10+ days worth of news

I've been writing this blogpost in my mind for a few days now and it just keeps getting bumped. I probably won't finish it now, but it seemed worth starting it when things feel pretty real! A Covid exposure for a dear friend changed our plans for hanging out tonight and so I had a few moments while the girls were at soccer to vent to Jason. It's been a string now of overwhelming days, where I feel like I'm working in a state of slight panic much of the time. Listening to podcasts, I've realized, is a bit of a coping strategy to occupy my mind so it's not spinning out of control with the list of things I "need" to accomplish. When I was contemplating shifting away from CJP work, one of my fears was that Jason and I would just swap places (he would start earning money off farm and I would then need to try to fill his shoes on farm - not easy shoes to fill). That's not exactly happening, but he's even more busy than he was before and I'm more busy than what feels doable/sustainable for me (especially when I'm working with multiple doula clients). Last evening, I was talking to dear friends who I'll be accompanying in birth soon and we were talking about life overwhelm. I was struck by a comment one of them made about how we've created this life. It's so true. We are friends with so many others, like us, who have intentionally crafted a life that is really not sustainable for the humans (which often creates tension between those humans who intentionally crafted said life). On top of that, I really do not say "no" easily or relax in spaces that are begging for my time/energy/attention. So it's a bit of a doozy right now. With that said, here's the visuals that portray the wonderful life we are living without the soundtrack of stress and anxiety that I struggle to pause in some seasons. And I usually do feel better in the mornings (as my father would often tell me), especially when we are greeted with beautiful mornings like this one.

Earlier in May, we enjoyed an evening around the fire with Emily, Jonas and Ivy. Kali made several DELICIOUS soups and then we topped off the evening with s'mores (or some went from soup to s'mores and back to soup). It's been harder to find cooking days for the girls with their soccer and ushering and social lives, so it's such a treat when it happens!!

Evenings by the fire are lovely and the weather has provided good opportunities. I still wish I was better at just enjoying the lushness and beauty all around us, without the projects and things undone dominating what I see. The world around us is bursting forth with green rapid growth. 

We've been getting less pig scraps (no extra milk and not much bread) in the last few months, so our pigs are subsisting primarily on veggie and fruit scraps fermented in a salt water brine and grass/weeds. We have PLENTY of the latter and they are growing just fine! It's interesting how each group of pigs we get seem to have a unique food culture. Jason tries different things and things that were winners with some pigs aren't touched by others. This trio like goldenrod!!

Speaking of growing things, I attended the first birthday party of one of my "doula babies" recently and then got to care for another one on the eve of her first birthday. It was more meaningful than I even anticipated to get to spend some hours with her, including a long snuggly nap, to reflect back on last spring. I experienced waves of gratitude that I'm feeling in a more steady place this spring (despite what the first paragraph here might lead you to believe about my mental state!). It was also fun, after spending so much time with Luca, to be around another little personality and get to know Violet better. She's a big fan of Terah and of Goodnight Moon!

Today was a Luca day here and it was mostly just me and him since all three girls had other activities happening at various points in the day. Maybe that's why he took nearly a 3 hour nap in my arms. When he is awake, he is going nonstop and pointing at everything. He loves playing with the marble racer (about the only thing that keeps him stationary). He reached for my mom for the first time today and was enjoying "talking" to my dad. We are all getting pretty eager to hear what his names for each of us will be. His babbling most resembles "Alida" to date. 

In other news, we've been testing popcorn at about every available opportunity, and still have a lot of cups to go - mostly that activity tends to accompany our family show watching sessions, that often start a bit too late at night (since we need to test popcorn and some of us need to check out and enter another world for a bit, it pairs nicely together). We recently finished Dickinson (some creative geniuses crafted that show!) and then Apple TV told us we might like Prehistoric Planet. How did they know? We are one episode in and all captivated by it. In some moments, though, I feel like I live for Wednesdays when the next episode of Ted Lasso comes out.  

I was thrilled that Jason, Kali and I were all successful giving blood together again recently. It was the first time Kali had donated since before her trip to the Philippines. It was fun to go together and we are toying with the idea of trying a blood drive again this fall around Nora's 16th birthday. Stay tuned!

The soccer season is winding down, with just a few weeks remaining. This is NOT good news for the soccer players in our family! I even admit that it is flying by and I am not at all tired of going to games, though I can do without the rain. It made for a more memorable game last weekend! Thankfully no thunder or lightening in the vicinity, so play continued.

Back on the home front, the chicks just keep coming and the hens keep going broody. We have expanded broody nests into the free range duck cook that is not being used for anything else this spring. What does that mean? Even more chicks on the way. I really do not get tired of watching mama hens and their chicks making their rounds. I can't quite imagine keeping up with several dozen children. :) 

We are into the time of year that if I have time to harvest and prepare them, we can have multiple kinds of greens in our meal. Our asparagus patches are not what you would call abundant by any stretch, but we get a handful here and there. The collards are doing great and a new thing for 2023: cooking pea tendrils. They are delicious sautéed, tasting almost exactly like snow peas.  

Jason spent most of a week of mornings accomplishing the first hay cutting. It took us a few days after he finished it to find a window to pick it up and mulch with it (so the grass was already starting to grow back through the cut hay - sometimes I wish for a pause button!!). The garlic, along with some of the perennial rows with blackberries and black raspberries, are all mulched! It was (mostly) a fun family project, especially when it was time to make hay ropes for mulching along the edges. I do so love when all 5 of us get in a groove on a project together!

Our snack break included the peppermint patties Alida made recently. I almost didn't get this photo taken - as you can see, a hen was sneaking up to snatch it from me!

After we were done eating, Terah chose to take the dishes back up to the house and wash them rather than mulching. As she gathered her things and headed to the house, she said, "I look like Mommy."

We ended up spending most of Sunday working on the farm together (mulching), since Monday we were taking off! Jason and I marked 2 doz years of marriage and we got to spend the whole day hiking with Kali! We had given her a coupon for a hike with us on her 19th birthday, and finally fulfilled the coupon 9 months later. The weather was perfect and we enjoyed breakfast and lunch along the way. Fresh air, good conversations, spending time with two of my favorite people... It was a good day topped off by coming home to Mom making a delicious anniversary dinner for us!

A few other tidbits before I call it a day!

So I mentioned our trip to the dentist recently. While none of us had issues, Terah was referred to the orthodontist because some of her adult teeth are having a hard time finding room to come in. The two of us went yesterday and I continue to marvel at what a wonderful practice it is (same place Kali went for her braces). They gave Terah a complete tour, explained everything very clearly before or as it was happening, and had things to entertain her while we waited. And she got to meet the office dog and liked him almost immediately. It looks like she will have 4 baby teeth pulled before they come out on their own, to try to give the emerging teeth a chance to come in where they are intended to be. 

Something in her week that brought her a lot more joy than that news was STRAWBERRIES! After not a great year last year, Woods Edge has delicious pick-your-own berries this year. Mom went with the girls and in an hour or so they picked about 60 lbs! I made 13x the recipe of freezer jam and it won't be any too much. Our girls like jam with a little bread! Alida really wants to go again...

Good night! In closing, here's a few "just because they are beautiful" photos: