Life Goes On

It's been an up and down week.  My sweet cow WBBK Starlet died this week. She was the cow that had the bad calving on Father's Day, lost the calf, and never really recovered from the ordeal.  She seemed fine, though a little thin, until Friday morning. She didn't want to leave the barn that morning. She died Friday evening as I was rubbing her neck and trying to encourage her to drink some water. It was quick at least.  We buried her along the driveway in a grassy spot where I can plant a tree this spring. 

On the flip side we had a good week at work with a successful flea market, hosting the Area Progress Council's annual meeting and a couple of new volunteers for the digital archive project.

LCNB's Steve Wilson, State Senator Shannon Jones and Ghent Manufacturings Chairman George Leasure at the Area Progress Councils Annual Meeting, held at the Warren County History Center.

Owls Are Calling for Mates

The Great Horned Owls are calling for mates this weekend. It's late January and the Great Horned are the earliest of the owls to nest, beginning in late January and continuing through March.  I was awakedned  before dawn to their soft "whoo, whoo, whoo calls.  One of the owls sits in the little woods west of the house, just outside my bedroom window and calls.  Further west in what we call the big woods, another owl answers.

Last winter I woke on a cold moonlit February night hearing the owl's call. I looked out my bedroom window and there he sat in the big ash tree, silhouetted against the moon, just like a classic Halloween picture. Every time he called he stretched up on his perch, so it was easy to see him.  Scenes like that are one of the reasons I love living in the country.

To learn more about the Great Horned Owl and lots of other wildlife, visit the Ohio Department of Natural Resources at:

http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/Home/species_a_to_z/SpeciesGuideIndex/greathornedowl/tabid/6650/Default.aspx

Todays History Lesson

I just finished reading Kenneth Roberts historical fiction book, "Oliver Wiswell".  Kenneth Roberts was writing in the 1940's.  He is best known for "Northwest Passage" which was made into a popular movie with Spencer Tracy in the lead role. I recommend all of Robert's books, but "Oliver Wiswell" is particularly interesting. I've always wanted to send it to Tom Hanks to see if he'd make a movie of it but it might be too pain full for the American patriotic mind.

Oliver Wiswell is the story of an American Loyalist or Tory during the American Revolution. It's a wonderful adventure story, a great read with some of the best characters any where. My favorite, besides Oliver himself, is his sidekick, Tom Buell. This book was also difficult to read sometimes because it depicts most of the Americans who fought the Revolution for freedom as radicals or low life scum of the earth types with no money or education just looking for a chance to get something for nothing. Well, maybe that's a little harsh, but remember, he's talking as a Loyalist. 

Wiswell doesn't like the British he's fighting along side either. He hates the way the British mismanage the war and hates the fact that the British have no respect for Americans.  Never the less, he can never forgive "the rebels" who ran him and his dying father out of their home and forced them to flee as refugees first to Boston and then to New York and finally into the the King's American Dragoons as a soldier against the American cause.

This has made me rethink our own history here in Southwest Ohio.  Warren County has three sections. East of the Little Miami the land is Virginia Military Reserve land, bounty land given to soldiers who fought from Virginia in the American Revolution. South of Monroe Road in Lebanon is Symmes Purchase lands (land speculation) and north of Monroe Road is Congress lands where anyone could purchase land cheap.  After the Revolution thousands of people poured into Warren County purchasing large tracts of land, breaking it up and selling smaller parcels.  We talk about the Quakers coming here to escape slavery and the soldiers taking up their bounty lands etc. But I would bet you if we researched it further, you'd find a lot of the settlers here were Loyalist during the war who couldn't stay in the colonies because Loyalist were hated - and most of them were driven out of their homes and were refugees after the war. Interesting thought. Something I must find time to research.

Bernaise Sauce

Buff Orpington Hens lay big brown eggs.

For the last cold, dark month (well dark anyway) my chickens have laid maybe one egg a day. Yesterday I collected four full sized eggs and one little bitty one!  That means two things.  The hens are starting to respond to the increased light coming to us each day, and the little chicken hatched the first of August just laid her first egg!  Oh, and one more thing!  With all those egss and all that beef in the freezer it is time to make Bearnaise Sauce!

