i have to post more of these pics because i really like them. they're from last week, when sena and aiyana were really helpful to ed, who was spreading compost on a part of the field we were preparing to plant.

yesterday we had a downpour and all the while the sun was shining bright, which made for a cool scene in the little grove outside my window

here's my beautiful sena with my beautiful scallions

aiyana and coffee

peace

we've been very busy lately, but everything is going well. it's been a great season so far, with lots of sun and heat, and enough rain. our vegetables are coming in really nicely - beautiful and plentiful.

we started the CSA, and had several pick-ups already. the most popular comment we heard from our CSA members so far is how excited they are to be part of this. i feel the same way. it's been great to meet everyone, give them farm tours,and start to get to know them. sena and aiyana are really excited about the whole thing too, they want to be out there greeting people and helping to get their vegetables.

we have a waiting list going for our 2011 CSA, but since things are going so well this year, we're thinking of maybe expanding our 2010 CSA and adding a few more people in july. we'll have to see how the crops are coming along before making a decision.

our saturday market is still rocking. we cannot bring enough vegetables, it seems. we sell out of most stuff despite thunderstorms, etc. the only downside to being so busy at the market is that i don't get any time to talk to people s much as i'd like...

other than that, i have to say i really haven't been doing anything. i'm out in the field from morning till evening every day, planting, weeding, hoeing, harvesting, or preparing veges for the market and the CSA. i work harder than ever before in my life (by far), make much less money (by far), and am far happier. i guess work is just different when you do what you want and love.

peace

helping with compost

chop wood, carry water

Some days, like today, it feels like my life has become so simple, clear, uncomplicated. I love it! It's a big difference from the confusion I felt at other points in my life, even not so long ago.
I think farming, being outside, close to the land, really seeps into you and little by little brings this clarity.

This morning, Sena said unprompted, "I don't want a lot of money, I want to be happy". It's amazing how clearly kids see before we burden them with too much unnecessary stuff.

I also feel that when I'm farming, in a way I'm doing a lot, and giving it all I've got, but in another way, I'm not really doing that much. I feel like I'm just enabling things to be done through me. If I just place myself in a position to do what needs to be done, then it will be done. This is a great relief. I used to worry about my plants so much, and I still do of course. But now I'm also beginning to see that I'm not really in a position to have that much control anyway. I can be there to plant and weed and do what needs to be done. But that's just a small part. Everything else that happens, all the biology in the soil and the interaction of soil, plant, weather, universe, is just beyond me, and I find it comforting to release and trust in the awesome life force that makes it all run. So I make myself available as an instrument to that life force and then trust it and get out of the way.

Well, it's a beautiful day today and I should be outside (I'm glad that the crazy heat from a couple of days ago is gone. And btw, my plants are fine).

peace

hot

it is so hot!!!
my plants look so sad, and i am worried. i can't help it, when i see them like that. all limp and stuff. but i can't think that way...but i can't help it!! what's up with 94F in may?
i feel a little crazy right now, as you can tell.
anyway, i think it's supposed to get cooler.

also...
thank you to my family and friends for your comments. it's really nice to read them, and it makes the whole blog experience less one way. thank you!

peace

we've been taking the goats our of their pen every day, putting them on fresh grass. they love it, and the girls have been so happy playing with them (especially the babies - vushka and coffee)





our field is coming along. that's ed and the tiller in the background. glad they're both ok again (ed had some shoulder pain after shoveling untold loads of compost one day...)

that's me, setting out the summer squashes

peace

record

yesterday we set a new record at the market: it was our best day since we started farming. we had mounds of greens, spinach, radishes, turnips, as well as eggs and shiitakes, and they all sold out. i am so excited, and can hardly believe it. things are going so well - the vegetables are growing, the weather is beautiful, and the people are appreciating it all. it's really inspiring, and i am so grateful.

ed and i have been working so hard, and this is such nice encouragement... we already have over 70 beds planted, which is more than we had at any time last season (our max was 52). i can hardly believe that just the two of us managed to plant all this, especially since we're working in our brand new field, breaking new ground, and our tiller was broken for 3 weeks. but we've caught up and now we're almost on schedule, as far as what we had planned. our friend Jennifer has been a great help too, coming over once a week to help us weed. she's a great worker, and she loves the land. she's inspiring to work with, and i love having her around.

