandma's house and get your rocky mountain high on.
 

Songs for a walk in the woods:

• The King of Trees - Cat Stevens (album: Buddha and the Chocolate Box)
• Big Yellow Taxi - Joni Mitchell (album: Clouds)
• Annie's Song - John Denver (album: Back Home Again)
• Mother Nature's Son - The Beatles (album: The White Album)
• Hyper-Ballad - Björk (album: Post)
• She's a Rainbow - The Rolling Stones (album: Their Satanic Majesties Request)
• Get Out the Map - Indigo Girls (album: Retrospective)
• The Fox - Nickel Creek (album: Nickel Creek)
• Killing the Blues - Robert Plant and Alison Krauss (album: Raising Sand)
• Blue Skies - Willie Nelson (album: Stardust)
• Harvest Moon - Neil Young (album: Harvest Moon)

Movies featuring the Forest:

• FernGully: The Last Rainforest (1992)
• A River Runs Through It (1992)
• The Princess Bride (1987)
• The Lord of the Rings (2001-2003)
• The Wizard of Oz (1939)
• The Last Unicorn (1982)
• Sleepy Hollow (1999)
• The Fox and the Hound (1981)
• The Swiss Family Robinson (1960)
• Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey (1993)
• Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
• The Secret Garden (1993)

Thanks Baby Loves Pink,  Touch of the Dutch,Good Egg, Timber!, and Designs by Erin !

Dreaming of Spring

It's that time of year.  The time of year where it snows and melts and snows and melts and snows and once again I'm just itching to start my dear little seedlings so that I can have a bountiful crop of delicious treats, but I don't want to jump the gun.

 

Last year my tomatoes were a bit crowded and they ended up rather leggy with minimal fruit. But this year will be my year! I just know it. Armed with some lovely gardening resources (The Backyard Homestead, Incredible Vegetables from Self-Watering Containers, Garden Anywhere, The Complete Compost Gardening Guide, The Vegetable Gardener's Bible, The Organic Farmer's Business Handbook )  I am ready to take on some serious planting and whip my basil and carrots and tomatoes into shape! No more cramming 5 plants into one pot (I will have a yard this year)!

Working at Cate Farm was one of the best jobs ever!

 

I think that my number one problem when it comes to gardening is deciding which tasty morsels to plant. With so many seeds to choose from a lady can be quite overwhelmed! I've drooled over the High Mowing Organic Seeds website for awhile now and today I just finished buying what I think will be the last of my seeds.


The list includes - but is not necessarily going to be limited to:

Brandywine Tomatoes - Heirloom
National Pickling Cucumbers
Kentucky Wonder Pole Peans - Heirloom
King Richard Leeks
Old Spice Mix Sweet Peas
Autumn Beauty Mix Sunflowers
Green Zebra Specialty Tomatoes
Sweet Marjoram
Evergreen Hardy Onions
Red Cored Chantenay Carrots
Genovese Basil
Lolla Rossa Lettuce
New England Pie Pumpkins
Bouquet Dill
Early Wonder Tall Top Beets
Lacinato 'Dinosaur' Kale - Heirloom
Hotshot Spicy Mix Mustard Greens

Am I overzealous? Definitely.  Am I over my head? Probably.  Am I going to plant all these lovely treats and then some?  Absolutely.  Besides, who gets a lovely full delicious garden if they don't plant all kinds of seeds?  This is no time to be conservative...  I will go all out this year and that is that!

Is it Memorial day yet?