a picnic

last friday i took a break for farming (first in weeks) and went on a picnic with sena and aiyana. we had so much fun, and i was actually able to just relax and be with them, and not think about anything else - we decided we'd do this every week.

the girls did gymnastics, while i watched. here's sena in a handstand.

and aiyana, rolling in the grass, which is just like her. in general, sena's serious and precise, and very honest; while aiyana is crazy, happy-go-lucky, and really sweet. also, she makes up stories, and you never quite know what to believe. i think some of these pictures show these qualities a little bit.

sena coaching aiyana on a headstand.

looking out over the water.

sena's own headstand. she likes to do things well. she always amazes me how she takes things on and just does them, whether it be gymnastics, or whale-activism, or whatever she chooses.

my beautiful girrls with sun-bleached hair

i think that this picture captures aiyana's spirit particularly well. she's wild and very free.

big sister helping little sister with her bathing suit. this is so sweet. they really get along well together, and they compliment each other perfectly. i really do feel blessed to have them in my life.

peace

Messenger, by Mary Oliver (from her collection 'Thirst')

My work is loving the world.
Here the sunflowers, there the hummingbird —
equal seekers of sweetness.
Here the quickening yeast; there the blue plums.
Here the clam deep in the speckled sand.

Are my boots old? Is my coat torn?
Am I no longer young, and still not half-perfect? Let me
keep my mind on what matters,
which is my work,

which is mostly standing still and learning to be
astonished.
The phoebe, the delphinium.
The sheep in the pasture, and the pasture.
Which is mostly rejoicing, since all ingredients are here,

which is gratitude, to be given a mind and a heart
and these body-clothes,
a mouth with which to give shouts of joy
to the moth and the wren, to the sleepy dug-up clam,
telling them all, over and over, how it is
that we live forever.

-------------------
(what a lovely way to think of one's work, as standing still and learning to be astonished)

i just spent the whole day today watering our field. it's been so hot and the soil is getting really dry. on the upside, everything is growing really well, and this weather is notconducive to the late blight...

but the lack of rain is definitely starting to be worrisome, especially since our well will not be able to meet the needs of the field for long. we're having another one drilled in a couple of weeks, but until then we have to work with the one we have, which means very little water pressure, and very little water. today, the water level went down from 8 to 4 ft in the well. that's a little scary. hopefuly it will go back up substantially overnight.

well, among other things, farming brings the gift of adventure. it keeps you on your toes one way or another.

peace

a little bit of rumi

"keep walking. there's no place to go".

i've been reconnecting with rumi lately, which feels so nice. he always fills a need that is so deep, i forget i even have it. i've also discovered another amazing poet, mary oliver. her poems are earthy and full of longing.

thank you to my friend C. for re-opening me to all of this.

late blight was reported at two farms in CT a few days ago! again! can't believe it...

my tomato plants look great so far, so i'll try not to think about the blight which wiped out all of our plants last year. not much i can do, just hope it does not spread...

some pics from our CSA this week:
summer squash, zucchini and scarlet queen salad turnips

eggplant! cannot believe we have eggplant in june. that's very early, and we have a lot more coming.

people were very excited to see all the new stuff that was available this week. i was too, you should've seen me picking in the morning, i was so happy.

these are the edible violas we put in our salad mix. they're so pretty, and they taste like peppermint, so the kids love them. now i just have to teach them how to pick the flowers, without ripping the entire plant out of the ground (especially aiyana)

rainbow chard - i am always amazed by how beautiful it is. and it tastes so good too. i just saute it with a little salt.

eggplant flower. so beautiful.

this is me at the market a few weeks ago. i think our table looked good here. but yesterday it was even better. we had 3 tables, filled to the max. i wish we had the camera...

peace

happy summer solstice! longest day ofthe year and the beginning of summer just this past monday. enjoy.

i really miss the kids. they went to rhode island for a couple of days, to be with grandma and grampa, and things are too quiet without them. ed and i were listening to some classical music last night after the market. we were so tired, and it was nice to be able to just sit and relax with the music. we don't get to do that when the kids are around. but after a while, ed got up and went to the goat pen, and let coffee out. coffee loves company so she grazed a little bit outside our house, and then she came right in and jumped all over ed and i and on and off the couch. so we felt a little less lonely, now that we had some craziness from coffee.

at one point ed said to me that the kids will grow and in a few years they won't want to be with us as much as they do now. so we should just make the most of it now, when they're still young and still want to do everything with us. it was hard for me to hear that, but it was a good reminder.

things always change. all we can do is be present for each precious moment as it happens.
peace

had an excellent market yesterday, our best one yet. the zucchini and cabbages we brought were a hit, and sold out right away. people were also very excited about the broccoli raab. i can hardly believe it, but our eggplants look ready and i will bring them to the market next week.

