A hodge podge of updates, including tree felling...
Today is our winter carbon party and so before all the news below is too old to be worth including, I better do some "scrapbooking," while Terah nurses in my arms and catches some last winks for her night!
We have definitely transitioned into "winter project" mode around here. Other than a freeze dried persimmons or reaching under the row cover to get some lettuce or pulling back the leaves to dig carrots, there's no harvesting to do for a few months. So we shift our attention to harvests of different kinds, and to processing all that we have brought through our doors this year.
Jason, with some helpers here and there, spent a day getting next year's wood supply split and stacked. Kali got to give a few tries with her own ax. It so happened that the day he had slated for this job also ended up being Terah's third experience of nursemaid's elbow. It's happened once when Terah was with me, once with Kali and sadly my mom got to be the third. It's so distressing and this time presented so differently (pain in her wrist) that I rushed home from work assuming we were about to make another trek to the ER. We were spared by Jason successfully performing the magical maneuver that produces almost instantaneous results that we marvel at each time! But by that time I was too frazzled to head back to town, so I got Terah down for a nap and worked from home. My mom and dad took stints helping Jason "make up for lost time" and they got the shed filled by the end of the day (a record!). I know I say this about lots of things at different times of year, but right now there isn't anything much more beautiful to me than a loaded wood shed!
Before we got to felling the large trees that needed to come down this year, we felled a very small one: our Christmas tree! We took the yearly jaunt around to see which one struck our fancy, and it was not a hard pick this year! The only "problem" is that it is not near as straggly as most years, it actually looks like a well shaped, perfect-sized tree. A little too "normal" for our household! We got consensus on the choice much faster than sometimes, in part because this was probably the last year to pick it before it would be over-sized for our front room. Jason did the grunt work of getting it positioned inside and then was happy to leave the decorating to us gals. Terah was eager to be a part of the fun this year! And she continues to have fun looking at the ornaments, and the pile of mysterious packages growing beneath the tree!
Speaking of things that are "normal," I was showing the girls the videos I had downloaded last evening. When I showed the one below, Kali asked me what I was trying to take a video of. I laughed because that was just it: there was nothing in particular I was taking a video of, just trying to get a small snipped of "ordinary" life - well a peaceful snippet anyway. The evenings all involve Christmas lights and music and then a smattering of other activities, but this just happened to be a moment where everyone was occupied AND content AND the two youngest were peacefully sharing the futon. Ok, so nevermind! It was not as "normal" a moment as I had thought!
A few random snippets from recent days.
This fall Kali and Alida took part in a homeschool art class at Larkin Arts in downtown Harrisonburg and they loved it! Kali, especially, is not one to ask for much. When she suggests an activity or mentions something she needs, I pay close attention. She made a point to let me know that there was likely to be a class again in the spring and wondered if maybe they could do it again. It seemed like such a positive experience for both of them and their wall now displays some of their artwork and the mug cupboard is home to their pottery creations. The class has wrapped up for the year, but I imagine they will be using the lessons learned in their art projects this winter.
Speaking of things wrapped up, other than not forgetting to salt the ham in the cooler (for the upcoming Benner Christmas feast here at Tangly Woods), the hog butchering is wrapped up except for the enjoyment of the food, and we are having problem accomplishing that! The last task was to slice and freeze the bacons, which is now done. We've had our first taste of baked sweet potatoes with sausage gravy and there was not a big of gravy left. It's so nice to have a higher percentage of meat to lard this year. And the flavor is superb!!
One of the things that is nice about this time of year is that our schedule, while still full, feels a bit more malleable. The projects still exceed the days to fit them in to, but they are also more flexible. It's unlike green bean and cucumber season - you can't delay harvesting even by a day. Or unlike tomato canning time - when they are ready to be used, they need to be used. Firewood, on the other hand, will wait for a good long while to be stacked, and our corn and sorghum will be quite patient waiting to be ground. So that means there is also the ability to enjoy spontaneous visits and playdates here and there. We loved a recent one with Emily and Ivy!
We hosted a little holiday gathering with any of my family around the other night and got in some visiting and game playing before folks dispersed for the holidays. From their aunts, the girls were each given a Friendly City Food Co-op gift card. The house is now stocked with things rarely found in our kitchen and the process of them acquiring their treats was very fun for them and frazzling for their mother. Terah was so cute chattering about her gift card the whole way to town. But she is a force to reckon with in a store, especially when not confined to a cart. She had her own basket! It's amazing I got out of there with not having to spot her more than a few dollars!!
I have yet to get to pulling our 2017 slideshow or letter together. In part because I'm enjoying too much enacting my holiday goal for this year: to respond personally to each Christmas card received. Here's your chance: send me a personal card or letter and I promise a response! We had another family letter writing night this past week and I enjoy them so much. It's fun to think of family and friends (near or far) in a more personal way than I can when blasting out our yearly letter to about everyone in our contact list. I even think I could rebuild some hand muscles if we make a habit of it, not just at Christmas! Some kind of letting writing goal is definitely on the docket for our 2018 goals. But if the family all agrees to deep cleaning a room of our house each month, that might just take precedence over hand written letters. Time will tell!
So the big news of the week to close - our view has radically changed! This was the chosen year to take down two large cherries trees - one on either side of the main gardens - and (more noticeably and emotional) Kali's climbing tree and our large cherished sycamore. We don't do it lightly; in fact Jason noted that it was harder to cut them down for him than to kill the pigs. It was emotional for all of us and so we took our time in the morning with the felling process.
