Coösauke Kale

Reader Contribution by Bethann Weick
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“Coösauke Kale” – that is what I wrote on the package front as I methodically folded the old paper, sealed it with duct tape, and stored it carefully in the well-worn paper bag full of seeds. While it’s only August, we know the seasons don’t stand still for long. Goldenrod is blooming, filling the roadsides and old fields, and signaling the gradual descent from summer into autumn.

Around the cabin, this ongoing cycle of season giving way to season is our never ending story, unfolding around us each day. The roots of last year’s kale held on through the winter and flowered late in spring, setting seed that dried under the July sun. A week or so ago I gathered seed heads in my basket and allowed the last of their moisture to evaporate as I laid them out above the cookstove. When a spurt of rain kept me inside recently, I shook free the seeds still clinging to their pods, then sorted out the chafe by hand.

The final product was approximately ¼ cup of dark, round seeds that I delicately poured into a homemade envelope. It’s now tucked away with my other pouches, packets, and bags of seeds, ready and waiting for the flurry of next spring’s seeding.

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