Find your place at Spring Bird
The Shiitake Mushrooms are BLOOMING! Get your fresh shiitake mushrooms – cultivated on oak and maple logs. Pick up from Spring Bird at your convenience. Delivery options available within 20 miles of Spring Bird. We currently have 3 or 4 lbs blooming this week with …
Last Spring, we inoculated 100 logs with shiitake mushroom spawn! This Spring – like – in a few weeks- these logs will begin to fruit with fresh, log grown shiitake mushrooms! We will be selling both fresh shiitake mushrooms as well as the whole logs …
A couple of days ago, Pat harvested this bunch of log grown shiitake mushrooms. They are our last mushroom harvest until Spring, and they tasted delicious sauteed in butter! In actuality, this Fall, we’ve had a couple of months of harvesting mushrooms from oak logs …
My neighbor’s husband made this birdhouse, which my neighbor gifted to me awhile back. In fact, a nest of baby birds hatched within its walls last summer. I finally got around to painting it this past week, and here it hangs – on the patio …
I have to say, there is a certain sadness that comes with the conclusion of Summer harvests. The exhilaration of growing food – of witnessing what worked – what didn’t – what worked too well (zucchini and tomatillos this year) is all coming to an …
Tasha Tudor was on my mind as I planted a mere fifty jonquil bulbs in the “island” between the house and the cottage. I used my little trowel and hacked away at the hard earth trying not to disturb the oak roots. I thought about …
Propagating Succulents! Another trial run in plant propagation. This time I wanted to attempt propagating this particular succulent. (I don’t know its name.) In the past I have propagated jade plants and aloes, but I had yet to try snipping a leaf from a succulent. …
I survived making Red HOT Chili Pepper Flakes!! Over the course of several seventh grade volleyball games, my Mom has plunged into my arms a couple trays laden with enormous tomatoes that my super-gardener cousin grew. We quickly turned them into pico de gallo salsa. …
I dried some mint for tea this morning! This was my first time doing so, and I am fairly content with my results. We grow mint at several locations not only because it is a yummy herb, but because it spreads easily as a ground …
Here are some drawings of things that we have been harvesting from our gardens this Summer. We’ve had SO many green beans. It’s been a bean bonanza! Last year there were so many cucumbers and chile peppers. It’s interesting to see what is a boom …
This was a fun process to explore on this beautiful, sunny day. Artist Janelle Rae (former artist in residence at Spring Bird/current creator of the honeysuckle meditation hut featured in the blue bench meadow) recommended making hammer prints with the zinnias that we are growing. …
This is cornelian cherry juice. Pat made it by boiling cornelian cherries (with pits) in water for about a half an hour. Then he strained it and heated the juice with sugar until the sugar dissolved. (This is the ratio: 5 kilo cherries – 6 …
What an afternoon feast! Yesterday, I made Summer’s favorite soup: Saltibarciai – or Lithuanian cold beet soup. This was the first time I ever made this traditional recipe, because my Mom always keeps me well stocked in this beautiful pink soup. BUT, we had beet …
It’s time for one of my favorite harvests – GARLIC! If you are like me, you double or triple the garlic “suggestion” in any given recipe. Having bundles of fresh garlic hang right outside the kitchen allow me to cook with ease as I know …
During these last few months, I have been enjoying making lumpy, heavy and clunky terracotta pots. This process of rolling, stacking, and smoothing coils into a cohesive whole is a creative therapy that is very much welcomed and needed right now. In addition, I love …