Bearnaise is basically Hollandise with different flavors.  Instead of lemon, egg yolks and butter Bearnaise is vinegar, egg yolks, butter, tarragon and sometimes shallot. The technique is the same as Hollandaise.  This is just the best stuff with roast beef.

Bearnaise Sauce



2 tablespoons white wine vinegar (or white wine vinegar infused with tarragon)
2 egg yolks
6 to 8 tablespoons cold butter, cut into 1 tablespoon pieces.
1 tablespoon minced shallot (optional)
dash of salt and pepper
teaspoon of fresh chopped tarragon or 1/2 teaspoon dried or just a punch if you have tarragon vinegar.

Melt a little butter (1/2 tablespoon) in a small shallow, heavy bottomed pan and saute the shallot a minute or two to soften.  Add the vinegar and reduce the heat to low.  Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the egg yolks.  Return the pan to low heat and begin incorporating the butter one tablespoon at a time being careful to slowly melt the butter so as not to scramble the eggs.  Continue adding butter one pat at a time melting each pat before adding another and whisking the sauce. When the sauce  thickens, cook it a minute or two longer, whisking all the time.  Serve over roast beef, or hollow a tomato or bit of green pepper or small roasted potato and use it as a container to serve the sauce on the plate.  So very, very good!

Beef again! So good!

I was very reluctant to send my last steer to slaughter. He was a sort of pet you know, meant to be a trained ox and pull a little cart - but life got in the way and Butterscotch is now in mine and several other people's freezers.  After all, that's really why we raise beef!

Last night I cooked the first rib eye. It was very lean,  tender and very good and I am very glad to have a freezer full of beef again. I started it in a grill pan on the stove top and finished it in the hot oven, which is the AGA cooking way. I raw fried some  potatoes so I'd have meat and potatoes  and it was perfect!

I ran out of beef a couple of months ago and can't bear to purchase the stuff in the grocery. Every cattle publication I read talks about growth implants and how the farmers can't make money without them. I know all that beef in the grocery freezer probably has growth hormones - or at least most of it does, and I don't want to ingest those thank you.  My beef is all natural and grass fed and happy in the green grass and sunshine (when we get sunshine).

Pastured chicken, best for eggs.

Chickens grow fast.  I don't worry about them, so I eat a lot of chicken from the grocery. It's too much trouble to raise chickens for the freezer, though I have done it. I have to raise them separately from the laying hens and at present I just don't have the room for both.
  I don't eat much pork anymore just because it comes in such large packages in the grocery.  But if I had any room in my freezer and I wanted pork, I'd call a farm I know in Washington C.H. that raises Berkshire hogs, one of the heritage breeds, and purchase a hog from them. Berkshires are naturally lean and this farm raises them naturally. They would deliver it to the private butcher of my choice. For about $300 I'd have about 200 pounds of pork.  I'd smoke the bacon and ham myself or the butcher could do it for me. Alas, I don't need 200 pounds of pork on to of the 400 pounds of beef I have currently.

Berkshire Hog

Which reminds me - I have beef for sale at $4.00 a pound, all cut and wrapped and vacuum sealed. I sell a 25 pound box which consists of 12 lbs ground beef and 13 pounds of steaks and roasts. The steaks are NY strips, filet, rib eye, sirloin and round.  The roasts are rump and chuck. The ground beef is in one pound packages. Fill your freezer. You will be glad you did.

Made In America?

I'm passing along a piece that came to me through a good friend. It's about buying American and it's a concept that's near and dear to my heart.  Don't get me wrong, I am all for the global economy - American farm exports are doing just fine thank you, and those across the waters need jobs in order to buy our farm exports, but I am really getting tired of having to worry about the safety of the products I purchase. China is a particular worry. A friend of mine who does business in China confirmed my fears. He says he has to be on the alert all the time to get any quality out of them.  So, here's the info - I've not verified it yet. If you happen to have a chance to check these facts, please let me know if they are accurate. Thanks.
(I don't know why this comes with the little * things!)