this week we're planting about 30 new beds - summer squashes, cucumbers, celeriac, etc. they're all in the greenhouse right now, getting big, too big, so we have to get them in the ground. i think we can do it - we have the land almost ready. i picked out most of the stones on friday, and ed spread soil amenities. today he's spreading compost and tilling, and then we'll be getting the squashes in.

the kids left this morning. they're going on a whale watch in Provincetown with grandma and grandpa. they were really excited, and i am too, for them. sena asked if she should set up her booth on the boat... it was a little funny. we told her to just bring her pamphlets and share them with whoever may be interested. she was at the market with her whale stuff again yesterday, and got more donations. she only lasted one hour this time though, before she packed up her booth and went playing with her friends. i can't blame her, it was a gorgeous day.

that's all for now, got to go out to the field...
peace

our CSA is filled

we have 40 people signed up and that's our limit this season. i'm sad to have to turn other people down, but with just ed and i working, it's a huge commitment to even do 40 people.
we've already met most of the people who signed up, and have given them tours of our farm. it's a great interaction - most people are genuinely interested in finding out more about where their food is coming from, how it's being grown, etc. it's very exciting, i think, both for us and for them to be involved this way.

here are some pictures from our last market:

sena had her own booth, where she distributed her whale pamphlet (i hope to post it soon), which she put together with Ed's help and Bill Rossiter's assistance, from CSI. her pamphlet came out great. it's beautiful and very informative on whale issues and what people in this area can do to help. she had a great day, spoke to lots of people, and actually got some donations. she never planned to do anything money wise, but people kept offering to donate money. she told them to just send a check to CSI, at first, but then she also got some cash:$13.50, which she will send to CSI. she did such a good job putting this together - ed and i are really impressed!

it rained really hard about half-way through the market. our booths are 1st on the left in this picture.

stewart and his bees, in the rain (btw, we just got our bees this week. they're in our new field, getting aquainted with their new environment).

at the beginning of the market, the sun was still out...

check out our radishes. they do taste as good as they look. i'm really happy with them.

peace

kids

it's raining today. i'm happy about that. the plants need it, and i need it too. it's been 10 days since i had some rest, we've just been so busy... i'm looking forward to rain days just for that reason.
so i'm taking advantage of this time go do stuff i don't normally have time for, like, post these cute pics:

4 cousins playing at our house last friday: sena, aiyana, julia and jacob.

and this is sena and aiyana in their new room. they love it.

peace

1st outdoor market of the season

yesterday we had our first outdoor farmers' market of the season, in Storrs, at town hall (same location as last year). even though it rained hard in the morning, by the time the market started at 3, the sun was out, and the people came. it was so much fun to see everybody again! we didn't know how much to pick in the morning, because the weather seemed so uncertain and we weren't sure how many people would come, but we picked a lot anyway, and sold most of it. it was really great to be there again, and i felt inspired by people's response to us.

our vegetables are doing really well. we had a lot of growth in the past two weeks, with all the sun and rain. it's been nice for the plants, and for the weeds as well, of course. i'm still overwhelmed by the amount of stuff we have to do. we're behind in planting, weeding, transplanting, basically everything. but it's nice to have the reward of vegetables coming in bountiful and beautiful to balance that a little bit.

i've realized in speaking to others, that being behind is a way of life when you farm. so i'm working on adjusting my thinking, and just being grateful for all i do accomplish in a day, as opposed to being weighed down by all there is left to do... i've been able to do this some nights this past week, and it's a really nice feeling going to bed satisfied with the day's work done...

thank you so much to everyone who's come to the market for us, and everyone who's encouraged us to keep doing what we're doing. we're very excited and we're giving it everything we have. i feel blessed and priviledged to be able to live my life this way!

peace

feeling so ....

... embarassed. i hurt my wrist and hand because i acted really dumb. we went to the maypole celebration last night, as we do every year, and i got a little too caught up in not letting the men put the pole in the ground. and that's how i hurt my wrist. it was all really fun while it was happening, and i was so focused on what was going on, that i didn't notice either my hand, or aiyana, who was really crying hard, thinking that i was getting hurt. anyway, it was an interesting incident, because it woke me up to being much more aware of my body. if i want to do the work of farming i am doing, i need my body. i need it to be functioning well, and i can't allow myself to be injured doing silly things. on the positive side, i guess, i realized how grateful i am for my body being as strong and healthy as it is, allowing me to do work that i love, and lead my life the way i want.

