And just like that everything is green again. Despite the chilly nights Spring has arrived. Birds are back and gracing us with song. Rhubarb and asparagus are abundant, and spruce tips will become a favored drink. Nettles are welcomed here and we cook them with our morning eggs. Later they’ll be dried for tea. The ongoing battle to keep free-ranging chickens out of the garden is only topped by the numerous groundhog holes that are popping up.
So it goes. Life has its cycles. And we have our choices. Putting up fencing or getting some groundhog recipes are high on the list of choices right now. Neither of which we’ll do.
There are practical skills learned by living with the land. At some point you must decide which battles are worthy of your time and which are not.
I think everyone should take at least a one-year stint of living on a farm and attempting to be sustainable. If you’re fortunate you’ll learn about what is precious, and if you’re really paying attention you may even remember what is sacred.
The notion of progress has defined us as “modern people”. The irrational pursuit of wealth has crippled our ability to care for one another. The simplest joys elude us as we join the rat race and leave the human race behind.
It doesn’t have to be that way. In our heart of hearts, we know it doesn’t have to be that way. But we’ve been conditioned to follow the leader to the exclusion of what we know is possible. It’s time for that to change.
Cycles come and cycles go. If we would allow the longing for simplicity and the need for peace to lead once more, this cycle of darkness would end.
let kindness win 
I had to look this one up: How to cook with nettles! I don’t think I’ve ever eaten a nettle! And yes, to the idea of everyone spending at least one year of their life on a farm, to learn sustaiability!
Cooking with nettles! It’s important to start by washing the leaves. Even if you are sure that they haven’t been sprayed, you never know what animal has been doing what nearby!
Once the nettles have been washed, pick the leaves off the stalk. At this point, it’s best to think of stinging nettles in a similar fashion to spinach in terms of cooking the leaves. Quickly blanching them in a pot of boiling water will deaden the sting. But leave them for too long and – like spinach – the leaves will wilt too far, and start to lose flavour, texture and goodness.
Treat the cooked nettle leaves as you would treat cooked spinach leaves. Firstly, squeeze the moisture out of them and then add a splash of cream for a delicious side dish, or chop them loosely into a pasta sauce. Like spinach, it’s possible to freeze nettle leaves — do it in an ice cube tray, and then you can quickly defrost one cube at a time to quickly and easily add big green flavours to anything from an omelette to a risotto.
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Glad you liked it, Judy. Thought you might like the spruce tip recipes, too.
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