tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-159056962011-04-21T15:32:02.690-04:00Commentary and philosophizing inspired by gardening, walking<br>and a jabberbox named Abigail Violet.Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.comBlogger1201100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-15934559598914695932008-10-12T20:31:00.006-04:002008-11-10T17:54:38.453-05:00

Siler's Path is moving over to WordPress. This blog will go dormant now, so come catch up on my life at http://silerspath.wordpress.com.

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-62029289694786695942008-09-01T21:35:00.008-04:002008-09-01T22:38:20.557-04:00

I'd be surprised if we received as much as an inch of rainfall in Grand Rapids during the entire month of August. But it appears the tomatoes at Perkins have tapped in to the shallow aquifer below. Today I picked a whole mess of maters, and Julie and Abbey are busy canning them right now. Abbey has memorized the ingredients for a quart of canned maters.The dry weather also made it ideal for

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-50050887988246543132008-09-01T20:22:00.008-04:002008-09-01T21:34:23.997-04:00

We're back from a week on Beaver Island. The week was so relaxing that the camera rarely came out. But I did snap a picture of Abbey on her first fishing trip. She out-fished me two-to-one.UPDATE - Here are some photos from the first few days of our trip, taken by my friend Eric Doyle.

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-85470497234689291962008-07-22T23:08:00.005-04:002008-07-22T23:41:11.702-04:00

While some things have been a real challenge this year, other things are going amazingly well. The new electric fence means that we have un-nibbled lettuce this year. Add to this the discovery of a good variety of buttercrunch and a good variety of romaine and we have some serious lettuce available.Carrots are also doing amazingly well in the hard, clay soil at Perkins. I tried five different

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-43758045930975170212008-07-06T21:29:00.008-04:002008-07-06T23:09:24.455-04:00

While the excessive rain has probably been the biggest challenge to gardening this spring and early summer, I've been taking on a couple of other pests as well.I went to the garden one evening in mid June to find that some rabbits had snatched three broccoli plants and snacked on some Swiss chard. Fortunately, they had not yet found the romaine and bibb lettuce.Thinking back to the previous year

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-21009740140326247902008-06-15T20:17:00.009-04:002008-06-15T20:59:32.957-04:00

The rains continued into this week, with another good dumping on Friday, but since then it has been sunny, dry and windy - in the end, good conditions for drying things out.So this weekend was dedicated to catching up on weeding and seeding. Saturday I finally got the winter squash and pumpkins planted (Butternut, Sunshine, Hubbards, pie pumpkins and jack-o-lanterns). I also planted a second

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-43709444638024889772008-06-08T21:18:00.017-04:002008-06-08T22:17:37.582-04:00

An update from the People's Republic of Perkins is long overdue. To say it's been a challenging year for gardening in west Michigan is darn understatement. But tonight we took the first major cutting of lettuce and spinach, so I can't say all the trouble has not been worth it.To begin with, spring is about two weeks behind this year. Our last frost came the week before Memorial Day, and I

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-50952749691655284392008-04-12T19:33:00.014-04:002008-04-13T11:55:49.040-04:00

Today was too rainy for working in the yard, so I went out and did some maintenance on my adopted section of the North Country Trail in the Rogue River Sate Game Area. The birds didn't seem to mind the rain and were chirping away. I wished I wasn't so busy, I would have liked to watch them.It was only about 40 degrees, and raining off and on. I had to keep moving to keep warm. So I guess it

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-70858105768884373092008-04-10T21:55:00.003-04:002008-04-10T21:59:15.711-04:00

We did a little trail work on the North Country Trail up by Highbanks Lake in Newaygo County this past Saturday. My friend Ken Knight shot this video. Making a Difference: Building New Trail from Ken Knight on Vimeo

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-80210326667101906092008-03-23T19:42:00.004-04:002008-03-23T19:50:14.427-04:00

Today I planted a few seeds in the cold frame. In went:Arugula (some seeds I saved from a variety that originated in Italy a year ago from some seed shared by another community gardener)Broccoli raabAllstar lettuce mix (for baby greens)Wildfire lettuce mix (more baby greens, but this mix is mostly reds)Swiss chard (Bright Lights)Spinach (Space)If thing progress like they should, we'll be eating

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-21576125229974319192008-03-18T20:21:00.014-04:002008-03-18T22:14:39.870-04:00

I went to New Hampshire this past weekend for a little late winter hiking. I arrived shortly after noon Thursday and quickly made my way to the trail, climbing up the Nineteen Mile Brook trail from Pinkham Notch to Carter Notch, a distance of 3.8 miles. The picture above shows the view back down the trail towards Pinkham Notch.This hike is usually doable in about two and a half hours, given the

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-51840136714848464732008-01-29T20:28:00.001-05:002008-01-29T20:44:33.713-05:00

It's a dark, January night... a good time to think about what will be growing in the People's Republic of Perkins this year. Here are my thoughts so far. Now to make sure there is a) the space in my 2,000 square feet, and b) enough time to plant all this and still have time to join some friends for a hike of the Coastal Trail in Lake Superior Provincial Park over Memorial Day weekend.Here's the

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-65791719608929424892008-01-26T23:49:00.000-05:002008-01-28T19:51:09.718-05:00

Mid-January graced west Michigan with a good amount of snow after an early January melt (which even provided 60-degree temps for a Monday evening walk across town!).While our beautiful snow is now melting (I'm writing this on a rainy Monday night), we had a good foot and a half of the white stuff on Saturday, and a couple of inches of it were fresh. That was a good thing, because Matt Hahnfeld

