This year's Montreal visit

We just got back home from Montreal. Sena, Aiyana and I went to visit my parent for the holidays. We had a nice time with them, and Sena, who's doing a family tree, initiated a lot of conversation and story telling about family members from long ago, which was a great bonding experience.

My sister and her family were there too for a few days, so we got to spend some time all together, which was a little chaotic, but still, a treat.

Today, the girls and I drove home, and I have to admit that I feel relief. I don't like and don't feel well being indoors for long time, but in the city, it feels like the only thing to do outdoors is walk around the streets and shop. I'm not into shopping, so the girls and I walked around, and went to some cafes, but I felt empty. I'm sure that if I had to I would re-adapt to city life, but right now it feels difficult to live in a place with so few trees and so little natural landscape, and so much man-made stuff.

So I felt great driving through the mountains of Vermont today, and when I got back home I had a surge of energy. Went for a walk around the fields and I can't wait till tomorrow to get my hands dirty again, and work with the soil. I'll find something to do in the greenhouse, some weeding, or planting, or anything just to get me grounded again.

Peace

The funniest

Check out my little niece, Stella, singing Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah, on the potty. Here she is.

The gift that lays unopened

There are mysteries
that will never be revealed,
As they shouldn't.

The mountains, wise and old,
will hold their secrets, quietly,
As they should.

Majestic old trees,
made of sun and earth,
Will not divulge the workings
of time and nature.

Birds will not tell
of never-ending voyage
across boreal forest, mountains, deserts,
But they will sing of it.

Whales will not speak
about the sacred ocean,
whose depths they only know;
It's written in their eyes.

These secrets are not for distracted, insensitive humans.
They will not be bought or sold, ever!
They cannot be told,
But must be felt, experienced,
Through pure yearning, desire, and deep humility.

This precious knowing of the earth and our place on it is our gift at birth,
A forgotten gift we search for all our lives,
not knowing what we're looking for,
down busy city streets,
in stifling office buildings,
in failed relationships.
A gift that's ready to open when we're ready.

Look to the powerful beings who know!
Pay them deep respect, and you may be granted a glimpse.
A glimpse that makes this life worthwhile.

Peace

Sena is 10!

My beautiful Sena turned 10 yesterday! I can hardly believe it, which is what every parent says about their children, but it is nevertheless true. She is truly a beautiful person, and wise beyond her 10 years.

She teaches Ed and I as much as we teach her, and about more important things. We teach her how to get along in life, and she teaches us about seeing clearly. I want to give her the necessary tools to get through life, as far as practical knowledge, etc., but I don't want to interfere with or muddle her inborn sense of justice, her integrity, and her clarity about what's important.

One of the greatest gifts Sena, and Aiyana have given me, is the ability to get over myself, and just get on with life. They have given me a much wider perspective on life, which on one hand diminishes my own self-important attitude, and on the other hand spurs me into action through the realization that what I do is important, and does have tangible consequences.

We had two parties to celebrate, one with Sena's friends and one with her grandparents and cousin. We also celebrated quietly, together, just the four of us, by watching pictures and reminiscing about Sena's birth 10 years ago. As far as presents, I knitted her a scarf/hat, Ed got her a focus pad to practice her karate kicks, and Aiyana got her some pretty yarn to use in the knitting and crocheing. It was a good birthday.

Peace

Winter Solstice

Happy Winter Solstice! Today, we celebrate the return of the light, as the days start to slowly get longer.

For me, this is a time of introspection, rest and renewal. Just as everything in nature is now at rest, seeds laying dormant in the ground, animals hibernating in their shelters, so for us, humans, it feels good to slow down, let our bodies and minds rest from the activities of the past year, and renew for the coming season.

Winter Solstice reminds me that everything is a continual death / rebirth cycle. I see this played in front of my eyes throughout the year in different forms, on different scales; within humans too, this cycle is happening. So I ask myself, what physical aspects, ideas and ways of being are fading in my life, what do I need to let go of, and what is being born that needs to be nurtured?

I hope you enjoy and appreciate this special time of the year.
Peace

The cow fell through

We just got word today that our cow arrangements fell through. The warts that the cow had on her teats got worse and she's been hard to milk because of that, so the woman selling her does not feel that it is right to sell her like that. Which is nice of her, but....

For us, this is very disappointing, as we've been waiting for this cow for a few months and we're all set up for her to come, and we've passed up some other nice cows for her. But at the same time, we don't want a cow with problems, especially since she'll be our first; so we'll have to start looking again. At least I'm glad that there's been some resolution, and we know where we stand, and we can move forward from here.

