spring is coming

i know that you can't tell by looking outside, at least if you live in CT, but spring is surely coming! i've been noticing more and more birds singing in the morning; and yesterday, i was so excited when i checked the hoop tunnels in our old field: our over-wintered spinach is cranking under there, it's green and big and gorgeous looking. i had no idea what to expect, and i did not check in a very long time bc the plastic has been frozen to the ground, but yesterday, when i saw it, i was dancing with exciteement.

i also checked the mushroom logs, and they seem to be cranking too, with lots of little pinheads showing all over. after all this rain, i think we'll have some mushrooms, and the slugs would better not eat them all again!

the greenhouse is already full, and yesterday i could not contain my curiosity, so i dug out one of the scallion seeds i planted at the beginning of this month, and it is germinating! so any day now, the scallions should be poking their heads out of the soil.

i felt so inspired and encouraged by all this, that last night i finally sat down and figured out my crop rotation, i.e., which crop should follow which, and which should be planted next to which. i had been putting this off for a while, since it's complicated enought to get my head spinning, but i finally got it down on paper last night, at least for the first few months.

now we just have to wait for the ground to defrost, and then dry out before ed can plow and till, and then we're ready to plant.
exciting times!

peace

i have been so busy with all kinds of little things lately! my head feels very scattered jumping from one thing to the next and i really don't like it. i feel tight and out of breath.

one thing that's been very calming, has been crochet, because it allows me to relax while still having a focus. being in the greenhouse also works. it got to 90F (about 32C) in there last saturday. a little hot for my taste...

anyway, here are some pics that make me laugh (and laughing is always a good thing)

aiyana's pretty much always in costume. yesterday she was an "evil" witch. she was trying to look evil, but i think she was just cute.

i'm scared....

i made this hat yesterday

crazy nut

peace

Sevin (only one of many!) - let this speak for itself

Sevin is the third-most-utilized insecticide in the United States for home gardens, commercial agriculture, forestry and rangeland, according to this wikipedia article.

ed and i know several farmers at the markets we go to, who sell conventional fruits and vegetables, and use sevin routinely.

sevin (referred to by its scientific name Carbaryl) is toxic to humans, animals, and of course insects. i personally do not want it sprayed on my food, or anywhere near where i live. just quoting from the wikipedia article mentioned above:

Carbaryl is a cholinesterase inhibitor and is toxic to humans. It is classified as a likely human carcinogen by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA.) It kills various beneficial insect and crustacean species along with intended pest victims, so care must be taken when spraying where beneficial nontarget species are present. Carbaryl is acutely toxic to honeybees, destroying colonies of bees foraging in an area where the chemical has been applied.
Carbaryl is illegal in several countries, including the United Kingdom, Austria, Denmark, Sweden, Germany and Angola.

don't want to bore you with too much technical data (which is easily available on the web), but i'll just say that if you look at the Carbaryl Insecticide Hazard Data, you may be pretty scared that this is what's being sprayed on your food. this is what's being put in the environment, the air we breathe, the water we drink. etc.

another chemical i hear about a lot (mainly in converations w other farmers) is Roundup. it is a widely used herbicide. same kind of deal as Sevin, as far as health concerns and environmental concerns. you can find out more info in this wikipedia article.

if you're concerned about this at all, i'd suggest that the next time you're buying food at the grocery store, or market, or wherever you shop, you consider making a different choice, maybe buying food that was grown without these harmful chemicals. that does not automatically imply that you have to buy organic. it may be possible to speak to the vendor, and find out about the practices that the growers use. ed and i, for instance, are not certified organic, and we do not use any chemicals to grow our food. many other growers operate the same way.

just thought i'd share something i'm becoming more aware of myself...
peace

this morning

fun in the snow with julia and uncle ricardo. check it out here.

farm updates

our chickens have been laying between 12 and 15 eggs a day recently, which is very exciting. i love it each time we take another step to becoming self-sufficient. we have enough for ourselves now, and some to give away. eventually we plan to sell them at the market too.