other than that, we've been crazy. moving in to our new house over the past two days, and trying to keep the fields going at the same time. really intense. but the house is beautiful, and it feels so good to be finally in there. i can't believe that ed and jonnie built it all from scratch. our hand-made house is really cool!

got to finish moving everything out of the old house today - hopefully my hand won't give me any trouble...

peace

news of the farm

this tree started my love and deep attachment to the land we now live and farm on. i'm always awed by her, and many times, when my heart is open, i am moved to tears just looking at her.

our greenhouse is filled beyond max right now. i have no more space, and it's getting hard to move in there. we've been getting plants out into the field as much as possible,

at least the ones that can take the cool temperatures. what you see in this pictures are mostly peppers, eggplants and tomatoes, and they like it hot, so they'll be in the greenhouse for a while.

these are our hoop tunnels in the old field. we have all kinds of stuff under there: lettuces, spinach, radishes, turnips, beets, carrots, greens, etc.

this is our new field. what you see here is mostly the chicken coops.

this is what we've planted so far in our new field: scallions, onions, spinach, radishes, turnips, strawberries and kale. lots more stuff will go in soon. we've been working it all by hand since our tiller broke down. but we should have the tiller fixed by mid week, and hopefully things will go a lot faster then. i have to say though, that working the soil by hand is really amazing. it's very demanding, physically, but i have no doubt that the soil is healthier than when worked by heavy machinery. and hand working also allows you to be more in touch, and more aware of the soil and its needs.

I’ve been browsing a book on CSA’s, called “Sharing the Harvest” by E. Henderson and R. Van En, and I came across these two passages which I was drawn to. They are glimpses of what a CSA can be and I am inspired by them.

This first one is written by some farmers from Maine describing their CSA:
“The goal of CSA is to reconnect people with the land that sustains them. Shareholders know how and where the food they eat is grown, and they can learn to understand the complexities of providing this food. Joining a CSA leads to a greater awareness of our interdependence on one another and the land…”

And this was written by a person who participated in a CSA, and wanted to thank their farmers:
“Growing food with the care and loving that you do can never be captured in organic or any other kind of certification. Such things are written only in our hearts. You ... have bestowed on me a wondrous gift. It is a vision of how the world can be… a world of cooperation, of soil teeming with life, of noticing the natural cycles and epicycles, day alternating with night, but also planting, germination, growth, harvest, decay, and then planting again.... I ask myself, how do my actions every day create or hinder such a world?”.

I also came across a passage describing the importance of farmers working out of their spiritual intentions, as opposed to out of money considerations. It’s the first time I ever saw this important distinction acknowledged. As I said before, I would not be farming if it were not out of a spiritual need, and it’s nice to see that others feel the same.

Peace

just us

the apple tree was in full bloom and gorgeous, all last week. this is me, just resting a minute.

this is when Coffee was still in the house with us. now she's always out in the pen with her family.



enjoying a beautiful spring day

peace

sena and the whales

ever since we read the story of Ibis, a whale that got caught in a fishing net and almost died, sena's been very interested in whales. Ibis was saved, but many other whales that get tangled end up dying. sena was really upset by this and cried a lot, but then she wanted to do research and find out what she can do to help. so we got lots of books out of the library, and read to her.

we also contacted two organizations that deal with issues related to whales. one of them was Cetacean Society International (CSI), which is an international organization, with headquarters in Connecticut. sena wrote them a letter, asking questions that were important to her, and soon after she sent it, we received a phone call from Bill Rossiter the president of CSI, who said he was very moved by Sena's letter, and wanted to speak to her. since then, sena and bill have spoken on the phone many times, and he sent her lots of information about whales (books, videos, a CD with whale songs which is amazing, etc.).

there are so many issues facing the whales right now: pollution, entanglement, whaling, and so on. it's all very depressing, and we try to protect sena, because she gets really upset about it all. she really loves whales, and cannot understand why we hurt them. even when i try to explain that lots of people are trying to help them, she says that she is still upset knowing that some are dying. in any case, we've been trying to focus on what can be done, and guide her efforts that way. one idea she had, which she's currently pursuing, is to put together a pamphlet talking about her interest in whales and some important whale issues, and distribute it at our farmer's markets. she really wants other people to do what they can, like stop using harsh chemicals in their households (detergents, etc), support safe fishing practices, etc. Bill Rossiter is helping her with this pamphlet, getting pertinent information ready for her.

