Tomorrow is Thanksgiving.

Every year at this time, I like to think about the things that I am thankful for. Fortunately, I always find that my list is so long, it goes on and on, with one thing leading to another. Here's an abbreviated version that I am coming up with right now:

What I am thankful for:

• My life: the opportunity to be here, in good health, and a part of everything;
• My children's and my family's lives and health including: Ed, for being a partner in the hard but beautiful work of farming and homesteading; my sister for being such an example of honesty and generosity, and reliability (qualities I never had myself and only recently started to appreciate); my mom and dad for the difficulties they knowingly undertook when they decided to leave Romania in order to provide a better future for my sister and I; my grandmothers for taking care of us when we were little.
• The natural elements: Earth, Air, Water, Fire - for providing everything we need.
• All the living things that give their lives to feed and sustain us - in particular the chickens, deer and plants we eat.
• My friends K & R for always welcoming me to their sweat lodge ceremony;
• The lessons I (reluctantly) learned this year about farming - the rains and cold temps in June, for instance, showed me that sometimes the best thing you can do for your crops is wait and not interfere, as hard as that may be.
• The genuine kindness and appreciation we receive from some of the people we grow food for.
• Making enough income from farming to be able to continue doing it (given our current economic system, and people's general personal values system, this is always in question for small scale farmers like us).
• The ability to live in a way that is aligned with my values, i.e. a simple, independent life.
• The opportunity to homeschool Sena and Aiyana.
• My sources of inspiration: certain people; natural things such as the ocean, mountains, etc; certain pieces of writing, painting, music, etc.

Peace and Happy Thanksgiving

cold

Wow, it's really cold out! I actually love it. I know it's a bit unusual, but I mean it. I love how bare and stark and unadorned everything is. It's like being really honest, no frills to it, no pretending, ony the real thing.

Aiyana and I went for a bike ride this morning. She's my little biking buddy. We've been doing a loop which takes us through some pretty, and quiet back roads. It's a little hilly so it's slow going, especially since Aiyana is still riding her one gear bike. Bus she's been getting stronger, and I think the fact that we go to a little cafe for a treat at the end motivates her to keep going. My fingers were a little frozen on the bike, but Aiyana was really hot, which was probably because of the hills.

I had a peak at the New York Times while we were at the cafe. I don't keep informed that way at all. I have no TV, don't listen to the radio, don't read news on the computer and don't read newspapers. After scanning about 3 pages, I decided I had enough. It gave me a headache and that far away feeling that I get when I spend too much time on the computer. And it distracted me from Aiyana and what was right there in front of me.

This afternoon, Ed and I went out into the field and harvested all the kale and collards. We're expecting a low of 10F tonight, and I was afraid we might lose them if we don't get them out of the field, although they're supposed to be very frost hardy. We stored them in the rootcellar, which is jam packed with vegetables.

We're letting our 4 cats come in the house again (they've been mostly outdoors since last winter). They, and the fire buring in the woodstove make the house really cozy. I made soup and polenta, and after diner I'll be reading "The wind in the willows" to the kids until bedtime.
It's a good time of the year.
Peace

Owling

This past Monday, part of our homeschooling was going into the woods to look for Barred Owls. We studied up on them beforehand, and even learned to immitate their call. It was a beautiful, warm, sunny day, perfect for being in the woods. We hiked and called the owls, a little shy at first, but then with more courage. We thought, at one point, that we heard an owl call back. Not sure though, it seemed quite far away if it was there at all. What's sure is that we did manage to scare away some crows.
I have some funny videos of us calling the owls, but it turns out they're too large to be loaded here. So I will just post some pictures instead, although the sound effect was really most entertaining.

 We spent quite a bit of time by this little brook. The girls played and I simply enjoyed being there.

Peace

monochrome time of year

the great maple in front of our house

cow pasture

 moon through maple tree branches

peace

Colorful pictures from the past 2 weeks

We've had some amazing sunsets recently.

 Our Delawares

 Last roses of the season.

Peace

Tonight is supposed to be really cold. We're expecting a low of 18F, so this afternoon we harvested most of what was left in the field and got it all into the root cellar: radishes, turnips, chard, carrots, beets, and apples.
This morning it snowed, and it was beautiful. Sena and Aiyana were very excited, and I could not help but feel that way too. It's always like that for the first snow of the season.

Ed and I will be teaching a course in December, right here at our farm. I'm pretty excited about it. It is called "Grow Your Own Food" (more info here). People have asked us to teach a course like this in the past, so now that we're actually doing it, we'll have to see what the interest level is.