I DIDN'T KNOW HALLMARK CARDS WERE MADE IN CHINA!
*That is also why I don't buy cards at Hallmark anymore, They are made in
China and are more expensive! I buy them at Dollar Tree - 50 cents each and
made in USA *

I have been looking at the blenders available on the Internet. *Kitchen Aid
is MADE IN the US *. Top of my list already ...

Yesterday I was in Wal Mart looking for *a wastebasket. I found some made
in China for $6.99. *I didn't want to pay that much so I asked the lady if
they had any others. *She took me **to another department **and they had
some at $ 2.50 made in USA. *They are just as good. Same as *a kitchen rug *I
needed. *I had to look, but I found some made in the USA *- what a concept!
- *and they were $3.00 cheaper *.

*We are being brainwashed to believe that everything that comes from China
and Mexico is cheaper *. Not so *. *

One Light Bulb at a Time...
*I was in Lowe's the other day and just out of curiosity, I looked at the
hose attachments *. *They were all made in China. *The next day *I was in
Ace Hardware *and just for the heck of it I checked the hose attachments
there. *They were made in USA. *

*Start looking, people *. . ...In our current economic situation, every
little thing we buy or do affects someone else - *most often, their job. *

*My grandson likes Hershey's candy *. *I noticed, though, that it is now
marked "made in Mexico. *" *I don't buy it anymore *.

My favorite toothpaste *Colgate is made in Mexico *... *now I have switched
to Crest *.

You have to read the labels on everything.

This past weekend I was at Kroger . . . I needed 60W light bulbs and Bounce
dryer sheets.
I was in the light bulb aisle, *and right next to the GE brand I normally
buy -- was an off-brand labeled, "Everyday Value *." I picked up both types
of bulbs and compared them: they were *the same except for the price *. . .
*the GE bulbs cost more than the Everyday Value brand, but the thing that
surprised me the most was that that was made in MEXICO *and *the Everyday
Value brand was made in - you guessed it - the USA at a company in
Cleveland, Ohio. *

It's Way past time to start finding and buying products you use every day
that are made right here.
So, on to the next aisle: Bounce Dryer Sheets... yep, you guessed it, *Bounce
cost more money and is made in Canada *. *The Everyday Value brand cost
less, and was MADE IN THE USA *! I did laundry yesterday and the dryer
sheets performed just like the Bounce Free I have been using for years, at
almost half the price .
*My challenge to you is to start reading the labels when you shop for
everyday things and see what you can find that is made in the USA - the job
you save **may be your own **or your neighbors! *

If you accept the challenge, pass this on to others in your address book so
we can all start buying American, one light bulb at a time!
*Stop buying from overseas companies - you're sending the jobs there *. (We
should have awakened a decade ago....)
*Let's get with the program and help our fellow Americans keep their jobs
and create more jobs here in the USA . *
I passed this on .. .. . will you???

Broccoli Cheese Soup

Somewhere in my travels I picked up a thin volume called "Le Cordon Bleu Home Collection Soups". It's a strange book in that it has no copyright or printing date, just Periplus Edition, printed in Singapore. It's one of a series on home cooking put out by Le Cordon Bleu cooking school.

A week or so ago I'd made steamed broccoli and carrots with hollandaise sauce for a family dinner. The broccoli was fresh, purchased from Kroger's and the stems were huge, so I just used the green florets for the dish and kept the stems for soup.

This weekend I decided to make the soup and went on the hunt for a good recipe. I truly despise the broccoli cheese soup you get in restaurants. It is so thick and pasty, reminds me of eating a bowl of cheese gravy.

