Category Archives: Gardens

In the garden

The raised garden bed in our lower yard (pictured here in July of 2004), the one that was shaky and half rotted out when we move here 5 years ago, finally went kaput. I knew last year that there was no way that we were going to be able to milk another year out of it.

A couple of swift kicks and it was a garden bed no more. Time to get to work!


Some serious man (and mini-man) power. Those logs are heavy! Or so I’m told… ahem. Hey, I did all the planning…that’s some hard work, let me tell you. Seriously though, when I wasn’t taking pictures I was helping! Just not so much with the moving of the logs. Steve gets to be the brute force around here!

Ultimately, I’m hoping to build a set of four raised beds amongst the fruit trees. My goal is two this year and two next year.


Here is the first installment, filled with the soil that we put some much time into building up in the other garden. Compost too of course. I am ridiculously sentimental about compost. I get all kinds of emotional over using waste, that was turned into food for our plants, that will in turn feed us.


All full of cold weather veggies…We planted two types of kale, several lettuces, collard greens, and lots of brussel sprouts.


The hardest part about planting was that Galen was convinced we were serving lunch. I had to replant many a prematurely harvested kale plant. They don’t seem any the worse for wear though and everything has settled in nicely now.

As for our slowly dwindling dirt pile…

Let’s just say it’s being put to use in more ways then one.

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building, Gardens
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It’s gonna be a thing….

My phone lines, and thus internet, have been down again. It’s actually happened several times in the last couple of weeks. Until we have things all straightened out, I guess you can expect me to disappear for a bit whenever it rains.

I wanted to say a big thank you to everyone who posted in my little blog roll call. It was so nice to hear from everyone. Sometimes I feel a little weird about this whole blog thing. It’s kind of like giving a speech where you can’t see the audience, a little odd. It was especially pleasant to see some old friends out there reading and I’m glad to have the chance to get to ‘meet’ some new people too! I really love it when people post comments. I like hearing what everyone has to say, so please feel free to speak up more often! Oh, and for those of you who invited me to check out your blogs, I’ve already been to them all sillies! I guess I should get better about posting comments.

We’ve been doing lots of working in the garden this weekend. We’re working on building raised beds and distributing the 2 tons of top soil that’s currently sitting in a big mound just outside my front door. Highly satisfying work (that is when I’m not smushing my fingers between large rocks).

Tomorrow night is a momentous occasion for us….**drum roll please**….my husband and I…are going on a date! Yes, by ourselves. Alone. With no little people. None. Very exciting. Wish us peaceful, happy baby thoughts! I suspect the little bub isn’t going to be very fond of our plans…

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Gardens, Life
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A wonderful weekend

We were blessed with a pair of really great days together as a family. It’s really lovely to be able to go into this week feeling satisfied and refreshed.

We spent Saturday in 1820, visiting a historical village; taking the sites, enjoying the fine weather.

Now that the snow is gone, Galen is suddenly able to get down and explore outside for really the first time in his life. It’s amazing to just watch him go out into the world on his own. He was so involved with our whole day, not just a spectator, but a hands on participant.

It was really interesting to see how different this trip was for the older boys. Our last visit had been a year and a half ago. This time around they were completely mesmerized by the demonstrations, where as during past visits they really didn’t have any interest in them at all. I think that we went back to the carding mill three times! They sat watching and talking with the potter and the blacksmith while at least a half dozen other groups wondered in and then back out again.

We had a grand picnic out on the common. I packed up brown rice noodles with kale, chickpeas and a kalamata olive sauce. There was a huge jar of roasted root vegetables, slices of mango and a whole pineapple. For snacks we brought home-made gluten-free granola (From a recipe that I just made up on the spot. It turned out wonderful! If I ever manage to recreate it, I promise to post the recipe here.) and nut butter, for a quick fix when blood sugars start to crash. There is something deeply gratifying about eating out on the ground under the sun, surrounded by babes laughing and playing.

Galen almost caused a pile-up, when he started dancing, resulting in half a contra line stopping to “awwwww”….

As always, all of the children were really pleased to be able to spend time with the animals, especially the new lambs.

Sunday morning my sweet husband came home with a flat of pansies, which found there way into the ground shortly there after. Between the pansies and the crocuses that are just starting to bloom, there is finally some color in my garden. Almost all of the snow has melted and it’s really starting to truly feel like spring.

We have a couple of purple giant crocuses blooming in other parts of the garden, but the sweet little buttery yellow and pale blue crocuses that I planted right in front have just stolen my heart. They’re so dainty and sweet.

All of Sunday was spent out of doors; burning brush to clear a space for new gardens, watching Galen discover the sandbox, rediscovering the joy of spending a whole afternoon swinging, letting little ones dip their toes in the creek. Bliss.

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Food, Gardens, Homeschooling, Kids, Life
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I’m BAAAACK….

Did ya miss me?? Well, it looks like I’m back in business after an unexpected hiatus when our phone lines died.

So, a quick catch-up on what’s been happening here…

The very day after Iain’s haircut, Elijah woke up and announced that he in fact did not wish to grow his hair down to his toes after-all and that he very much wanted to be a “shorthairsmen”, as soon as humanly possible. I, of course, obliged.


