Water kefir. I wasn't really sure what I was doing with this at first. The culture didn't seem to grow, and the finished product was okay... but it wasn't very carbonated and smelled a bit like feet. Lately? Oh my. It's soooo good. It still has an interesting smell, but I'm used to it and now the culture is kicking. It multiplies quickly now and the resulting kefir is delicious and mildly sweet with some serious carbonation. Like, you have to be careful opening the bottle. I love it! And I'm now able to share the culture since it's multiplying.  


This is the way things are around here lately. Lots of plants and trays and soil everywhere.



( Read more... )

Our first farmer's market was a success. It was not as busy as I expect it will be in the coming weeks, and even so we got loads of positive feedback and we certainly broke even. It was really fun- socializing and talking about what we do. My friend and I are sharing a booth, so we got to sit and hang out and share the load. It was great. 


We brought the kids along. I think it's important for them to be a part of the whole process. I do think we'll have to employ some strategy to keep them occupied, and perhaps keep them home for part of the time or something. We'll see. They were pretty good considering.


The booth. Our logo is hanging there on the left. We have to finish it up and make some signs, but I'm pretty happy with it. I designed the whole thing and did the art for it, and that was really fun. I haven't had time to make art in ages, but when I sat down to do this stuff it felt pretty easy. Got me wanting to really sit down at my art table more often. I like to create. Anyway, I'll show you a close up of the logo when it's really finished.


Microgreens. These are the bulk of our sales right now, since we don't have much in the way of veggies just yet. But they are a hit! My friend and I are collaborating on this part, so it's not taking up all our respective spaces. Plus it's just so much fun to partner up! Also, the produce manager at the co-op approached us and so it looks like we'll be supplying them in the near future. Woohoo!


I made these fun plant labels for sale. Not my idea, you can google "spoon plant label" or something and see a bunch of them, but I thought it was unique and fun enough that I wanted to try my hand at them. Now my mind is swimming with ideas for plant labels, though. It could become quite the hobby for me.


Baby had a good nap at market, which was good. I was afraid he'd stay up with all the excitement.


All in all it was a success. I'm a happy girl.

Oh my, I'm feeling a tad discouraged. Or maybe that's the wrong word for it. No it's definitely the wrong word for it. I'm many things, I guess. I'm feeling... complicated.


Fresh trout caught by family friends who live on Lake Huron, lightly breaded and pan fried, served with roasted sweet potatoes and sauteed cabbage and beet greens, topped with fresh pea and sunflower shoots. Yes yes.

I had a pretty great day, actually. I laughed a lot. Like, big hearty belly laughing with Jeff and the kids. I smiled all day. Tonight I'm feeling the cumulative effect of a long day, a lot of work and responsibilities, the unpredictable nature of parenting young kids and being an integral part of many other peoples' lives, and then the added passions and creative endeavors that Jeff and I are both embarking on, together and separately. It's kind of a hilarious juggling act, sometimes.

I'm taking this yoga class with my mom. I've only been once, but I really liked it just because the instructor really talked to us about feeling out the moment and staying present. She said something along the lines of "Peace is right now." I just really needed that meditation, and it's stuck with me ever since. My past is gone, my future doesn't exist really. Living in either state only brings about anxiety and stress. Being in each moment brings peace and contentment. 



I don't want to complain. It's actually kind of funny at this point. I have just spent weeks working to pull all of this off- the new farm in particular. It has largely been good, although I would really like so much more to have happened by now. But, for doing it all on my own and with all my other responsibilities, I have something real here that I can be proud of. It's the "all on my own" part that can feel a little hard these days. My sweet partner, with so much to do himself, has been largely unavailable to me. This is just not exactly how I envisioned our first year farming together...  but things so rarely turn out the way you envision. 



I am reaching deep inside almost every day, trying to pull from my strength and garner a little more patience and a little more surrender. I see my blessings all around, but I am very much challenged by life lately. I am learning how to really work, how to keep my cool and be a mother to these kids even when I don't feel up to it. I'm learning just to continue to rise up and greet each day, chipping away at what needs to be done. I'm actually feeling my self-esteem build, just being as self-reliant as I have been lately. I feel more confident and stronger in both body and mind. I'm generally feeling like a badass at the end of the day- having planted and shoveled and worked and had arms full of children and taken care of a dozen animals and then fed everyone a good meal at the end of the day. This life is exactly the kind of life I want to live. Full of value and good work and a purpose. My struggle usually involves my own self-pity and entitlement. I aim to squash these things, although I sense this will be a battle. Truly, my only limitations come from my own perspective. This is the painful lesson I am learning practically every day.


Vera and I went on a "girl's date". It was awesome, and we spent the entire morning just talking and enjoying each other. We're going to be making a habit of these kinds of outings.

So what happened today was that Jeff started feeling sick at the end of the day and went to bed with Vera. I, having really counted on his help tonight to prepare for farmer's market on Tuesday, couldn't even garner a few sympathetic words for him. I have had so little help in this endeavor it has left me feeling pretty alone on several occasions. I can't fault him for it, either, because he's been working his butt off too. But, I felt it, and that's the way it is sometimes. So tonight I just was so counting on him, and I felt like throwing my hands up and crying. I grabbed Asa and put him on my back to soothe him to sleep. He went down with no trouble, which was a big blessing for me. Now I've settled on a (long) list made for tomorrow, and a little time taken on myself to just write and reflect.



