traveling up and down the blind highway

I was looking for a topic for this week’s blog. I discovered this is International Pickle Week. I found there are over 23 types of pickles produced. That doesn’t include other pickled vegetables. For this article, pickles will be the topic.
My Mom made bread and butter sweet pickles from the whites of watermelon rinds. There used to be a large section of white between the outer shell and the sweet red fruit. Mom would cut and cube the white rinds and soak in a salt bath of 1/4 cup of salt to one quart of water. Soak for 2 to 4 hours. She rinsed the rind thoroughly. The brine should be one cup vinegar, one cup water, 3/4th cup of sugar and one teaspoon of celery seed, mustard and red or green food coloring . Other spices can be added to suit your family’s taste. The food coloring should not exceed 5 drops for a vibrant-colored pickle. Simmer the rinds in the brine for ten to 15 minutes. Remove and pour into canning jars. Place in a boiling bath to seal the canning jars. Remove and cool to ensure the canning jars pop to seal. My Mom would serve these as part of a vegetable platter for the holidays. They have a sweet, tangy flavor with a crisp texture. Sadly, most commercially grown watermelons have eliminated a thick white rind. You may still find thick rinds in homegrown watermelons.
Dill pickles are another choice to make at home. For beginners, choose to pickle the whole cucumber, about 3 to 4 inches in length. Refrigerator dill pickles are the easiest to make and require no cooking. Mix four cups of water, 8 tablespoons of white vinegar, and 3 tablespoons of kosher salt. Other ingredients that you may want to try are four garlic cloves, one per jar, sixteen sprigs of fresh dill, four for each jar, one teaspoon of black pepper corns and a pinch of red pepper flakes to each jar. Pour the brine mixture over the cucumbers in jars. Be sure the cucumbers are covered. Allow to pickle several days for the best flavor. They will stay crisp up to 3 to four weeks in the fridge.
Other pickle foods include beets, jalapeños, carrots, and even pickle hard-boiled eggs. Often, hard-boiled eggs are pickled with beets to give a rosy or magenta hue all the way through the egg white and yolk.
Whatever type of pickle, making homemade pickles is a fun and easy way to expand your side dishes.

***. Poem
In a Pickle
Imagine what to do with a large cucumber crop.
Nearly four inches long.

Assemble the ingredients.

Place the cucumbers in a vinegar brine.
In each jar, add a garlic clove, dill sprigs and peppercorns.
Cool in the refrigerator for at least two days.
Keep refrigerated for several weeks.
Love the crisp texture and tang.
Everyone’s favorite.
carolaspot, copyrighted 5/18/26

To identify birds in my area, I use the Merlin App. It is free from Cornell University. The Merlin will identify birds by their song. Overlapping songs can be identified. I just step outside in the morning to record about a minute of bird songs. The Merlin uses a large bank of recordings to help identify the specific bird songs. It makes it easier to make a list of birds in your area. The app listens to the recording and will list the bird sound heard. You can click on a bird name to learn more about that bird.
We also have two outdoor cameras to record movement in day or night. The Cornell ornithology lab has been collecting photos and audio recordings for over 100 years. In 2002, e-bird was launched. This is a worldwide collecting and recording of bird sights by amateur and scientists to collect data on current bird migrations. Data is collected and sent to Cornell to be analyzed. Many recordings in the lab archives are of birds now extinct. All the Cornell apps are free downloads for your phone.
On early sunny mornings, you will see and hear bees busy collecting pollen from spring flowers. Sometimes the earliest blooms may have more than one bee in the bloom. I placed my Easter lily on the porch table to receive morning sun. The blooms were alive with buzzing of busy bees. Don’t remove old flowers until they are drying to give the pollinators ample time to gather the pollen.
This is a time to see youngsters with their parents. This week a family of five turkeys has appeared most late afternoons to eat under the bird feeder and get a drink of water. The Tom usually stands on the top of the hill, where he can keep an eye on his flock. He puffs up his feathers to appear bigger and more intimidating to predators. The females and two poults scratch for fallen bird seed. Then they wander to the neighbor’s yard and the next feeder.
Young fox squirrels have trained us to throw out several raw peanuts in the shell. If we are late, they stand on the back of chairs or look into our kitchen to see if we have the peanut treats for them.
Lastly, young groundhogs will emerge in the early morning and again in the early evening to forage and get a drink. They stay in their burrows in the heat of the day.
The raccoons are seen on the motion camera in the middle of the night. Often more than one time in a night. They will step into the cement water basin to cool their paws as they drink. A young raccoon was captured by the camera lens last evening.
Deer are active in the hours of dawn and dusk. Deer will rest for 4 to 6 hours each day. They sleep in quick blasts of 30 seconds to several minutes at a time. We will be watching for newborn fawns to be hidden in the tall grasses at the edge of our woods. A doe will go off to graze, leaving her fawn hidden and standing still for protection with the camouflage markings that mimic the tall brush or grasses. John was walking in the woods last spring and almost tripped over a newborn fawn before he saw it. The fawn never moved.
Chipmunks and an occasional skunk are caught on the cameras as visitors. They are getting a drink and move on.
An open backyard near a wooded lot can be full of wildlife in the spring.
***.
Sounds of Spring
Listen to morning songs.
Titmouse “Peter, Peter, Peter” with whistles and clicking.
Cardinal song “ a melodic cheer, cheer, birdie, birdie rings through the woods.
Early robins greet the dawn with a rising cheer call when excited.
Most birds will produce a sharp warning when a predator is in the area.
Most of the songs in spring are to attract a mate and made by the males.
carolaspot@aol.com
copyrighted 5/11/26

