Henny Penny Farmette

Nothing beats the joy of an early morning walk in a garden and seeing iris plants in full bloom. These beauties are easy to grow, vigorous reproducers, and deer resistant.

Iris need six to eight hours of sun each day. If you live in a hot climate, your iris will need some shade protection. They perform best in well-drained soil.

The best time of the year to plant iris seems to be late summer or early fall when the temperature does not fall below 40 degrees Fahrenheit.

The rhizomes of iris tend to spread, so you’ll want to divide the clumps every three to four years. The best time to divide them is about six weeks after flowering.

To divide, dig up the clump, pull the rhizomes (roots) from the sides of the mother plant and then plant the new rhizomes, burying them so that the roots are pointing down and the top foliage (even if you have cut it back to a few inches) is exposed. Cover with soil, tamp down, and water well.

Space the iris rhizomes at least one to two feet apart. Planting too close together reduces the number of blooms. There are many varieties of iris to choose for your garden; two of the most common types are Bearded iris and Siberian iris. Plant some of these beauties and experience the joy of seeing them bloom in your garden.

If you enjoy reading about gardening and country living topics, check out my series of cozy mysteries based on my life on the “real” Henny Penny Farmette. The novels are chocked full of tips on gardening, keeping chickens and bees, and growing heirloom vegetables and fruits.

My novels and self-help, spirituality, and wellness books are offered online and everywhere books are sold. Check out my author’s page on Amazon and also on Simon and Schuster.com.–Meera Lester

As winter approaches, it seems counterintuitive to embrace the cold and dark, especially as we hurry indoors to seek light and warmth. But winter brings the gift of time and circumstances that force us to slow down, rest, reflect, and renew ourselves.

Here on the Henny Penny Farmette, the honey bees remain in their hives until their DNA tells them early spring has arrived. The hens slow their laying of eggs during the cold, dark days of winter. And the soil in the gardens rest as the sap stops flowing in the trees during the months when winter’s chill comes on early and leaves late.

During the current age of telecommuting or arrangements that include some work from home, lying an extra few minutes in bed until the house warms can feel luxurious. After a hearty, healthy breakfast or lunch, a thirty-minute winter stroll across a field, down the road, or to the mailbox and back elevates the feel-good chemicals in your brain, stimulates your sense of well-being, and helps you feel restored.

The winter season is perhaps the best time of year to reflect on impermanence and cyclic change. Start a journal in which to capture your thoughts, hopes, dreams, questions, and ideas about self-evaluation and soul reflection. Learn something new. Sense the charismatic presences around you in nature. Allow your own radiance to flow outward to others.

Winter is a time to think about what you do and don’t want in your life and how you’ll clear the clutter. Is it a person, a habit, a thing? What is it that you want to leave behind in the old year and what do you want to manifest in the coming new year? Before winter is over, make an intention to manifest your deepest desire.

Use the the dark days of winter to reflect on your physical health and mental well-being. What bad habit could you eliminate? What lifestyle change would be healthier for you? How might you gain more self acceptance and self love? What does a picture of great health for your body and mind look like?

Snuggle up in a chair with a warm throw and read a good book when the winds are howling and the cloud ceiling is low. Reading stimulates the mind. Expand your horizons with an arm-chair travel book. Enjoy a fictive trip through a novel. Solve a mystery. Read about the history of food and try a new recipe. The possibilities for indulging your interests are expansive.

Practice mindfulness. Let new ideas emerge from the depths of your consciousness. Winter is the perfect time and you can do this practice in any setting. Take advantage of the gifts the dark offers.

If you enjoy reading about country living topics, check out my series of cozy mysteries available online and in bookstores everywhere.

Fall is the time when persimmons come to market. In general, you’ll see two different types. Fuyu is a squat-shaped, round fruit. Hachiya has a pear shape. Both fruits possess a bright orange color, thin skin, and leaves at the bottom when ripe.

Fuyu can be consumed at the crunchy stage like sliced apples in salad but you must not eat hachiya until it is soft and fully ripe because of its extreme astringency. You can slice off the top of Hachiya and eat it with a spoon like a soft pudding.

Turn your ripe persimmons into pulp before making baked goods such as bread, cake, and bar cookies. Nothing says autumn like this late autumn fruit in a lemon-drizzled bar cookie that uses the pulp of persimmons and chopped dates. In the recipe that follows, I used the Sunsweet brand of chopped dates.

RECIPE for Persimmon-Date Bars with Lemon Glaze

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups flour

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon Kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1 cup pureed persimmon pulp

1 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice (plus 2 tablespoons for glaze)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup finely chopped dates

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 egg

1 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease and flour a 9 x 13-inch glass baking dish.

Mix together flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and cloves in a bowl.

In a separate bowl, thoroughly combine persimmon pulp, 1 1⁄2 tsp. lemon juice, and baking soda. Set aside.

Using a whisk, mix together granulated sugar, dates, oil, and egg in a large bowl. Add dry ingredients and persimmon mixture. Stir until just combined and then pour mixture into the prepared baking dish. Use a spatula to flatten and smooth the top of the cookie dough.

Bake 25 minutes until lightly browned. Remove from oven and let cool for five minutes while you make the glaze.

To make the glaze, whisk together 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and confectioners’ sugar until smooth. Pour the glaze in zigzags across the bar cookie and then smooth out the glaze with a spatula. When the bar cookie has hardened, cut into rectangular bars or diamond shapes.