The Blog Farm

Saturday, March 21, 2009

The First Butter Cup


I shot this one on my cell phone this afternoon while walking the dogs at Black Bay Park. Spring is on. Next we'll be seeing the Osprey return.

I always look forward to the first butter cup. It's something that's hung with me from my childhood. The Cd'A Press used to have a tradition of running the a photo of the first buttercup, and I think they gave you a dollar, and coupon for a root beer float at A&W, or something like that.

When I was in fourth grade, my aunt Sandy got me hooked. She took me out hiking Best Hill in search of the the first buttercup. Sure enough, we found one and went down to the Cd'A Press to try and get our pictures in the paper, but we got beat by someone who came in that very same day.

So, I have been determined to find the first butter cup ever since. I think I won the Cd'A Press contest a couple of times over the years. I was paper boy, so I usually knew when the contest started before anyone else. I'd deliver my papers as early as possible and trek up to the top of the bald spot on Best Hill and get my flower.

Oh, and about the new blog. My wife and I are getting pretty serious about gardening, canning and brewing beer, and while we are not experts in any of those areas, we are actively studying to become experts, so we thought we would get out in the blogosphere and connect with others of similar interests.

23 comments:

  1. Thanks Fan...I'm just getting started. Stop by often. We plan great improvements

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  2. looking forward to reading your blog!!!

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  3. Welcome to the blob world :)

    Do doodles kids over there do with buttercups what our nippers do here, they pick a buttercup with its beautiful shiny petals and they hold them under their chins and IF the yellow reflects under their chins then tradition has it thay they LOVE butter LMFAO.......

    I think I might get back into country wine making if I have time in the summer.... I use to make wicked country wines from hedgerow ingredients :)

    x

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  4. Wow thanks for the coments, and this should be fun.

    Marmite, if you do fire up the winery, I'll swap you a few bottles. There should be a way to ship this overseas.

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  5. Probably shouldn't hang out in a beer garden, but what the heck! Good Luck.

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  6. How very clever and smart to do a combo blog. Beer Garden is an inspired name. :)

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  7. Since I have had a taste of Brent's excellent brew, and am addicted to it, this new blog will save me from any withdrawal.

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  8. Thanks Kerri and Jeanie. I think going to brew a couple of batches this afternoon so I can get some fresh art for the blog. It'll be my first brewing experience layed out for all to see, so maybe I'll call it "Transparency.."

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  9. I am here finally, though earlier it kicked me off. I love your blog, and now I will come here everyday. The Stickman

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  10. Nice! I'm adding you to the Get Out blogroll ASAP. Have fun here and be creative...

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  11. Yay! Welcome to the blogosphere. The snow melted enough in Spirit Lake today for me to see the crocuses are blooming. I have yet to see a buttercup, tho.

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  12. Hey T, I knew you would make it, and thanks Orange, it'll be hard to keep up with you, but I'll try my best...

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  13. Hey stickman, good to see you made it too...

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  14. The two things I know least about in the world: Gardening and Beer.
    This should be very educational :-)
    Cindy H.

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  15. Be careful, Bent...passionate hobbists sometimes find that (1) as their output increases, they have to find more friends to receive the bounty, just to make room for the next experiment; or (2)starting a business built on the product and the knowledge becomes a necessity, just to support the hobby. florined

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  16. How do I screw a tap into this thing?

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  17. Otis, please don't screw a tap into anything just yet...

    And Florine, those would be two "good" problems to have...

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  18. It's also good to hear from ThomG, long time. I miss the guy. The Stickman

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  19. I am excited to see how your blog unfolds, Bent, so far I like it. I am an avid gardner, too, maybe those of us who play in the dirt can share our how-to's with each other.

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  20. That would be great jantri. I participate in the in gardening with my wife, but my real passion is on the canning side. I love to create recipes and look forward to experimenting with different methods this year.

    My wife is an obsessed gardener, and she is going to participate on this blog too under the moniker Sunny. I think you two will really hit off. Her Dad bought her a Ziggy's green house this year, so we've been taking classes on how to use it, and setting up heating and vent units. She is going to get started either this weekend or next... we'll get some pictures of that this upcoming weekend.

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