The Le Cordon Bleu cookbook didn't have a broccoli cheese recipe but it did have a cream of cauliflower soup that I thought could be adapted for the broccoli.  The soup is obviously meant for a first course so it is delicate in flavor.  I added a little celery because I had some that was going to go bad soon and some Tabasco sauce - just a little, and of course grated cheddar cheese (a grated cheddar blend from Kraft) and was pleased with the overall dish. It wasn't too thin or too thick, but if it does get too thick you can thin it with a little broth of milk. This would be good served along side a hearty ham or roast beef sandwich as it would warm you and taste good but not over power the sandwich flavors.

Cream of Broccoli Cheese Soup

2 cups chicken stock

2 cup whole milk or 2% if you must, but no lower fat content

the stocks of three large heads of broccoli, peeled and rough chopped, two make two cups

1 small onion, peeled and rough chopped

1 rib of celery rough chopped (optional)

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 tablespoon all purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

8 oz shredded cheddar cheese

few drops of Tabasco sauce (optional)

In a medium sauce pan saute the onion, celery until they are softened but no brown. Add the chicken stock and the broccoli stems and gently boil until the broccoli is tender. Remove from the heat and puree the vegetables with an immersion blender or a regular blender or food processor.

In another medium saucepan melt the butter and stir in the flour. Cook the flour and butter together for a minute to cook the flour. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the milk.  Stir in the cheese and continue stirring until the cheese is melted.

Pour the cheese mixture into the broccoli mixture, stir well to blend and season with salt and pepper and Tobasco if desired.  Garnish with herbed croutons, Serves 6.

I didn't have any herbed croutons and wasn't in the mood to make any, but I did have a box of White Cheddar Cheez-its.  I sprinkled a handful of them on the soup and was perfectly pleased with the result. Enjoy!

Blog Spam, who knew!

It's been so much fun tracking the number of page views for my blog.  I'm thrilled that so many people enjoy my electronic musings.  The stats section of the blog management tools tells me how many people viewed each posting and what link brought them to the site.  It also tells me what countries they come from.  The most viewed of my bloggins in 2011 was the recipe for Hollandaise Sauce!

Most of the people viewing my blog come from Facebook. Quite a few come from Google and a handful come through from my cattle website www.ohiobeef.com.  Increasingly though they come from an entity listed as domar.ru.  I had not heard of that entity, so I Googled it and guess what it is! It's blog spam! In other words, just some machine trolling through the Internet trying to cause trouble.  Oh well. Just keep in mind when you see that little counter thing at the top right hand corner of my page - only about half of that number is real. 

Wulf's Sirloin, Number 8 in the 2011 Top Ten ranking for Limousin bulls. This is my heifer, Vera B's sire.

Chickens, Tractors and Sunshine

What a beautiful morning we have today!  I could have spent the whole morning outside roaming the property and tending to my animals. It's chilly but not too chilly. The mud is drying out and easy to walk on and the animals are happy. The only little glitch this morning was that the tractor tire was going flat.

Tractor with tire pump attached.

Three years ago that tire went flat.  I contacted my John Deere dealer who advised me that the only place for tractor tires around here is in Milford - we are just too urban for anyone to carry them in this area.

So, the guys from Milford came up to the farm and looked at the tire. I expected them to replace it - its a $500 tire - but no, they proclaimed it to have a slow leak and I should just pump it up now and then! So that was three years ago and at least once a week I get out this little battery operated tire pump and pump up the tire. That's farmer fugality for you.

Son of Booster

Here's a picture of one of the little chicks that hatched the first day of August this past summer. It's a rooster and I am pretty sure he is the son of Booster, the Blue Laced Red Wyandot rooster who died this fall.  The mother hen was a White Rock, so Booster, Jr. is a cross bred.  The other chick is a hen. Her colors are white with black on the wings. I think she is a daughter of Big Chicky (pictured below) and the White Rock hen. It's hard to say as any hen's eggs could have been in the nest and the hen who hatched them wouldn't know, or care.

I snapped this picture of Big Chicky this morning as he stood on a log outside the chicken house crowing to greet the morning sun.



Downton Abbey Returns!

My introduction to Masterpiece Theatre on PBS was years ago with their series "Upstairs Downstairs", set in the Edwardian era before and during WWI.  The show was a glorified soap opera but held our interest, I think, because  it told the story of a romantic world of "cottages and kings". 

