Backroads, Backtracking and BBQ

A couple of times a year Ed suggests we take a roadtrip; usually he has a proposed itinerary already mapped out. That was the case last week when he proposed a trip to Henderson and Paducah, KY with a loop through southern Illinois and a stop (of course) in his hometown of Owensboro. 

View from the top of Devil's Standtable, Giant City State Park

We left last Friday and returned just before dark on Tuesday night. We covered a lot of territory in five days, but never felt rushed as we made our way along the backroads, (often backtracking due to flooded roads!).


Crossing the Ohio into Illinois

Here’s a quick rundown of our adventures: First stop: Bard Distillery, located in the old high school in Graham, Muhlenberg County, KY. 

Bard Distillery, located in the historic coal-mining town of Graham, KY

Lunch at Homer’s BBQ in downtown Henderson, then on to Robards for a delightful stay/dinner at Farmer and the Frenchman Winery. 

We stayed in one of the three cabins, just next to the vineyard.

Next up: a stop at Newsom’s Market in Princeton, KY to sample and purchase their award-winning ham.

We loaded up with country ham, prosciutto ham and ham hocks. 

Then it was on to Paducah with dinner at Freight House, under the proprietorship of Sara Bradley, this year’s James Beard Foundation nominee for Best Chef. 

Sunday morning we attended service at First Presbyterian Church before crossing a swollen Ohio River to make our way to our two-night cabin stay at Giant City State Park in the Shawnee National Forest in southern Illinois. 

Warmly welcomed into the Palm Sunday service at First Presbyterian

We hiked, enjoyed meals at the park’s beautiful lodge and had plenty of time for reading and birdwatching. 

The Lodge at Giant City was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s. 

Our cabin was just down the ramp from a sci-fi looking water tower.

On our way home on Tuesday morning, we stopped at the Garden of Gods for a hike among the incredible sandstone rock formations. 

Stunning panoramic views from The Observation Trail

Then we spent two hours trying to find a route back into Kentucky. Every route we tried ended at a flooded closed road. Eventually, we backtracked to the town of Harrisburg where a local resident gave us driving instructions for crossing the Ohio at Shawneetown. 

Water. Water. Everywhere.

We stopped briefly in Owensboro to stock up on Old Hickory BBQ and Reid’s Orchard’s apple cider. And, of course, we couldn’t pass New Albany without stopping in for hugs with Hazel and Norbert and dropping off some mutton and mac and cheese.


Then home, to breathe in the sweet scent of blooming viburnum. 

It was a good trip, and it was good to be home. 

Playing with Sticks

Five, six, pick up sticks;

Seven, eight, lay them straight;

— Early English nursery rhyme

Life out in the sticks these late winter days often finds me playing with sticks. I gather them up and find other uses for them; it’s the ultimate in recycling. It’s a way for me to branch out and learn new skills.

Stick project #1:  Creating a dead hedge.  It all started a couple of months ago when I was "tidying" up my Girl Cave and tossing fallen branches to the far edge of it. The sticks started piling up and before I knew it, I had a certifiable dead hedge and I rather like it. 

I'm hoping that all sorts of critters, from beetles to snails, native bees, toads, lizards, field mice, rabbits, snakes, and nesting birds, will find it a happy and safe place to hang out. 

Eventually, it will decompose and enrich the soil, but I'm planning to add to it whenever I find a fallen branch -- making it an ongoing effort to ever-so-slightly slow climate change via carbon sequestration. Bonus: creating an inviting habitat for all creatures, great and small, of Farm Dover.

Stick project #2:  The spring spruce up of our teepee. 

The vertical poles still stand from 2024 and will hopefully last another year; all I had to do was add new horizontal connections. I fastened long branches from our pussy willow to the vertical poles with bits of string.

Next month, I'll recruit Hazel and Norbert to help me plant the base with sunflowers, sweet peas, cucumbers, pumpkins and grape hyacinths. It's always a well-loved destination for some of my favorite people. 

Stick project #3: Hurdle fence. Later this month, I'll plant one of the raised beds in front of the cottage with peas and fava beans, but they will need protecting from some overzealous rabbits. I've added to last year’s woven hurdle fence around the bed. I'm hoping it will make it just that much harder for the bunnies to leap into the bed and feast on sprouts. Fingers crossed.

And finally, Stick project #4: Cloches.  This week, I will cut some more willow sticks to create a cloche to protect the soon-to-be-planted radishes. Here's one I fashioned last year.

Gleaning. Piling. Connecting. Weaving; all part of my stick life here. It's nice to have these projects while waiting for spring to arrive. It feels good to be out in my own little world, a break from the worry of our nation and planet’s future.. Playing with sticks: Won’t you come out on a limb and join me?

