A Treat for the Senses

For my birthday earlier this month my family sent a gorgeous bouquet that filled my office with the heady aroma of lilies. It was intoxicating, that scent and burst of color in the midst of winter. Alas, flowers eventually wither and fade away and you are left with only the memory... and perhaps an image or two...

Each flower is a soul blossoming out to nature.

~ Gerard de Nerval

Mushroom Metamorphosis

Amidst a week of rainy days, an unfolding...

I am sure it is a great mistake always to know enough to go in when it rains. One may keep snug and dry by such knowledge, but one misses a world of loveliness.

~ Adeline Knapp

Winter Sunrise

I prefer winter and fall, when you feel the bone structure of the landscape—the loneliness of it, the dead feeling of winter. Something waits beneath it, the whole story doesn't show.

~ Andrew Wyeth

This is my entry for the monthly Picture This Photo Contest at Gardening Gone Wild.  Stop by to view all the entries depicting "Winter's Beauty."

Serendipity

During the holidays we spent time with family in Mammoth Lakes. We enjoyed crisp blue-sky days with chilly but reasonable temperatures, and one partial day of snow flurries. On our day of departure, we headed out just before sunrise. As we dropped down into Round Valley outside Bishop, the view before us was even more breathtaking than usual. The snow-covered mountains were washed with the blue light of morning. We didn't have time to stop for photos, so I started shooting from the car. Snapping away at 70+ mph through a not-so-clean window, I never know what kind of blurry images I'm going to end up with, but this day proved to contain some magic. These are two I ended up with. Photos never quite fully capture your experience of a moment in time, but these certainly come close considering the circumstances. We ended our trip with one of those hush-inducing scenes that you happen upon only when you are least expecting it.

Mount Tom and Round Valley

Sierra crest outside Bishop

Sometimes I do get to places
just when God's ready to have somebody click the shutter.
~ Ansel Adams

Hello, New Year

I hope your new year has begun as beautifully as this sunrise that began our week here in Southern California. May it be a good year for all of us.

I apologize for being absent so long—from here, and from all of your lovely blogs. All through the holidays I was very busy enjoying family and a brief time away, and this week I have been trying to catch up on all the things set aside. Maybe by next week I will be back in the swing of things. I miss all of you!

With each sunrise, we start anew.

~ Author Unknown

Winter Solstice

Just taking a moment to note the change in seasons and wish everyone a Happy Winter Solstice.

I only want
Myself to be
As silent as
A winter tree,

To hear the swirling
Stillness grow,
When all the world
Is full of snow.

~ from "When All the World is Full of Snow" by N.M. Bodecker

Merry Christmas!

Since we're a little busy around here and I'm sure you are too, I just want to take this opportunity to say Merry Christmas to all of my blogging friends across the globe. Wishing you safe journeys and the best of times with family and friends.

Make a Smilebox greeting

There's more, much more, to Christmas

Than candlelight and cheer;

It's the spirit of sweet friendship

That brightens all year.

It's thoughtfulness and kindness,

It's hope reborn again,

For peace, for understanding,

And for goodwill to men!

~ Author Unknown

Christmas Spirit

Just something fun to get you in the mood...


Amazing Grace Techno - Computer Controlled Christmas Lights from Richard Holdman on Vimeo.

If you never did, you should.

These things are fun, and fun is good.

~ Dr. Seuss

After the Rain

Life is like a rainbow.
You need both the sun and the rain to make its colors appear.
~ Author Unknown

Hoshigaki

Photo by Pat Brodie

I thought I would share an interesting project I have underway right now.  First, a bit of history.  My parents have a Hachiya persimmon tree and spend quite a bit of time each fall picking and delivering the crop to friends, neighbors, and even a couple markets.  This is a long tradition for my mom, as she helped my grandparents do the same for many years (my parents now live in my grandparents' house, so it is the same tree).

Last year, my mom's friend Janice wanted to try making dried persimmons the traditional Japanese way, so she collected some from my parents.  Japanese dried persimmons are called "hoshigaki" (hoshi = dried, kaki = persimmon, the k changes to g to form one word).  When I got my hands on some of Janice's last year, I was hooked!  They are wonderfully chewy and dense (more so than dried apricots), and the persimmon flavor is intensified and sweetened.  So this year when I heard she was going to be doing it again, I said I wanted to learn how.  There are now a handful of us with hoshigaki "in progress."

Here's the process.  Hachiya persimmons are picked before they're ripe...

Chief Picker (dad). Photo by Janice Cook Knight.

Mom, two other hoshigaki converts Kim and Pat, and our mentor Janice.

The persimmons are peeled, tied by the remaining stems on each end of a string, and hung over a bamboo pole...

Photos by Pat Brodie

After 7-10 days a skin forms.  That's when the massaging begins in order to break down the pulp inside.  This continues every 3-5 days. 

Eventually, the natural sugars come to the surface of the skin and the pulp sets.  We're not there yet...

I have to admit to being spoiled a bit... Janice started the process for me.  She did the peeling, hanging, and initial massaging and then my parents brought my persimmons when they came to visit for Thanksgiving.  (I didn't realize how beautiful they would be in the initial stage, so I was glad to receive photos.)  Mom passed along the massaging technique and they have continued to get regular massages.  If only I were so lucky!  As you can see, they have taken up residence in the shower of our extra bathroom where they can dry in peace.

There is, of course, much more to the history and tradition of hoshigaki.  I've done a bit of poking around.  The Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program at UC Davis has posted online a very informative paper called "Hoshigaki: Preserving the Art of Japanese Hand Dried Persimmons" (clicking on the title will open the PDF).  There are a few people in California carrying on the tradition.  Here are some links for those of you who would like to see and know more:

Otow Orchard - scroll down to watch the beautiful slideshow of the process, then click on "What's New" to read the blog and especially to see photos of the orchard in snow (be sure to scroll down)

California Country article about Otow Orchard's hoshigaki

Penryn Orchard Specialties

instructables.com "how to" with photos