Upstairs to the right,
downstairs to the left.

Forty years later I'm hooked on a new Masterpiece series called "Downton Abbey".  The story is set in the same time frame, in fact it opens the same way with the sinking of the Titanic in 1912.  "Upstairs Downstairs" was set in a London townhouse, "Downton Abbey" is set at a country estate. The story line differs in that "Upstairs Downstairs" was about the philandering of the son and heir and "Downton Abbey" is about the lack of a son and heir.  Like "Upstairs Downstairs", this latest British grand soap opera has a whole cast of characters to follow both upstairs and downstairs.  "Downtown Abbey's" characters includes three daughters of the house and the clothing is fabulous.  They are all rail thin of course so the clothes hang beautifully. I think I watch as much for the clothes as the story line, which included an episode where the  oldest daughter of the house allows herself to be seduced by a visiting Turkish diplomat who dies in her bed! 

The oldest daughter, Lady Mary, dressed for dinner at home.

Last year the season ended with the beginning of WWI.  We weren't told then if there would be a follow up series - and I'm not sure there was one totally planned. So, I was thrilled when PBS announced "Downtown Abbery, Part II this fall.  Last night was the first episode.  The story picks ups in 1916, two years in to the war. There are scenes of war in the trenches of France and some hospital scenes at home, but the story lines weren't too exciting. The clothing was still wonderful but the most exciting thing to happen was the collapse of the butler from overwork.  I'm still hooked on the characters' stories both upstairs and downstairs and I still hope that Lady Mary and the entailed heir, her distant cousin Matthew, will marry and live happily ever after at Downtown Abbey. I'm definitely looking forward to next Sunday's episode.

Garden Party Dressing circa August 1914.  See more at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/downtonabbey/

Epihany or 12th Day of Christmas

It is January 6th and the thermometer registers 39 degrees.  What happened to "as the days begin to lengthen, the cold begins to strengthen".  Don't know, but I'll take this warm weather now, and hope it doesn't mean draught for the summer!

So it is the last day of the 12 days of Christmas. When I mention this to most folks, they don't know what I'm talking about. But in Spanish speaking countries and the Greek and Eastern Orthodox churches, Epiphany is celebrated as part of the 12 days of Christmas. It is also known as the day the Wise Men came to bring gifts to the baby Jesus, the time of his baptism, and the time when he became known to the gentiles.

Since we seem to start celebrating Christmas the day after Thanksgiving and keep going until December 25, I can't imagine continuing the celebration on to January 6th!  I love Christmas and honor the season, but six weeks of celebrating would wear a little thin.  There is a point of diminishing returns for just about everything - speaking of celebrating you understand, not worship. Still, the historian in me loves learning about the various Christmas customs around the world. So, if you didn't know about January 6th, now you do.

Want to learn more? Go to http://www.crivoice.org/cyepiph.html.

The Three Wise Men bearing gifts for the baby Jesus

Best Bulls for 2012

Breeding cattle is a numbers game. From birth to first calving a herdsman keeps track of a set of statistics for each animal and reports the information to the national herd record keeping organization for that breed.  For the Limousin breed we send our stats to the North American Limousin Foundation in Colorado. You can find out all about them at www.nalf.org.

Last week NALF announced the top ten herd sires for 2011. The list is developed from tracking the information on the sires of calves that won top honors in the show ring that year. The show ring evaluates animals based on the statistics associated with each animal and also their carcass merits.  Raising a show winning heifer or bull calf is therefore a juggling act between stats and looks.

LimFlex is a Limousin Angus Crossbred

These bulls in the top ten list are all AI sires, that is to say they are sires used for artificial insemination. Their breeders thought enough of them as calves and young bulls to promote them at shows and in breed publications hoping that breeders would use them as sires. Most of them were also blue ribbon show calves. As a breeder you purchase semen from these bulls and use it to artificially impregnate your cows. The breeder's goal is two fold. First, you hope that you made a good decision in choosing a bull to use with a particular cow so that you will get a  great calf.  Second, you hope that the bull will make the top ten list and thus increase the value of its progeny.

