Clinging

Poor little man is in a very mama-centric clingy phase.  Wants all sorts of mama, however he can get it.  It’s making me crazy, but I’m trying to remember that it’s temporary.  It too shall pass… and I should love it up - all the clinging - while I’ve got it.  Someday, after all, he might tell me to talk to the hand.

Yes. This will, in fact, pass.  It just takes time.  Once again, in the very near future, he will evolve through this developmental milestone and feel more secure in the world.  He will not need to wrap his body around my calves, wailing and looking desperately up at me while I attempt to cook… every. single. time.  He will not throw himself to the ground sobbing anytime I leave (even momentarily) the room.  He will not beg to be held constantly, pointing and saying, “Ah!”, at everything he sees forever.  This is temporary.  And, I too can adapt.  I do not need to feel so frustrated, like I can’t even breathe on my own, let alone get something done.  I can take deep breaths in the moments of tightening throat and clenching jaw.  I can use that breath to guide my energy down, to bring my awareness and attention to the small and developing being in my arms, to remind me to slow down and take it all in stride.  

 Look closely at him, mama.  Hug him a little tighter, mama.  

He will not be little forever.  He will not need me like he does now for much longer at all, in fact.  Soon, very soon, his words will come to him.  His, “ah, ah, ah”, will shift, and like magic, carefully chosen words will spill out in their place.  He will tell me with unwavering certainty what, exactly, it is that he wants or needs.  His desire to be held will become less and less as his curiosity to explore the world around him grows more and more.  And, as the ground settles from this developmental earthquake that is rocking his world right now and the pieces fall into place, I will find standing before me a boy… no longer a baby.  A big boy, ready to take on the world.   

Now, mama, the question is… are you ready to let go?

A Quiet Evening

About to settle into an evening of The Hobbit movie with my family.  They all saw it together when it was in the theater, but I did not.  The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings books have been popular and recurring stories in our household for several years now.  So the kids are very, very excited for me to see the movie... finally.  They are horrified that I did not see it on the big screen.  (However, movies in the theater are absolutely not my cup of tea.  Even if I could have gone to see it, it's highly unlikely I would have chosen to do so.)

This guy lost his nose and an arm during a big earthquake in 2001. He hangs out in the garden now and smiles at me and reminds me to smile even when things are crazy and enjoy the ride.

It will be a nice, quiet way to end the day after a crazy, hectic springtime frenzy kind of day. Let's just say it involved last-minute hay runs, sprinting back and forth through the pasture many times through sideways sheets of rain and snow, wrangling pesky turkeys, visits with out-of-town friends, and toddlers attempting to eat dinner with their feet on the table and their heads on their seats!  All with a very tired baby on my hip or back who was still feeling the effects of a late night with friends last night celebrating the arrival of spring. 

Now, said baby is tucked snugly in bed and I am flanked on either side by big kids anxiously awaiting family Hobbit night.  Ah yes, a quiet night does sound nice indeed.

This Moment

I thought I'd share another {this moment} post with you all this week. 

A true testament to his pacific northwest rainforest upbringing, during a rare winter sunbreak, Jade was utterly confused by the patches of sunlight on the living room floor.  He kept looking at them in sheer bewilderment, reaching down and trying to pick them up. 

Oh, how I long for sunshine!

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! 

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.

Kiss the Moon

Between a tweaked neck and so much going on around here, I haven't had much time to post lately.... And I'm sorry for that.  Writing here is something that I really enjoy and I would like to get back to a more regular rhythm.  That being said....

Last weekend was so full and so wonderful.  I got to see Medeski Martin and Wood and dance until my heart swelled with that goodness only dancing brings, have a delicious breakfast alone with my mom, learn to spin wool into yarn (!), watch Sequoia participate in her first ever gymnastics meet, and (of course) work on the land.  Wow!

Shallots awaiting their new home.

Sequoia's meet was so sweet!  She is not actually at competition level, but the gym where she practices holds "mini-meets" a couple of times per year where all the kids, no matter their level, are invited to show off their skills.  There were routines as sweet and simple as three-year-olds working hard at awkward somersaults, and those as technical, complicated and breath-taking as you might see at national events.  I am so proud of Sequoia.  She was really, really nervous and almost didn't participate at the last minute.  But, she chose to push through the nerves and give it all she's got.  And she did beautifully!  I wish that I had photos to share but, alas, I do not.  Way to go, girl!