When my parents moved into a new home on Eaton Drive, there were only older couples with no children. They were about three active boys. Later, my brother Brian and I were added to the mix. The worried neighbors became surrogate mothers. The Smiths lived across the street. When they moved to a small farm, Mrs. Smith adopted my cat , Fluffy. Because Mom was pregnant and was not to clean the litter box, Fluffy enjoyed the life of a barn cat, catching mice and sleeping on the back of their jersey milker. Mrs. Smith brought brown eggs from her chickens. She convinced me that they were chocolate-flavored. Often, she would bake cupcakes or cookies to prove her point.
Mrs. Pickle lived in the red-shingled house on the left side. She had a hanging two-person swing on her porch. I was often asked to join her on the swing on a hot summer evening. She would treat me to bold sweet tea.
On the right side, an older German woman lived. She was bringing the treats to share with my family.
As I grew, it was time to find an older Catholic to be my sponsor for Confirmation. My mom suggested Mrs. Holbin. She was a widow that cleaned and set the altar linens for the coming Sunday services. I was walking to the church on Saturdays to practice playing the organ to play for Mass. Mrs. Holbin always dressed in shades of deep purple in the winter and light lavender in the summer. I could see that color moving around the church. When she disappeared, I would explore the nooks and crannies of the church. I opened the confessional where the priest sat between two confessional closets.
He had a chair with arms. I imagined him leaning on the arm as he slid the grated door open.
I opened the baptismal font to splash holy water on my face and hands. The usher’s room had a glass box with coins in it. I wondered what it had been for. I would light a few votive candles in front of the statue of the Blessed Virgin, but never placed coins in the slot underneath.
Mrs Holbin was patient with my antics. Like all the rest of my surrogate mother figures, they helped me to grow in to a whole person. To all the women that have mentored and trained girls into women this Mother’s day is for you.
***. poem
Many Mothers in my Life
Mrs. Pickle with the swing and cold tea.
The German neighbor with cookie treats.
Mrs. Smith with fresh brown eggs.
“Use those first,” I would beg.

Mrs. Sister Mary Ellen carried me.
When I felt faint and couldn’t see.

But Mrs. Holbin was the best.
Her patience, I did test.
Allowed a child to explore.
Alter, choir loft many closed doors.

She would lean, I would play.
On the organ in the loft.
I heard her humming as she worked away.
Her voice was soothing when she talked.

