Henny Penny Farmette

I called my neighbor just after sunup this morning and asked her to come help me pick plums. I have trees of ripe plums, three different varieties, as well as apricots that are ripening too fast for me to keep up with drying and jam-making.

The smallest plums we picked have tart skin but sweet flesh

She came laden with a dozen boxes. I had ladders and buckets and bowls ready. We were soon joined by her husband who also brought a ladder. We picked until the containers were full and still the trees held a ton of fruit.

Apricots are sweet treats eaten right from the tree

He backed up their van and we loaded the fruit containers inside. They would drive the containers full of fruit to our local food pantry–the Contra Costa County Food Bank Warehouse at 4010 Nelson Avenue in Concord to distribute to needy families.

Saying thanks didn’t seem adequate enough, so I took my neighbors to my veggie patch to find some items just for them. I promised to deliver pumpkins when they were ready but for now we found heirloom zucchini, summer squash, and tomatoes.

Their gift of time and energy spent picking and packing fruit and delivering it to the food bank freed me up to start my jam-making.  A friend once told me that what blesses one blesses others. It certainly proved true today.

Heirloom tomatoes on the vine

If you’re interested in donating fresh food from your backyard garden, contact the Contra Costa Food Bank warehouse, located at 4010 Nelson Avenue, Concord, CA 94520 or call 925. 676.7543.  Hours are Monday through Thursday: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday: 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday: 8:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Pumpkins will ripen in autumn

If you don’t have lovely, helpful neighbors who will assist you harvesting your bounty, contact gleaners in Contra Costa County at  www.theurbanfarmers.org

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If you enjoy reading this blog about my Henny Penny Farmette activities, check out my cozy mystery series (A BEELINE TO MURDER, MURDER OF A QUEEN BEE, and A HIVE OF HOMICIDES) as well as my current nonfiction books.

All are available online at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Walmart as well as traditional bookstores everywhere. The cozy mysteries are chocked full of delicious farmette recipes, tips of keeping honeybees and chickens, and farm trivia.

Novel #1

Novel #2

Novel #3

A special book that will be treasured for a lifetime of spiritual pursuits and practices

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My hubby and I took a much-need break from the farmette work  to celebrate the Fourth of July at the Alameda County Fair. The fair food smelled delicious (funnel cakes, tacos, burgers, barbecue, and baked goods). We’d already eaten a large lunch so we hurried to the grandstand to see the horses.

Where I grew up in rural Missouri, our horses were not as elegant looking as those beautiful race horses. Ours were draft horses, tall and strong and bred for pulling a hay wagon or doing other farm work. I felt a shudder of exhilaration as I watched those race horses take to the track and run like the wind.

Giant sunflowers in bloom in the Henny Penny Farmette vegetable patch

Friday and Saturday, we did more farmette chores. On Sunday, we attended a lovely “coming of age” celebration. The event was hosted by our Indian friends whose son and daughter had reached the age marking that milestone. Their son received his first dhoti (a male garment symbolizing his transition from boyhood to manhood) and their beautiful daughter wore for the first time a gorgeous silk sari accessorized with gold jewelry. The affair was presided over by the temple priest and involved the immediate and extended family. Although I chitchatted with everyone, I managed to taste almost every dish offered in the all-vegetarian Indian meal, which was yummy!

Next up on our July social calendar is hubby’s birthday. We so seldom have time off to just kick back and enjoy life that we are planning to relish his big day with a trip to the zoo, a sky ride to see the 360 degree-view of the Bay Area, and dinner at Sotto Mare in San Francisco’s North Beach neighborhood (great Italian seafood). We’d previously planned to take some time off to travel to Spain for this birthday, but he got four new jobs to oversee, ending all hope for that trip this year. Maybe next year.

Wild red plums make a tasty sweet-tart jam

Today is Monday and we’re back in the workday rhythm of our farmette. There’s a fence to put in so the chickens have a safer area to free-range, a shed that needs more waterproofing and shelves installed, and tons of plums and apricots to pick. These, I’ll dehydrate and make into jam. I’ve got to harvest honey and put supers on the hives, too, so it’s going to be a busy week.

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If you enjoy reading about gardening, farming, keeping of bees and chickens, along with a good mystery and some delicious recipes for home grown goodies, check out my Henny Penny Farmette series of cozy mysteries: A Beeline to Murder, The Murder of a Queen Bee, and A Hive of Homicides (available online or in bookstores everywhere).

Novel #1

Novel #2

Novel #3

When an old crown on a back molar disintegrated, I knew I’d have to get it fixed. What I hadn’t anticipated was a stress fracture in the tooth next to back molar. An infection followed. Then, after ten days of antibiotics, I was scheduled for a root canal. Stressed out doesn’t quite reflect my consternation. I felt like I was losing my mind.

Mindfulness practice on a nature walk will have you noticing small things like a bee on lavender

Intending to be centered and calm, I took my seat in the dentist chair and waited for the pain medicine to kick  in. I focused on Buddha breathing (during inhalation, the belly rises; it falls during exhalation). Gazing inward and upward in relaxed awareness, I saw a circle of light. My attention flowed into its center.

While thus absorbed on that light and the patterns within it, I lost sense of time. The two and one-half hours in the dentist chair seemed to have happened in a single moment. And on the other side of that experience, I felt peaceful and upbeat.

During a mindful walk, stop to smell the roses

Harvard researchers have further shown that mindfulness practice changes the brain’s structure. While stress contributes to a variety of illnesses, mindfulness practice counters stress and bestows numerous physical and mental benefits. Studies show that mindfulness lowers blood pressure and heart rate while fostering a happier mood, stronger immune system, and greater sense of well being and self-esteem.

Mindfulness is paying attention to what’s in the moment, rather than fretting about a tomorrow (which you are not promised) or stressing over the past (which you can do nothing about). Mindfulness means you can let go of negative self-talk, worry, and stress and, instead, explore your  interiority and inner silence. Or, outwardly focused, you can absorb what your senses are revealing about the environment around you–observing but not judging.

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Learn more about living life with intention or engaging in  meaningful meditation practices with my wellness and spirituality books. All are available online and in bookstores everywhere.

More than 150 rituals for sound mind, strong body, and meaningful connections to the people around you

Packed full of ideas for creating the life you want

Anyone can find peace, clarity, and focus…all it takes is a moment