BTAP Juliette,  daughter of Top 10 Sire Mags The General

I was thrilled to see that two of my soon to calve heifers' sires made the top ten list this years. That means their selling price just about doubled!  They are both due to calve this spring and should command a very good price as proven mothers with calves at their sides. Since I own both of these heifer's mothers and can "make" more calves from them, it makes sense to sell them know while the market is strong.

BTAP Vera B, daughter of Top 10 Sire Wulfs Sirloin

These are both very sweet girls and I'd love to keep them, but taxes must be paid, and next years hay purchased and so it goes. Hopefully they will calve easily and be ready to sell in June. I'll keep you posted.

The Sun Will Return, Eventually

As I stumbled around in the dark this morning feeding cattle and chickens, I take heart in knowing that the winter solstice has passed and each day gives us one more minute of light. We gain about 30 minutes of light a month, so by the first of February I should be able to see what I'm doing. I'm always a little worried about being run over by deer. Amazingly, I've been brushed by them twice, just at twilight, as they ran through the pastures and once as I was walking to the barn in the dark. I think my scent is so much a part of the landscape now that they don't bother to shy away from me.

Caught on a deer cam mounted in the woods.

We are, like everyone else, over run with deer. There was a line of  men in the feed store yesterday waiting to buy corn to feed the deer in an effort to keep the deer from eating all their shrubbery.  I am not sure that this is the best way to keep them away. I suggest, in cover of dark, that these men all walk around their property urinating. I know a lot of men are reluctant to do such a thing, but truthfully, this works.  They should repeat the process every few days.


A buck caught on deer cam

In the spring I have to watch out for bucks who are guarding cows calving or with just new born calves. That's beef cattle, not female deer. I'll be walking through the woods hunting a cow that I know has probably calved, or is in process, and suddenly I'll hear stamping and hissing and about 100 yards from the cow will be a big buck standing guard. I'm always a little afraid that he will attack me, so I skirt around behind and come up to the cow as far away from the buck as possible. All the time I'm working with the cow, I'm keeping an eye open for the buck. When they realize I'm not going to cause any harm, they usually leave.



The Kitten's Hour

Borrowing very loosely from Longfellow with just a few adjustments:

"Between the dark and the daylight,
When the day is beginning to glower,
Comes a pause in the morning's occupations,
That is known as the Kitten's Hour".

I am over run with cats. Nico, the famous shoe peeing cat, arrived the summer of 2005 as a frightened kitten and has stayed despite his fear of just about everything. Katty Kay arrived in the fall of 2009 and has taken over the house - the only female and the only mean cat. She has no manners, but she came already spay so I suspect she was dumped for her bad disposition. She can be sleeping soundly on the red wing chair while Nico snoozes on the brown stool across the room. Suddenly she awakens, looks straight at Nico, then jumps up and attacks him.

L to R, Zeke, Pipster and Nico

A neighbor talked me in to taking four kittens during the summer of 2010 - they had been born in the neighbor's work place and the boss wanted them gone. They were litter trained and were used to being handled.  They started out in the barn but quickly moved to the back porch where they set up an obstacle course with the chairs and tables, wood box and potted plants and daily practiced to be acrobats!

L to R, Jasper and Tigger

And last but not least the spring of 2011 brought four more kittens and their mother and father -both feral cats. Mom and Dad have both gone (Mom died and I expect the baby daddy was coyote dinner). Only eight of the twelve remain. I try desperately to keep them outside where they can search and destroy mice and other small critters, but they regularly set up an ambush as I come through any outside door, causing me to save myself from being tripped and allowing them to escape into the house.

I am happy to report that with the exception of one of the kittens, all are neutered and that little operation will be accomplished very soon!  
Here's the original Longfellow poem lines from "The Children's Hour"

"Between the dark and the daylight,
When the night is beginning to lower,
Comes a pause in the day's occupations,
That is known as the Children's Hour".