One thing is for certain; no one will ever accuse my kids of having a professional haircut! Eek.

We’ve had more snow…again…along with lots and lots of rain and sleet and wind and mud and slush and ice. One lone crocus in my garden has a bud (it’s purple!) that was looking just about ready to burst, the very day before out most recent snowstorm. Elijah has taken it upon himself to regularly go out and clear the snow off of it, in an effort to keep me from being sad, sweet little love of mine…

We started another tray of seedlings for the garden. I’m going to have foxgloves and delphiniums, oh be still my beating heart!

We did a fair bit of clearing for one of our new garden sites.

WE GOT OUR VACUUM BACK!!!! I have no idea how we survived without it thus far.

Galen’s obsession with blowing raspberries, on every square inch of bare skin he can find, was taken to a new level this weekend, when he very nearly prevented me from making dinner. I made the mistake of wearing a tank top with him in a back carrier. He spent the entire time jerking my arms backwards to blow on them! I have to admit, we all had a good giggle when he crossed the room to blow on the little bit of skin, exposed by a hole in the knee of Steve’s jeans. But nothing, nothing, is funnier then when he pretends to “eat” people! Complete with sound effects. “aaarrrump” It’s hilarious, I tell you. Makes a person wonder if perhaps I don’t spend a bit too much time nibbling on little baby toes…. and ears….and chins…and bellies…. Yeah, I don’t think he picked that one up anywhere strange…

The bunk-bed frame that we now have set up in our bedroom (mattresses to come soon I hope) has been a house and a castle, a cave and a series of rabbit burrows, a jungle gym, a hideout and cabin in the woods. The boys are currently “camping out” in it, with every supply they could possibly think of.

I finally, finally finished the herringbone sweater, and as far as I can tell it should fit Iain, oh, until he’s 18 or so (let’s put it this way, Steve asked if he could try it on)…

I’ve sewn three new pairs of kid pants.

I knitted two sweet little bibs for Galen.

I got a good deal of long neglected mending out of the way.

I’m currently two balls of yarn into a very special knitting project, which will go unnamed for now. The only hint that I’m giving is Elijah came up to me and said with a very concerned voice “That has an awful lot of holes in it Mommy…” To which I had to explain that it was supposed to have holes.

I’m most of the way done a great big new diaper bag.

I think that there is a moral in here somewhere regarding a correlation between internet usage and productivity, or lack there of as the case may be…

I’ll be posting pictures and details on all of my finished projects over the next week or so. Now I’m off to start wading through about a million emails.

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Gardens, Kids, Life, sewing, Yarn Crafts
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Just another weekend


We had a weekend pretty typical of most of early spring in New England…lots of sap buckets and lots of mud. We saw so many hawks that I lost count.

Saturday morning we attended a little children’s program, put on by our local symphony’s outreach group. And by local symphony, I mean the symphony of our nearest large city, about 45 minutes away. The program was referred to as a “musical petting zoo”. The kids got a hands-on opportunity to explore various instruments. Would you believe that I forgot my camera?? The site of Elijah playing a little half violin was nearly too precious to bare! He had very little interest in trying the other instruments, but the violins really captured his attention. He’s been saying for quite some time now that when he’s old enough for music lessons, he wants to learn to play the violin. The look on Iain’s face when he finally got the trumpet to sound, was pretty priceless too! They were disappointed that the “zoo keeper” hadn’t brought and upright bass! Galen was partial to the triangle.

The program was at the library of our sister town, our neighbors to the east, with whom we share an elementary school and a dump. The historic part of town is very picturesque, a collection of quaint old homes and churches, that looks like something off of a postcard. It was a beautiful day with a clear, bright blue sky. After the program we took a quick walk, stopping to watch sap drip into buckets and hawks circle the sky.


This weekend marked a first for us. We finally, finally got up the nerve to prune our fruit trees. We have two plum trees, two cherry trees and a peach tree. I’m hoping to add more in the coming years. I’ve always wanted an orchard. Then when people ask things like “Where are the kids?” you can answer “Oh, their off playing in the orchard…” Yeah, I spent my girlhood reading too many historic novels that took place in the countryside of England… None-the-less, it’s a lovely dream for a family with interests in sustainable living and food production. Now it’s time for us to really get into the nitty-gritty and learn how to properly care for it all. This was a step in the right direction. We were nervous, but heres hoping we did well! So, um, how many trees do you think an orchard makes, anyway??

No takers yet on the little kitty who wondered into our lives last week. I posted a found cat report with the local shelters, sent out an email on our town’s email list, and spread the word through the library and other various hot spots. Despite 4 inquiries in the first two days, no one has claimed her, and we’ve had no calls since. We’ve introduced her to our cat Constance, and it went surprisingly well. It’s looking like she may have found a home after-all. We’ve decided to name her ‘Maple’, and the kiddles are just tickled-pink. She’s already starting to put on some weight and is turning into a beautiful cat with a sweet personality. We’re hoping to be able to bring both cats up to the new house soon.