Enjoy the cold air coming in. Time to slow down for the winter!
Peace

Barred Owls and Shooting Star

On Monday, after homeschooling, I went out by myself for a bikeride. On my way back home, I was on a small road bordered by woods, when I heard and then saw two barred owls. They were making amazing sounds, the "who cooks for you, who cooks for you all" call that is typical of them. It was so loud, and it went on for a long time, high up in a tree very close to where I stood transfixed. I dared not move, for fear of scaring them away. After some time, they flew deeper into the woods, and I got back on my bike, feeling excited, as if a gift had been given me. I couldn't wait to tell the kids about what had happened.Cornell Lab has a picture and description of Barred Owls, along with sound recordings of their call. The call I heard is under "Pair caterwauling" and "Various Hoots". They really sounded like that.

Later that night, I got into bed and was thinking about the owls. I've heard owls hooting before, especially at night, and sometimes during the day, but they've always been far away. I looked out the window into the night sky, and just as I was about to close my eyes, I saw a shooting star. I felt as if the universe winked at me.

Peace

behold the mighty forage radish

we plant forage radish in our cover crop mix. it's supposed to be good at loosening up the soil especially if you have compaction (you can see why), and at reducing nematode problems (which we don't have, but that's what i read). we ate some and it was spicy and sweet.

Cape Cod - Part 2

On Tuesday we biked 17 miles to the National Seashore on the Atlantic side of Cape Cod.

Little boardwalk leading to the beach.

We had a family handstand competition.

 Ed and I could get in a handstand but could not match the kids at holding it.

The shore looked beautiful with dark clouds gathering overhead and bright sunshine breaking through.

The Ocean gives me the gift of forgetting myself when I see it.

 Sena in a handstand.

 And other funky poses.

Playing at running away from the waves;

And just having fun;

We had lunch on the beach, but by the time we finished, it started to rain. We got on our bikes to head back to our yurt. The rain did not last long, however. Soon the sun re-appeared, and with it a beautiful rainbow.

A brief stop on the side of the bikepath. Sena is looking at an old man with a nice and very friendly greyhound, who stopped to talk to us.

Foraging on the trail; Ed is handing Aiyana some wild grapes that he just picked, probably the last of the season.

 Sena's tongue stained by wild grape juice;

 And Aiyana's;

Sena, enjoying the bikeride;

 Aiyana being silly;

 Ed

I love Aiyana's expression in this picture. She's just so light hearted - she is my teacher on how to enjoy things and live in the moment.

 Enjoying a cup of hot cocoa at a little herb store/cafe.

Aiyana is an animal lover. She is drawn to all living creatures and has no fear. They are also drawn to her. Here she is patiently waiting for a shy chipmunk at the edge of our campground to come closer to her.

 Our yurt and camping spot;

On Thursday, our last day, we went to the Natural History Museum in Brewster. This is a picture of a native plant, but unfortunately I forgot its name.

Peace

Our trip to Cape Cod - Part 1

We went to Nickerson State Park in Cape Cod last week from Monday to Thursday. The weather was mostly beautiful, with sun and a few showers on Tuesday and Wednesday evening.

We stayed in a yurt, which was very basic and great for our needs. There was barely anyone else in the park. We brought all of our own food, because we can't get any better food anywhere else, but we did stop for coffee and croissants at two cafes, which was a treat for the girls and I. Bringing our own food and camping stuff was time-consuming for sure, but it was worth it in the end, and it did help keep costs down as well. The Cape can be really expensive, depending on your traveling style, but for us it turned out quite cheap, and very much to our taste. It was nice to be in the woods, with lots of privacy, and to cook our own food on a home-made stove that Ed and Aiyana built the days before we left.

Most of the time we were there we biked. There is a great rails-to-trails network of paved bikepaths, safe for the kids to ride on, and very beautiful, as it winds its way through woods, marshes and other such wild areas. On Tuesday we biked 17miles, which was the longest Sena and Aiyana have ever biked in one day. They don't have gears on their bikes, so this was quite an accomplishment, especially for poor Aiyana who was peddaling like crazy on her little bike. I guess it's time for better bikes.

Here are some pics:

Taking a break at a scenic marshy area. For the Native Americans who lived in this area, marshes had spiritual significance, being places where the ocean meets the river. Marshes signified transformation, and I read that people often went there to meditate and pray when things were about to change in their own lives.

Sena, having a little treat at a local cafe.

 Getting the home-made tin can stove ready to cook dinner

My venison stew, made with the deer that was causing crop damage last year, plus our own carrots, potatoes, rutabagas, onions, garlic, and herbs. The wine I added was not ours, but it did bring a nice flavor. Yum!

Sena and Aiyana enjoying some warm milk (not from our own cow yet, unfortunately, but that's another story).

Aiyana sitting on a big boulder which was most likely deposited there during the last ice age.

In the woods;

 Coming to a beautiful pond.

The bikepath, sunny and inviting.

 Aiyana

Could not help myself with the pictures, I thought the path through the woods was so pretty.

 Making some adjustments to Sena's bike and bag.

More to come...