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-71680515539427996932008-01-12T22:34:00.000-05:002008-01-13T00:34:52.309-05:00

I was just reading Will Self's column for today and he listed his "favourite winter walks", so I got to thinking about what were my favorite walks of 2007. Here are some of them.Carter Dome Loop (NH). In February, I had the opportunity to take a 10 mile solo hike and snowshoe up and over Carter Dome in New Hampshire's White Mountains. I blogged about this hike earlier. The most memorable

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-36390825354311029852008-01-08T20:41:00.001-05:002008-01-08T21:50:12.461-05:00

Those who know me know that I like to walk. I'm not quite sure why I do. If I had to hazard a guess, I would suspect that the act of walking purely has a positive physiological effect on my body, and hence my spirits.Exercise and deep breaths fire off the dopamine. Without a thought, neurons connect and disconnect. Something totally subconscious happens at the most physical level.I'm rather

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-68521819794120483492008-01-02T21:47:00.001-05:002008-01-02T22:34:03.437-05:00

The change of the years always brings new things. Resolutions, the post-holiday season, and new digits that have to be hardwired into the brain before writing checks.For us, this new year brought new snow, a new tradition, and friendships both new and renewed. To celebrate this rather arbitrary holiday, Julie, Abbey and I joined ten other friends at a cabin in the Waterloo-Pinckney State

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-39297818846972127932007-11-24T21:24:00.000-05:002007-11-24T23:27:22.397-05:00

It's been a while since I posted, so I have a number of odds and ends to share, most of them the former.The first "end" to share is that Thanksgiving eve was the final end to this year's gardening season, with our first hard frost in Grand Rapids. Typically we see our first hard frost in late September, or October for sure. This year, we've been eating fresh garden lettuce, spinach, and chard

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-10390159508034960642007-10-14T20:32:00.000-04:002007-10-14T20:38:50.344-04:00

You get the good with the bad. My internet service provider (AT&T) just bought out Flickr, so now I have a free Pro account, which allows me to post tons of photos.The bad part is that sometime in the past something changed with Flickr so that none of my photos prior to January 1, 2007 can be viewed on my blog. I'm in the process of updating URLs; but until then, pics on older entries may not

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-7132628571164956052007-10-06T20:57:00.000-04:002007-10-06T21:02:44.596-04:00

I always thought life was a little different out in Ottawa County. An experience I had a few months ago seems to confirm my suspicions. While driving a back road into Holland, Michigan, we came across these two bike riding bunnies. It was no special occasion. No carnival. No parade. No block party. Just two crazy people riding bikes in big fuzzy costumes on a 90 degree day.

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-19257519387198561172007-08-14T22:56:00.001-04:002007-08-14T23:24:10.775-04:00

Yesterday I received probably one of the best birthday gifts a dad could receive--a fun and peaceful evening out with my daughter. With a busy week planned, I needed to get out to the People's Republic of Perkins to pick zucchini and tend to a few other tasks.We started by pulling up the early corn stalks and planting cover crop seed in the soil you see behind Abbey and the sunflowers. The

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-65163716566452629062007-08-09T21:56:00.000-04:002007-08-09T22:59:46.717-04:00

Today I got to see a great idea in action. Project FRESH is a nutrition program that does far more than promote nutrition. To be honest, from my perspective as a gardener and a person interested in community building, I think that nutrition just happens to be a side benefit of Project FRESH.Here's how it works. In the late 1980's, a number of states (including Michigan) decided that it might

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-713299540258114872007-07-31T23:01:00.001-04:002007-07-31T23:17:32.276-04:00

Does your Mayor ride the bus?Lots of Mayors howl about public transit, but few ride it faithfully... let alone sporadically.Alleged presidential aspirant Mayor Bloomberg of NYC says he rides mass transit religiously (in this case, the subway). But does he? The New York Times published a telling expose today on the Mayor's transit habits. Yes, he does ride the train two days a week, but doing

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-87492416943259941712007-07-30T21:45:00.000-04:002007-07-30T22:20:45.671-04:00

Earlier I wrote a few times about the Birch Grove Trail, a new hiking loop the Western Michigan Chapter of the NCTA has been building up near the Loda Lake Wildflower Sanctuary, north of White Cloud in the Manistee National Forest.Well, the loop was officially opened on June 2 this year. The work is 99% done. We just have three signs to place, but they aren't essential if you have a map. Lucky

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-68582327836984168032007-07-23T22:37:00.001-04:002007-07-23T23:03:59.704-04:00

Friday morning at the breakfast table, I got my first surprise. I half jokingly said to Abbey, "Daddy doesn't have anything on his calendar for this weekend, want to go camping with just Daddy?" Unexpectedly, she looked up at me and said "Yes."I clarified. "Without your Mommy?"She said,"Yes."Julie checked with her throughout the day to make sure she understood that this meant spending a night

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-41359684558086478332007-07-18T22:21:00.000-04:002007-07-19T09:06:08.728-04:00

I try to keep this blog focused on the positive and do my best to keep from ranting here. Going negative would be too cheap and easy, make for dull reading, and be like 97.6% of the rest of the blogosphere.But every now and then I have to point out something inane. Actually, I won't do it. I'll let James Howard Kunstler do it. (After July 2007, you'll have to check his archives for the rant).