ed and i are very happy about how things are going, but we're also pretty tired. his back is still hurting a lot, and he cannot do much, although, if you know him, you'll know that he's pushing himself. i've been doing more stuff to keep things going while he's recovering, and i'm feeling it.

i guess we're realizing again how important it is to take care of our bodies. stretching, in particular, is something we need to do all the time.

our vegetables are coming along really well though, and that's always inspiring to me, no matter what difficulty we're dealing with at the time. i like to just go out and take a walk around the field- seeing the plants grow always makes me happy.

here are some pictures of our field, which i took last sunday when i was out on such a walk. things have actually grown a lot since then with the beautiful weather we've had this past week...


eggplants and peppers

potaotes on the left, peppers on the right in the foreground

tomatoes

summer squash, zucchini and cucumbers.

peace

the sun came out

phew!
but now ed hurt his back. he's at the chiropractor right now, and i told him to tell the guy that whatever he does would better work, cuz we got work to do...
poor ed, he looked terrible this morning. i do hope he'll get better soon.

Waiting for the sun

I'm a little grumpy. Last Saturday, there was a tornado watch. Despite this, the market went well for about one hour. Then there was lightening and thunder and the wind picked up a lot, and it seemed really scary for a while, and everyone left. It never actually rained, because the wind was strong enough to sweep the clouds right passed us, but all the customers and most of the vendors were scared away. This Saturday, we picked heavy because it was supposed to be clear most of the day. About 1 o'clock, it started to rain and it rained on and off the rest of the day. It was so sad to be sitting at the market with all this bounty of vegetables, and barely anyone came. I was very grateful for the people who did show up though.
So, our Saturday market has been disappointing with all this weather stuff going on.

This past week, I feel like I've barely seen the sun. It's been wet and overcast, and cold. I started to get worried about my plants again. I have such a hard time letting go of that. I know that there's nothing I can do about the weather, but I get worried anyway. It seemed like every time I looked at the tomato plants this week, their leaves were wet. Which is not a good thing. Iím starting to get flash-backs from last year, when we had a cold, wet, overcast June, and we lost all our tomato plants to late blight. Late blight is a fungus, and fungi love these conditions. Well, hopefully things will get better this week. Sunny and hot so things can dry out a little and get growing again.

One day this week, I got out to the field really early, and I was inspecting everything, and felt so grumpy. Everything seemed so weedy and wet, and I felt overwhelmed by the amount of work to be done. I was in such a foul mood, and I was just looking for an argument. I knew that when Ed came, I would just bait him into arguing with me. I could not help it. It felt terrible. Ed eventually came, and I made some comments, but he never took the bait. He actually turned it around, and he was so positive, that by the end of the whole thing, I felt cleared up, and in a much better mood. At one point he said "Look at what we've accomplished" and he pointed to the field, which is really so beautiful, and I almost started to cry, because it's true, we've done so much, but I couldn't see it, being caught in the little details as I was. I was so grateful to him for handling things like that, and I felt better the whole day.

So, on a more positive note, despite past week's weather, the plants in the field look great. The zucchini are growing really well, and look big already. All the solanaceous crops: tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant, peppers, look good. The cucumbers are flowering and coming along, but I'm noticing that some of the leaves got a white lining on their rims, and I'm not sure what that's all about. I'm planning to fertilize them with fish and seaweed this week, maybe that will help. The beans are already climbing up the trellis we set up for them, and my sunflowers and zinnias are coming along too. The strawberries we planted this year are delicious. They've been fruiting some, but most of the fruit will come next year when they get established. I think that if we get some sun and heat soon, things will do great.

The weeds have been fierce in the past 2 weeks. They took over some of our beds in what seemed like overnight. Ed and I have been spending a lot of time on our knees, weeding. As for bugs, weíve been seeing some, but not many. I found 3 Colorado potato beetles on my eggplants a couple of weeks ago, and since then I haven't seen any. I saw quite a few cabbage butterflies (we have a lot of cabbage family crops), but Sena and Aiyana got their nets and caught most of them. Today, Ed and I found a squash beetle and a stink bug, but other than this, I haven't seen any other pests. We have lots of ladybeetles, which are beneficial, and it's nice to see them.

The goats and chickens are happy, and we're thinking of getting a cat (for mice and voles), pigs (for rooting out stumps), and a cow (for dairy). The cow and pigs are just ideas though, at this point. Maybe next year...

I had a great conversation with two women friends who helped me weed onions this past week. It started with Rumi, and then it moved to Jesus and his life. Very inspiring. I felt renewed after speaking to them.

I love this about farming: that it allows me to reflect on spirituality, and at the same time it provides an outlet or a physical expression of my thoughts and feelings.
Peace.

cabbage

the cabbages are almost ready. i picked the largest one this evening and cooked it for dinner. it was so good, sweet and tender. i made my favorite romanian recipe: stewed cabbage with spiced paprika. what a treat!

peace

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