Tiny green fans,
For cooling a sprite,
A nibble for children:
A snack to delight.
First, soaked as seed,
Then planted in soil,
Watered and lit from above,
Sprouted into a tiny coil.
Two oval leaves
Reached for the light,
Edges becoming scalloped
With veins of bright white.
Baby green kale,
Planted between sage,
Chives and thyme,
Becomes an herbal mage,
With the power
Of flavor and health,
Until devoured by rabbits
With predawn stealth.
Copyright 2015 Brenda Davis Harsham
Note: This ode is to my baby kale, photographed prior to devastation by bunnies, insatiable little beasts. They seem to prefer the things I grow from seed to any clover or sweet grass. They never eat my chives.
You gotta love the nibbly stuff 🙂 LOL
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They always seem to be eating. Rather like my kids. 😀
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You make kale sound yummy. But – me no fall for that. I’ve tried it. YUK! 😵LOL
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LOL Depends how it’s cooked. Too bitter raw.
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I’ve tried them as “chips”. Maybe that was the problem.
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Oh, I don’t like it as chips. Stir-fried with cranberries and shallots. Steamed and mixed into potato-cheddar soup. Heavenly. With lentils and lots of spices… veggie soup. It can go into anything that calls for cooked spinach.
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Will give kale another chance – in a non-chip form then. 🙂
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You won’t be sorry.
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Baby kale is so tasty and I can just picture those little imps . Maybe best to call them, “varmints!” I wonder if you planted each kale plant in center of chives, if the onion-like scented would pose as guards? Mom says she used smelly marigolds to guard her daintier plants. Mom mentioned protecting roses from aphids, but just a thought pashe’d on without any research, Brenda. She told me about cinnamon lines along doorS to discourage ants and I did use this recently in my apt. 🙂
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Passed instead of weird word my cell phone transformed.
Scent not scented. Sorry, just as I push post comment I swear this phone has a mind of its own. Enjoy sparklers, fireworks and fun times with the kids! We are expecting Skyler and Micah with Carrie this afternoon. May head 25 minutes to Huntington Beach to wear them out a bit or if it stays cool my small town, Bay Village has a fair, “Bay days.” Mom and I bought cheese, crackers, grapes, cookies. . . portable snacks:)
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Yum! We were at the lake all afternoon. Lots of plans all weekend. Parties, fireworks, Sangria and BBQ, yeah!
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Thanks for celebrating with us in spirit. Cheers with iced tea or whatever you choose to toast with, to America. May it heal and grow strong together.
Glad you were on the lake, too. Different lake, similar family moments. 🙂
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May it stay a place of many voices, love and tolerance. Where people can grow up to be anything they can dream of.
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That’s an idea, I could plant chives and leeks all around the base of a raised bed and put my kale up there. 🙂
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Your raised beds sound like a great solution and hope to hear how they work out next Spring! 《¤》Keep those dang bunnies out!
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LOL That’s right. Now they’ve mown down my romaine! Arg!
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I have mice nibbling my courgettes and radishes…but copper tape around runner beans seems to be working! Lovely poem…and I can connect and empathise with you, entirely! 🙂
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I must find a way to discourage the little beasts without injuring them. We have plenty of other things for them to eat. I’m unfamiliar with copper tape. So you put it around the stem?
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You can put it around the rim of a pot or as I did around a cut chunk of lemonade bottle…like a plastic bracelet, through which I then planted each small runner bean plant and sat it firmly on the top of the soil! For added obstacle course effect I added crushed eggshells. I noticed today that some had not been dissuaded by the tape…but on the whole I am quite impressed! It gave the plants a chance to grow up tall with the growing tip out of reach of the slimy predators! Will try and take a photo to show you…The copper tape does not kill them just gives them a very slight electric shock or charge and is meant to put them off and change direction. I suppose even in the slug kingdom you get those that are brave and fearless. Even planted leftover decoy lettuces nearby…every year the same…trying to outmanoeuvre the determined beasts! I found the roll of tape in our local ironmongers/ hardware store. Sure you could source it online. Good luck, Brenda, with ongoing tactics and strategies! 🙂
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That’s half the fun. Where should I plant it and how do I protect it? I remember one year my dad trying to outwit squirrels who were eating his bird seed and ruining his bird watching. His stories were hilarious.
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We spend so much time and energy trying to defeat the little creatures when all they are doing is helping themselves to food we have provided for them on a plate…so to speak. Only doing what is natural. I used to get really hung up on veggie crops getting nibbled or destroyed but am getting more complacent in my old age! Your dad sounds quite a character! We also have a squirrel that helps himself to seed and nuts. These garden critters do really well…no need to hunt for food! Aaaah the good life! Photos to follow shortly when I post some more up of the garden. Till then, good night. Thank you for the shared gardening thoughts…it is indeed a lot of fun! 🙂
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I need to do some weeding and edging. The bunnies will leave me enough. They always do.
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And the bunnies rejoice:) I love this…it’s wonderful.
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Hey, at least my chives still have a pungent presence. LOL Next year it’s going to be the year of kale. I’m going to plant 20 plants, and then we’ll see!!
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those little mischief makers, hard to get mad at them, they are so cute !
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They are cute but hard to be pleased when your plants are sheared to the ground. I may have to resort to those elevated flower beds.
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Maybe I should plant some Kale to keep the rabbits away from my flowers – this is great Brenda!
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They like beets greens and chard, too. Red chard is as pretty as some flowers. 🙂
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OH wow I love this plant! The clovers made me think of the sweet rabbits in my back yard! The momma is huge and she would love to eat your lovely post I’m sure! 😀 LOL ❤
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Our rabbit is well fed. And her babies, too! They are adorable looking, but such pests in my veggie garden.
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Hi Brenda 🙂 Just wanted to let you know that I nominated you for the Five 4 Five photo challenge…I thought you might enjoy it 😉 If you’re not sure what its all about check out my post today 🙂 http://wp.me/p3C4k1-3gA No pressure. If you don’t feel inclined, it’s perfectly alright. Enjoy!
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Not sure about any challenges during the summer. The kids are home, and family-time has taken center stage. My computer time is stolen moments while other things are happening. Right now, I’m trying to do paperwork at the same time. Failing both, no doubt. I do appreciate that you thought of me, and I admire your site, as you well know. XOXO, Brenda
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They have good taste. 🙂
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A little too good!
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Oh, Brenda…the bunnies are just becoming more health conscious like the rest of us 🙂 Kale is a super food!
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Those bunnies are trying to live 7 years instead of 6! More power to them. But I may have to put up walls to help us get ours!
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AnElephantCant be angry
Though he admits it isn’t funny
This charming tale
Of how Brenda’s kale
Becomes breakfast for a bunny
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I love your limericks! At least we know the bunnies are fed the best organic ingredients. LOL
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Oh my, silly rabbits, kale is for Brenda!
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LOL I never pictured you being a jingle lover. But that Twix one is catchy!
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I love the way you have described the growing of your kale and end it with the rabbits devouring it! It is just how it happens!
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I had high hopes for it. The bunnies always ignored kale in the past, but that was the store-bought kind.
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Oh, the hungry bunnies!
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