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-68252128147711208962007-07-16T21:34:00.000-04:002007-07-16T22:12:17.265-04:00

The posts have gotten pretty infrequent this summer, something I have all the best intentions of rectifying soon.As you can see, we've been far too busy with important stuff, like flying kites on the beach and growing lettuce.But in all seriousness, it has been a busy summer with trips to Pictured Rocks and North Carolina. When around home, many weekends have been taken up with either trail work

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-48429722663110961642007-06-22T15:00:00.000-04:002007-06-22T14:55:56.590-04:00

Late May and June are a time of gardening madness. I was spending so much time planting and getting the garden started that not much blogging got done.Add to that a trip to Pictured Rocks over the Memorial Day weekend. And now a trip down to the Carolina shore to celebrate my parents 50th wedding anniversary.I've had good intentions of blogging a few updates, but instead I've been swimming,

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-74644414800922974632007-05-30T12:00:00.000-04:002007-06-22T14:56:26.990-04:00

Over the Memorial Day weekend, Julie, Abbey and I joined eight friends for a hike along the North Country Trail along Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. The trail along Pictured Rocks is about 45 miles long and covers a wide variety of terrain. We took the shuttle from Munising to Grand Marais on Friday morning and exited the bus to a hoard of black flies. Fortunately, that was the last we saw

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-25925695808864872012007-05-19T22:08:00.000-04:002007-05-19T22:21:11.406-04:00

Today we lead another trail crew up in Newaygo County to continue working on what is now known as the Birch Grove Trail. While Tom and Larry sawed through some huge fallen cottonwoods and mowed a section to be built in the coming weeks, another eight of us built a nice stretch of sidehill bench.It was a beautiful day in the woods. Sun, blue sky, and warm, late spring temps.We'll be celebrating

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-79738465519495105992007-05-14T19:27:00.000-04:002007-05-14T19:41:06.076-04:00

Here's the most unique garden I've come across in a while. I tripped across the Garden Barge on the WorldChanging website in a link to a New York Times article about the floating garden.The recycled old barge (there are plenty of those floating around the Hudson River!) has been retrofitted with solar panels, wind turbines, greenhouses and hydroponic growing medium. It's a cornucopia of cool,

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-16782436021747513042007-05-13T22:25:00.000-04:002007-05-13T22:36:59.253-04:00

The garden at home is in full swing with early crops. The lettuce is just beautiful this year.Earlier this week, we picked our first lettuce and some early chard. Tomorrow we will also be picking spinach (middle of this picture below, taken two days ago), and the broccoli raab is not far behind.I have been having a slight problem with some invisible, nocturnal pest. It seems like this pest is

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-61931204346588156152007-05-06T23:09:00.000-04:002007-05-06T23:37:24.594-04:00

Julie, Abbey and I got out into the woods both yesterday and today. The extreme cold and extreme warm weather earlier this spring has lots of wildflowers blooming at the same time right now in Kent County.Yesterday we stopped by the Rogue River State Game Area in the late afternoon and I took this picture of a dwarf ginseng, trillium grandiflorum, and the peeking peeper.Today we took a short

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-50179519289652567042007-05-06T22:44:00.000-04:002007-05-06T22:47:28.051-04:00

I stopped by Perkins earlier this afternoon to water some seedlings and was surprised to find that the entire plot had been tilled! Just breaking up the heavy soil at Perkins on a sunny weekend has resulted in a much drier garden. But it will be a week at least yet before I can start getting things planted out there. We plan to till the garden a second time in about a week so that the soil is

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-31503927791524730052007-04-29T21:49:00.000-04:002007-04-29T22:14:31.808-04:00

More species tulips are blooming in the garden now that we're back to spring. If you've never grown species tulips, you really should give them a try. They are much more satisfying than the big hybrids. Species tulips will multiply and naturalize on their own, and come back beautifully year after year. They are little trouble and always give a good show. One really nice thing about them is

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-28071384393363959872007-04-21T21:15:00.000-04:002007-04-21T21:35:20.659-04:00

With the white stuff from last week gone, the green stuff is starting to perk up again and get serious about growing. The peas I planted three weeks ago are still pretty dormant (only an few have attempted to sprout) and the favas and carrots haven't done a thing. But I guess with temps in the 20's and 30's for most of the first week and a half, it's no surprise.But this broccoli raab is

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-82716454010980039292007-04-21T20:57:00.000-04:002007-04-21T21:14:19.634-04:00

Like in each of the three years preceding, Abbey's birthday came as Michigan moved firmly into spring. The snows of last week are gone, it's warm enough to sleep with the windows open a bit, and the grass is turning bright green again.The years continue to march on and Abigail is growing incredibly quickly right before our eyes. For her birthday, we had spaghetti and meatballs for dinner.

