The unusual thing about these onions is that they form little onion bulbs at the top of their growth. They also are perennial and very easy to grow. All you have to do is to get some of the bulbs and plant them like you would an onion set. The thing I like best about these onions is that in the Spring and again in the Fall you you can cut the stems and use them like you would any other green onion. You can also do that once the weather gets warmer, however the taste becomes very hot and strong then. I have read that you can also use the bulblets, however I have never done that.
I think they are called walking onions because they do spread somewhat. These came from a patch that was growing on an abandoned farm. Some people call them tree onions. If you like onions and have space for a patch they are rewarding to grow. Once you get some started you will have a nice supply each Spring and Fall.
These are American Persimmons. I believe they are what people used to mean when they were talking about a sugar plum. You do have to pick these when they are very ripe. Otherwise they are very astringent. If you bite a unripe persimmon you likely will never forget the experience. I mostly eat these off the tree. It is a ritual of Fall for me. Once in a while if I am ambitious I make persimmon pudding. The need for ambition comes from the fact that it is a lot of work to get enough pulp. At least so far all the persimmons that I have encountered have a lot of seeds and it is difficult to separate the pulp from the seeds.
I like that both the walking onion and the persimmons are strongly tied to a season. Now, it seems like most foods can be had any time of year. While I do enjoy that at times, there also is a pleasure to only being able to have something for a short time and only during its season.
Categories: farm, Food, garden, image, Images, Nature, Seasons
Tags: farming, Food, garden, harvest, Images, Nature, Seasons
Sometimes I think of this time of year as cricket season. Outside they mostly are part of the background noise. Inside they can make noise that I feel sometimes could cause my brain to liquefy. Today one has gotten under something somewhere close to where I am on the computer. He has been rubbing his legs in hope that a mate would come along all morning. I wish I could find one for him, however I have no idea how to tell if a cricket is a female. I imagine that they would be the quiet ones.
I would guess that my guest cricket will not find a mate. I heard a bug expert say that most crickets that get in the house last for a couple of weeks before they starve. So more than likely this cricket will be around rubbing his legs until he passes out from hunger. With this knowledge I have been trying to send mental messages to the crickets like “Brother Cricket there is nothing here for you. You will only find happiness by going back the way you came.” So far it doesn’t seem to be reaching this cricket.
In the last few years I have been imperfectly practicing having a reverence for all life. So I am resistant to killing these crickets. I suppose it might be a mercy since his likely fate is to be forlorn and starving. Still I have to respect his right to pursue his destiny. Another option would be to catch him and throw him out. I don’t know if you have ever tried to do that, however it is very difficult. Mostly it is hard to find a cricket even when he is chirping away. They seem to have an ability to project their chirps in a way that makes it appear that they are elsewhere. Believe me by the time the chirping of a cricket has moved you to near madness the elusiveness of their chirping could easily push you over the edge.
My solution for now is to wear some noise suppression headphones. They are working wonderfully to block the crickets frequency. I do know that all the crickets will soon be gone once the frost comes. So the cricket season probably has two or three weeks to go. In some ways I think these crickets may be here as part of Karma. They have helped me to learn to accommodate and respect the path of some other living beings. Or maybe they really have liquefied my brain to the point where I am writing nonsense. Whatever it is, liquid brain or Karmic growth, I am less disturbed during this years cricket season than I have ever been before.
