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we have a lot of friends who are farmers. here are some photographs from some of the farms we have visited lately...showing tilled fields, seedlings, and little things pushing up through the soil...to help get you inspired for growing season!
photographs by rinne allen
photograph by rinne allen
most folks around here have heard of foxfire and their popular books, but if you aren't familiar with them, you should take a moment and learn about their work. based in the north georgia mountains, foxfire began in the 60's and now, 40 years later, holds a vast archive of oral histories, photographs, and knowledge of appalachian folkways, all gathered by local high school students.
foxfire began when a young teacher moved the area in the 1960's to teach in a local high school. he wanted to engage the students in something that really interested them, so after alot of brainstorming, the idea of producing a magazine was born; the teacher and his students went out in the community and interviewed local everyday people and made photographs of them. many of these interviews were bound in book form, but the magazine itself still exists today too. not only did the magazine help to preserve the traditions of the area, it also helped the students explore and learn about about their community.
i recently visited the foxfire museum in mountain city, georgia where over 20 buildings stand on a hillside; all were moved here to the site and put back together by the students, using traditional methods.
images of some of foxfire's subjects hang on a wall in the museum, alongside quotes from each subject:
words & photographs by rinne allen
photograph by rinne allen
rebecca's daughter anna belle is expecting her first baby this summer...our friend nancy hosted a beautiful baby shower this past weekend at her house, one of our favorite places. rebecca did all the flowers using cuttings from her garden and the side of the road...it was a sweet day!
arrangements by rebecca wood, photographs by rinne allen
photo by kristen bach
i recently made these for supper and we devoured them outside on the back porch.....enjoying the lovely spring eve. It was a great spring meal!
kholrabi and kale cakes
-pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees
-shred 1 large potato and 2 medium sized kholrabi (removing skin from both) with a cheese grater
-finely dice the whites of 5 spring onions and a small bunch of kale (roughly 3/4 cup when diced)
-in a mixing bowl, combine kohlrabi, potato, kale, and onions
-mix in 1/2 teaspoon salt, and freshly ground pepper
-mix in 2 beaten eggs and 1/2 cup flour until all ingredients are combined
-line a cooking sheet with parchment paper and lightly coat with olive oil
-using an ice cream scoop, carefully scoop out your mixture and flatten a bit
-bake for 30-40 minutes, flipping midway through
i served these up with a simple sauce that i made by adding cucumber, salt, and fresh herbs to some plain greek yogurt
photos and recipe by kristen bach
photograph by rinne allen
i always get a little bit of spring fever...i try to be outside as much as i can and walk my garden daily and take photographs of different things as they come up in the garden or bloom...and, often, i bring these things into my studio. sometime i photograph them, or make flower arrangements or light drawings, but sometimes i like what is leftover from these tinkerings best...the petals, stamens, leaves...especially the colors of everything...
photographs by rinne allen
photograph by rinne allen
our friends at 3 porch farm held their 3rd annual sustainable farm tour last weekend and it was a gorgeous day! they were selling veggie starts and honeypops, of course, as well as leading tours of the farm. home.made was there cooking food and treehouse lead a craft making glittered leaves, always a crowd-pleaser! and, there was great music all day too. 3 porch guesses that over 600 people came to the farm for the event, so it was a great success! if you are in the athens-area next year, you will want to come!
words & photographs by rinne allen
photograph by rinne allen
i have written about my love for walter anderson's work before...recently, we were passing by ocean springs and we stopped in the walter anderson museum of art, a favorite place of mine. here are images of the murals inside the community center that walter anderson painted in 1951. take a moment to really look at his brushstrokes and how he rendered the images he saw in his head. enjoy.
words & photographs by rinne allen
photograph by rinne allen
this time of year there are so many shades of green in the garden. we do not have alot of purple in our yard, but i always seem to notice the tiny bits this time of year: akebia, muscari, faded hellebores, redbud, and mahonia berries that are tinged with it....soon to come are one of my favorite purples, allium, but they are not quite here yet.
photographs by rinne allen
photograph by rinne allen
if you live in the south, you know first hand that our weather can't make up it's mind. just as it seems that spring is here, we get a frost. last night embraced our confused weather and mixed up to bounty of winter and spring; kale florets and some spring green garlic.
the kale florets are harvested just before digging up your winter greens. they have almost a broccoli flavor and the leaves are sweet and tender.
directions
-thinly slice the whites of 5 green garlic stalks, if you don't have green garlic use 2 cloves of regular garlic
-in a frying pan, put 1 tsp olive oil and the garlic, 1/4 tsp of salt and 20 grinds of fresh pepper
-saute on medium heat for 10 minutes or until green garlic is tender
-while garlic is cooking, remove the kale leaves and florets from the stalk and wash
-add to garlic mixture and quickly saute on high heat for a couple of minutes. use metal tongs to keep the kale moving
-when the kale is done cooking, squeeze the juice of half of a lemon into the greens and add more salt and pepper if needed
photos and recipe by kristen bach
photograph by rinne allen
our friend susan of hable construction is releasing her first book next tuesday...it is called A Colorful Home and is published by chronicle books. (full-disclosure, i photographed the book and am happy to now see it out in the world!) books are a wonderful medium, but they take a long, long time. in fact, we have been working on this book for 4 or 5 years...but, it is because they take so long that i love them even more. in this day of fast-paced everything and immediate gratification, it is good to be reminded to be patient.
the book is filled to the brim with color inspiration- where susan finds it and where you can too, and how to weave it into your life. the fun part about the book is that some of our favorite spaces in athens are featured in it (and, it even includes a few images of drayton hall near charleston, because it is, well, so amazing...).
our longtime collaborator (and my sister) lucy helped write the book and our friend hope hilton helped with the production towards the end, as she jumped into her new roll as susan's studio manager. so, it was a group effort and we thank everyone who pitched it and lent a hand.
if you are in athens this weekend, there are book parties at hawthorne house on friday night and at avid bookshop on saturday night. you may pre-order a book through avid here...
enjoy!
words and photographs by rinne allen