here is a view of the chicken coops ed made. they are movable - in fact, he moves them every other day, so the chickens are always on fresh grass. they are in the run during the day, especially if there's no snow on the ground, and at night they get into the coop, which you can't see in the picture, but is attached at the end of the run. the coop gives them shelter from weather and potential predators (which we have plenty of around here).

progress in greenhouse: ed and i have been making soilblocks, and my dad helped this weekend when he and my mom came to visit. it was so warm in there, and pleasant. we're almost running out of room though...i guess we'll be needing a bigger one next year....

peace

the girls and i

i've been really into crochet lately. the girls and i got into it a few weeks ago, and i love it. last time i did it i must've been 6 or 7. mamaia used to crochet, and i learned from her. i didn't think i'd remember anything, and my head definitely didn't remember, but my hands did. as soon as i picked up the hook, i knew how to do it again. so i've been having lots of fun. my first project was these hats for sena and aiyana. they picked their own wool, and i just worked it.

here's the three of us hanging out on the couch

no fear

today is my birthday, and it's been a wonderful day already. ed went to work on the new house early as usual (6 or 7 am, i don't know, i'm not usually up), then he came back just before i got up and he and the girls made me breakfast. they had my coffee and english muffin ready on the table. after i ate, the girls gave me their presents. aiyana gave me this pillow that we've had for a couple of years. i use it every night when i lie down with them to read before bed. it was her pillow initially, and she figured that i really liked it, so she gave it to me as a present. isn't that sweet?
she and sena also gave me cards they made. aiyana drew a smiling woman with long brown hair. she drew rain and lightning around her, and she told me that the woman is not afraid, because she's Mother Earth. i thought, how appropriate, given that "no fear" has been my theme lately. i've been dealing with some anxiety, and "no fear" is the only cure, so i keep reminding myself...

sena made me two cards with beautiful artwork, and sweet wishes in them. she also sew a decoration for me.

i also got some lovely cards from my cousin in germany, and ed's grandfather, and my sister and ricardo. people have been emailing and calling to wish me a happy birthday.

i feel really blessed to have these sweet, simple gifts in my life. it's a beautiful day.

peace

i've been working in the greenhouse

these are pictures of the greenhouse being put together by ed and i a few weeks ago

and finally, planting....

i've already made 500 soil blocks, and seeded them with scallions. more scallions planned for tomorrow, then onions and cabbage next week, and lettuces the week after that. then, in march things will really start to get busy. i love it, i've been waiting and planning for this all winter and now i can actually do something. not to mention that i love being in the greenhouse. it's so warm and sunny and pleasant in there, and i'm usually working by myself, just me and the plants, which feels special.

i think we're getting these goats

we're talking of getting goats to clear brush. we'd like to bring some new land into production for next year, but we need it cleared first and goats are very good at that. plus, they'll bring fertility to the farm, and we can milk them. we drink goat's milk, and i've made paneer out of it too, which is great. anyway, it just happens that some of our friends are thinking of selling their goats, so it's perfect. two females, and a male, and one female is pregnant and will give birth in april.

on saturday, we went to our friends' house to feed and water the goats - just practicing, i guess...
these are Shamus and Vera (Vera is pregnant)

and this is Folly

they're oberhossies, a swiss type of goat. that's about all i know....

some before and after

i was speaking to my friend Maf on the phone a few days ago, and she really wanted to see pics of the house. so here are some, of the outside.

this was what the front of the house looked like. the porch was in really bad shape, so ed and jonnie removed it.

this was the side of the house that you can see from the road

this is the same side after ed resided it. he's just putting up the last piece of siding in this picture.

and this is what the house looks like now, all sided, new windows in place, and scaffolding removed. there's still lots of junk (like that tank) lying around, but we'll remove it once construction is over.

the inside of the house is still pretty much bare beams right now. we just got the insulation yesterday, so that will go in soon. ed's making progress with wiring, and jonnie put up some boards where the walls will be. i'll post some before-and-after pictures, when we have a little more of an after.

Happy Birth

my sister gave birth yesterday to another beautiful little girl. little Stella was born at home, and everything went very well. my sister and ricardo looked great when i saw them, about 1.5hrs after the birth, and again today. julia is very excited about being a big sister.
ceck out their blog for pics.

peace, and Happy Groundhog Day!