Summer Rules.

A few local foodie pictures to share. This morning we went to market in Dewitt Park and were o so happy to see garlic. And carrots. Lookit how pretty!

Additionally, we picked up duck eggs from the Daring Drake Farm folks. Mmmmm. Duck eggs.

After the market we went out to Eco-Village because we have a berry share there. They have all kinds of small businesses running out of Eco-Village. It's impressive. The one we support most is Kestral Perch U-pick Berries. How it works from our end is that we pay them a lump sum at the beginning of the season and the owner/operator, Katie Kreeger, emails us every week telling us what and how much we can pick. We're very impressed with how Katie runs her business. It's an honor to support her.

Today we got to pick two quarts of strawberries (actually Cory picked them - I roamed around). The strawberries taste even "sweeter" this year as last year it rained too much and there was no season.  Strawberries grow very close to the ground so when they get too wet they mold and mush up : (

What to do with my silly little dog is always an issue when we go out to Eco-Village. Often I tie her up to the posts that frame the blackberry patch. Here she is glaring at me. On the left of the glaring image are the beginnings of raspberry season which is almost always super plentiful. The darn things make fruit in summer and then again in fall. 

So that's my local food report for early-mid June. We pick up our first CSA delivery later this week. As for the Rochester falcons, Archer and Beauty ended up having two girls. They grow bigger by the minute and are due to fledge by the end of this month. You can check in on them here. Maker Faire project is moving along and hope to report on that soon. 

Summer rules. 

Egg No. 4 for Beauty

Last Thursday, Beauty laid her fourth and, we think, final egg for the season. Incubation has begun - Archer and Beauty share that responsibility - and hatching should begin May 16 or so. More details in my previous falcon blog here and at rfalconcam.

Beauty lays her first egg!

Sorry. My falcon posts so far have been a little cryptic. I think this is because I check the falcon cam in the eves when I'm kind of worn out. But here's the deal:

In 1998 a trio of enterprising Kodak employees - Kenn Martinez, Brad Carney and Matt Bernius - placed a video camera on the steeple of the tower, aimed it at the nest box, and connected it to the Internet.

And well, you can guess the rest from there. I watched my first season of falcons in 2008. It was incredible to watch the eyasses hatch, grow, eat, and finally fledge. Emotional really. Then last year, 2009, was pretty dramatic, like, in a bad way. I don't have the energy to go over last year's events, but you can read all about it in the rfalconcam archives if you're dying to know.

What I do suggest is that you bookmark this link right here - the main camera - and check in on it once a day. Of course, nature is messy, sometimes things don't work out and there's always a chance that the eggs won't be viable. But take that chance. Check in on these local beauties and read the blog posts from the falcon watch team. Enjoy!

Raptors watch over us

Archer at night. Overlooking the city of Rochester from the nest box on Kodak Tower. http://rfalconcam.com/rfc-main/