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-28051556934726676652007-04-10T22:12:00.000-04:002007-04-10T22:51:15.769-04:00

Browsing through Schuler Books the other day I came across a translation of the Tao Te Ching by one of my favorite translators of Chinese poetry, David Hinton. Mr. Hinton is a well regarded sinologist, which makes his translations of ancient Chinese texts stand out above many of the rest. Even his poetry translations, in my opinion, are better than poets like Pound, Rexroth, Snyder and Williams

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-7082383999866166572007-04-08T21:43:00.000-04:002007-04-08T22:03:42.114-04:00

Our foretaste of spring flew the coop midweek last week and we returned to winter, complete with wind, subfreezing temperatures, and snow. While the cold frame has stayed above freezing inside thanks to the thermal mass and organic activity of the live soil, the rest of the garden is on hold.To keep seedlings moving along, I took inside the flat of cold-weather crops I was starting in the cold

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-19994354253617906612007-04-02T20:16:00.000-04:002007-04-02T20:51:18.404-04:00

Yesterday's rain showers never ended until late in the night, so the peas had to go in today. I planted three seven foot rows of Caseload shell peas and two four and an half foot rows of snow peas. Suffice it to say that the peas went further than I expected.Between the rows of shell peas, I planted:a mix of Seeds of Change Bronze Arrow and Black-Seeded Simpson leaf lettuce.Johnny's Scarlet

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-20957225339634849552007-04-01T17:13:00.000-04:002007-04-01T17:34:54.451-04:00

As she gets older, Abbey is becoming a bigger and bigger help in the garden.This afternoon was warm and sunny, but windy. So Abbey helped out by holding onto my seed packets so that they would not blow away. She watched patiently as I planted the smaller seeds.Today I planted:Johnny's Allstar lettuce mixJohnny's Space spinachJohnny's Nancy butterhead lettuce (pelleted)Johnny's broccoli

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-59803684625271205872007-03-31T21:00:00.000-04:002007-04-01T16:55:24.239-04:00

Today was our first day back doing trail work with the North Country Trail Association Western Michigan Chapter. Along with Larry Meyer, I help lead work crews in the Manistee National Forest. Today's work was on a 8-10 mile loop trail we are building that will link the Chapter's Schoolhouse, the Loda Lake Wildflower Sanctuary, and the North Country Trail.In less than five hours of work, we

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-1025465986631363292007-03-27T22:09:00.000-04:002007-03-27T22:20:15.920-04:00

The mild start to winter allowed plants with bulbs to feed heavy late into the season last year, so tulips and other bulb plants are coming in very nicely this spring. The rain at the end of last week, combined with the warm temps this week have my early species tulips blooming nicely.It will be a few more weeks before hybrid tulips are blooming in these parts. While hybrids are elegant and

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-71165288463325222252007-03-27T22:06:00.000-04:002007-03-27T22:09:27.016-04:00

A couple of warm days and the broccoli raab is now sprouting true leaves. Some critter has nibbled a few of the plants, and I had complete failure of germination with my spinach seeds. My best guess is that the cold frame got too warm inside and steamed the spinach sprouts. I'll try again on the spinach by direct seeding some into the garden tomorrow night if it doesn't rain.

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-22075914038657993382007-03-23T19:37:00.000-04:002007-03-25T22:34:19.522-04:00

To promote community gardening in Grand Rapids, I have joined with a few other gardeners to form the Grand Rapids Community Gardens blog.Admittedly, some of the blogs will be a little reminiscent of what's found here.A number of people have expressed interest in blogging, so you should see a few more names in the coming weeks. But right now it's just me an Travis Childs. Check out his most

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-55798341310325513082007-03-21T21:11:00.000-04:002007-03-21T21:37:36.066-04:00

The dozens of crocuses blooming on the east side of the garage tell me that spring is certainly here. Tonight they stayed open into the warm evening hours.The weather is also affirming the change in seasons. Today we got our first thunderstorm of the year on the very first day of spring. I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate the start of this season of renewal and growth.The

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-18973080796995188642007-03-18T17:39:00.000-04:002007-03-18T18:08:33.310-04:00

Today was a day for breaking ground in more than one way. To start with, the remaining seedlings in the cold frame all saw the light of day. Cilantro, chard, spinach and lettuce all sprouted, the latter being the most aggressive and shown in this picture.The soil temp in the cold frame is now consistently about 60 degrees during daylight hours, and holds enough heat to keep the plants from

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-3910411088333914292007-03-16T18:30:00.000-04:002007-03-16T18:38:07.437-04:00

There were plenty of things to get excited about when I got home tonight.To begin with, the first of the spring sprouts are up in the cold frame! The broccoli raab has sprouted first. Now I just hope it gets through the next couple of cold nights that are forecasted.While inspecting the gardens, Abbey also found a penny. If that wasn't exciting enough, she stuck it in a small jar and made a

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-14817859161188160022007-03-14T18:48:00.000-04:002007-03-14T19:19:12.240-04:00

A week ago, the backyard had two feet of snow covering the raised beds. A few warm days and week later and spring is pushing forward with a passion.The daily new developments have me looking forward to joining Abbey for a garden walk when I get home from work to see what new things have sprouted.While the casual observer may not think that this meltdown has been anything all that extraordinary,

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-54315789628510646152007-03-10T15:51:00.000-05:002007-03-10T17:01:44.361-05:00

We got a little warm spell with some sunshine yesterday and today, so the cold frame has softened the soil enough to be worked. With the earth unfrozen, I dug down and set the cold frame in place and tilled a seedbed.Never mind that winter doesn't end for another eleven days, it's time to get gardening! While the snow drifts on the north side of the house are still as deep as the porch is high

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-27664108492858718142007-03-04T22:54:00.000-05:002007-03-05T23:06:13.510-05:00

What should every tourist do when they drive through Canada on their way from New England to Michigan? Stop at Niagara Falls of course!In the winter, checking out the falls is a lot easier if you watch the internet for deals on hotels with a view of the falls. I did plenty of that this past winter and ended up snagging a really good deal for a "fallsview" room on the 31st floor of the Sheraton

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-52095142664497519432007-03-02T23:00:00.000-05:002007-03-05T21:42:33.772-05:00

Looks like the folks at the Appalachian Mountain Club's facility in Pinkham Notch, New Hampshire have their priorities set straight. According to this sign, it's hike, eat, sleep, then ask questions.