 

To Roscoe, with Love

Nothing pleases me more than when my grown children (and their partners) love on their nieces and nephew. Perhaps they see it as a way to stay connected because they live so far from each other. Perhaps they see it as a chance to nurture a tiny human with a shared DNA. Or perhaps they are just lovely, thoughtful people who are generous with their time and talents. 

Their love can take the shape of Saturday morning FaceTime call, a hand-sewn butterfly cape; a mud kitchen hammered together from two pallets, a hand-painted "red plate/journal” to mark milestones; a canvas bag full of heirloom toys and puzzles passed down from cousin to cousin; 

or, in this case, an illustrated book....

New York Baby Roscoe turned one on January 14th and her Uncle Jack, Aunt Kasia, Cousins Hazel and Norbert and I (her Bee) collaborated to make her a very special gift: a book that shows all the fun things she can do when she comes to Kentucky to visit Farm Dover. It was a hit!

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Here's a peek at the illustrations, drawn by Roscoe's Uncle Jack and colored by her Aunt Kasia;

story by cousins Norbert and Hazel (as told to Bee). 

Farm Dover: A Good Place to Be

Hi, Roscoe! We've been waiting and waiting 
for you to come to Farm Dover.

Hold our hands and we'll head down to Bee's Garden. 
See any red raspberries?

Then we'll run 'round to our Mud Kitchen.

What should we cook? 

Let's cool off in the back porch pool. 

Do you want to blow some bubbles?

Then we can pick some wild blackberries. How many can you pick?
Watch out for thorns!

Race down the hill to the teepee.
See any cucumbers to pick for a snack?

Then follow us over the creek to visit the Faerie Village.
Does it look like the faeries had a party?

Hold on tight. Don't drive the Polaris into the weeds!

And just before bedtime, snuggle up for a story.
Which book should Deed read?

Farm Dover: a very good place to be!

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Roscoe's book is one in a series of hand-illustrated books, made with love, for each little one. Each was printed as a board book by Artifact Uprising. 

Hazel's book traces the myrid of critters that show up in her backyard.

And Norbert's teaches him to count all his favorite things at Farm Dover. 

And now, Roscoe can look forward to Kentucky visits where she and her cousins can gather garden goodies, make pretend sumac soup, blow bubbles on the back porch, pick wild blackberries or cucumbers growing up a teepee, visit the Faerie Village, drive the Polaris, and snuggle up for a bedtime story. 

So, Roscoe, come to Farm Dover soon. We've been waiting and waiting...

Happy 1st Birthday. You are so loved. 

Asheville Misadventures

Well, our family vacation did not go as expected — that would be an understatement. 

artwork by Hazel, age 5

Instead of hiking, foraging for mushrooms, dining at eclectic restaurants and enjoying the beautiful mountains of Western North Carolina, we spent the week dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Helene that wreaked calamity on the town of Asheville and surrounding region. 

By comparison with the residents of Asheville, we had it easy. Now back safely at Farm Dover, we can't stop thinking of the emotional and physical turmoil they have undergone and the long rebuilding process they are embarking on. 

Here’s how it rolled out:

Ed, Jack and I arrived in Asheville, NC last Wednesday afternoon and unloaded our car at our beautiful airbnb, near downtown. 

Jack then headed to the airport to pick up Mary and family, arriving from Brooklyn. That evening, it was pouring rain, so we ventured into town for dinner by car (making two trips as the six of us could not all fit in our Subaru.) Late that night, Maggie, Nate, Hazel and Norbert arrived from New Albany. We were thrilled to all be together: seven adults, two children and one very cute baby girl. Let the vacation begin!

The next day the rain continued. Not to be daunted by a few raindrops, we headed to nearby Hendersonville for a late breakfast and time at the children’s museum. We noticed that many of the shops had closed early because bad weather was predicted. 

Once back in Asheville, Maggie and Nate went to the grocery for fixings for an at-home dinner. We stayed in for the night. 

In the very early morning hours of Friday, remnants of Hurricane Helene blew through town.  It rained hard. The wind blew. We could hear trees cracking and falling. We woke up to no electricity and only spotty cell service. By noon, our airbnb hosts were advising us to fill a tub with water as the city's water main (under the French Broad River) had broken, the river was flooding, and all city water would soon be turned off. We could no longer get any cell phone/internet service. It was eerily quiet except for the sound of chainsaws.

Brian and I headed out to fill up the car with gas. We only found stations that were unable to dispense gas without a generator or, long, long lines at the pumps of the only two stations that were open. We struck out. And still it rained. 

On Saturday, without any intel on road conditions, we got on the road toward home, only to find all the gas stations closed and I-40 blocked by mudslides and washouts. While the rest of the gang drove back to our Airbnb, Ed, Jack and I waited at a Pilot station for 6 hours on the (false) belief that generators were on their way so the pumps could be turned on. We used the last of our gas to drive back to Asheville. 