First Snow of the Season

Amazingly its January 2 and we are just getting our first snow!  The cows  spent the night in the barn and were late getting out of bed this morning. They don't mind the snow and it's not actually cold enough for them to feel it, but the wind was blowing like a hurricane last night and they definitely do not like wind.

The spring calves are all getting their first look, feel and taste of snow.  Cinnamon is staying close to her mother, but the others are choosing to stay in the barn.  They have a calf space all to themselves where the cows can't get to them and step on them. They like to huddle together like a pack of kittens. Their mothers are out scarfing up the last of yesterday's hay and hollering for relief from their full udders. The calves pay no attention!

Seed Catalogs Have Arrived

It's January and the seed and plant catalogs are arriving daily.  I have a stack of them to go through and its torture!   Most days I don't receive enough mail to keep the US Postal Service bothering to deliver to my door, but the last week of December and the first week of January makes their existence all worthwhile.  Here's my review of what I've received so far. I get no money or anything at all from listing these companies. Just sharing 30 some years of experience.

It started last week with "R. H. Shumway's Illustrated Garden Guide".  This is a tabloid sized catalog printed with old 19th century style illustrations of the vegetables and flowers. They also have a great variety of old and new seeds.  I've ordered from them in the past and liked their seeds. Their shipping price is minimum $6.00 up to $35 order.

Next came The Cooks Garden catalog. This is my favorite source for lettuce. They used to be a small company with a really neat little illustrated catalog - very homey - but then Burpee bought them. Now they are slick and fancy with lots of color pictures. The lettuce seeds are still the best however, so apparently Burpee has left that part of their business alone. I like to get their lettuce mixes - Spring, Summer and Fall. I always do very well with them. Minimum shipping is $4.95 on a $10.00 order.

Arriving at the same time as Cooks Garden was the  Burpee "Special Edition" catalog. The first nine pages are dedicated to showcasing their new items, almost all of them vegetables this year, although they do feature a new true yellow geranium plant. They also have a pull out card announcing the "Triscuit Home Farming Movement, a community of like-minded vegetable growers...." etc at www.homefarming.com. Shipping is same as Cook's Garden.

Gurneys has good seed and so does Henry Fields. They arrived with front covers announcing $25 coupons good for $25 worth of product when you order an additional $25.00. I've ordered from both these companies before and they have good seed. Shipping is minimum $6.95 on orders up to $20.00 for both companies so I'd bet you they are owned by the same company.

The last to arrive (so far) is Jung Seeds & Plants. I've ordered from these folks in the past with good success.  The President of the company has a little message written on the inside front cover. He offers free shipping on orders of $75 or more. This offer is also displayed on the front cover. Otherwise the minimum shipping is $5.95 on orders up to $35.00. What caught my attention most is the "Biltmore for Your Home" offering.  This includes " certified organic herb plants inspired by the herbs grown in the famous Biltmore historic house gardens and used by Biltmore chefs in recipes served in the estate restaurants",  Jungs offers all kinds of garden plants as well as seeds. These include tree and shrubs. Their lettuce offering is impressive as is their herbs.  I am particularly coveting the Vanilla Strawberry Hydrangea offered on the back cover.

Arriving the same day as Jung's is David Austin's "Handbook of Roses 2012".  If you want to be inspired this is the catalog.  Picture after picture, full color, of the most beautiful roses you will see anywhere. This is a catalog that I keep all year just to look at the pictures. You can easily see what I mean by visiting their website at www.davidaustinroses.com. My family has grown David Austin roses for years and we love them. I have an Abraham Darby and a Gertrude Jekyll growing on the fences along the driveway and a Dark Lady in my border. I've had  a formal rose garden all planned for some time - maybe this is the year!

Well, that's about it.  It's time to get our the vegetable garden plan and start mapping out what seeds will go where. I'm adding a bed this year because I need to rotate tomatoes and don't have space for them in any of the sunny beds. The trees on the east border of the garden keep growing and shading my eastern beds.  That frees up an entire 16 foot by 4 foot section!