Bill also wrote an article about sena and her interest in whales in the latest newsletter CSI put out this quarter. here's a link to it. the article on sena is on page 4 under Cetacean News.

i'm really happy that sena got so involved with this, although it is really hard when she gets upset about these difficult issues. what do i say to her? i feel like i should be able to comfort her, but there's no getting around the painful truth that we, humans, cause so much harm.

in any case, sena's involvement drew me in, and i am so much more aware now. i feel ashamed to admit that i knew nothing of whales before. now i feel like i really care about them as well, especially after listening to their voices on the CD bill sent us. i'm grateful to sena for opening my eyes and heart to them.

one more thing. i want to post this link giving details about an e-letter asking president Obama to stand against commercial whaling. please sign it if you feel drawn to it.

peace

the kids

here is Coffee, just after she was born. she was still covered in the afterbirth, and her mother Vera was licking it off her, but not fast enough. also, Coffee was so small, and it was quite cold when she was born, so everything combined to cause her to get chilled very quickly. we could see that she was getting weak very quickly, and she was falling asleep, and if we hadn't brought her in the house she would've died.

here is Coffee after we brought her in the house. we warmed her up with Shandra's hair drier for a few hours, and we gave a strong drink of coffee and molasses to raise her blood sugar. after that she seemed to recover enough to drink a little of Vera's milk.

and this is Vuska, who was born just before Cofee. this picture was taken a few minutes after he was born born. he's done very well since the beginning.

peace

good news about CSA and Coffee

Our CSA filled up already, and we are now extending it to two days a week, Tuesday and Thursday, instead of just Tuesday, as originally planned. We have 26 people that signed up already, and more who said they'd like to. Originally we wanted a max of 25 people, but since we've had so much interest, we decided to go beyond that, and drop one of our markets. So it's been pretty amazing, and we're very excited. We've had quite a few people come to the farm to talk to us and see what we're doing. We gave them a tour of our fields and greenhouse, and their response has been, without exaggeration, 100% positive.

Other exciting news is that Coffee, our baby goat is doing really well. She's back with Vera and her brother, and the other goats, and she's nursing well. We have been bringing her in our house at night still, since it's been close to freezing in the past few nights. Also, we're all very attached to her, and she to us. She sleeps with us, in our room, and she follows us everywhere around the house. She's so sweet, and only 4.5lbs, but gaining.
Peace

very briefly, some news

i really should be planting onions right now, but since i'm here, let me post some quick updates:

ed's grandma's funeral went really well - i think she would've been happy with it.

we had a market at the same time, which our friend johnnie did for us, and we did really well. sold lots of mushrooms and spinach and eggs. i'm very happy with it.

our goat Vera gave birth on sunday. she had two kids, a male and a female, which we named Vushka (aiyana's choice) and cofee (Shandra's suggestion). we witnessed the entire birth, and it was amazing. i caught Vushka in my arms, which was a first for me. sena and aiyana were very moved by the birth, and the entire experience. Coffee was not doing so well though - she was very small, and got birth chill, which kills lots of bay goats. fortunately, my amazing neighbor Shandra was there to help, and we saved her. she's been living in our house, and we're bottle feeding her right now, but i think soon enough she'll be back with her mother and brother. we've been milking Vera to be able to feed little Coffee...

i have pics and videos from the birth, and will try to post them later.

i'm so glad that my kids got two witness two important life passages, death and birth, all in the span of a weekend...

peace

ed's grandmother

ed's grandmother died yesterday, after a stroke she suffered a few days ago. she was a strong, spirited woman who never beat around the bush when she said things. we will miss her.
last time we saw her was a week ago, just before she stroke. she was clearly withdrawing socially, and had stopped eating. but she lit right up, and seemed to thoroughly enjoy playing baloons witn sena and aiyana. she really connected with them that day, and we're all glad we went to visit her. i hope she's in peace.

my sweet Aiyana

with Doctor, the coolest cat ever

peace

mushrooms, etc.

Wow, I just finished eating the most heavenly dish: shiitake mushrooms, (my own shiitake mushrooms!), sautéed in butter, with garlic and a little salt. I didn’t even share it with anyone, which I do feel a little guilty about, but I did enjoy it so much… Well, the good news is that there are plenty more mushrooms where these babies came from. I am so excited! My mushroom logs are fruiting like crazy after the last heavy rains we had a week or so again. I love mushrooms, I love how they taste, and I love thinking of how amazing they are, with their mycelium like a vast network connecting everything in the forest.

