My Blog

End and Begin Again

We’ve been putting a lot of time into planting this spring; some things didn’t make it over winter (strawberries), while other things did but have been slowly trampled by a dog and children and foraging chickens (echinacea). Still some things are doing quite well- flourishing, in fact.

The blueberries are full of blooms…

and the blackberries too.

I am humbled by how much everything is beyond our control. But goodness, we do try our best, despite or because of that.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="2500.0"] Calendula seedlings [/caption]

The sheep are quite wooly right now; we plan to shear them this month and I do hope that happens. We have to wait until the weather is right, and then it has to be a day when Daniel and his brother are free to do the work. Though I have to say the sheep don’t seem to mind that they are still donning their winter coats in May- they are too happy foraging on grass.

The chickens are laying over a dozen eggs a day, so we are selling the surplus locally. The boys enjoy helping me collect and wash them, though sometimes I save that work for when I am alone- with their eagerness to help they can forget to be gentle!

The homeschooling co-op Viggo attends is winding down, with the final classes next week. He has enjoyed going and I’ve enjoyed spending time with other mamas, but I am looking forward to having our days open up, to simply be at home.

I am grateful for these shifts in time, the seasonal rhythms, the cyclical nature of things. There is so much happening in spring!

Spring

Spring is truly my favorite time of year- full of so much beauty and promise and good things, big and small.

On rainy days, we build blanket forts.

On sunny days, the laundry gets taken outside.

Every day something new is blooming.

After a winter hiatus, all the hens are laying again.

More time outside means more discoveries.

And for today, what has become a favorite tradition- dyeing eggs.

How are you welcoming spring?

From Here to There

The last several days have either brought snow or rain, keeping us inside for long stretches. We’ve kept busy, with baking and building and reading and our other favorite things.

At some point though, the scale tipped and we all got a little antsy. Though we weren’t exactly jumping off the walls, some were jumping off of furniture!

Well then! Time to go outside.

The sun came out bright and warm, and for one glorious day, it felt like spring.

Indeed, this past weekend marked the halfway point between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. And though we are still tucked into our blanket of winter sleep, it feels so good to know just how close we are to getting there, to the other side- to green and growth and waking up.

For now, we will savor our one day of spring bliss in February.

Mud and mess and all.

Gratitude

The sun came out this morning, and stayed out all day. We followed it around the house, soaking it in.

Almost forgotten- how rainbows dance around the kitchen when light hits the sun catcher just-so. Viggo calls it magic and he isn’t wrong.

Wishing you all a lovely start to your weekend!

In January

Winter is for making.

We all gravitate to our favorite things- painting, clay, drawing and knitting.

Last night we had a winter storm roll through with a little snow, strong winds and so much ice! Today it is so very cold but the sun is out, making the whole world bright and rather lovely.

The chickens are not thrilled, but some do venture out of their coops to have a look around.

Eleanor of course is completely in her element, running into the snow drifts and frolicking about.

Winter is for piling up on the couch and reading, too.

This week I finished a pullover for Soren. Just in time! A perfect wooly layer for these cold January days, it fits him just right.

And in case you’re wondering how to get a two-year-old to sit still for a few photos, a small bowl of animal crackers works nicely.

Cookies for a few photos for mama? Soren was happy to oblige.

Sweet boy!

And this! A yummy pile of yarn for a baby blanket I’m casting on for. Yes! We are expecting a little one in late June or early July. I do believe even a summer baby needs a good hand knit. Oh yes. Good things.

Simple Things and Small Joys

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="2500.0"] Some of our hens, enjoying the bird seed that falls from the feeders hanging above them. What the cardinals and chickadees don’t want our chickens love! [/caption]

The other evening, in the dim light of dusk as I was finishing chores in the coops I noticed a few eggs nestled together in a nesting box. What a surprise! As our older hens take a break from laying over winter, I wasn’t expecting to see any until March. These eggs are the very first ones from our summer flock!

Of course we have eggs found them in every odd place- under a picnic table, in the dog house- but mostly they appear in the coops. Every day, there are more. A very happy surprise!

Like last winter, our days are spent gathered in our kitchen. The boys have the table covered with projects, and I have the counter full of dough rising, beans soaking and other good things. (And dirty dishes too. There’s always that. )

An underground house, drawn by Viggo.

Muffins made with blueberries picked and frozen last June. How good it is to have a bit of summer in January!

Homemade pasta, a bit rustic when not made with a machine but so filling and good and quick.

Soren’s favorite thing to do while I am cooking.

