Well done, Charlie.

Well, spring time is here and we've been busy getting back into the dirt in the garden behind our house. What have you all been up to? Our spare bedroom has become a greenhouse for indoor starters, mostly flowers (cosmos, daisies, marigolds) for cover in the garden, along with some basil plants, green onions, chives, and satellite squash plants that will take some extra time to grow before transplanting. We just added some arugula and lettuce up there as a recent addition and they are coming along nicely under their little plastic dome.

Outdoors, cool-weather crops like peas, spinach, beets and carrots have been planted along with our onion sets and garlic. We may have jumped the gun in planting so early, but we'll see what happens - right now some seedlings are up from the soil so, so far so good!

One of the things that really launched us into spring was the acquisition, after a period of research, of a quarter of a steer that will hold us through the summer. Mark found a wonderful farm in Mason, MI - just outside of Lansing - an organic farmer raising free-range cattle, goats and chickens, ready to take some steer to butcher. After heading out west in Michigan earlier that day with some friends (hooray for labor summits in the middle of nowhere), we brought them along down to Mason on the way home to help us with the beef.

A quarter of a steer was anywhere from 150-200 lbs hanging weight, so we ended up with a few huge packages of ground hamburger, enormous chuck, sirloin and rump roasts, ribs, steaks, and other tasty cuts. Split between us and four other friends who love beef like we do, everyone received about 27 lbs of processed meat for $100... definitely a cost-per-pound bargain given what some organic, free-range meat costs in stores. Plus, we knew the date it was butchered and processed, our farmer got all of the proceeds, it went straight from his house to ours, and I had the chance to name our bovine Charlie in a move of farm-to-table appreciation.

A quarter of a cow, by the way, can fit into the trunk of your car no problem:

But yes, I was saying earlier that this really launched us into spring. I should say that our visit to the farm was accompanied by snow flurries and gusty, freezing winds; back down in Ann Arbor, however, a minor cold snap passed quickly and the next day brought clear skies and temperatures in the 70s, along with the presence of our good friend Dan. How can you pass up this opportunity?


We bust out two pounds of ground beef and celebrated the good fortune with an impromptu barbecue. A big bowl of guacamole, grilled asparagus, and big, thick, butter burgers (my blend of secret spices and accompanied by a pat of butter in the meat) topped with aged cheddar, lettuce and tomatoes. Thanks Charlie, and see ya, winter!