Tangly Woods

Autumn Berry Farm, Clover Hill Farm, Roving Rooster Meadow, Honeysuckle Acres, Hidden Rock, Rocky Slope, White Oak Place, Cub Run Community, Bramble Woods, Firefly Farm, Dragonfly Farm...

What does the title of this blog and the above words have in common, you might wonder!?  Recently we've gotten in the "naming mood" again.  What do we wish to call this piece of land that we call home and that we have fallen in love with?  Can we find something that rings true and would be lasting.  We've bounced things around in the past but recently it has felt like the time to get more "serious" about the endeavor.  Part of the reason for that is that there have been a lot of changes around here in the last number of weeks.  It seems that a whole bunch of things came together over the course of a number of weeks and as of July 1 we found all the bedrooms (and possible bedrooms) in our home full of wonderful, fun people.  So as we started talking about the community we will inevitably be building together, how much we want to intentionally be together, how we will live/work/play side by side, etc... it felt fitting to have some kind of name to refer to the conglomeration of people and animals and plants that call the left side of Fruit Farm Lane home.

In our first evening meal together, the possibilities seemed endless, but many of the names didn't "grab us" or they felt like they could have as easily been the name of a subdivision.  When "Tangly Woods" was mentioned as something that Kali had offered earlier in the day, a number of us almost immediately exclaimed, "I like it!"  So, for the few faithful blog readers, what do you think?  It's programmed in at least one GPS, I've gotten one piece of mail with it included in the address, I've seen it in one email signature line to date, and we are all having good fun letting it roll off our tongues to see how it feels.  We aren't etching it in stone yet, but it's fun to have a name to try out.  I like how it is what this place was before humans came along and it is what this place will likely be when we are gone.  It is clearly descriptive of parts of our property but it also captures something about the relational dynamics here - the blending of various families and the beauty and fun and messiness (tangliness) of that!  But the woods feels like a sheltered place, and one that provides relief from the heat.  So far with the comings and goings around here, I feel energized and supported by the people we are sharing life with currently.  We're excited to see what the coming weeks and months bring.

What has been the most exciting thing for me of all is to see our girls flourishing and getting comfortable quickly with new and more people around. It's so fun to see Alida get scooped up and to hear her giggle with delight.  It's great to hear Kali chattering away and hanging out with all of us (not wanting to ride her bike too far ahead on an evening walk since she doesn't want to miss the conversation).  We have benefited from extra adult hands around, most recently with a swing set extension project that was wrapped up last evening and which I enjoyed this morning by sitting on the recently hung porch swing while snipping beans for the first green bean canning of the season.

Speaking of green beans, I need to get the canner going and should wrap this up after sharing one more Alida story, that she will likely groan when reading a dozen years from now or so. The backdrop to this story is that I often have a little flurry of cleaning up when I get home from work.  It's just that I find that I can get into my evening at home better once things are back in their places (at least for a few minutes before our little tornado girls makes her rounds again).  That normally just involves me going from room to room with Alida and/or Kali for a few moments.  Well, yesterday, I was in the bathroom putting something away when I noticed a very substantial poopy sitting in Alida's potty. Jason has been known to occasionally forget to empty out the pee from her little potty, but I've never found poop in it.  Awhile later I took the girls out to the swingset where Jason was finishing up securing it to the ground.  I attempted to mention it very nonchalantly, but clearly was thinking that I would be letting him know that it might be best to not leave it in there in the future. He looked at me with the most confused expression and went on to let me know that he is 100% sure he was not with Alida when she went and didn't know when she accomplished that.  There was a time during the day, he remembered, when she wanted to go potty but then didn't and so he gave up but she was running around for a bit without her diaper on.  She must have slipped away, deposited her load, and ran back to play.  Silly and impressive baby!

Sister update

They still like each other!  I still love watching them enjoy each other.  Alida moves so fast these days and is now interested in the camera - both those things make getting little video clips of the abundance of sweetness around here difficult. Here was one of my favorite moments recently:



Kali decided when she made a "chore chart" recently that "watching Alida" for 10 minutes daily should go on it. Truth be told she probably watches Alida way more than that on most days.  It's so fun to see her coaxing Alida to her bedroom for some game or lesson. Alida almost always goes willingly but doesn't normally stick around as long as Kali would like. Kali does not think that Alida is the most attentive pupil when it is time for her school lessons and is a bit disappointed that she has yet to write the letter "A" when asked. 

