Early May News from the Farm

And a Happy Mother's Day to All

Hello Colorful Friends

Somehow I missed sending a newsletter in the month of April. Oh my goodness - how did that happen? Life has been busy and time disappeared. The highlight of the month was a visit to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum with my friends Cathy and Linda. For decades, I have been wanting to see the Nasturtiums in the Courtyard. They were Isabella’s favorite flower and each year at her birthday, the staff brings in potted nasturtiums that they have been growing in a greenhouse since the previous summer. It is magical.

Here’s a very short video for you to check out.

Next year, you might want to plan a trip. They have enlarged the museum and there is a very nice restaurant. What a lovely day.

Spring has been springing for about three weeks now. We have had a lovely one. The daffodils have been incredible. They have lasted forever because we have been lucky that the weather hasn’t been too hot.

Last year I planted a new batch of white daffodils called Thalia. They are late season and each stem has 2 or 3 flowers on them. They are very fragrant. I have ordered daffodils from Van Engelen for decades. They also sell tulips and more. You would think that I would grow tulips but I don’t because sheep and deer think they are lollipops. It’s like throwing $ out the window. I lust over all the beautiful tulips I see on Instagram.

The Amherst Farmers Market has started up again. I’m there on the Common every Saturday from 8 to 1:30 until just before Thanksgiving. Besides our farm raised lamb, I sell my tea towels and ceramics. There are lots of new vendors. After a long winter on the farm, it is good to be out again meeting new folks and sharing our life’s work.

Here is a short video of the sheep grazing outside our farmhouse. They look so peaceful. Sound on for the birds, bees, and wind.

Here are some links I hope you might find interesting……

• Have you seen these amazing miniature handknit sweaters? OMG - crazy.

• It’s rhubarb season. This Rhubarb Ginger Syrup is lovely in seltzer or with a bit of gin. There is a Persian Lamb and Rhubarb Stew over on our Leyden Glen Lamb website which is lovely. Check out this article about forcing rhubarb in the dark. The say they harvest by candlelight. Who knew.

• I’ve been a fan of Ruth Reichl’s since her days at Gourmet. She now writes a Substack newsletter called La Briffe. Yes, I’ve mentioned it here before. Last week’s issue — Talking Toklas — was so interesting. I might just have to read The Alice B. Toklas Cookbook.

• Substack newsletters are becoming very popular, aren’t they? The one thing I really like about the Substack format is that when using the Substack app on my phone to read someone’s newsletter, there is an option to have the phone read me the article. It’s kind of like a podcast of a newsletter. Very handy while doing the dishes.

• One of my favorite things to do is visit historic houses. I especially enjoy those of artists such as Frederick Church’s Olana, Daniel Chester French’s Chesterwood, and Charleston in the UK. There’s a nice article over on WOI about artist’s houses. And BTW, the World of Interiors is adding more and more interesting things to their website. Worth a look.

• There’s been a lot of discourse online recently about books and publishing. Here are some interesting articles if you want to learn about the numbers of books that sell. Full disclosure: I have written a lot of books over the years but it’s not where I’m putting my energy now. 1- This is the article that started the kerfuffle. 2- Here’s a piece on Slate about how the article got it wrong. 3- Seth Godin says this. 4- Publishing Confidential sees it this way.

Lastly, it’s Mother’s Day here in the US today. I wish all of you out there - mother or not - a lovely day. Take care of yourself and do something special just for you. I’d give you a bunch of flowers if I were with you.

Thanks so much for reading. I really appreciate your time and comments.

Yours in color,

Kristin Nicholas

P.S. The Virginia Bluebells have just finished blooming. Their blue color glowed as the sun went lower in the sky. The Bluebells die off and the leaves shrivel away. Every year they move throughout the garden. They pop up in places they weren’t the previous year. Behind them is a group of Solomon’s Seal. I love the bell shaped flower. They look beautiful in a large vase.