long time, no see... and Zinnia!

Hi there folks!  Yes, it's been quite some time since I have written here.  Life is so full, and every moment so precious, with a toddler, two big kids, a small farmstead, homeschooling, and animals - both big and small - concurrently tugging at my every spare moment.  To all those parents out there who seem to magically pull it all off every day and make it look so easy.... I tip my hat to you.  Damn, this sure aint easy.  Ahem.  Onward!

Allow me to introduce to you, Zinnia cow, our latest family member and supplier of all things dairy.

She's a rather petite Jersey cow with a sweet, if not a little pushy, personality and just the right amount of milk for our little family of five.  Zinnia joined us back in June and to be totally honest, I'm still adjusting to life with a dairy animal, especially as the weather has turned cold and wet and the days so very short.

I'm still getting used to the invisible milky tether that keeps me within arm's reach of the farm at all times, the achy muscles in my palms that I didn't even know existed until I began hand milking every day, and loads of rich, creamy milk that occupy nearly all of the real estate in my refrigerator and requires near daily processing to keep up with.  As a lifelong vegetarian and former vegan, it still cracks me up and shocks me to open my fridge door and discover So. Much. Milk.

Despite how much work this beautiful animal has added to my life, it's pretty awesome to watch my family consume and thrive on her raw dairy goodness.  The milk, the butter, the yogurt (oh my god, the yogurt), and the cheese.  My cheese making skills are still in the budding stage, but I have high hopes for full blooming maturity someday.  Ah, yes, someday.

I'll leave you with this rough video taken with the camera clenched between my knees as I attempted to simultaneously milk and record.  Enjoy!

And, I hope to see you again here soon!

Lunch

Ummm, yeah.  I am going to write a post about my lunch today.  Because it was that good.

My midday meal consisted of a scramble that was made, pretty much entirely, of things I grew or raised (the exceptions being the oil, salt and pepper I used in the cooking).  I had a veggie scramble made from: eggs collected from my chickens, milk from my cow, and broccoli, spinach and three types of kale all harvested from the garden moments before being tossed into the pan.  I washed it all down with tea brewed from calendula, lemon balm and mint harvested as the water boiled.  And for dessert... freshly made raw milk yogurt from our cow with raspberries still warm from the sun-drenched thicket.

Oh yes.  This was a lunch for the record books!

What a day!

I am so bone tired after the most amazing day. 

I spent the morning and most of the afternoon working alongside and learning a ton from the manager of a local dairy.  We bought one of her beautiful Jersey cows last weekend (more on that later!) and she graciously welcomed me under her wing today to indoctrinate me into the world of cow care.  I know the simple basics from keeping our Dexters for the last year, but thanks to my experience today, my knowledge and confidence have taken a major soaring leap skyward!

My day at the dairy began with this sweet boy... a little bull calf born two days ago.  This poor little guy wandered off from his mama yesterday and got lost in the heat.  It took a couple of hours of people searching high and low for him before he was found hunkered down in a small space between two buildings.  Today he was somewhat worse for the wear and was suffering from a bit of heat exhaustion.  So, I got to learn about signs of weakness in a calf, how to assess the severity of weakness and lethargy, and how to treat such symptoms.  Having him adorably suck on my thumb while waiting for his bottle of electrolytes wasn't so bad either!  He was so soft and floppy and cute, I could hardly tear myself away from him!  And yet, there were shots, IV's, rectal exams, oral drenches and more calling my name.....

Without going into the grizzly and (at times) gross details of my bovine education, suffice it to say that I learned so much.  And I am so very grateful for the bump up the learning curve.  I feel so much more comfortable in my role as cow owner and caretaker.  (I can't wait to share more about our latest family member!)

My day plowed ahead through the unusually hot and humid evening air as I milked out our new cow, grateful for the box fan blowing on both of us and keeping the flies away.  I raced back up the hill after milking and evening chores to do a quick change of clothes and head out to the Hood Canal for a wonderful sunset dinner by the water, overlooking the Olympic Mountains, with both immediate and extended family.  And then, I had the wonderful pleasure of laughing hysterically as our minivan, stuffed to capacity, rocked our backwoods country roads as all six people over the age of 16 months sang nonsensical children's songs at the top of our lungs for the entire car ride home.

And now... to bed, to sleep... in a house full of open windows inviting in the cooler nighttime air... with a head full of newly gained knowledge... and a heart full of gratitude for such an amazing day.

Heart on fire

This past weekend, our beloved family dog passed away.  He shared his life, loyalty and love with us for almost fifteen years.  I'm still at a loss for words and trying to figure out how life works without him.  I wait for his barks when someone pulls into the driveway.  I look for him out on the porch.  I swear I keep seeing him out of the corner of my eye, watching over us and the farm.  My heart swells with love and gratitude and burns with grief and loss as my mind attempts to learn new patterns of the day.

