http://www.tallcloverfarm.com Homeward bound on Puget Sound. Putting in a good day on Vashon Island time. Mon, 06 Feb 2012 18:31:55 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.3 http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/5289/just-the-moon-mount-rainier-and-me http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/5289/just-the-moon-mount-rainier-and-me#comments Wed, 07 Dec 2011 14:55:59 +0000 Tom http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/?p=5289 #leftcontainerBox { float:left; position: fixed; top: 60%; left: 70px; } #leftcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; clear:both; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; padding-bottom:2px; } #bottomcontainerBox { height: 30px; width:50%; padding-top:1px; } #bottomcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; height: 30px; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; } Departing from the south end of the island, the less-traveled Vashon-Tacoma ferry between Tahlequah and Point Defiance is a step back in time and a welcomed respite. The M/V Rhododendron chugs across the south sound with the charm of a child’s vintage pull toy. Heading home after a fine time at a friend’s open house, [...]

]]> http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/5289/just-the-moon-mount-rainier-and-me/feed 19 http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/5229/leftovers-line-the-corners-of-my-plate http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/5229/leftovers-line-the-corners-of-my-plate#comments Fri, 25 Nov 2011 16:54:10 +0000 Tom http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/?p=5229 #leftcontainerBox { float:left; position: fixed; top: 60%; left: 70px; } #leftcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; clear:both; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; padding-bottom:2px; } #bottomcontainerBox { height: 30px; width:50%; padding-top:1px; } #bottomcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; height: 30px; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; } Last night, before I waddled into my carbo-induced coma and awaiting bed, I heard the song, The Way We Were. And this morning I’m still hearing the song, The Way We Were. Since I can’t eject the ditty from my internal soundtrack, I have decided to put my time to good use (since I moving [...]

]]> http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/5229/leftovers-line-the-corners-of-my-plate/feed 22 http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/5146/vashon-halloween-ghouls-just-wanna-have-fun http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/5146/vashon-halloween-ghouls-just-wanna-have-fun#comments Fri, 04 Nov 2011 16:04:03 +0000 Tom http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/?p=5146 #leftcontainerBox { float:left; position: fixed; top: 60%; left: 70px; } #leftcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; clear:both; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; padding-bottom:2px; } #bottomcontainerBox { height: 30px; width:50%; padding-top:1px; } #bottomcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; height: 30px; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; } Cheshire Gigantica: At 357 pounds, the best-ever jack-o-lantern stole the night. Vashon Islanders take their celebrations seriously, in a non-serious sort of way. Halloween is no exception. Last Monday, town was closed to cars, and left to ghouls, vampires, princesses and pirates in search of free treats, treats and more treats from local merchants.Little Cutie-Pie [...]

]]> http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/5146/vashon-halloween-ghouls-just-wanna-have-fun/feed 22 http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/5131/postcards-from-the-edge-of-autumn http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/5131/postcards-from-the-edge-of-autumn#comments Sat, 29 Oct 2011 16:34:52 +0000 Tom http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/?p=5131 #leftcontainerBox { float:left; position: fixed; top: 60%; left: 70px; } #leftcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; clear:both; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; padding-bottom:2px; } #bottomcontainerBox { height: 30px; width:50%; padding-top:1px; } #bottomcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; height: 30px; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; } Fall colors fade fast in the Pacific Northwest, but I can always count on my Glenora grape leaves to stick around. (The grapes are another story.) With Autumn storms come fallen branches, a sure sign that my madrona branch fence will grow in the weeks to come. (Boz caught in the act of eating baby [...]

]]> http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/5131/postcards-from-the-edge-of-autumn/feed 22 http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/5030/confessions-of-a-pumpkinhead http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/5030/confessions-of-a-pumpkinhead#comments Mon, 17 Oct 2011 17:56:30 +0000 Tom http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/?p=5030 #leftcontainerBox { float:left; position: fixed; top: 60%; left: 70px; } #leftcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; clear:both; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; padding-bottom:2px; } #bottomcontainerBox { height: 30px; width:50%; padding-top:1px; } #bottomcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; height: 30px; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; } Me and my Sugar Pie pumpkin: I wear it proudly (well, at least inside the house). Hi, my name is Tom and I’m a bona fide pumpkinhead. Yes, I admit it; I’m a man who loves the genus Cucurbita. Whether pepo, moschato, or maxima, they’re all pumpkins to me. Boz, protector of  pie pumpkins, when [...]

]]> http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/5030/confessions-of-a-pumpkinhead/feed 21 http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/2854/after-the-storm-two-days-lost-two-days-found http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/2854/after-the-storm-two-days-lost-two-days-found#comments Sat, 27 Nov 2010 18:14:53 +0000 Tom http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/?p=2854 #leftcontainerBox { float:left; position: fixed; top: 60%; left: 70px; } #leftcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; clear:both; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; padding-bottom:2px; } #bottomcontainerBox { height: 30px; width:50%; padding-top:1px; } #bottomcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; height: 30px; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; } Where there’s a will there’s a way: survival depends on hot coffee. Mother Nature provided a reality check this week,  dispatching an arctic storm that toppled trees, sliced power lines, coated roads with ice and dispensed record low temperatures. The formidable storm left the entire island in the cold and without power. Was I prepared? [...]

