Benjamin Vogt's Blog, page 32

From the New Memoir

After nearly three years of research I've finally begun dipping my toes into the book, Turkey Red--1,000 pages of notes and I've written only 7,000 words of attempted outline. What am I getting at? What's at stake? As I uncover and learn about who my grandmother was--so adamant was she to teach me about the past--I learn of her through exploring Oklahoma, a state I've loathed. Geology, conquistadors, prairie, Native Americans, German immigrants, oil. What we learn about Oklahoma we learn abou...

Happy Birthday to Me and The Garden -- 2012 Edition

For a few years now I've gone all Walt Whitman and celebrated myself. It's just my wife and cats here, and the garden, so the blog is party central. Yee ha.



And as is customary for the next year, a wish list:



1) 100 acres of prairie with a mid-century modern home, solar panels, wind turbine, off the grid, walled veg garden.

2) To have completed Turkey Red, my Oklahoma memoir, and found a press for it.

2.5) To have found a home for the other memoirs, Morning Glory and Sleep, Creep, Leap, bo...

Where Have All The Normal Summers Gone, Paula Cole??

Every year the garden is different--though maybe you don't think so. Obviously, everyone's gardens are ahead of schedule; shoot, a few weeks ago I had asters blooming, and some eupatorium is just starting to flower a good two months early. Swamp milkweed bloomed in early June and never got pollinated. How do insects cope with this new cycle? I have seen fewer insects this summer--maybe I'm used to my garden blooming later (on time) when there are more insects, or maybe it's just a bad insect...

Five Year Wood

My wife and I were married 5 years ago on 7/7/7. It was 105 degrees during our prairie reception. As the "wood" anniversary I'll be giving ourselves mulch for the vegetable bed. Or maybe something a bit more romantic? Suggestions?





Engagement in Jan 2007 (which my mom sorta did for me).



This must be the wedding day! I was upstaged. Still want more diamonds on my ring.



Audubon Spring Creek Prairie



Back in 2003, my apartment in Ohio, right before I move to Nebraska. No grey hair.

So This is Nebraska -- Ted Kooser

The gravel road rides with a slow gallop

over the fields, the telephone lines

streaming behind, its billow of dust

full of the sparks of redwing blackbirds.



On either side, those dear old ladies,

the loosening barns, their little windows

dulled by cataracts of hay and cobwebs

hide broken tractors under their skirts.



So this is Nebraska. A Sunday

afternoon; July. Driving along

with your hand out squeezing the air,

a meadowlark waiting on every post.



Behind a shelterbelt of cedars,

top-deep in...

2,000 Miles in the Great Plains

Over six days I drove for 27 hours and roughly 2,000 miles, from my home in Lincoln, NE, on over to Colorado, down into New Mexico, east to Oklahoma, then back up to Nebraska. I went to NM for a family reunion, but really, the true pull of the trip was to see parts of the Great Plains I never have before--a way to give me visual context for my Oklahoma memoir. The last stop was the most emotional and special for me--a third visit to my family's 1894 homestead.











Sunset over the front ran...

After a Rain

Finally rained last week--3 inches--after well over a month of no rain at all. I took a morning stroll to bare witness to the fact that it did, yes yes yes, it did indeed rain.





An early sunflower decided to bloom well before full height. This is happening a lot this year with all kinds of flowers.





Baptisia seed pod





Aster yellows disease on coneflower





Drops on an iris leaf

Solving the Puzzle

It's been 24 years since my grandfather passed away (6/16) when I was 11. It's amazing how his death still lingers in me so raw--perhaps because it was my first such experience that I can remember. The below passage is from Morning Glory, though as I begin another book, Turkey Red, I'm now recalling the passing of my grandmother who, somehow beyond the grave, is willing her life story into me (just as I think all our ancestors do). It takes time to find the way into our lives through family...

I Made This

The first two monarchs of the season, both female, emerged after 10 days. Here's a bad picture of one.







Haven't had any egg laying for a month--pretty dry, to boot, so stuff that's making the mad dash upward and outward is stressed out. I mean, drought in June? It's our wettest summer month. I've never had to water so early.



If you're in Lincoln Saturday, come to the Haymarket Farmer's Market and talk to my wife and I about native plants, ecosystems, organic plant care... then buy some se...

Nebraska Wildflowers Day 7 -- Asters

This is Nebraska wildflower week. Each day I'll feature a native
wildflower that grows well for me in my fickle clay AND brings in
butterflies. Hopefully, you'll find something you've never seen before.



To end the week, on Saturday, June 9 at 10am, I'll be giving a presentation on Nebraska wildflowers at Finke Gardens and Nursery. And don't forget, I do run a native prairie garden coaching business. Ahem.



Also, check out Bob Henrickson's (NE Statewide Arboretum) fantastic advice on planting...