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-22078385721111523772007-03-02T20:51:00.000-05:002007-03-05T21:48:10.217-05:00

While my Dad was busy with the chore of picking up pine cones after a spring storm rolled through North Carolina, I was happily playing in a foot of fresh snow laid down by that same storm in New Hampshire.The morning was windy and very snowy, but by the time Abbey laid down for her afternoon nap, the wind had calmed and the snow had slowed down to a reasonable intensity for walking. I bundled

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-81189481493260305282007-03-01T21:50:00.000-05:002007-03-05T22:46:15.826-05:00

At long last I was able to return to the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Unlike last February, Thursday morning greeted me with crisp, clear blue skies. Having watched the weather reports the previous few days, I knew that Thursday would be my best chance for long views, so I set out at the crack of dawn to climb Mount Hight and Carter Dome. My hike would take me 10.2 miles and up and over

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-52934887068495911202007-02-26T20:11:00.000-05:002007-03-05T20:45:01.777-05:00

Ever since we took Abbey to the National Zoo last April, she has been just fascinated with pandas. Those of you that know her well are aware that on many days she asserts that she is a pandamonkey. If you're lucky, she'll assert that you are one too.On Monday, we went to visit her friends again. Tia Shan will be two years old in July. Like Abbey, he is working on weening. Of course, with

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-69130780021747594572007-02-23T20:46:00.000-05:002007-03-05T19:58:21.195-05:00

On Monday, I gave a presentation at Calvin College that I was asked to make regarding childhood lead poisoning and environmental justice. The notice on the campus calendar resulted in a query from Kirstin Vander Giessen-Reitsma for a submission to Catapult Magazine. Catapult is a pretty cool netzine for recovering Calvinists and others interested in culture, faith and community.In response to

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-21020006033992766712007-02-18T21:13:00.000-05:002007-02-22T19:17:56.267-05:00

Next weekend, Julie and I are taking off for Washington DC then up to New Hampshire for a few days. In preparation, I went to Schuler Books to pick up Gary Snyder's new release Back on the Fire. Surprisingly, they didn't have a single copy in stock. So I placed my special order and then set about browsing.I came across a newly released book of poems by Mary Oliver called "Thirst." I flipped

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-61937648406723461362007-02-11T18:23:00.000-05:002007-02-11T19:20:47.854-05:00

One of the hardest things about baking bread is that you can't dig into the stuff right away when it comes out of the oven. You have to let it cool for a while.So what to do with those forty minutes while you're waiting for the bread to cool? Take some pictures and blog about it.The bread and rolls pictured here are Pain de Campagne. The recipe comes from The Bread Baker's Apprentice by Peter

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-29537771511455598132007-02-08T20:34:00.000-05:002007-02-08T20:50:12.414-05:00

It's kind of cruel that the seed companies proffer their bounty by sending out catalogues in December and encouraging us gardeners to order our seeds in January, thus fooling ourselves that gardening season is almost here.I got both of my seed orders in the mail today... but the garden is covered by 18" of snow and the temperature is 14 degrees (which frankly, is a heat wave for this week).My

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-14864582373312537632007-02-03T19:04:00.000-05:002007-02-03T19:15:03.498-05:00

This morning, I met two others from the Perkins Community Garden for breakfast to lay plans for the coming year. The breakfast was a good excuse to get me out of the house on a morning that turned into a literal blizzard that dumped 12" of snow in Grand Rapids.On the way home, I swung by Perkins to check out the garden in winter. While I was there, I snapped this picture of the folding chair

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-751358243686146582007-02-03T18:38:00.000-05:002007-02-03T19:02:06.569-05:00

I was in the grocery store about a month ago when I first spotted this amazing sight. Could you imagine paying $1.49 for three bananas?What rube came up with the notion that a fruit born with a perfectly good wrapper needs to be wrapped in petroleum-based plastics?Here's what one food industry web site had to say about these bad bananas on their web site, referring to these bananas as a "better

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-89061758045068715772007-01-31T23:19:00.000-05:002007-02-01T09:27:58.298-05:00

A couple of things I did this week got me to thinking a bit about how much plain old ordinary folks have to offer.Monday evening I went to hear Wangari Maathai speak about the Greenbelt Movement, a now international movement to reforest central Africa. Dr. Maathai spoke about how she moved from a scientific study of the effects of ticks on cattle to a commonsense study of Kenyan women, their

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-66268550391646444382007-01-30T00:03:00.000-05:002007-01-30T00:13:58.258-05:00

Here's my first summit of Mount Washington. I'm the one to the left pounding the rocks.To my right are my brother Bill, sister Beth, and brother Rich.Admittedly, we drove the first 6,280 feet up in the back of a green and tan 1960's VW microbus with a canvas sunroof. We had the bumper sticker to prove it!In another four weeks, Julie and Abbey and I will be vacationing at the bottom of Mount

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-85497518544022424762007-01-21T17:58:00.000-05:002007-01-21T18:43:40.763-05:00