Yesterday I was at the co-op and I noticed that a pound of shiitakes sells for almost $15. And I must add that my shiitakes kick butt to those, because they’re fresh from my backyard and not transported all the way from Pensylvania. All right, enough bragging. I just get over the top with these things.

Other good news is that our old field is planted to almost full capacity, and things are coming up and looking good. The greenhouse is also looking good, but I need to be transplanting stuff in the ground, especially the scallions and onions because they’re starting to get too big for the soil blocks.

Unfortunately, yesterday Ed hid a rock when he was plowing our soon-to-be berry patch and the engine stopped and there’s a big hole in the bottom of our BCS tractor now. It is not good timing at all for this to be happening. We need the tiller for our new field and for the berry patch, and we had lots of work planned for this week and next. Now we’ll have to wait to have it fixed, which should be about 2 weeks. I was stressed about it yesterday, because stuff needs to go in the ground, but then I realized that we may be ok just prepping a few beds by hand for the stuff that really needs to go in in the next two weeks. Anita said that we should get used to these setbacks and it was good to hear that coming from someone as experienced as she is.

Our CSA is doing very well; we’re getting close to being full. We only want to take on 25 members this year, given that we also plan to do 2 or possibly 3 markets. Ed and I will have to work non-stop to keep this all going, which is pretty much what we’ve been doing already. We work so much now that Sena started complaining that we don’t have enough family time. We’re trying to figure out a way to have one day where it’s just the 4 of us and we’re not doing work in the house, or on the house or in the fields. But I don’t know if that’s realistic for this year. In any case, I do feel like we’re together all the time, but she is right that we’ve been spending less time just hanging out and relaxing lately.

Sometimes all this work feels hard; but I’ve been thinking to myself, what else would I rather be doing? And the answer is really clear, at least for now, that there’s nothing else I want and nowhere else I want to be (well, OK, i guess i wouldn't mind sitting at the cafe and sipping coffee with a good book once in a while, but you can only do that for so long...).

peace

rain! lots of rain.

the weather's been a bit intense this week...we got about 7 inches of rain on monday and tuesday. i was worried as i watched my plants be drenched and then submerged in water. ed said not to worry about things we can't control. he always has to make so much sense! he said the same thing to me one time when we were in an airplane, experiencing a lot, i mean A LOT, of turbulence. i did not appreciate his comment then, even though he was right. especially since sena was with us. but this time, it was actually useful. nothing i can do about the rain, so i was able to let go a little when i thought about it that way. anyway, it stopped raining and the rest of the week is supposed to be beautiful. hopefully no major damage to the crops in the field. we'll see.

last night was my yoga night and aiyana wanted to come with me. i had some misgivings, but i finally said yes. she was amazing, and it was so special to have her practice with me. it's a one-and-a-half-hour class, and she was totally quiet and respectful the whole time. she just watched and did the postures as best as she could, and when she got tired she just sat there quietly. she wants to come again, and i am looking forward to it.

sometimes i just feel like everything is so amazing, and we get so used to it, and we forget and fail to appreciate it. i try to remind myself to take in this special time with my kids, to be awake at this special time in my life, when we have so much richness, and so much to be thankful for. i try to remind myself of this when i start getting too wound up, and mislead by little details.

peace

Happy Spring!!!

I’ve been so busy lately - I haven’t been posting as often as I used to…

Ed and I have been working hard taking advantage of the warming weather; we’ve been working in the old and new fields, preparing one and planting in the other. Ed plowed and tilled the new field, and we all picked up stones and cleaned it up; Ed has to till again, and we should be ready to plant there in a couple of weeks.

We’ve been also working the old field, the field we used last year for growing everything. What a difference a year makes! The soil in this field is so easy to work with now; relatively weed free and stone free, and in much better condition than the new field. We got a soil test done on both fields, and the results show a dramatic improvement in the old field, from all the compost and rock powders, and the general care we devoted to it over the last year. It’s a little hard having to start all over again in our new field, but it is encouraging to know how big a difference a year can make.