Thank you, Baraka.  Thank you for teaching me about unconditional love, for always being there, for protecting and loving us, for your wise and watchful eyes, for your ceaseless playful energy, and above all else for being a part of our lives and a beautiful member of our family.  You will be forever and always in our hearts and part of the pack.

Around the Homestead

Hello!

My goodness!  It's hard to find the time to write here.  Life is just so busy!  But, I'm trying to take inspiration from the many spiders around here these days and get back on the writing train.  After a long hiatus, I think I'd like to continue with the "Around the Homestead" posts each Monday.

After a rather hectic and all-over-the-place summer, we are beginning to settle into a nice rhythm this fall.  And it feels so good.  Our days have been full of autumn activities such as splitting and stacking firewood, getting the animals housing and food ready for winter, mushroom hunting, and harvesting apples for cider, applesauce, pies and so much more.  This weekend we'll be planting garlic and building a new mobile chicken coop... can't wait!

splitting, splitting, splitting... and more splitting

and still so much more to go!

Birch and Sarsaparilla have been hunkering down in the barn quite a bit since the rain started.  I'm working to get the barn nice and cozy since they've been spending so much more time there.

 

 

 

Been enjoying perfecting vegan/gluten-free apple pies this fall.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spending time in the old growth while hunting for mushrooms has been nothing short of divine.

And we are embarking on our annual fall cleaning spree.  I know that most folks do spring cleaning but, around these parts, the major push occurs in the fall.  It feels most needed when the weather turns cold and wet and we begin spending more time inside.  There's an undeniable need to massively clean house... and purge, purge, purge!

It feels SO good to be pushing things out the door.  It's downright amazing (and ridiculous) how much stuff amasses.

So, here's to autumn, spiders, writing, and getting rid of stuff....  Cheers!

Herbal Healing Salve

Our new cows are settling in so nicely.  They are becoming more and more comfortable everyday in their new home.  The barking dog that lives across the street that they can hear, but cannot see, is still a bit of a stress factor for mama Birch.  But, other than that, she seems as relaxed as can be.  The best we could have hoped for!

Birch came to us with a few small, but painful looking, nicks on her teats.  There was a yearling in the herd that she came from who thought she'd get some extra milk (round two!) with all the newly freshened mamas this spring.  The yearling rendered many of the milky mamas a little beat up in the teats.

So....

Sequoia and I set about making some healing salve for our sweet mama cow.  It was a great science week for Sequoia's homeschooling - botany, chemistry and health in one week!  She studied all and harvested most of the herbs we used for the salve.  The only herb we were not able to harvest and dry ourselves is the echinacea root.  The salve is so soothing and healing I have also been using it on Jade's teething-related rash.  It has all but cleared up the rash in less than 24 hours!

Ingredients:

• 4 tbsp dried and finely chopped plantain leaves
• 4 tbsp dried and finely chopped chickweed
• 2 tbsp dried and finely chopped comfrey leaves
• 2 tbsp dried and finely chopped calendula flowers
• 2 tbsp dried and finely chopped echinacea root
• approximately 1 cup coconut oil (enough to cover the herbs well)
• enough beeswax to get the consistency you want
• 3 capsules of vitamin E (the ones I used are 400IU's each)

Method:

• finely chop all your dried herbs
• measure out the desired amounts
• add all the herbs to a crock pot or double boiler
• add the coconut oil (adjust the amount accordingly so that your herbs are sufficiently covered)
• heat the oil/herb mixture for a minimum of four hours on very low heat, checking on it frequently to make sure that it is not too hot - the herbs should not burn or overheat or some of the medicinal quality is lost
• strain out the herbs through a cheese cloth, squeezing out as much of that liquid gold as you can get
• return the oil to the crock pot or double boiler and reheat over low heat
• add as much beeswax as you would like to get the salve consistency you want (you can take little spoonfuls out and put in the fridge to cool rapidly to check your consistency - adjust accordingly with either more beeswax or more oil depending on if you need it thicker or thinner)
• poke holes in the vitamin E capsules and squeeze the oil into the mixture
• at this point, you could also add any essential oils that you might want for fragrance or healing properties (I split our batch in half and left one half plain and added peppermint essential oil to the other half.  Peppermint is good for mastitis.  Plain is good for a nursing calf. Peppermint for her udder, plain for her teats.)
• once you have the consistency that you like, pour your warm salve into little jars.  I used two 4-ounce canning jars.
• let your jars sit over night until the salve is thickened and set
• use liberally and enjoy!

From teats to tushies, this stuff is really great.  My hands love it too, especially this time of year when they are all dried out from time working in the soil.  I strongly encourage giving some salve making a go.  It's really easy, lots of fun and really satisfying.  And feel free to mix it up with your herb, carrier oil and essential oil selection!  Next time I think I might add some yarrow or Oregon Grape root.