...since our littlest gal is now up and ready for some help putting together puzzles, I'm going to "cheat" and share some photos and then refer you to Jason's final 2018 Tangly Woods website posting in which he reflects some on this past week: http://tanglywoods.com/our-rituals/ I recommend the read (December's and all the other months if you haven't yet had a chance to read his 2018 writing - which will form the basis for a workshop he'll be leading in January at the annual Virginia Association of Biological Farming conference). Now for a few photos and captions:
I learned the day before her climbing tree was coming down that she buried a treasure under it years and years ago. Hasn't been relocated yet!
Can you find Kali? Her last climb to the top!
Our friend and former housemate Jonathan came to work for a day with Jason and we were grateful for his help and being part of our process (and taking some family photos by the sycamore!)
Alida had the hardest time with the sycamore and wanted us to take a lot of photos first. She and Kali handled it all amazingly well - they usually do if we give space and time for the process!
Right before the sycamore came down, I took those previously pictured letters to the mailbox. Coming back up I was struck by how much the sycamore stood out in the landscape - it will be missed.
But the sycamore balls were a source of much fascination and entertainment and we have a large bag full to deposit seeds in various places as seems fitting!
Kali even helped to pull her climbing tree down and then to work it up - it will become her hanging bunk bed hopefully by winter's end!
Terah and I took at break in the action at some point to let chickens run. That is a midday ritual that I love to take part in anytime I'm out and about to do it. The refurbished popup camper coop is my favorite. It's lovely to so obviously give a creature exactly what they want. See for yourselves:
Jason, with some helpers here and there, spent a day getting next year's wood supply split and stacked. Kali got to give a few tries with her own ax. It so happened that the day he had slated for this job also ended up being Terah's third experience of nursemaid's elbow. It's happened once when Terah was with me, once with Kali and sadly my mom got to be the third. It's so distressing and this time presented so differently (pain in her wrist) that I rushed home from work assuming we were about to make another trek to the ER. We were spared by Jason successfully performing the magical maneuver that produces almost instantaneous results that we marvel at each time! But by that time I was too frazzled to head back to town, so I got Terah down for a nap and worked from home. My mom and dad took stints helping Jason "make up for lost time" and they got the shed filled by the end of the day (a record!). I know I say this about lots of things at different times of year, but right now there isn't anything much more beautiful to me than a loaded wood shed!
Before we got to felling the large trees that needed to come down this year, we felled a very small one: our Christmas tree! We took the yearly jaunt around to see which one struck our fancy, and it was not a hard pick this year! The only "problem" is that it is not near as straggly as most years, it actually looks like a well shaped, perfect-sized tree. A little too "normal" for our household! We got consensus on the choice much faster than sometimes, in part because this was probably the last year to pick it before it would be over-sized for our front room. Jason did the grunt work of getting it positioned inside and then was happy to leave the decorating to us gals. Terah was eager to be a part of the fun this year! And she continues to have fun looking at the ornaments, and the pile of mysterious packages growing beneath the tree!
This fall Kali and Alida took part in a homeschool art class at Larkin Arts in downtown Harrisonburg and they loved it! Kali, especially, is not one to ask for much. When she suggests an activity or mentions something she needs, I pay close attention. She made a point to let me know that there was likely to be a class again in the spring and wondered if maybe they could do it again. It seemed like such a positive experience for both of them and their wall now displays some of their artwork and the mug cupboard is home to their pottery creations. The class has wrapped up for the year, but I imagine they will be using the lessons learned in their art projects this winter.
Speaking of things wrapped up, other than not forgetting to salt the ham in the cooler (for the upcoming Benner Christmas feast here at Tangly Woods), the hog butchering is wrapped up except for the enjoyment of the food, and we are having problem accomplishing that! The last task was to slice and freeze the bacons, which is now done. We've had our first taste of baked sweet potatoes with sausage gravy and there was not a big of gravy left. It's so nice to have a higher percentage of meat to lard this year. And the flavor is superb!!
One of the things that is nice about this time of year is that our schedule, while still full, feels a bit more malleable. The projects still exceed the days to fit them in to, but they are also more flexible. It's unlike green bean and cucumber season - you can't delay harvesting even by a day. Or unlike tomato canning time - when they are ready to be used, they need to be used. Firewood, on the other hand, will wait for a good long while to be stacked, and our corn and sorghum will be quite patient waiting to be ground. So that means there is also the ability to enjoy spontaneous visits and playdates here and there. We loved a recent one with Emily and Ivy!
We hosted a little holiday gathering with any of my family around the other night and got in some visiting and game playing before folks dispersed for the holidays. From their aunts, the girls were each given a Friendly City Food Co-op gift card. The house is now stocked with things rarely found in our kitchen and the process of them acquiring their treats was very fun for them and frazzling for their mother. Terah was so cute chattering about her gift card the whole way to town. But she is a force to reckon with in a store, especially when not confined to a cart. She had her own basket! It's amazing I got out of there with not having to spot her more than a few dollars!!
I have yet to get to pulling our 2017 slideshow or letter together. In part because I'm enjoying too much enacting my holiday goal for this year: to respond personally to each Christmas card received. Here's your chance: send me a personal card or letter and I promise a response! We had another family letter writing night this past week and I enjoy them so much. It's fun to think of family and friends (near or far) in a more personal way than I can when blasting out our yearly letter to about everyone in our contact list. I even think I could rebuild some hand muscles if we make a habit of it, not just at Christmas! Some kind of letting writing goal is definitely on the docket for our 2018 goals. But if the family all agrees to deep cleaning a room of our house each month, that might just take precedence over hand written letters. Time will tell!
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