This time of year

Life on the farm can feel oppressive at this time, when everywhere you look there's something that needs to be done and there's no way you can get to it all. Crops need to go in the ground, weeds and insects need attention, fruits and vegetables need to be harvested regularly, food needs to be preserved for the winter, cheese must be made or else the milk will spoil, cows need new pasture, and so on. But this is how it is every year, and I have learned not to freak out because it will pass and things will ease up.

Instead, if you can change your frame of mind and walk around the farm sort of like a visitor, not like you actually live here, things look incredibly beautiful and bountiful, and all you feel is joy and gratitude at all this abundance and diversity. Berries lusciously waiting to be eaten, cows contentedly grazing or loafing in the shade, baby chicks just hatched picking at the ground with their mother, flowers and herbs with enticing aromas, birds chirping, insects buzzing all around, sun and a nice breeze, everything is alive and fertile, plentiful and diverse. This fills the soul and makes one get over the fatigue and the unending chores.

Some pictures:
Excellent strawberry harvest this season

We made strawberry jam. Here, Sena and Aiyana are preparing the berries.

Stirring the pot. Just Strawberries, maple syrup and a little lemon. It smelled divine.

Canned about 40 pints of jam. Not sure that will be enough. But we also froze about 60 pints of raw berries, so I guess it will be.

 And after all the work, a treat: cheese and jam, all made by us.

Peace

Cow girls

When Sena was a baby we used to call her Bug. And when Aiyana was born, before she could say Sena, she said Bug. This picture of Sena with a big-eyed bug reminded me of all that.

 Sena and the cows

When I went out last Thursday morning to milk Jasmine, I looked in Opal's stall and saw her standing there, and next to her a sweet little black calf. She had calved during the night, and there she was, a proud mama looking at me, her baby cleaned up, shiny and healthy. The calf was a little heifer, and Sena and Aiyana named her Oceana, or Oshi for short. Opal acted very calm after the birth, there was barely any difference as far as her behavior towards us. She was protective of the calf, but not aggressive in any way, did not try to ram or kick us or anything like that. Every cow is different, and every birth is different. After Jasmine we were prepared for some aggression, but Opal surprised us. Oshi is as sweet as can be, jet black, with big soft eyes and long eyelashes.
Here she is coming out of the stall where she was born for the first time.

And here she is running and bucking and just fooling around for pure joy. Jet did the same when he first came out. It's like they're so happy to be here. Makes me ashamed of being tired and weighed down by stuff. These little ones just come into the world and they're so exuberant - it's like they're telling us it is a good place.

Ed, Sena and Aiyana watching Oshi run around with protective mama Opal following close behind

 Our herd of five.

Sena and Aiyana leading the cows out to pasture

Jet peeking from behind mama Jasmine.

On Sunday, Aiyana had an idea for a surprise desert. Sena helped her make it. They ground some corn that we grew last year and baked the cake part, picked fresh strawberries for topping, and melted some chocolate. It was very good.

Karate girls got some 1st and 2nd prizes at their last competitions. They competed in forms, sparring and bo staff, as well as with their demo team.

Peace

Leave what you don't need

It’s a beautiful, sunny day, and Opal seems to be in labor. Another little calf is on the way. We moved all the cows to the birthing area, which is at the barns in the back of our property. Opal is so big, Sena said she would not be surprised if she has five calves. Aiyana is excited that Jet, who is almost 2 months-old now, will have a little cousin to play with. The mama cows and Olive the heifer, are usually too dignified, and too comfortable to join in his antics.

The CSA started last week, and all went well. The crops are doing well overall. As usual, there are setbacks, insects mostly at this time of year, but we have some ways to deal with them. Leafminer has been bad on spinach and chard this year, and cutworm has taken down quite a few lettuces. We’re replanting every week in the case of lettuces, and for leafminer we’re covering crops and have tried introducing a predator wasp to reduce their population. These measures seem to be working to some degree. I know that this is a particularly bad year for both leafminer and cutworm, and I heard of cutworm taking down entire plantings at a time, so I can’t complain too much with our situation.

Last night I was finally able to go again to the sweat lodge. It seems like the past few times I tried, there was always some kids’ activity going on, either Karate or Gymnastics. I am starting to feel like our kids are overscheduled, like everyone else, but they strongly object at the mere suggestion of cutting back, so I keep going along with the situation as is.

The lodge was beautiful as always. The fire, the intense heat, the rocks, the herbs, the ceremonial atmosphere – being in the presence of all that was like a soothing balm to my stressed out body and mind. I am so grateful for having this in my life.

One thing I’ve been thinking about is what my good friend K. said at the lodge: “Leave what you don’t need”. It seems so simple, but I do have a very hard time practicing it. What she meant is leave behind your anger, your resentment, and all of that which is not helpful to you or others. That way you will walk more lightly and more joyfully.

I know that I carry with me much that I do not need. Ed will make a comment that hits me the wrong way, and I carry that resentment for many hours. Or something stressful happens with too many things going on at once (this is pretty much how it goes every day), and that stress stays with me long after the situation is over.

Most of the time I have a hard time leaving behind the things that do not serve. But sometimes, somehow, I am able to shed any resentment, stress, or resistance that I carry, and instantly I feel lighter and so much better. It’s a good skill to practice.

Peace