Happy concocting! 

Daily Gratitudes ~ 3 ~ Holy Cow(s)!

Sorry for missing a couple days. The following should explain why....

I am so grateful to be welcoming our latest family members!  Welcome to the tribe miss Birch and baby Sarsaparilla!  We are so happy you're here!

A Little Bit of Light

Hello again, friends.  Sorry for the long hiatus.  It has been a very busy few months, what with the putting the greenhouses to bed, putting up food for the winter, homeschooling, work, the ever-growing baby and belly, and the thousands of projects that are always taking place on the old homestead.  There just isn't room in the day for computer time unless it's work-related.

But, you know, I would really like to get back to regular updates.  Really I would.

On an exciting homestead note, we decided a few weeks ago to move ahead with the land clearing project. Clearing is actually not really the right word.  We are heavily thinning the forest on about 1.25 acres of our land.  The long-term goals are to get the remaining trees healthier and stronger (so we stop having so many topped and downed trees every time we have a windstorm), let more sunlight into our land and home, and eventually get a nice healthy pasture seeded and growing strong beneath the remaining trees so that we may graze some livestock.

It is amazing how different the land looks and feels with more open space and light.  I can't stop walking around with my mouth hanging half open and day-dreaming about fence lines, pasture seed, garden beds, loafing sheds, and critters.  I can't wait to raise our own livestock right here, a hop, skip and a jump from my own front door!  The future is looking a little brighter here at Howling Wolf, quite literally, with more visible sky through the dripping rainforest canopy.

Well, as I stated before, time is beyond precious these days, so I'll have to keep this post brief.  But, let's hope I can manage to return regularly to this space for fun updates and info!  For now, I will leave you with some greenhouse images from the later part of the summer season.  It's pouring now and so dark I absolutely need lights on to read by, so a little summer light and brightness seems quite nice....

Wow!  Just looking at those photos made me feel warmer, immensely grateful and deeply nourished!  What a great reminder in the darkness of a winter storm!  Happy New Year everyone!

Full...

I'll try to sum up the last ten days in photos and a few words.  It's been a crazy ten days.... animals, plants, family and trips around the sun.

warm horse breath in the early morning

love

and snuggles

greenhouses are getting more and more planted by the day

tomatoes are flowering

melons are growing

I wish I had more greenhouse photos to share, but when I'm there (which is a LOT), I am so incredibly busy, I forget to take pictures.  The above only hint at a fraction of what is actually going on in there.  Can't wait to share more!

milking mama goats

look at all that milk!
and that's even with the kids still nursing at will

We like to cuddle with little Bandit

and little Ginseng, too!

I got to go back and visit the alpaca ranch where I assisted during shearing.  Not running between animals, skirting tables and scales, I was able to get some photos of the silly girls and boys.

This cria (baby alpaca) was born the day before the shearing.
Her mama likes to keep her close and was none-too-pleased at being separated from her babe to be shorn.
As you can see, they are happily inseparable now.

This mama was pregnant during the shearing.

Not anymore!

This is what we were given in trade for our help at the shearing!
Seven bags of gorgeous alpaca fiber!

So soft...

 The big news that I eluded to in my last post is.... I bought a spinning wheel!  I am so so excited.  At the moment, it is still in pieces on my living room floor.  I got about half-way through oiling the wood and have yet to get back to it due to the greenhouses popping up in my life and demanding all of what used to be spare moments in my day (and then some).  I can't wait to put it together and start spinning.  That alpaca fiber is going to be delicious!

Partly sunny skies mean a whole different thing when you live in the rainforest of western Washington....

look for it....

wait for it....

Oh!  There we go!  I just have to wait for the sun to drop below the clouds shortly before sun set!
Hmm... partly sunny... really? 

Good thing we got to scuttle off to sunny California for a couple of days for an all-too-quick visit with family!  I'm glad summer is happening somewhere!  My brother and sister-in-law live in the heart of the Russian River valley in Sonoma County.  Wine country, redwoods, the river, sunshine, family, good food, dear friends... heaven.  This is the view from their back yard.

And last, but not least.... My sweet boy turned 11!  I can't believe it!  He got to have a very special Cali birthday with his favorite aunt and uncle and some of his East Coast grandparents.  His big day involved going out to breakfast, getting to build a skate board for the first time, practicing skate board tricks for hours, ice cream cake, swimming in the river, pineapple and jalapeno pizza, and lots and lots of lovin.

Richard and Sequoia help Cedar put together his skate board

Needless to say, life has been very, very full.  In all the best ways.  It's not always easy and I am as tired as a dog, but I am so very full indeed.