Like many people, twenty or so years ago I bought a water bed. About six years ago, I unplugged the thing, drained and dismantled it, threw out the giant bladder, then stashed all the wood up in the rafters of the garage.This winter, I got to thinking about building a cold frame. So this noon, I went out in the garage to see what I had on hand and to prepare a list for the lumber yard. As I

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-18959116430646854402007-01-13T21:27:00.000-05:002007-01-13T22:03:04.052-05:00

One of the things I think I like best about the winter months is the slower pace of weekends, particularly Saturdays. In the spring, there is tons of trail work and gardening to do. When summer hits, the gardening is still heavy through the end of July, and home repairs need doing. Summer is also a good time to get the cars in tip-top shape. Then fall brings more trail work and getting things

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-10465817704449505492007-01-07T13:29:00.000-05:002007-01-07T16:51:20.170-05:00

Yesterday's entry asked you to comment with your energy-saving resolutions for 2007. Here are some of mine and a link to an article about how people in Japan are saving energy.My steps towards decreased energy consumption include:Continuing to take the bus to work on days I do not have to travel out of the office, and managing my schedule so that my car days are fewer and bus days more;Switching

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-65296626323512218992007-01-06T08:39:00.000-05:002007-01-07T14:55:26.400-05:00

Check out this video and then leave me a comment about a couple of simple things you are doing in 2007 to reduce your impact on global warming (or energy use, or your wallet... depending upon your point of view). Consider emailing a friend the link to this entry (click on the envelop below) so that they can add their comments too.What are YOU doing in 2007?

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-52487606670565726942007-01-02T12:36:00.000-05:002007-01-07T14:55:48.045-05:00

If you haven't made your New Year's resolution yet, here's a simple one for you. Consider replacing all standard sized light bulbs in your home to compact fluorescents.I'm suggesting this resolution not to pontificate, but to share with you a time and cost savings trick that Julie and I discovered when we replaced eighteen light bulbs in our home with compact fluorescents more than a year ago.

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-70702587557938472982006-12-15T22:45:00.000-05:002007-10-14T19:26:20.195-04:00

About this time of year, my friend Kerry Sims and I bake up some batches of scones and find a few neighborhood folks to invite over to indulge in a few too many fat grams and to talk about the neighborhood. Last year was the first time we did this, and it was intended to be more of a competition between Kerry and me. But the people who attended didn't want to start a neighborhood feud, so they

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-92127492346724119672006-12-12T23:34:00.000-05:002007-01-07T14:56:08.495-05:00

Just a quick, shameless plug for a cool new website I tripped across tonight. This one is full of positive energy thinking about how to make the situation in this world better... rather than using up brain cells vetting all that is wrong.Grab a cup of organic, fair trade coffee and take a look.

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-26393675489288567302006-12-06T22:10:00.000-05:002007-10-14T19:30:01.176-04:00

I'm really stoked! I just re-assembled a 1951 single-mantle Coleman 220A lantern that my brother Bill had collecting dust in his garage. First try and she fired up!This lantern is a pretty little gem, with a forest green fountain and a red ventilator. The globe is rounded and has the Coleman logo etched into the glass.The inside of the fountain was pretty rusty, so I'm not sure how long I'll

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-21477280144560043382006-12-03T20:58:00.001-05:002007-10-14T19:50:49.785-04:00

Right on cue, December brought the first good snow to west Michigan. The cold air that moved in today brought a few more inches and lots of gracefully floating flakes in the air. Feeling the need for some exercise, I called my friend Chuck to see if he would be interested in a quick ski in the Rogue River State Game Area in northern Kent County.As luck would have it, Chuck was home and he had

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-37028462065906464832006-11-26T20:11:00.000-05:002007-10-14T19:56:31.211-04:00

Among those who walk, the day after Thanksgiving is typically reserved for a "Turkey Trot." Ideally, this should be a brisk walk in cold weather to help the body burn off all the fat grams consumed the preceding day. In our case this year, it was a slow meander on a warm November afternoon.I'm also ashamed to say that the walk was followed by a pint of beer and some Mexican food. So much for

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-55639225931030731362006-11-15T21:13:00.000-05:002007-10-14T20:27:15.834-04:00

On November 3, a friend and I went up to the Hoist Lakes Foot Travel Area for a three day hike. The Hoist Lakes are located in the Huron National Forest in the northeast corner of Michigan's lower peninsula. A cold snap had rolled through the day before, so there were traces of snow and the temps throughout our hike stayed in the 20s and 30s.We found the area to be devoid of any wildlife,

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-86493221659206181852006-10-31T20:46:00.000-05:002007-10-14T19:13:39.110-04:00

When you live with a two year old, Halloween is a holiday of great contradictions. While the event is hyped as the ultimate ghoulish, Day of the Dead, All Saints Day, Gothic, creepy night, all of that is hard to imagine with a two year old carving her version of a scary pumpkin. Then comes the horror of Abigail making her scary face!(The pumpkin, incidentally, is from Perkins).As other kids

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-44811635314604699772006-10-22T21:32:00.000-04:002006-10-22T21:58:08.821-04:00

Yesterday, Julie and I led a hike for the Western Michigan Chapter NCTA's "Fall Fun Day." It was a drizzly day, but in all we had fourteen hikers.We took the group on a 6.5 mile hike in the White River watershed of Newaygo County, from 40th Street to Centerline Avenue on the North Country Trail.As we began our hike, we walked through a forest dominated by oaks. The leaves on the oaks seem to

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-39546521674407558202006-10-22T21:26:00.000-04:002006-10-22T21:32:26.124-04:00

