DIY

No, this has nothing to do with sub-prime mortgages or the bank meltdown. This is about some very surly 'social' insects. I discovered wasps in our compost bin this summer. Or, more accurately, the wasps notified us that they had moved in. After my wife and I were each stung in two days I found a wasp nest in the compost bin. Given their anti-social nature and their new residence in the compost bin I couldn't use toxic insecticides. So I did some research.

The first signs of spring are popping up across town. Irises are sprouting in the front yard and garlic is appearing in the backyard. We're still two months away from the last average frost date, but many of the hardier plants are showing new growth, swelling buds and sprouting leaves. I expect we'll still see some snow, even well past the Spring Solstice. But, that's life in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains.

I start the year with a bursting refrigerator and freezer and pantry. I am very lucky. I am lucky to have money for lots of good food. However, this excess is silly. This week I'll be pulling stashes of frozen soup out of the freezer, rethinking the things in the pantry, and in general looking at what we have and wondering "what am I saving this for? A visit from the queen?"

Thanksgiving, the great American holiday, is come and gone and the push toward Christmas begins. We had a fine and snowy Thanksgiving in northern New Mexico. The snow was soul satisfying since we are still waiting for a real occurrence of the white stuff in the middle of the state.

On the eve of Thanksgiving, I'm grateful for another week of wonderful produce and a little bit of my money going to farmers around the Southwest who aren't trying to fuse trout genes into my potatoes. Box #2 arrived last Thursday with an extra bounty to carry us through the Thanksgiving holiday. No delivery this Thursday, even farmers get a day off. I daydreamed about the produce as I lopsidedly carried away my heavy bag. We got several acorn squash, five pounds of yellow potatoes, more pomegranates, pecans, and greenery of all sorts (salad mix, arugula, spinach).

Last Thursday, I picked up the first of our winter CSA share courtesy of Beneficial Farms. FYI, Community Supported Agriculture is something all the cool kids are doing. You provide a farmer with a lump sum of dough and over a season they provide you with a weekly supply of fresh fruits and vegetables. As an added bonus they are often organic and local. Our CSA provides produce from farmers all around New Mexico. I'm looking forward to learning about my state's agricultural bounty; apparently it extends beyond green chile.