We’re still using our old field this season while we’re getting the other one ready. We already planted lots of things there: lettuces, spinach, peas, carrots, chard, and radishes, turnips, and more is to come. Since the soil is in so much better shape than last year, we decided to try no-till on part of this field. Up to now, we always tilled as part of preparing our beds for planting. But our long term goal is to minimize tillage, or any practice that involves the use of heavy machinery; tillage in particular damages the biology of the soil, which is obvious, when you see the dead worms, chopped in half by the tiller. We try to encourage a thriving biology in the soil, because that’s crucial to soil and plant health, and so we want to avoid tilling. We did about half the beds we planted so far without the tiller; we used a broadfork instead, which is a manual way of gently digging and aerating the soil. Of course it takes much longer and requires more effort than using the tiller. But we’re experimenting right now, and I want to see if there is any short term benefit from planting a crop with and without the tiller. I already know the long term benefits weigh in for no-tilling.

The greenhouse and hoop tunnels have been pretty intense these past 2 weeks. With temperatures being in the 60’s during the day, temps in the greenhouse and under the tunnels were getting in the 90’s, so we needed to vent everything. At night, temperatures have been dropping to low 20’s and so we had to make sure everything was covered. So it’s been a lot of cover / uncover with both the greenhouse and the tunnels, and sometimes it feels like that’s all I’m doing, especially now that we have over 20 tunnels in the field already.

My parents were here a couple of weeks ago, and we got them involved in everything we’ve been doing. They helped de-stone the fields, and my dad helped with our car, while my mom pretty much took charge of cooking and dish-washing which was a huge help. I love working outside, and it’s where I prefer to be, but I have a hard time when I’m done and tired, and I come into the house, and have to cook, clean, wash dishes…it’s hard to do it all. The food especially, I would love to have food ready for me to eat when I come in tired, as opposed to having to cook it myself. I do love to cook, but not when I’m tired and hungry.
I’ve definitely let go of the house in a big way, and it’s a conscious decision. I need to focus on the field and the children, if we want to make a living farming.

I heard a comment that seemed appropriate for my situation, by a woman farmer, in the movie “Fresh”. She said “If you want to come and see me, come any time. If you’re coming to see my house, take an appointment”. That’s where I’m at. I’m letting go of everything but the essentials (cooking) as far as the house goes. I’m hoping that Sena will soon be able to take on more responsibility too. Already, she makes her own breakfast in the morning (except for using the stove, which I want Ed or I to be there for). Yesterday, I showed her how to make pasta (which I actually hope we don’t have to eat too often, since I really don’t like pasta and I don’t like feeding it to my family). She’s also very helpful with chopping vegetables, getting them ready for me to cook. I feel good about giving the kids more responsibility, you can see that it makes them proud of themselves to see how much they can help, and they mostly enjoy it.

This week, I’ve had more positive feedback from customers regarding our farm and CSA. I pretty much thrive on that. I love to work hard and grow beautiful vegetables and know that the people who eat them enjoye them.

So, I’ll just end by saying that even though it’s been hard juggling everything, I keep thinking that if I love this farming life enough, eventually I will learn what I need to learn, and I will get to know the soil and the plants well enough, and everything will work out. Lately, when do yoga, or simply relax before falling asleep at night, I feel a wave of well-being washing over me, and I just have to smile, because I feel so good about the little plants I put in the ground, and so connected to them. It's like they're my little children.

peace

sick children

sena and aiyana were both sick last week. it's been a little rough, especially for aiyana who got an ear infection at the end. sena's never had one in her life, and aiyana only had one last year while we were in mexico, so we're not used to them. she was crying in pain, and i tried all the remedies i knew: hot oil with garlic, hot and cold compresses and some homeopathic remedies. what woked best for her were cold compresses and pulsatilla. i'm glad we're done with that now...

things are coming along great on the farm - we got a lot of things in the ground last week, and the seedling in the greenhouse are also doing well. we've been getting quite a few CSA applications in the mail and it's all very exciting.

more later...
for now, check out the pictures of my cute sick children:

this is sena. she wasn't feeling well, and i had work to do in the field, so she made herself this little shelter right out on the grass close to where i was working, and rested there.



and this is aiyana, with a fever. not even reading about horses could cheer her up....


peace

Fresh - the movie

saw an excellent movie this weekend (first movie i've seen on big screen since Sena was born 6 yrs ago...). the name of the movie was Fresh and it took a look at food, industrial agriculture, and the local/sustainable movement. it was a lot like Michael Pollan's book "The omnivore's dilemma", and in fact Michael Pollan himself was in it, along with at least one farmer from his book.