Here's a quick, last look at Perkins while some of the plants are still standing. This picture was taken a week ago when the sun made a rare appearance. Frost this past week got the last of the peppers, although it stayed warm enough in the city that the home peppers are still producing, as is chard, kale, broccoli, zucchini and cabbage.I'm hoping it gets dry enough between now and December to

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-60499827519637804292006-10-19T19:44:00.000-04:002007-02-22T19:21:48.689-05:00

One of the books I'm reading is "A Field Guide to Getting Lost" by Rebecca Solnit. Mostly I've been reading it on my way to and from work on the days I take the bus (and when a particularly chatty man from our neighborhood doesn't sit down next to me).As the title discloses, the theme of the book is the many ways in which people go about getting lost. They get geographically lost, but they also

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-18734695454771566742006-10-11T21:22:00.000-04:002006-10-11T21:39:45.856-04:00

Life has been busy so the walking, gardening and blogging haven't gotten much attention lately. Yet old man Winter forced me out to the Perkins garden for the second time this week. While it's still uncertain, it looks like we might see our first killing frost this week.The more certain thing in the forecast is snow. It's amazing how such a natural, annual phenomenon can get so many people

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-14514940364499605242006-09-24T14:38:00.000-04:002006-09-24T14:51:22.277-04:00

A little research on the internet suggested to me that the best way to use up all the aji amarillo chiles would be to dry them. A little more research on drying peppers offered two options. The first option is to dry them laid out in the sun. Well, in west Michigan in fall, that's not an option as most days are cloudy and many rainy. The other option is to string them.So today I strung all

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-2513440029857969392006-09-23T21:43:00.000-04:002006-09-23T22:34:08.041-04:00

In my travels for work, I've spied a quaint looking little coffee shop on West Fulton that I have always wanted to check out. A couple of coffee shop junkie friends of mine, Len and Joanne Baron, had told me that this is one of their favorite haunts. So with some time on my hands and an eagerness to spend the morning with my daughter, Abbey and I were off to explore, by foot and by stroller, by

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-40925678659688507592006-09-22T22:21:00.000-04:002006-09-22T23:46:55.427-04:00

Yesterday evening I called up my friend Eric Doyle to see if he wanted to go for a walk and a beer. The plan was to meet at 8:00pm at the corner of Sweet Street and Plainfield Avenue.I walked down the hill, and not seeing Eric at Plainfield, proceeded on down another block to Coit Avenue where I found Eric walking south. The sun had set just before we met and dusk was in the sky. It was a cool

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-35480705273436113422006-09-21T19:42:00.000-04:002006-09-21T19:46:23.350-04:00

If we could grow noodles, darn near all of this lasagna would have come out of our garden this year.Okay, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration.But the tomatoes, chard and zucchini all came from the back yard.While Julie and I enjoyed the fresh taste of the lasagna, Abbey decided to just pick through it patiently. She got more enthusiastic about eating a little later when Daddy took out the "

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-87536294227716387342006-09-17T09:37:00.000-04:002006-09-17T09:39:00.369-04:00

August kept us busy with corn and tomatoes. We've probably canned about two dozen quarts of tomatoes by now and had our fair share of corn on the cob--all you can eat three nights a week for almost a month. Not to mention the beans!Then came labor day and Wheatland, so we haven't been picking or eating as much out of the garden with all the other goings on.So yesterday was my first time back to

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-85616612170517022572006-09-13T21:39:00.002-04:002006-09-13T21:56:50.785-04:00

Julie and I had the opportunity to see Mamadou Diabate and friends perform at this year's Wheatland Music Festival in Remus, Michigan.Mamadou plays the kora, an African harp made out of a huge calabash gourd covered with a cow hide. He comes from the west African country of Mali, and hails from a long line of jelis, a musician caste with the important role of protecting the people's history in

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-68249575737341169522006-09-04T14:41:00.000-04:002006-09-04T14:53:13.320-04:00

Grand Rapids Mayor George Heartwell came up with a good idea this past summer. Seeing at the high gas prices and looking forward to the annual Labor Day Bridge Walk up at the Mackinac Bridge, Mayor Heartwell decided that Grand Rapids should have a bridge walk of its own on Labor Day.So that's what about 2,000 people did in Grand Rapids this morning. We followed the Mayor as he walked a little

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-7724780551788302382006-09-03T08:57:00.000-04:002006-09-03T09:02:01.484-04:00

Last Wednesday night, Julie, Abbey and I finally had the chance to once again hike around downtown Grand Rapids. The excuse for this urban hike was to find the thirty-five sculptures that are a part of the exhibit Tom Otternesss in Grand Rapids - The Gardens to the Grand. The exhibit was arranged by the Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park as a way to extend their promotion of sculpture

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-22060754297535646232006-09-03T08:04:00.001-04:002006-09-03T08:30:09.376-04:00

Clayton Klein, an 87 year-old Michigan man is walking from Paradise to Hell for the second time in a year. The Conway Township resident has gotten quite a bit of local notoriety thanks to the creative name for his hike.Klein is not walking from the Biblical paradise to hell, but from the town of Paradise in Michigan's upper peninsula to the hamlet of Hell in the far southeast corner of the state

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-5565193320499307812006-08-27T22:48:00.000-04:002006-08-27T23:10:54.611-04:00