Kneeling to pray before she left.
I was at home, not a guest.
I still remember
Her love of purple and a kind smile.

carolaspot@aol.com
copyright 5-4-2026

This past Saturday, we were celebrating Mass with our sister parish, Holy Name of Jesus at St. Robert of Newminster . We gathered to honor 20 years of sharing the needs of each parish. Holy Name parish has a large number of first and second-generation Hispanic families. The school, San Juan Diego Academy, has 179 students. We were one people, one voice and one faith. The group was a far cry from the Michigan rehabilitation center for the blind of twenty years ago.
I was behind two older Black clients in the cafeteria as they were having a conversation about another client.
“He is a real n……”
“He took the bus back to Detroit.”
“He will be back when his money runs out.”
Interrupting them, I inquired,
“Should we be talking about a fellow client that way?”
They stopped, paused and one of the men replied.
“We can call a brother that, but you can’t.”
I have heard my family members use racial slurs to describe a family member as a Pollock or a thrifty Plaid A…
I have heard a young man give a cook at a restaurant grief because the wrong condiment was on the salad.
Another time, I observed a cashier take money from her pocket to help a customer pay a food bill.
I have had the door of a building shut in my face after two people had entered in front of me.
Other times, a young person has raced to a door to open ahead of me and give a greeting such as , “Have a good day.”
We all have a choice to make in our attitude and words with others; don’t let pride get in the way. Are we the cause of discord or of healing? Do we see the people around us, treating each person as we would like to be treated? Are we the first to reach out to make a stranger’s day brighter?
By being present in the moment, we can make the day pleasant for others and ourselves. Harmony and conflicts begin with me. What path will you choose?

---

A “me first” doesn’t work.
Others have rights too.
I am not the only one in this world.
Take a pause , look around.
Others have rights too.
Be kind, reach out first.
We are not alone.
Reach out to others.
This world was created by God for all.

carolaspot@aol.com
copyrighted 4/27/26

This week may feel more like Noah’s Ark rather than spring. Normally, we receive a little over 3 inches of rain in April. Here in Western Michigan, we received three inches of rain in the last three days. We still have more to come. Consequently, we have the Thorn apple River and Grand Rivers overflowing their banks. Many low areas are flooded. We see small ponds in many yards. Birds , such as the ospreys, are feasting on minnows caught in the overflows.
Even in our gardens, what was a welcome shower has turned into a crop of large weeds along with the flowers.
Though weeds grow quickly, the weeds can be pulled from the ground easily with little resistance. I search for the weeds by touch, smell and height. Many of the common weeds grow faster than the perennials, they will be smaller and feel compact.
Dandelions are the first to emerge in the garden and grass. The leaves are jagged and slightly rough to the touch. Some use the early leaves for salad greens. If your yard has been treated, this is not advised. A wine can be made from the petals mixed with citrus fruit, sugar, water and wine yeast. Boiling water is poured over the petals and allowed to steep for 1 to 2 days to extract the flavor before the other ingredients are added. The fermenting process takes two to four weeks. The mixture is strained and bottled to continue the fermenting for another 4 to 6 weeks. The wine is then aged for six months.
Garlic mustard is an evasive plant . It was brought to North America in the 1800s by settlers for cooking and medicine. The plant has a two-year cycle. The first year, the plant is a low-growing plant with small kidney-shaped leaves. The second year, the plant grows a tall stem 12 to 36 inches in height. The leaves have a triangular shape. Small clusters of white flowers are at the top of the stem. When crushed, the leaves have a distinctive garlic scent. Settlers used the whole plant in cooking. They blanched the older plants to lessen the sharp taste.
Chick weed, is a low-growing weed that has small white star-shaped flowers and oval leaves that grow in pairs. The whole plant is edible and it was used in salads or cooked like spinach. Chick weed has a slightly sweet flavor.
Bitter cress is a fast-growing small-lobed leaf that grows in a rosette pattern at the base of the plant. The flowers are small, white and have 4 petals. The plant is edible with a mild peppery flavor. It is similar to watercress.
White clover flowers are the most flavorful part of this plant. The leaves have three lobes with a stem. The small white cluster of flowers rises from the center of the plant. They grow 4 to 8 inches in height.
My research shows that weeds are helpful plants that are growing in the wrong place in your garden. Enjoy all of nature’s offerings.
***. Poem
The weeds we throw away

