Isabella Bird Miscellany

farmers market find - fresh but not home-grown I garden.  I don’t really call myself a gardener, that’s for the serious folks, to whom my hat goes off – often visiting their stalls at the farmers’ market.   I do like to have a small patch of stuff growing and definitely pots filled with fresh herbs to keep me happy. This year, sort of by hook and a little crook, I became involved in a new community garden.  I’m on the steering committee which sounds more glamorous than it actually is.  It’s a balancing act dealing with the city parks department, interacting with the potential gardeners and the parks foundation which handles our funds.  Other than the initial rudimentary required paperwork, the rest has gone fairly smoothly; aside from critters of some munching ilk getting in and having their way with a few tomatoes, tender lettuce leaves and ah snap…peas. Our garden has also had a steep learning curve in regards to soil condition.  It wo...

eyes to see, ears to hear ... hush, be still Words are cool.  They are interesting, thought-provoking and even noteworthy. There’s a gaggle of words that are just fun to say, especially when used in conversation.  Try dropping conundrum on someone and see it expressed on their face; vichyssoise – do you know what it is? … cahoots or even a name like football player, Manu Tuiasosopo.   See, you’re smiling just reading them! A pet word of mine is onomatopoeia.  It’s a blast to pronounce and people look at you like, “say what?”  You just grin, actually smirk. onomatopoeia – imitates the natural sound of things So, I was thinking of this word in relation to stuff that I do.  Is the stuff echoing the sound that I want to express?  Sometimes it might be a murmur or buzz when I get all tweeted out.  There are days that it’s a thump and bang as I beat my head against a wall or fall flat on the floor.  What about the “oh crap...

grilled vegetables clutter the plate with goodness I’m not a practicing vegan or even vegetarian, but I do adore vegetables, especially when they're roasted so become all caramelized and perfect.  When a heat wave like we’ve been experiencing  hits – high 90’s, closing in on 100 degrees, which I know is normal for some parts of the country, but not so much for Oregon in early July – my cooking is taken outside.  The faithful grill becomes my BFF, furnishing me mind-blowing vegetables, but with a smoky essence as an added flavor stamp. Last week was the Fourth of July and I needed a couple of side dishes to take to a family BBQ blow-out of sparklers, fireworks and piles of grilled goodness.  We’re talking ribs, burgers, dogs, chicken; it was a meatatarian’s utopia.  Enter my plant-based food to tame the carnivores. I’d been to my favorite farmer’s stand which meant the kitchen was cluttered with heaps of vegetables; ears of silky corn, assorted zucc...

touch the leaves, the fragrance is released Breathing Scents perfume the air, both intense and subtle Pine blending with lavender And the delicate fragrance of geranium Childhood memories Ruddy multi-stemmed blossoms posed against a foundation backdrop Tall, resistant to the insistent sun Fragile, paper-thin petals, translucent in places Opening buds with pointed tip surrounded by bottle green emerging leaves Shaped like ruffled, lily pad circles Mopped coral heads waltz on slender stems Geraniums Curious, how the sight of certain things can transport you to a different time and place.  Other senses work that way; a song, a smell, a taste and you are whisked away, submerged in a call to mind. A gamut of thoughts forms the cocktail of remembrance – good, not so much and everything in between.  Shaken and stirred our senses produce a deluge.    Sweetly, though, my potted geraniums look back enticing me to imbibe. What car...

i pledge allegiance Star spangled bangs in the black sky.  Sparks and sparkles ignite shattering the dark … and silence, to the percussion of explosions.  Watchers ooh and ahh as the sky show erupts to a baseline of God Bless America, home of the brave and land of freedom echoing strong and respectful.  We are a country built on individuality and possibility.  A chance to do and become and have a voice took blood and work then, as well as now.  So, during our sparklers and smoke bombs, hot dogs, potato salad and apple pie, river-floating, water balloon fighting, baseball games and parades, I plan to take time to remember what all the noise is about. Simple stated my country and freedom; the men and women who work to defend it.  I’m able to voice my opinions and live without the oppression that faces so many around the world.  We are a strong, stubborn and tenacious people.  We are Americans and I salute our independence and ou...

cherries tussle for attention Like clockwork, April erupts with riotous blooms followed by showers of pink snow as cherry blossoms drift haphazardly around neighborhoods and orchards. Thanks to industrious pollinator bees, plump, juicy cherries wind their way into my markets and fruity merriment begins.  Cherries fall into one of two groups:  sour cherries, also known as pie cherries.  They need sugar and heat to meld them into the summer pie of my dreams. Did I mention that cherry pie is my all-time favorite with or without the dripping homemade vanilla ice cream?    The other type of cherry is the luscious ones that burst with blissful sweetness. The most longed for are Bings and Raniers.  Rich, dark garnet colored jewels, Bings have a vibrant penetrating honeyed taste.  Their flesh is firm, fitted in an iconic heart-shape.  Ranier cherries are a delicate little number showing up in a shade of pale yellow with a scarlet blus...