When I posted about our Dam 2 Dam hike over the Fourth of July holiday, I forgot to share a little incident that happened. On the evening when we hiked far up on the bluffs that overlook the Manistee River, we came upon a place known as "Far Away from the Maddening Crowd." Little did we know that an historic event was to happen on that knoll that night.As I sat there reclined, stirring my

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-1156649275652508282006-08-26T22:59:00.000-04:002006-08-27T19:39:56.633-04:00

To all you many people who track my blog, I have to apologize for not posting much of late. Too many late days at work and too little time in the garden, and I don't have the time or the content to post. But I am working up a new concept to take the place of the garden news that will be coming this fall. Stay tuned!Late August is here and the thrill of fresh garden tomatoes has done what it

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-1156029227304879752006-08-19T19:05:00.000-04:002006-08-19T19:21:07.853-04:00

It's been a dry August so far. Knowing the corn would soon be ripe, I began watering the corn every other day last Sunday in an effort to get the kernel size up.I picked the first ears tonight, and the effort seems to have paid off. In most of the ears, the kernels were big and juicy, although a little more starchy than I had hoped. I'm not sure if I waited a few days too long to pick, or if it's

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-1155698879148073892006-08-15T23:05:00.000-04:002006-08-15T23:31:31.436-04:00

I've been thinking about the hills a lot lately. In particular, I've been thinking of the mountains in New England.Two thoughts have been running through my mind. The first is a growing obsession with doing a one-day Presidential Traverse. The Presidential Traverse does not have a formal route, but typically includes tagging the summits of a half dozen or so of the high peaks. The traverse I

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-1155177966686785442006-08-09T22:37:00.000-04:002006-08-09T22:48:41.963-04:00

Some nights are more colorful than others out at Perkins Garden. Tonight was one of the more colorful.This year, August has brought along with it clear, blue skies with bold, fluffy clouds. The dry, cool, clear air brought out the gardeners tonight. And at dusk, it brings out dozens of huge dragon flies that hover about the garden, reducing the mosquito population by the hundreds each

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-1155176990524897202006-08-09T22:08:00.000-04:002006-08-09T22:30:57.520-04:00

"Tell me have, have you seen the revolutionCould it be seeds growing inside of youLet your heart and this peace be the solutionTake the love that you haveAnd pass it from side to side"Jeb Puryear

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-1155088317033199162006-08-08T21:15:00.000-04:002006-08-08T21:51:57.090-04:00

This past weekend, the first of the (non-cherry) tomatoes turned red. So I picked ten or twelve at home and another ten or twelve at Perkins on Sunday night. When I came home from work today, just twenty-four hours later, I found another dozen red ones in the home garden.Clean out the bottom drawer of the fridge and make room, because here they come. It's time for tomatopalooza 2006!Thankfully

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-1154227353298027702006-07-29T22:41:00.000-04:002006-07-29T22:47:24.256-04:00

The last few days I’ve been thinking about how God speaks to me. Lots of people talk about lots of ways that they hear God’s voice. I don’t hear a spoken voice. Here’s my deal.Most days, God shouts at me.I’m not a very good listener. That’s why it’s good that God shouts at me.I meet and know a lot of people who are rather intuitive and who hear God speaking directly to them. That’s not the

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-1153967507372929362006-07-26T22:21:00.000-04:002006-07-28T21:31:35.036-04:00

As the sun passes overhead day by day and summer marches on into August, new things keep appearing in the garden. This week it was the first sunflowers.I've always liked how sunflower blossoms follow the sun across the sky.Because of the way we planted our sunflowers along the north side of our community garden plot, they seem to be keeping watch over the garden.They get to watch the peppers

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-1153778977480479512006-07-24T17:56:00.000-04:002006-08-04T22:56:51.876-04:00

After a week or so of trying, I finally fixed my pulse sprinkler. Now these sprinklers are a pretty basic type of garden equipment, and have probably been around for a long time. Clearly, they were invented long before the time of modern plastics, as the best ones are made of brass.It turned out that a pretty large chunk of rust had made its way from the Perkins plumbing system into the sprinkler

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-1153536060271436262006-07-21T22:27:00.000-04:002006-07-21T22:45:59.633-04:00

"My how you've grown!" The line fit's both Abbey and the garden these days. The pumpkins and the corn love the heat so much they are growing a noticeable amount every day. Each time I visit the garden, I spy a new pumpkin in the patch.Abbey is also growing in many ways. It's not just her size that is changing, but her personality too. Some days she wants to spend time with her Daddy, other

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-1153278673527320822006-07-18T22:49:00.000-04:002006-07-18T23:17:15.976-04:00

Tonight Abbey and I meet Clare Cain and Matt Rowbotham and his wife out in Lowell to scout a potential new route for the North Country Trail through the Lowell State Game Area. Earlier, Clare and I were frustrated with her negotiations with the DNR and their refusal to consider any trail that did not follow existing openings in the woods—such as illegally used two tracks. As a result, I was

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15905696.post-1153194829154645922006-07-17T23:28:00.000-04:002006-07-17T23:59:59.780-04:00

One thing the hot weather does for sure is grow beans. And one thing the soil at Perkins does is grow sweet beans.When I was weeding yesterday, I picked off one good size bean and snacked on it. My goodness! Was it sweet! At breakfast this morning, I suggested to Julie that we should have green beans for dinner tonight. The plan was that I'd stop at Perkins on my way home and we'd get them

Paul Haanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12893661479452667559noreply@blogger.com1