Nevermore Farm – Growing And Conserving A Variety Of Unusual Produce And Livestock

I’ve almost decided that I don’t dislike cantaloupes. My entire life I’ve hated them, those hard, tasteless orange balls that came from the grogery store while I was growing up. After I left home, I certainly would never purchase a cantaloupe. After all, they were yucky. Then the years wore on, and people would come to our stand at the Farmer’s Market asking for melons. Well, I thought maybe we should grow some to sell to those silly people who like cantaloupe. So this year we planted Charentais, Jenny Lind, Tigger and Noir des Carmes. Those are three heirloom melons, two of them are of French ancestry. About 2 weeks ago the dark-green/black Noir des Carmes started ripening. One minute they are impossible to see and the next minute they are mottled green and yellow. We overwatered them, the nearly ripe ones split open and suddenly I had to do something with the flesh of six melons. I sliced them all into a big storage bag, and started eating them. I reluctantly had to admit they weren’t bad. Then we dug the prosciutto out of the freezer and wrapped the melon up in that, which further elevated the experience. Lovely.  Read more... (684 words, estimated 2:44 mins reading time)

At this time I must write some words concerning footwear. I spend hours and hours on my feet in the garden, and for years I have worn my trusty Birkenstock sandals that I originally purchased for sailing in 2000. The sandals were sized to comfortably allow me to wear not one but two pairs of wool socks with them. For years now, since no one wears two pairs of wool socks in Arbuckle in the summer, these sandals have flopped around on my feet. I’m not really sure how they stayed on, I guess I’m just used to flicking my feet here and there to keep the sandal underneath them. For at least a year I have been thinking about "getting a new pair of good sandals." Being busy, tending to procrastinate, and leaning toward frugality have all hindered the process. But finally, I went and did it. About a week ago I bought a pair of beautiful Italian sandals, Mephistos. They aren’t striking in appearance, but are really well constructed and about the most comfortable things I’ve ever worn. Sometimes one doesn’t notice how bad it is until the upgrade comes along….these are great for my feet and I wish I had bought them a long time ago. My Armenian frugality really had to get past the price tag, but it was all worth it. As I like to say, "if the tootsies aren’t happy, I’m not happy". They already have dirt on them, but that happens when shoes are worn in the garden. Who knows, maybe I’ll even buy a second pair……..  Read more... (427 words, estimated 1:42 mins reading time)

The busy busy-ness continues to snowball….my life is starting to be like that TV commercial in which the three people excitedly watch as their internet business goes online for the first time. They cheer and high-five each other as the first orders roll through the server….then they sit there slack-jawed as thousands and thousands of orders pour in, knowing full well that they have just about no way to cope with their success!   Read more... (413 words, estimated 1:39 mins reading time)