Here's how most pictures of them look as they tear around the place - the motion is quite evident.  Alida loves being tackled and loves Kali picking her up and swinging her around.  She doesn't enjoy it nearly as much when Kali wants to tenderly cuddle her. Those times are few and far between and are mostly reserved for her very sleepy moments, and for her mommy and daddy.  So we savor them when they come around.  

Berry update

Somehow even the berries are getting ahead of me.  Blueberry season came and went before I even got around to posting this video of Alida picking her first blueberries.



Kali, Alida and I went on one black raspberry scouting mission but came home with lots of empty containers. At least where we often find them, there were only enough to pass a few back to Alida in the backpack.  The wineberries are in in full force and we enjoyed spending the evening of July 4th with good friends picking many cupfuls which are now stored in the freezer for a time when the fresh stuff is not so plentiful.  We are enjoying the few along our lane and the blackberries are also starting to come in.  I'm finding that I'm starting to acquire a taste for their tartness and Alida usually pops them in her mouth, unless she is in a squishing mood instead (her clothes show that she is enjoying the colorful foods all around us).

All the berries seem to be coming in early this year and the seasons come and go faster than I remember.  Is it the heat or is it that the days are just full and flying by faster than I would like?  Maybe a combination of both.

Sabbath goals

After a really full Saturday (canning beets, making pasta and bread, etc...) I made three goals for my day at home today: take a bath with Alida, play a game with Kali, lay down during Alida's nap.  It's 3:30 p.m. and I am happy to note that I've met my goals for the day.  I'm not sure if it counts that before falling asleep next to Alida, I did jot down about 10 other things that I'd like to get done before they day is through...

Alida is wrapping up her afternoon nap and must be dreaming about Kali as she keeps saying her name.  Here's a recent video that gives a taste for how she wants to keep up with the whereabouts of her big sister.



The video above was from our father's day hike last weekend to the lake with my folks. Here are a few other pictures from that hike, including the sweetest picture ever of Alida with her daddy and Jason with two of his daughters on Father's Day!

What a day!

This was definitely one of those "did all this happen today?" kind of days.  As much as I knew it was a full day, I still couldn't quite believe that it was after 10:15 p.m. when I glanced at the clock upon getting up from the supper table to clear the dishes! The day is officially coming to a close in one minute so a very slightly early "happy father's day" to any fathers who may find themselves reading this tomorrow - most notably mine!!

I'll just comment on one thing about today that made it stand out from all the other days that include things like doing laundry, making butter, making bread/pie/cookies, making soup, going for walks, picking black raspberries, and keeping up with two kiddos.

Today was duck butchering day.  I knew it would be hard. It was!  I like our chickens too and don't really enjoy chicken butchering day either.  But maybe you could say I've gotten more used to butchering chickens and I had gotten slightly more attached to the ducks?  This time the power of the whole thing struck me anew. Last night we had friends over for dinner and after dinner went on a little outdoor stroll/tour.  We meandered down to the duck pen and I got some more swimming water and clover for them.  Except this time it was only 4 as the 6 to be butchered were in one side without access to food for the final hours before butchering.  Hearing them quacking in there as the four "lucky ducks" enjoyed the water and clover was almost too much for me. I had to keep from acting on the impulse to go open the door and let them out.   Something about us being the ones to decide when they got to enjoy their final piece of clover or last swim in their little pool felt like so much power and I found myself not wanting to play that role in their lives.

I cried as I watched Jason kill one of them today.  Kali wondered why I made myself do something I didn't want to do.  That's the strange thing. It is not so much that I didn't want to watch. I knew I would not enjoy it, but I also feel a very strong desire to live with the discomfort that this kind of thing creates in me.  If I'm going to eat meat, I want to be connected with the animals that are the source of that meat. And even if I'm not going to eat meat, it would be silly of me to somehow then think that I'm not part of many systems that are the cause of the death of many animals.  So, at least at this juncture of my life, it feels like I am living with the most integrity on a day like today when I sidle up to Kali and start plucking the feathers for her duck feather pillow.

She amazed me in the process, once again. Last evening she admitted that she was a little sad, but also excited.  She knew this was coming and also has been exposed to these cycles of life and death since she was a little tyke.  She also immensely enjoyed the process (as did Jason) of deciding which ducks were to be kept for next spring's breeding. 

