A Sense of Place

This post doesn't have anything to do with West Virginia specifically, but it is relevant to what West Virginia means to us.

I have grown-up or lived in nine states, in the following order: Iowa, South Dakota, Kansas, Illinois, Iowa again, Kansas again, Illinois again, Indiana, Connecticut, South Carolina, Ohio, and West Virginia. Each of these states has its own feel and is unique.

To people from the coasts, it may seem that the Midwest is homogeneous, but nothing could be further from the truth. When I was at the University of Iowa, there was a tee-shirt poking fun at this misconception that stated: University of Iowa, Idaho City, Ohio. You know, Iowa, isn't that near Ohio? (They're 400 miles from each other border-to-border, or about the same distance from Richmond VA to New Haven CT.) Columbus to Des Moines is 650 miles. South Dakota itself is 400 miles wide; Illinois is 428 miles long (thanks eighth-grade geography).

Tomatoes and Peppers

tomatoes and peppers @ 17 days

We started the tomato and pepper seeds on March 4th. The container was suspended on a cooling rack over a heating duct until the seeds sprouted, and then we assembled a mini-greenhouse to get them going. It consists of two sawhorses to which three sets of 4' fluorescent lights were suspended between, with an old shower curtain draped over the top to keep the heat from a small oil heater inside the compartment. A few pieces of old styrofoam were laid on top of the shower curtain for insulation, and the seed container was set on top of our recycling bin to get it off the floor and up where the heat was. We could maintain the temperature between 75-80 °F, and used a timer to turn the lights on and off so the plants got 16 hours of light per day. The difference between this year's seedlings and past year's is remarkable, due to keeping them at such a warm temperature. After two weeks, the tomatoes are putting out their second and third set of new leaves. The tomatoes will be ready for re-potting this coming weekend.

From L to R:

• bell peppers
• Padrón peppers
• cayenne peppers
• Garden Peach tomato
• Orange Blossom tomato
• Red Cherry tomato
• Black Cherry tomato
• Sun Gold cherry tomato
• Yellow Pear cherry tomato
• Red Defiant tomato, and
• Black Krim tomato

re-potted tomatoes and peppers @ 20 days

The tomatoes and peppers have been re-potted, four each of the tomato varieties (32 plants), three each of the bell and cayenne peppers, and six of the Padrón peppers.

The last of these peppers are small and green and shaped like a jalapeño. They are mild, but every once in a while, one will be hot. They originated in Padrón in NW Spain. When we were in Galicia in June 2003, every bar and restaurant served them fried in olive oil with sea salt. They are a perfect accompaniment to a cold beer or a glass of Albariño from Rías Baixas.

fried pimientos de Padrón

Day Hike up Flatrock Run

Flatrock Run - March 3, 2012

We spent Saturday walking up Flatrock Run with our friends Rick and Karen. It had rained hard the night before, so there was a lot of water in the run and on the trails. Flatrock Run is directly opposite Dogs Run Farm across Red Creek. It is a very pleasant and easy hike, and goes into and through the new Roaring Plains West Wilderness area. The trail ultimately ends up on top of Roaring Plains, but there is a water crossing that would have been impossibly dangerous on Saturday with the run so high. The weather was perfect; sunny in the mid-30's. Here is a picture of Flatrock Run cascading over rocks in the (Nikon 70 mm lens, f/32, 1/6 s, ISO 200).

On the way down, we saw a juvenile bald eagle soaring on updrafts, and the dogs got up a flock of about 12-15 wild turkeys.