Dandelions wave golden flowers. Dried to make a tea.
Chick weed, dried to make tea, has a mild sweet grassy flavor.
Garlic tea has a pungent garlic flavor with sharp undertones.
The white clover tea has a mild sweet flavor with hints of vanilla.
When I want to experiment, I choose herbal teas from my local herbal apothecary shop to taste nature’s bounty.

carolaspot@aol.com
copyright 4-20-2026

This week, I had a pleasant surprise. My poetry book is in the final edit review. I sent this to D and L Books at the end of February, not expecting to hear from them for several months. Instead, David Dvorkin wrote to see if I had a Library of Congress book number. I did. He said he would add it to my book information.
This past Thursday, Leonore Dvorkin wrote with some editing suggestions and requesting a synopsis for the back of the book. After a year of writing poems and making art then another year collecting and editing the finished product, I wanted to start a new writing project. I asked Leonore to write the synopsis.
I should have the draft copy of the book in my hands soon. It is like the birth of a baby. There is work, waiting and some pain before the book is born. I won’t believe it until I am holding it in my hands. The information for the book is below the three stars.

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“Compost, A Year’s Musings in Poetry and Art”
Library of Congress number 2026906257
author Carol Farnsworth
available soon in Amazon print and Kindle editions
Will be available through Barnes and Noble and other Book sellers in May
2026.

Today, we celebrate Scottish heritage by wearing or displaying our clan’s tartans. 3.6 percent of the American population report having Scottish ancestry. There are four geographical areas that had different tartans to identify fellow kinsmen from a distance. The four areas were known as the Borderlands, Lowland, Highlands and Islands. Clans and their tartan dress emerged in the 11th century but took hold in the 14th century. Each clan developed loyalty in return for protection and peace. In 1746 after the Jacobite Riots to restore the Stuart monarchy, Britain forbid the wearing of Scottish plaids From 1746 to 1782.
In early years tartans were wrapped or draped around the body. They wore a tunic under the wrapped cloth. The wrapped plaid evolved into today’s kilt garment. Traditionally, nothing is worn under the plaid or kilt. This is described as going military. When we visited Scotland, On a windy day, our whole bus was expose to the hairy buttock of an older scot.
Many Scotsmen proudly wear kilts in their clan’s plaid for dress and even daily wear. When our bus broke down in the Highlands, our mechanic arrived in a brown work kilt and stepped into a work suit to work under the bus.
Many young people wear kilts to sports events and gatherings. I have seen tee shirts, boots and tennis shoes paired with a tartan or kilt.
My family is the Turnbull clan. It was found in the borderland between England and Scotland. They were known to raid sheep and cattle over the border.
Learning about your family history is a good source of adding to your personal history.
***. poem

He saved the King
Willian was laboring in a lowland glen.
He stopped to watch Robert Bruce ride by with his friends.
The Prince’s tartan flowed in the breeze.
Enraging a young bull grazing in the trees.
William raced between the man and beast.
He grabbed the horns, crack, the bulls life ceased.
The young prince’s life had been saved.
He knighted William for coming to his aid.
Three bloody bulls are on the crest.
The motto ”He saved the king” says the rest.
Carol Farnsworth
carolaspot@aol.com
copyright 4-6-26

Today is the most observed day of Triduum . After Holy Thursday’s washing of the feet by the priest. The alter is cleared. Even the consecrated host are moved out of the church to another location with the large host placed in the Monstrance to be meditated and kept company in sharing Jesus agony in the garden before his arrest.
In Aruba the faithful climb to the top of Alta vista Chapel overlooking the ocean. The crowd gather to pray at sunrise.
In Israel, pilgrims retrace of the way of the cross, on the way to Calvary. This year, large outdoor gatherings are forbidden.
In Rome, the 14 stations of the cross are set up in the Colosseum. The Pope has carried the large cross for several stations for the last six decades. This year, Pope Leo will carry the cross for all 14 stations.
In Australia, communities hold large bonfires to reflect and share memories.
In Spain, participants dress in tradition robes or tunics. Often their faces are covered. Many walk barefoot as a sign of penance.
In Brazil people walk or take a train to the statue of Christ the Redeemer, located on a high bluff overlooking the city of Rio de Janeiro The statue is 30 meters or 198 feet tall.
In Bermuda, there is a tradition of kite flying on Good Friday.The kites are decorated with crosses, and land and sea scapes Symbolizing Christ’s ascension to heaven.
Colored sawdust and salt are used in El Salvador the sawdust carpet are for the solemn processions, the carpets portray religious symbols. In Guatemala, the carpets are made from colorful flowers for the pilgrims to walk upon. Many countries have a passion play with many participants. Mexico City has the largest passion play with 5000 participants and up to 4million pilgrims in attendance.
Many people attend services, such an adoration of the cross, or Eucharistic adoration. Many Catholic churches start a novena for Divine Mercy. This daily group of prayers concludes on the Sunday after Easter.
Take time to reflect and, reset priorities.
Have a blessed Good Friday.
carolaspot@aol.com
Copyrighted 4/3/26