In the meantime, Brian and Nate had hiked to the a Harris-Tetter grocery, stood in line for two hours, and bought all the non-perishable provisions they could carry in bags and backpacks. We settled in with no electricity, no running water, no internet, no gas and no open highways. We did have a deck of “Go Fish.”

As we walked around the neighborhood, we were aghast at the number of fallen trees and damage to homes. Cars smashed beneath mighty oaks. We found a guy in a van with a Starlink connection and a willingness to let anyone use his cell service. Nate and Brian texted their parents to let them know they were alive and well. And Jack was able to connect with Kasia, who was in New York with her family from Poland. 

Our airbnb hosts, Sarah and Doniel, were terrific. They brought over a gallon of gas and a fifth of Rye Whiskey — and checked on us often. We got to know the neighbors, the firemen at the local station, and Brian connected with a friend’s dad, who had a generator enabling him to recharge our phones, computers and external batteries for whenever we might get cell service. 

Every hour, at the top of the hour, some of us would go sit in the van and tune into the local NPR radio station for updates. In the meantime, we played some rousing games of Sardines, read books to the kids, colored and made cootie-catchers. Hazel worked on documenting the trip for a school assignment and eight-month-old Roscoe Jane entertained us all with her smiles and hand-clapping. 

Norbert and Hazel picked up all the fallen branches and sticks that had filled the front yard and they swept the porch. Maggie, Mary and I whipped up fairly imaginative meals from the ingredients we had on hand and which we served on paper plates. Nate and Brian captured rain water from the flooded basement to use to flush the toliets and figured out how to drain the hot water heaters for water to boil for drinking. We had nightly music with Nate on guitar and Jack on ukelele. Despite our predicament, we managed to have some lovely family time. 

On Sunday, it became apparent that it would be days before we had any water, and gas still wasn’t available. On the plus side: we did get cell service. And with it, we were able to plan an exit toward home. 

Our main barrier was the lack of gas in the Subaru. Nate and Brian worked on a solution most of Sunday afternoon. Syphoning gas from the Dodge van to the Subaru proved unsuccessful (as newer cars evidently have a screen that prevents it). 

After some head scratching and trial and error, they figured out how to disconnect the fuel line at the engine of the van, jury rig it so that the fuel pump would run. With each turn of the key, they were able to get 5 ounces of gas. They worked at it until they captured 4 gallons which they transferred into the Subaru. Incredible brilliance and problem solving on display! Both cars could now be driven far enough to (hopefully) find a station where we could fill up. 

And so it was that on Monday morning we pulled out of our Asheville drive, headed south toward Spartanburg, then east to Charlotte (on the only open highway) and then north to Beckley, WV and on toward Farm Dover. Twelve hours later, we were home. Tired and in need of a shower, but safe.

As we drove out of town, we were devastated by the water and wreckage. The town and outskirts along the river looked post-apocalyptic. Lives, businesses, and homes were lost. Trees were down everywhere. Water was everywhere it was not supposed to be. Western North Carolina is a beautiful place and will eventually heal from this devastation, but it will be a long, long time before life gets back to anything approaching normal. 

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Here is a list of lessons we learned; hope it helps you think about how you might prepare for a local disaster.

Now

• Purchase a hand-crank radio/phone charger.
• Put a flashlight and hand sanitizer in your car and in a designated place in your home.
• Keep extra batteries, a lighter or matches, and a stock of paper plates, cutlery and cups on hand.
• Purchase extra water in gallon containers; rotate to keep fresh.
• Purchase powdered or shelf-stable milk and non-perishable food items (peanut butter, mac and cheese, cans of tuna, pasta, etc.). Rotate on a regular basis.
• Have a first-aid kit, fully stocked. 
• Keep prescriptions filled; purchase an extra pair of glasses or contact lenses.
• If appropriate, keep an emergency supply of diapers, formula, hygiene and sanitary products.
• Put all your important documents in one place. Make copies of your credit and identification cards. 
• Consider keeping some emergency cash on hand. 
• In cold weather, have blankets, hats, gloves, warm socks, etc. stored in one place. 
• Don't toss your old technologies: Norbert's Paw Patrol walkie talkies, our old Garmin GPS, and car radio were each helpful to have. (Hazel boasted that her Etch-A-Sketch was the only working computer in the house!)
• Have a plan and communicate it to your loved ones.

When bad weather is predicted

• Fill vehicles with gas.
• Fully charge electronic devices
• Check in with your loved ones to remind them of your plan.

When bad weather/natural disaster happens

• Fill a bathtub with water (for flushing toilets)
• Shut off your water heater. 
• Drain hot water tank for drinkable water (boil before drinking).

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One last thought: if I had to be stranded with a group of people, there is no other group I’d rather be with. I heard no complaining; experienced only kindness; watched everyone step up and offer their expertise. Despite it all, we ready did have a lovely time together. These are my people — and I love them dearly.