spring is in the air

we wrote a little song about our time in vermont and sang it at the local open mic. there were lots of good country/folk tunes and there's one down on the previous post of a fiddler (not on a roof).

we're a part of a local CSA (community supported agriculture). 10 families put money in each week to receive fresh, local food. the truck comes in each Monday and we split it up into 10 parts.

the truck delivery
i can't think of a caption for this, but maybe i'll soon get my ducks in a row. oh wait.
our dear friend sarah, who came to visit with her husband bradley.
with our friends sarah and bradley at the local diner.
the barn
lynea is a licensed cosmetologist. apparently it carries over into the animal world.
tilling the soil.
good music from the local open mic.

time to eat.

new baby chicks

our friendly llama, "critter".

if you're interested...

Lynea posted a few photos here on the farms facebook page.

Animal husbandry and Woman husbandry

It's been 3 years. That's right, 3 years since we said our vows and walked barefoot down the aisle. During our ceremony, on that beautiful day, we took 2 separate trees and planted them together in the same pot to symbolize our new closeness. Today, we planted arugala.

It was a fairly normal day - normal being a great thing in my mind. We caulked and painted a room, cleaned emu poop, collected eggs, fed the animals, ate lunch outside, looked at wedding pics and reminisced. Here's one:

The good thing about all these normal things is that we get to do them together, and that’s something we’ve come to value.

In talking about animal husbandry, Wendell Berry writes, “The word husbandry is the name of a connection...To husband is to use with care, to keep, to save, to make last, to conserve.”

Lynea and I are priveleged to stay with a wonderful family on an incredible plot of land in Vermont and learn some basic animal husbandry skills. Each day I feel more of a connection with the land and the animals as I watch the creative process of life unfold. This is good, and I am very interested in animal husbandry, but it's not the most important husbandry for me. The last 3 years I've developed a deep connection with Lynea as I've learned to care for her, respect her and try my best to bring out the best in her. In short, I'm more interested in being good at woman husbandry.

As we reflect on our vows and look at pictures of our wedding day, we renew our commitment to each other and celebrate these 3 spectacular years together. I've found a best friend for life, and I'm truly thankful.

And before I close this entry, thanks to all our friends and family for the love and support throughout our relationship. “It takes a village...”

The end.

(A recent picture from our local restaurant, the Dam Diner. It's next to a dam. Good food.)

Tasting, Extracting and Gathering

We were privileged to participate in the local, annual maple syrup tasting. We tasted around 24 different syrups, and were astonished at the variances. We did not see Aunt Jemima, but we did taste some great syrups. As we said in an earlier post Robert, our host boss, makes maple syrup each year, and it appears that his was the clear winner of this year's contest!

To taste it for yourself, order it from his website here.

Also, had the opportunity to extract honey from the comb last Thursday. Robert has been bee keeping since the early 80's. Here's how the process went:

First, we removed the outer layer of beeswax so the honey could flow out.
Put the combs in the honey extractor and turn the handle rapidly. This forces the honey to fly out of the combs and onto the sides of the barrel, where it slowly drips down and pools at the bottom. Kinda like the scrambler at a local fair.
Don't waste a drop and taste often!
Finished product.
Gathered some shitake mushrooms as well.

And an edible fern called a fiddlehead. Note the shape (it's like a fiddle).

Then Robert made us a white sauce that included the shitake mushrooms, fiddleheads and some ramps (wild onions) we gathered. Delicious and rewarding.

which came first?

one of my favorite daily chores is collecting eggs. i’m still astounded at the variety: blue, green, brown, yellow, big, small. why did i not know this before? lynea and i collected 25 yesterday during our nightly egg hunt routine.

surprised by spring

growing up in florida, i never really experienced the seasons. well, i guess we did have slight variations - very hot, hot, less hot. but overall, i didn’t seem to mind. however, i now realize that i was missing out on one of the common human experiences: winter! cleveland winter’s are long. “always winter, never christmas” as some have said. i didn’t notice it the first time i experienced it back in ‘07-08, but then again, i was engaged and my feet rarely touched the ground. this year, i experienced it fully. maybe it’s because i’m a rookie to this weather thing, but it was admittedly hard. all i wanted was shorts and a t-shirt and a nice jog. or frisbee. or the sun. it was never ending! until, all of sudden (drum roll)....spring! life! joy! flowers! no words just sheer amazement! i’ve never experienced anything like it. something in you shifts, indeed, something in nature shifts. the birds are singing again. my shorts have come out to play. the long, cold death of winter has produced the vibrant life of spring. i can’t stop smiling when i walk outside. i’ve even laughed out loud a few times, then looked around to see if anyone saw me laughing at nothing. no one so far, but now it’s on the internet.

i understand now why we use “cold” as a negative adjective and “warm” as a positive. not that winter is all bad. to be sure, there’s sledding, snowballs, activities by the fire, holidays, seeing your breath (which i still think is pretty neat). but this new season has produced in me a wonder that i’ve never before experienced, and i can only attribute it to winter. without winter, i would not have known these feelings and emotions that i’m experiencing presently. without winter, i would not have known what it was like to be surprised by spring.