I have a ton of projects that need attending to. Hopefully I will have some crafty things to post for you soon!

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Gardens, Kids, Life
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I’ve been promised sun today.

Sun and warmth. I can’t wait. So far it’s mostly just been thick, thick fog, the result of lots of snow coming in contact with increasingly warmer air.

Outside has been this….

I came down from nursing the baby to sleep and was told that I wasn’t allowed outside and not to look out the window. A couple of minutes later Steve, Iain and Elijah all came in giggling. She’s a girl. In case you, ahem, couldn’t tell. Mama snowwoman.

Inside has been this…

Over the weekend the wee ones and I went grocery shopping. I love, love, love letting little ones go crazy in the produce department. It’s so much fun to say “what looks good to you? what do you want to try?” and just let them go wild exploring new tastes and textures and reaffirming old favorites. The woman standing next to us got a good laugh out of our cart full of kale. I swear it’s almost embarrassing, we go through around 6 bunches a week. Three different varieties found their way into the cart this week. We got lots of our regular standbys of course, spring mix, collards, ginger, potatoes, two kinds of yams, avocados, apples, dates, bananas. We also got a very small package of strawberries, just a taste of what’s to come. Iain picked out a red cabbage. Elijah found a bunch of dandelion greens that we used in a pasta dish that night. It was so good; tasted so much like spring. Both boys were besotted with a large bunch of rainbow radishes and they each got a blood orange to try. I had been avoiding peppers because of the price, but they were so excited by them that I let them add one yellow, one red, and one orange to the cart. I filled a bag with just a few “sunchokes”. Cooked, they were a favorite with Iain as a babe; they were a big hit raw in a salad yesterday.

We’ve been feasting on all of our fresh goodies and looking forward to June when our CSA opens for the season.

Also singing a lot.

And lots of books about gardens.

And everyone knitting in bed. After not picking up a set of needles in quite some time, I’m back to working on the Herringbone Sweater, in hopes of finishing it up in time for Easter. We shall see. Iain is still working on his bean bag and Elijah finished finger-knitting a drawstring for a bag that lost it’s ribbon. Galen, the master yarn tangler, was banned from the bed. He engaged in a craft of his own, namely draping scraps of yarn, artfully, over various objects about the room.

And a brief visit from “Daddy” and “Pop-pop”.

And lots of time spent watching little creatures scurry about behind the house.

I’m seeing some sun poking out now. I’m off, with a hope beyond a hope that maybe, just maybe, there might be one area that’s clear enough to see some little bulbs peeking through…

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crafts, Food, Gardens, Homeschooling, Life
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Doing better today

“You start with good thoughts, good intentions, prayers,” Clayton says when I ask how they begin each planting season. “Once you begin the seasonal cycle, taking care of the earth, it should be on your mind every day. You complete the process. It becomes a responsibility for taking care of the earth. So each day you have to be aware of what you started and where you want to take it.”

~The Earth Knows My Name; Food, Culture, and Sustainability in the Gardens of Ethnic Americans, by Patricia Klindienst


This quote spoke to me this morning when I read it. I believe it’s as true for growing children as it is for growing gardens.

Today went a lot smoother then yesterday, thank goodness. We are enjoying the kind of weather that I never knew as a child; sunny warm days with lots of snow still left on the ground.
I eaves dropped on an amusing convesation the children were having about their baby dolls and how they needed “baby milk” for them, not goat’s milk, because “baby milk” will keep them well.

I started work on a little spring flower fairy.

The only shadow over the day was the fact that my littlest love is having a really rough time. He’s cutting his first set of molars and he’s awfully uncomfortable. He’s feeling so out of sorts that he keeps falling down and hitting his head. Poor little guy, he’s being so brave and strong about it. Neither him, nor I seem to be able to get any rest though. He’s up and down all night and nursing all the times in-between. Being close to me seems to be a comfort, so I’m keeping him in slings for the most part when he’s tired. That way he can at least occasionally squeeze in a little cat nap.

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Books, crafts, doll making, Gardens, Kids, Life
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A Blessed and Happy Equinox to all!!!!

Spring is here! I can say it, now that I’m standing firmly on this side of winter. I’m averting my eyes from all of the snow and trying to ignore the single digit on the thermometer this morning, in favor of dreaming of fresh nettles, dragonflies and gardens. I’m thinking of all the bulbs Elijah helped me to plant in the fall and hoping that they made it through and that we will be seeing them soon. And on that note, I believe that the first day of spring deserves a new label for my blog: Gardens. Mmmm, gardens, gardens, gardens….it’s silly I know, but I am truly rather giddy at the thought!

Today, I will be serving up the first bunch of asparagus we’ve seen this year, we’ll brave the crunchy snow yet again to clip some forsythia for forcing, and we just might make some little painted foot bunnies to hang (more of this later).

I’ve had several requests to start sharing some more “how to” information on everything from homeschooling to natural building to cooking. In the coming season I plan on making more of an effort to post details and ideas to inspire others and I hope that you will all leave me comments and links doing the same!

Blessings to all and I hope that warm sunshine follows you wherever you go today!

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celebrations and festivals, Gardens, Homeschooling
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