Other non-farm fun...

I'm saving all the home farm updates for last, so here's a whole smattering of other things that various Tangly Woods' members are enjoying these days. Is it too much of a good thing? Some days I think so! I feel so grateful for all the activities at our fingertips that we love and even more so the people near and dear to us that we get to spend time with. But this 24 hour day thing and 7 day week thing is limiting and my body keeps reminding me that it doesn't want to go go go like I did for oh so many years. So me trying to go a little less as my offspring seem ready to go a little bit more is another one of those interesting dances we are engaged in!

Last weekend we enjoyed a family walk on Saturday down to the road to our neighbors' kite fly (munching some red buds along the way). We haven't done a family walk in a long time AND we hadn't been to any Hidden Meadow neighborhood events for even longer. While there, Jason also got to show off some of his recent carpentry projects to us that he had worked hard on that week for our neighbors. On one particular day he installed two cat doors, netting him the nickname "cat door man" from one of his dearest friends. :) It's not exactly what he wants to be known for, but his carpentry skills continue to be very appreciated!

Then Easter Sunday, we went the other way down the road to Emily, Jonas and Ivy's for some Easter fun - egg decorating and an egg hunt. We concluded our time with my favorite event of the day: a collectively created obstacle course made with chosen objects from their outdoor play bin. What a fabulous idea!

In terms of things the various family members are into on their own, Kali is still working on checking all the screws on our roof (sadly there are many loose ones so we can't fully put this roof project to rest quite yet). That, being our "laundry person," and helping with cooking and transportation seems to keep her awake daytime hours relatively occupied. She has a fair number of nighttime awake hours that I can't speak to!

Alida has been busy since her birthday. On her actual birthday her new braille supplies got LOTS of attention. But then she started embroidering. She's a fan of it AND she's very good at it, teaching herself the various stitches. She's also been getting more into weaving and helped my mom finish off one warp and get started on the next!

Terah had some fun recently, when her sisters were gone, accompanying Grandpa to a JMU women's softball game. She had never been to a softball game, so Grandpa got to answer lots of questions.  

I'm in the process of figuring out next steps towards certification to be a doula provider for people on Medicaid. The process itself has been really good and important for me, even if it's been a bit rocky. I'm getting to test how I feel about various things: re-engaging with messy organizations, testing my energy and endurance for working with clunky flawed systems, pondering my capacities and pushing myself to breakdown a process into manageable steps, and then finding humor in how automated emails sometime send you to applying for a case manager position instead of a doula training program. Thankfully, the bumpiness means I'm not in the program right now because it's not currently happening. Instead, I can focus on the 3 births coming up that I'm supporting and get back to this process once this really full season passes. It was fun to brush off my baby bootie knitting skills for the dear friends I'm accompanying during this season (as a loved one and doula).

Besides building cat doors and bike shed walls and agricultural connections for the future, Jason also wrote an Easter sonnet that I'll close with!

New Easter Sonnet

I missed my chance to scythe the dead grass standing.

The winter’s laid it low and out of reach.

It’s evidence of my imperfect planning.

The weather still has lessons left to teach.

I force a resurrection, lift the stems

Enough to take the leaves and take my leave.

A miracle of sleight: a charlatan’s.

But let me be! Why should I not believe

In air pulled down, in water drawn, earth risen?

It’s now or never, use it while you can.

A life’s a flame, and living’s a decision.

It comes around again. I am a man

Made lyrical by leaving and by taking

The miracle’s alive! It’s in the making