Yesterday we celebrated Viggo’s sixth birthday! Six seems so very big to me. Goodness.

I do believe this will be a good year!

December Days

In the seemingly endless gray and rain of winter, we have enjoyed some days filled with sunshine. When that happens, we head out.

The sheep are getting so very wooly! A bit messy too, as you can see. They don’t mind if they get a bit of breakfast stuck in their coats.

Our newest flock additions continue to be wayward. A few of them fly up to the top-most part of a holly tree to spend the night, while Lena, a little silver laced polish will settle down on the grass to sleep, always in a different place! So far we have done a good job of finding them and putting them safely in their coop for the night, or at least the ones we can reach- I do draw the line at climbing a tree to get them!

Inside, in the kitchen we are busy baking! Bread is a current favorite as I love to get the oven going on chilly mornings. I make a loaf for us to eat through the day and the boys get extra dough for creating sculptures. Can you tell what this one below is?

With darkness arriving so early in the evenings, we find ourselves turning to indoor activities that are usually set aside in spring and summer. After a long hiatus, Daniel and Viggo are back to work on a large mural in Viggo’s room.

Right now, it is a landscape with mountains and a castle, with characters from Tolkien. Smaug the dragon had to be painted first!

Eventually, Norse Mythology will also be incorporated— it will be wonderful to see the mural evolve.

Viggo especially loves to paint flames and waterfalls and secret dungeons. It has been wonderful to see the two of them work on this together. Despite my heart aching to get back outside and dig in the dirt, I so enjoy this time together- to be creative, inside.

And how are you dear friends? How is your winter?

Staying In

Winter it seems, is here to stay awhile, and so we find ourselves finding a new daily and seasonal rhythm inside.

We celebrated Soren’s second birthday!

We watched snow and ice come and go, and pulled out all of our winter woolens and layers to go out, for just a bit, and enjoy it.

We build blocks: cities and farms and castles with secret rooms.

We paint and make, every day.

And every day, little by little I go through the house and clean and purge- methodically letting go of those things we no longer need. The reason for this is twofold; first, I am at a loss with what to do with myself when I cannot work in the garden. Though I find knitting and making fulfilling I need to dig deeper and create a certain kind of living space- pretty, breathable, restorative. Moving furniture and organizing closets are acts which appeal to the same parts of me that find pulling weeds and watering plants satisfying.

Secondly, my boys are wild! No really- it’s true. So, as our days are centered inside now, I need to create some sort of order in our environment. The less stuff that is piled onto flat surfaces or stuffed into nooks and crannies, the better able I am able to roll with my boys’ energy and all the good and necessary messes that comes with playing and learning.

I really do enjoy creating a living space that works for our whole family, and I like taking an assessment of what our needs are in this particular season.

Do you find yourself changing your living space as the season changes? I’’d love to hear!

Hello, November

Right now the autumn leaves are at their glorious peak; we are spending so much time outside, trying to soak in all their beauty. Though with fewer daylight hours, we also feel the shift of our daily and seasonal rhythms as we head inside.

Inside, we are discovering new things to make and do, and revisiting old favorites that we put aside for summer: little hands discover finger paint and clay pinch pots, books to read pile up on nightstands, and of course there is so much baking!

Good things, outside and in, this early November.

What does autumn look like for you right now?

Pumpkins and Wool

Every autumn, Viggo looks forward to carving pumpkins. In fact, he takes it rather seriously.

Sitting at the kitchen table, Viggo drew faces on paper until coming up with exactly the right one.

One pumpkin with a giant, toothy grin. (And mama thinks that the knight with the missing front teeth and equally toothy grin is especially wonderful. Goodness!)

While carving, Daniel was tossing the pumpkin innards to the chickens, and in the process his wedding band slipped right off. We looked everywhere for it to no avail, so Daniel borrowed a metal detector from work. With that we have found all sorts of interesting odds and ends- nails, hinges, handles, and a broken but still rather lovely brooch. Still, no wedding ring! I am hopeful it will turn up.

I finished knitting a pixie hat for Soren! I first knit one for him last year and as he has outgrown that one, I wanted him to have another for this autumn and winter. I love that it covers his ears and neck! And I can’t pass up a hat with a pointy, pixie top. The yarn is a lovely blue-green, leftover from knitting these little gnomes.

The weather right now is so perfectly autumn- warmish and cool and oh so cozy. It has me thinking of wool and casting on projects for the boys!

With little pockets of time here and there, I hope to knit a hat for Viggo and a sweater for Soren. Good, useful things for the season we are in!

What are you making these days?