Sandhill Cranes and Bluebirds

This afternoon shortly before sunset we heard the call. Echoing across the snow and mud came the prehistoric warble marking the return of our long-legged friends with the red eyemask - the sandhill crane. (Hear the call yourself at the International Crane Foundation site. Awesome!)

Moments later we spotted a bundle of flitting figures caped in blue with their little organge cravats. These we'd seen sitting on the branches of a new pear tree in the front yard and in the catalpa. The bluebird, too, had come back.

Comments

Anonymous said…

I've seen blue birds, but not cranes yet this year. The wetlands near our house are shallow enough to freeze regularly, so we haven't seen anywhere near as many waterfowl and waders as we had at the same time last year.

March 1, 2009 at 1:56 AM

Finding Heirloom Seeds in Japan

Drying pods of heirloom Hutterite Soup Beans. Since moving to Japan eight years ago, one of my greatest challenges as a farmer-gardener has been to find heirloom or open-pollinated seeds. The majority of seeds available are not GMO (genetically modified organisms) as Japan, at this point, doesn't accept this material. Most seeds, though, are nearly all F1 varieties. Heirloom and F1 Varieties In plant breeding, F1 is the name given to the first generation of a cross between two true breeding parents. For example, if I decide to cross an Amish Paste Tomato with another heirloom variety tomato such as Emmy, in hopes of getting a gold paste tomato, the resulting generation of fruit is F1. In order to get that tomato of my culinary dreams, I'll need to choose members of that first generation that are headed in a direction I like - early ripening, medium-sized fruit, good taste - and save their seeds. I'll plant them and repeat the process again and again over time unti

Kamakura Farmers Market: Giant Buddhas and Good Vegetables

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Satoimo: One of Japan's Favorite Slimy Things

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Japan Farmers Markets

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