I look forward to the tradition of cross buns available during Holy Week, before Easter. My local bakery has the confection starting this past Friday. The confection is a rounded spicy bun with raisins and other dried fruits in the dough. The top of the bun has either a cross indentation or a white frosting of the cross image.
This pastry has a long history. Spiced breads were baked in Greece, Rome, and Egypt. The small spiced cakes were offerings to the Goddess Isis for prosperity. Honey cakes were offered in Roman religious ceremonies to ask for favors and blessings. The Greek spice cakes were a part of religious offerings to Zeus and other Gods and Goddesses. The Greek and Roman cakes were often decorated with the image of a cross to honor the lunar phases as important times in the agricultural society. They were offered to deities in the spring to ensure a good growing season.
In 1361, a monk in England baked the spiced buns to feed the poor on Good Friday. They marked the end of Lent and the start of the Easter celebration. The spices and fruit in cross buns symbolize the bitter death and the spices used in the burial of Jesus. It is a special way to remember the Crucifixion. Often, families will prepare the treat together on Good Friday.
I purchased mine at the local bakery. I recalled a nursery rhyme, “Hot Cross Buns.” (see below). Street vendor’s cry of hot cross buns was popularized in the 1700s and printed in the London Chronicle in 1767. Many countries like England enjoy cross buns all year.
What are your traditions for the end of Lent and the start of spring?
*** Traditional nursery rhyme
Hot cross buns,
hot cross buns,
one a penny,
two a penny,
hot cross buns,
If you have no daughters.
Give them to your sons.
carolaspot@aol.com
copyrighted 3/30/26

When John’s family bought a farm in the 1970s, it was an insurance against urban decay. They were living in downtown Detroit and had experienced the riots, National Guard on their street corners, and the start of urban renewal with remnants of the burned-out businesses. They would drive the 130 miles each Friday and return late Sunday.
John’s mom and dad had researched organic farming and being self-sufficient. One of the first purchases was a mixed lot of chicks to raise. The lot was usually mixed with male and female chickens. The coop was fenced with a door for the chickens to go out when they wanted. The feed was in a 30-pound holder that was accessed from the bottom. A 5-gallons of heated water was available for their drinking needs. The hens had a large box filled with sawdust for laying their eggs. The roost measured three by five feet and had netting to allow the excretions to fall for easy removal in the spring.
John’s first chore upon arrival at the farm was to fill the water and check the feed level. Then there was the task of gathering a hundred or more of the fertilized eggs. The eggs were cold but rarely frozen. The constant activity of hens coming and going and the number of hens nesting in one place kept the eggs edible.
The spring and summer months were the most profitable. The farm-fresh eggs sold at the local farm market. The hens’ diet was augmented with kitchen scraps and eggshells. Oyster shells helped to ensure the production of strong eggshells.
The Ellsworth farm, as it was known to the locals, harvested and canned fruits and vegetables to add to the market stall.
Over the years, animals producing meat expanded to rabbits, geese, turkeys, and a pet pig named Arnold. The geese were kept as guards to protect the property. They would hiss at any stranger that drove up the drive. They would pinch with beaks, raising painful welts.
The dream of the organic farm faded after John was hired by the postal service.
When he finally sold the property, locals probably referred to the farm as the old Farnsworth place. Such is the country way.