What I do know is that I really do want this- just everything we're doing here. I want it even when it's hard, even when I feel like I'm on my own. And the beauty is, I'm so *not* on my own. I've just had a little blip of time here where things couldn't go on as I planned in my head. All these struggles are temporary. 



Growing pains. Just a little stretching and coming on through to the other side.



I was having a day where I felt really short tempered and where I resented the chaos that surrounded me. I later got word that an old family friend had just lost her baby just weeks from the due date. I lit a candle and cried for them. I felt so petty and my heart just softened. Oh, I don't really know where I'm going with this. I guess, I can just daily see the reasons for living a life with a firm foundation in gratitude. Like that quote- "If the only prayer you ever say in your whole life is 'thank you', that would suffice." (Meister Eckhart)



Yeah. More farming details tomorrow. I have lots of updates to share.

This was meant to be posted on Friday night, but Asa woke up and decided to stay up until 3am... so I didn't end up posting it. But, I figure better late than never.

---
This morning I just got stuck. I was just blinking, looking around my house wondering where to start. I think I'm a little overwhelmed. I'm also at a time in the month (I'm working to pay more attention to my own rhythms and cycles lately) where I need to give myself a little more space and relaxation and gentleness- and yet I don't know how to achieve that when so much depends on me. Made me think of my "Just Doing" series I did last year, and how good that was for me. It kept me in the moment- a camera in one hand, a task in front of me... I was sitting in front of my computer this morning while the kids just kind of swirled around me and I thought I might give it another try.



( Read more... )

I've decided to night-wean this little guy. He's coming up on two, he's got most of his teeth, and I haven't had a full nights sleep in over 4 years. It feels like time. I started talking to him about it a few days ago, and he happily went along with the story. "Nigh nigh milky! Morning milky!" But two nights ago I tried, and he wailed and wailed. I shushed him and rocked him and gave him water and lots of love. At one point I thought we must be close to morning, and then was alarmed to see that the clock only read 2 o'clock. It was a really really long night. Then last night I tried again, feeling like if it didn't go well then I'd have to maybe postpone the whole thing (that's how it went with Vera- I tried for a couple of days, she was so upset, and then I tried again a month later and it worked with minimal tears). Much to my surprise, he slept until 5:30 on his own. He came into bed and asked several times for milk, but when I told him "No milk Asa. Milk is going to sleep. We can have more in the morning!" and then he'd say "Ooooh kaaaaay." It was so sweet. Downside was that he was up babbling and crawling on our heads from 5:30 to 7, but I'll take it. Oh my, I see the light at the end of the tunnel.


It's always hard to transition, I find. Even when it's as simple as no more nursing at night. I feel very grateful for my smooth and happy nursing relationships, and my resilience through the years of sleep deprivation. There's some biological thing that happens, I think. It's not been bad at all! I am feeling ready, though. And it really makes you grateful for stuff that I always took for granted- a small block of uninterrupted sleep is sounding like pure luxurious bliss right now. Yay. Happy mama and a happy baby. I'm sure he'll sleep better too. 

---
My little helpers. Farm kids!



( Read more... )

This strange summer-like weather has kept me outside and away from this space. Not like I really update but once a week or so anyhow... but still. Today is the first chilly day in about 2 weeks, and it's still kind of glorious. You know, where it's chilly but step into the sun and it penetrates straight to your bones. I have my kids and niece and nephew today, so I won't spend long here inside. 


My herbs are bouncing back. We've got chives, oregano, parsley, marjoram, sage, and thyme- all happily growing back. Oh yeah, and my mint and yarrow is coming back too. 



( Read more... )

I'm a little sick right now. Whenever I'm sick it really puts how much I accomplish into perspective. I'm often feeling like I don't get enough done (the house could be cleaner, I only got 2 things checked off of my list of 10 things, etc...), but then I'm sick for a couple of days and I realize what this place could be if I checked out... I mean, it would be a hot mess! I'm not a perfectionist by any means, and my house is often messy and disorganized. But this whole two-young-kids thing? Oh my. Jeff goes to work and I'm feeling fuzzy on the couch for a day, and the place transforms before my eyes. You would think the mess around me would have me feeling discouraged, but it's actually pretty validating! So there ya go. I was feeling a bit better yesterday and overworked myself and today has me feeling it. So, I'm sitting outside with the kiddos and dogs (because it's like 70 degrees... in March) with snacks to keep them happy, and just checking out for a while.

---
Asa is becoming his own little person, and fast. I suppose he's always been himself, but lately he's got attitude... He's silly, opinionated, and impossibly sweet. It's also been really fun to sing with him lately. 



( Read more... )

My love of breakfast is serious. Nothing beats perfectly cooked eggs, crispy bacon, a buttery piece of toast, warm coffee, fruit, a drizzle of maple syrup, crispy potatoes... I could go on and on. This day was picture worthy. It was so simple, but I guess it was the combination of the grapefruit (which I rarely get to eat, but it is one of my all-time favorites), the perfectly soft-boiled eggs, the hot coffee, and no squealing kids trying to eat my food off my fork... I just thought, "I love breakfast. I'm going to take a picture now." It's the small things.



( Read more... )