So I end today feeling like it was a good day, and a hard one.  Jason spent some time out with the remaining four ducks after butchering concluded and the friends that had joined us to learn and help left for the day.  I hope to do the same in the coming day or two. For now, time for bed.  But here are some of the new and old words Alida is enjoying saying!

Not always a little piece of heaven

Sometimes I imagine our blog makes life on Fruit Farm Lane seem a bit idyllic.  All that is true, and more, but we have our moments and the things that we really would be happy to live without. Namely TICKS.  And it seems that they are flourishing this year.  We have yet to find any redeeming quality to them.  In short, Jason starting antibiotics yesterday morning for lyme disease after having a fever and feeling achy with chills for about 24 hours.  He noted that it felt strikingly similar to how he felt during our engagement when he last had lyme disease.  We are both grateful for antibiotics and for ibuprofen which made the aches and pains manageable, but we are also seriously contemplating guineas or getting to the point where we can free range some chickens sooner rather than later.  My mom has instilled in me the desire to always look for the positive in any situation so here is what I've come up with this time:  I've discovered once again how very much Jason and I made an excellent team here on Fruit Farm Lane and how difficult it is to do it alone!  As I went around last evening with Alida in the jogger getting water for the chickens and ducks, picking peas, collecting hatching eggs, putting the chickens in before dark, etc... I felt grateful I could do it, glad to help, more in touch with that part of our life here AND very glad that hopefully this would not have to become part of my daily routine. As I type, Jason is out doing chicken chores and feeling better than he has for two days and I'm very grateful!

Now in closing, here is a little taste of one of the sweeter parts of our lives right now.  So is she cuter in an apron, a swimsuit or figuring out how to sit all by herself on her potty?  I'll let you choose for yourself and also hope she'll forgive us for posting a bathroom video of her in a dozen or so years from now!

I do need to note that I stopped the video about 10 seconds to short because she did in fact pee about a second after she got herself situated properly. :)  And, finally, note that Alida picked out her own outfit yesterday (actually twice as Jason couldn't resist when she brought him a new outfit to put on).  She loves clothes! 

A hodgepodge of things...

Alida has just recently sacked out for the night (yes, it seems we were wrong about her being an "early to bed gal") and Jason is occupying the shower so I'm waiting my turn and thought I'd try to quickly at least post the two videos I uploaded earlier this week.  I will not crawl under clean sheets without a shower!  For the first time in who knows how long, all the towels, sheets, clothing AND floors are clean.  I definitely have that "good tired" feeling.  And Kali, Alida and I even got a little kiddie pool time in (I am not sure how Alida is cuter - in an apron or in a swimsuit but we've enjoyed both this week).  Those pictures aren't downloaded yet, but as you can see in the two here, the girls are still enjoying each other and the littlest is doing her best to keep up with her big sister.

We are working hard to keep up with both of them. I'm not sure what Jason and I would be doing if our spinach, lettuce, lambs quarter and peas had done well this year!  I don't feel that there are many spare moments to be had around here lately and if we are honest both Jason and I have "had our moments" this week of feeling a bit overwhelmed by all the good stuff there is to attend to.  At this time last year I was fully recovered from birthing Alida and in the blissful month 3 of maternity leave.  We liked being home all day, every day together...

Despite our less than ideal crops, we are still enjoying a lot of things from the garden: swiss chard, green onions, beet greens, the last of the spinach and lettuce, Kali ate the last strawberry today, kale, some lambsquarter and wintercress, sugar snap peas, hull peas, and snow peas.  There would be some black raspberries to pick but we haven't gotten out for a meander recently to check the wood's edge.

It's been a full week and it started out with a very special day for all of us in West Virginia. It was the perfect place to be on the 4th anniversary of Nora's death. As much as we love home, we need more practice at just "being" when we are there.  We enjoyed 24 hours of just being together - hiking in the mountains, throwing frisbee, sitting by Nora's tree, sharing memories, looking at the beauty all around us (including each other).  It feels like a distant memory but the memories are sweet.

Here is Alida on her first hike up Senaca Rocks, saying my favorite word that she currently says:



Here she is at the top.  She was obsessed with figuring out the stairs and would stand up, turn all the way around and slowly back up - sometimes reaching the steps, sometimes missing it.  So, so cute:



Now for some sleep.  One of these days I'll carve out a window of time to put up a post that has a bit more substance to it.  There sure are plenty of thoughts swirling around about life of late.  But they are mostly still swirling!