i liked the movie because it condensed some important issues which affect all of us in a nice format, and most of all i liked that it ended on a positive note, making one feel empowered to deal with these issues as opposed to simply depressed or overwhelmed by the knowledge.

peace

spinach

this is our over-wintered spinach. i planted it last october, and it grew a bit last fall, then it stayed put under the plastic tunnels, waiting for the return of the light. it's been growing strong again since early february.

peace

CSA response

we had excellent response to our CSA so far. some people have already signed up, and many more showed interest. we gave out a lot of pamphlets already, and i can't believe the whole thing started only last thursday (i mean that's when we first put out our info to the public). anyway, yesterday we went to the market to tell people about the CSA, and that went really well too. we also brought some spinach and eggs to sell, and we sold out of everything in about 15 minutes. it was a little embarrassing, but we had not planned on doing markets this early in the season. well, we should have more soon, if everything goes well. the greenhouse is going strong, and last friday ed and i planted spinach and peas in the ground.
i feel so good being outside again, close to the land.

peace

farm website

we got a website for our farm. it's really simple, but it's up and running. check it out at under "my links" on the right of this page.

peace

slideshow of this past weekend

this past weekend i spoke about conscious consumption and food consciousness at a women's gathering in hartford. there were two other speakers: a naturopath who spoke on earth medicine, and a woman who spoke on self-care. the event began with one woman leading the rest of us through a short yoga practice, and ended with another woman drumming while the rest of us danced.

the celebration was held at Fire-n-Spice vegan restaurant and the food was unbeleivable.

it was all so lovely! one woman was there taking pictures and captured it all beautifully. here's a link to the slideshow she put together (click on Celebrations and then International Women's Day). i'm the person with the patch skirt and brown top and doc martins.

peace

goat on a leash

took shaman out for a walk this weekend. heidi's got nothing on us.

peace

the greenhouse

this morning

lettuce seedlings

scallions

cabbage

peace

tomorrow

tomorrow i'm supposed to speak at a gathering for International Women's Day. my topic is "conscious consumption", and more specifically "food consciousness". i am very excited. it's a huge topic, and i feel like i can take it into so many directions, but i worked on it and was able to focus it to about 20 minutes speaking time. there will be a lot of interesting women there, and i look forward to sharing with them.

peace

website help

ed and i want to put together a really simple website for our farm, just so people can find us on the web if they wish. i don't have much time to spend on this, and have no web programming experience; also, we can't afford to pay someone to design one for us. so i'm wondering if anyone knows an easy way to create a webpage, i'm thinking something similar to creating a blog, which i was able to set up quickly, by myself, without having any experience. if you do know of anything along these lines, would you please let me know?

thank you!
peace

busy

i have been so busy lately - i feel a little crazy right now. but it's all good, all very positive, just a lot of it. and the growing season has barely just begun!

things are going well in the greenhouse. many of the scallions have sprouted, and so have the cabbages. onions have yet to come up.

the house is coming along too. interior walls are being put up right now. sena and aiyana's room is pretty much finished, and so is mine and ed's. we got another johnnie (who's also a capenter and a friend) working with ed and johnnie right now, so things are moving fast with the three of them.

i finally got the taxes in the mail. that lifted a lot off my shoulders. doing them was painful. so many forms to fill, now that we have the farm, and the jargon is so outrageous, i had to read each sentence over at least 5 times...

this coming season, ed and i will be doing 3 farmers' markets: storrs, ashford, and another one which is yet to be determined. we also plan to open a farm stand at our house, and we are starting a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). putting all of this together is so exciting, SO exciting, and so overwhelming, at times. we're working hard on figuring out what our CSA will look like, and we'd like to finalize things by next week. we've also been making signs for our farm, and for our market tent, etc. etc.
busy!

peace

how exciting

a snowdrop i planted last fall just poked its beautiful head out of the ground

and my scallions have sprouted too, in the greenhouse

peace

goats

ed, sena, aiyana, and i put up the goat fence on saturday. on sunday, we picked up the goats from our friends' house. the girls were really excited, but the goats were a little stressed with the move. they seemed to settle down when we put them in their new pen though, and started chewing on brush and bitterseweet right away. that was nice to see.
we plan to move them to new ground every month or so, so they should have planty of fresh stuff to eat, and hopefuly they'll help clear the brushy mess that's on that part of our land.

here's shaman (his name is actually shamus, but the kids keep calling him shaman, so shaman it is)

and folly

and vera, who's pregnant

peace