And spinning... oh spinning!  I knew I would fall in love, and fall hard I did.  I am taking a two-part class in Seattle at The Weaving Works.  Part one was last Saturday morning and I nearly had to pinch myself to believe it was real.  I felt giddy and tentative and shy as I sat down for the first time ever in front of a wheel - an Ashford Traditional.  The instructor told us all to start treadling and get used to how it feels.  I was so in awe of the timeless beauty in front of me, I was afraid to put my foot on the treadle.  I managed to overcome my silliness and began treadling away.  The steady whirring of the wheel was hypnotic and soothing, and I thought to myself, "Wow, this is so relaxing...."

Then I actually tried to spin.  Oiy!  It was no longer relaxing at all!  It was hard and awkward and confusing and oh so frustrating!  I would pinch too hard and the yarn would twist so much that it would clog the orifice, then pinch so lightly that the roving would fly through my fingers without twisting at all.  I would draft too much and the wool would wisp into nothing and I'd loose the end of the yarn to the bobbin.  Or, I didn't draft enough and fat chunks of barely spun roving would squeeze its way through the orifice to cover more than its fair share of my hard work.

I did finally kind of get the hang of it and was able to relax a little.  By no stretch of the imagination did the yarn I was creating even kind of resemble what most would think of when they think of yarn, but I was actually spinning nonetheless.  And as those luscious wool fibers slid through my fingers and spun up into yarn, my heart strings twisted right up with them.  My dear friends, I am hooked.

my first ever bobbin's worth of homespun yarn

bobbin number two
 getting better!

I was allowed to borrow a wheel from the shop for the week until my next class this Saturday.  I have been practicing every chance I get.  It's surreal to see a spinning wheel in my own living room.  I have to say, I really like it... a lot.  I'm going to have to work on making that a permanent reality I think.

Tonight I have a date with a friend to spin with her.  I can't wait.

Last night I worked in the garden until I could no longer see what my fingers were touching just before my eyes.  I got to watch the swollen, golden glowing moon rise above the garden with my fingers still plunged deep in the soil.  At first glimpse, my breath caught in my throat, my heart pounded and the blood rushed in my ears.  My family close to my side, a wheel by the wood stove, earth on my fingers, and a full moon so close I could kiss it.... love.

Moving On Up

The kids moved the chicks from their brooder/tractor into the big girl yard.  They were thrilled!  And a little intimidated.  Those big hens and roosters and turkeys can be a bit much when you're only six inches tall.  It was like watching preschoolers walk onto a middle-school playground during lunch recess.  Cedar and Sequoia made sure that they were safe though.  They got the heat lamp all set up for the babes and showed them repeatedly where the food and water is located in their new diggs.  They happily ran all over the place all afternoon and evening, occasionally getting herded around by a rooster.  They were so overjoyed with all the new space, in fact, that they didn't want to go into the coop to roost once it started getting dark out.  Steve had to go out and shuffle the little feather balls into the coop and under the heat lamp.  They are all resting there peacefully now.

Things are continuing to spring on ahead here despite the very wet and cold weather we are having.  Last week was gorgeous.  Lots of sunshine and blue sky.  However, now we are back to the typical temperate rainforest springtime weather.  Sunny weather does not usually settle in here until about the last week in June or first week of July.  Until then, one can count on cool with a chance of rain just about every day.  Yesterday we got an amazing rainbow out of the deal though.  It was a rainbow just like this one that made me first fall in love with this little piece of land six years ago....

More homestead goodness...

the kids moved compost to their spiral garden

sowing seeds

transplanting herbs - this echinacea will be happy here, I think

hello Bloody Dock

forget-me-not

red flowering currant - a favorite native

asian pear blossoms opening

oh, how I wish I could eat these guys!
not for another year...

And, wow!  I can't wait to harvest these guys as well!

first morels of the season in our garden

Sequoia found them while hunting for slugs!

Steve had to go to Seattle yesterday to speak in front of the National Organic Standards Board.  He was making a plea for stronger rules on truth in labeling regarding organic vs non-organic products.  The kids and I decided to tag along and make a day of it in the city.  We spent the afternoon at the Seattle Aquarium with Grandma Linda.  I forgot my camera in the car, so not too many good photos to share.  I will, however, share this one with you because I am totally smitten.

Meet Barney.  He is a Northern Fur Seal who is 26 years old and is so used to working with his humans that he gets his teeth brushed with an electric toothbrush every day.  His playmate "Q", was also very sweet, but very shy.  But not Barney.  He and I made eyes at each other for a long time.  The kids literally had to drag me away from Barney.  I'll say it again... I was totally smitten.