]]> http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/2854/after-the-storm-two-days-lost-two-days-found/feed 11 http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/2818/snow-falling-on-cedars-and-everything-else http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/2818/snow-falling-on-cedars-and-everything-else#comments Mon, 22 Nov 2010 20:08:57 +0000 Tom http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/?p=2818 #leftcontainerBox { float:left; position: fixed; top: 60%; left: 70px; } #leftcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; clear:both; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; padding-bottom:2px; } #bottomcontainerBox { height: 30px; width:50%; padding-top:1px; } #bottomcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; height: 30px; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; } My madrona branch fence flocked in winter white Snow is a welcomed albeit rare visitor to Vashon. When an arctic blast ushers in a snowy blanket and enveloping hush, the island is transformed, as if the snowflakes absorb both sound and the presence of haste. The roads are empty, the chimneys reveal the warmth within [...]

]]> http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/2818/snow-falling-on-cedars-and-everything-else/feed 19 http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/2799/over-the-pass-to-apple-country http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/2799/over-the-pass-to-apple-country#comments Wed, 17 Nov 2010 20:02:06 +0000 Tom http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/?p=2799 #leftcontainerBox { float:left; position: fixed; top: 60%; left: 70px; } #leftcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; clear:both; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; padding-bottom:2px; } #bottomcontainerBox { height: 30px; width:50%; padding-top:1px; } #bottomcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; height: 30px; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; } View from the Lancaster’s apple and cherry orchard on the Columbia River. Last weekend, my friends Nancy and Scarlett invited me to a cider pressing east of the mountains, the mountains being the Cascades.  I eagerly accepted. I’ve lived in and traveled to many places, but Washington state holds my heart. A land of stark [...]

]]> http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/2799/over-the-pass-to-apple-country/feed 13 http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/2683/slicin-up-some-chanterelle-mushroom-pie http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/2683/slicin-up-some-chanterelle-mushroom-pie#comments Mon, 25 Oct 2010 19:32:03 +0000 Tom http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/?p=2683 #leftcontainerBox { float:left; position: fixed; top: 60%; left: 70px; } #leftcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; clear:both; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; padding-bottom:2px; } #bottomcontainerBox { height: 30px; width:50%; padding-top:1px; } #bottomcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; height: 30px; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; } The rain has returned and so has my need for comfort food, the kind of chow that warms me like another log on the fire. After devouring my latest cache of chanterelle mushrooms, I had to resort to their store-bought cousins (though still picked in the wild) to produce this fall favorite: Chanterelle Mushroom and [...]

]]> http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/2683/slicin-up-some-chanterelle-mushroom-pie/feed 22 http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/728/a-thanksgiving-postcard-and-wish http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/728/a-thanksgiving-postcard-and-wish#comments Thu, 26 Nov 2009 20:11:06 +0000 Tom http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/?p=728 #leftcontainerBox { float:left; position: fixed; top: 60%; left: 70px; } #leftcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; clear:both; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; padding-bottom:2px; } #bottomcontainerBox { height: 30px; width:50%; padding-top:1px; } #bottomcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; height: 30px; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; } May the distances that separate us be erased with each fond recollection, and the smiles and laughter of family and friends be captured in memories that never fade. May this day be filled with warm hearths and warmer hearts and may our gratitude for the gifts of life never escape us. Happy Thanksgiving and Best Wishes, Tom

]]> http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/728/a-thanksgiving-postcard-and-wish/feed 6 http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/568/you-know-its-autumn-in-the-northwest-when http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/568/you-know-its-autumn-in-the-northwest-when#comments Wed, 21 Oct 2009 04:54:19 +0000 Tom http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/?p=568 #leftcontainerBox { float:left; position: fixed; top: 60%; left: 70px; } #leftcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; clear:both; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; padding-bottom:2px; } #bottomcontainerBox { height: 30px; width:50%; padding-top:1px; } #bottomcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; height: 30px; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; } Wheelbarrows double as wading pools.  Roses resemble wet tissues. Hammocks allow for drop-ins. Tarps reach new architectural heights. Tomatoes give up the ghost. All eyes are on fresh-baked pies. Wood is wet and tarps too few. Sweet corn saves itself for an October plate. And the leaves of summer signal winter’s long sleep with fiery goodbye. What [...]

]]> http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/568/you-know-its-autumn-in-the-northwest-when/feed 11 http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/405/summer-harvest-begs-an-extension http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/405/summer-harvest-begs-an-extension#comments Mon, 28 Sep 2009 21:43:25 +0000 Tom http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/?p=405 #leftcontainerBox { float:left; position: fixed; top: 60%; left: 70px; } #leftcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; clear:both; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; padding-bottom:2px; } #bottomcontainerBox { height: 30px; width:50%; padding-top:1px; } #bottomcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; height: 30px; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; }   Heirloom tomatoes: Amish Paste, White Beauty, Old German, Pineapple, Hillbilly, Lemon Boy and Sugar Lump. If I left these on the vines, October rains would sauce them for me. Some days show up like a great performance; the key players tune up to bring you a perfect mix of light, breeze and balm. Sunday [...]

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