The "Grow Your Own Food" course Ed and I taught last week went really well. We put a lot of energy into it, ad we were both exhausted at the end (7 hours of intense focus and talking can do that), but sleep put us right again. We had 12 people attending, which was a good number given the size of our house. We had excellent feedback after the course, and people seemed really excited about what they learned and about going out to their gardens and applying it. One thing I found really uplifting and encouraging, and this is not the first time I've noticed this, is that people really do want to do what's right for the land, as far as working the soil in a beneficial way, without using toxic chemicals or poisons, but they just need to: 1) know that this is possible and realistic,  and 2) get the practical knowledge on how to do it.

We got some snow on Saturday, so yesterday we had to dig out the greenhouses. We can't have too much snow accumulating on top of them or on their sides, or we'd risk the plastic covers getting ripped or even collapsing. So we shoveled, and it was a lot of work. It felt really nice to come in the house and sit by the fire afterwards. Unfortunately, once I sat down I didn't want to get back up, but diner had to be made, dishes had to be washed, and the children had to be put to bed. But, I did take some time for myself later, after everyone was asleep and snoring loudly - just the cats and I sitting on our soft sheepskins, staring into the fire. That felt luxurious.

Ed and I will be heading to the NEFV (New England Fruit and Vegetable) conference this week. It is a huge conference with thousands of people attending. Last time we were there, two years ago, we learned some practical things that served us well since. After we come back from the conference, it will be Sena's birthday, then Christmas, and then the girls and I will be going to Montreal to visit my family. Busy time of the year!

Peace

Snow!

We got about 3 inches of snow yesterday, and today Sena said that she knows what people mean by "winter wonderland". Everything looked so beautiful.

This morning, we went sledding with some friends. It was really fun, but the play got kind of rough, and on the very last run down the hill Sena fell off her sled and got a bump on her forehead. Her gymnastics coach said that it's easy to tell that Sena and Aiyana spend a lot of time outdoors - they always come in smelling of fresh air, looking like they played in the dirt, and today with a scratch and a bump...

 It was just us and these geese.

Peace

Fog

The land looks barren at this time of the year. Yesterday, the fields were covered by thick fog all day. But if you know them well, through the fog, you could catch a faint suggestion of what used to be, and what is yet to come.

Peace

These have a story to tell

My sister and I were talking about used clothes yesterday, and how much they can mean. To me, used clothes are clothes with a story to tell, so much more interesting than new.

These are my favorite shoes:

They're my Doc Martins, and I've had them since 1995. They've been with me in Montreal, when I was working at Pratt and living the city life; they came with me to the US when I decided I had to try something new; they're still going strong and serving me well now when I work in the field or ride my bike.

Peace

What's going on with the cow?

Back in late summer, we were looking at cows. We saw a few and finally settled on a Dexter.

Her name is Ramsey and she was pregnant at the time. We were expecting her to have the calf in October and we thought we'd get both mother and baby here soon after . But it turns out the woman selling her to us was off on the pregnancy date, so Ramsey didn't give birth until November. Then, we had to wait 6 to 8 weeks to give her and the calf time to adjust after the birth. We went to visit them both last Saturday, and it seems that they're about ready to come here, except for the warts.

Ramsey has some warts which were exacerbated by hormones after birth, and they're on 2 out of her 4 teats, which makes it hard to milk her. We've been talking to a vet about this and it turns out it's not a big deal, and should resolve itself in a few months.

Where we are right now is that we're waiting to get vet signup on getting her moved here, then we have to arrange transportation. Hopefully they'll be here in the next two weeks.

We've been eagerly waiting for them to come. The good thing about all this waiting is that we got ready in the meantime. Ed got two barns ready for them: one is an old barn which he fixed and cleaned up. The other is a barn he built from scratch; it is a movable barn on wheels, similar to our movable chicken coops, the idea being to avoid an accumulation of manure in any one spot.

Ed also got fencing set up around the pasture. We're planning to do rotational grazing, which means that the cows will be moved to fresh pasture every day. This requires special fencing arrangements, but I think we're all set with that.

In the meantime, I've been reading and learning about cheese, butter and yoghurt making. I'm very excited. Sena and Aiyana have been practicing milking. They got one surgical glove each, filled it with water, tied it so the water would not spill out, poked a tiny hole in one finger, and then pretended that finger was a teat and tried milking. Ramsey's current owner told us that this would make good practice, but if nothing else, it's been great entertainment for the two of them.

Other than that, Ed and I have been spending quite a bit of time working on our "Grow Your Own Food" course. We're going to be teaching it this coming Saturday from 9am to 4pm. I think it's going to be good. We put together a lot of practical information that we've learned from our own experience, plus reading and talking with other farmers. I honestly wish someone had given us a course like that when we first started farming. And now, I wish someone would give us a course like that about small-scale pastured dairy cows.

Peace

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...