Firsts and Lasts

This weekend is one of a number of "firsts" and a few "lasts."  I'm writing from West Virginia, where it is a chilly and invigorating 38 degrees this morning.  Love it!  We arrived around 1 a.m., 15 or so hours before our originally planned arrival time.

One of the firsts of this weekend is that a wedding will be happening at Tangly Woods today.  It feels very special that our little homestead holds enough meaning for people other than ourselves that they would wish to hold their wedding on our lawn!  Yesterday the place was buzzing with activity as the dreams and plans for their special day started to take shape around us.  Because of another first of this weekend (to be commented on momentarily), we knew we would not be at the wedding. So when we learned that Kali's soccer game was cancelled for this morning due to the inches of rain we got the night before, it seemed like we might as well clear out early so that the wedding folks could fully take over without us under foot.  And it felt a little more comfortable bustling around, packing the car and helping kiddos transition from home to car when wedding guests weren't arriving.

So what was planned for this weekend that was so important that we passed up attending the first wedding to happen at our home (not to mention Jason's sister's graduation from her PhD program): our long awaited, weekend celebration of our 15th wedding anniversary!  Last year on our 14th anniversary I made cabin reservations for this year and arranged for our girls to spend a fun weekend with my parents - nothing like plenty of time to anticipate a gift.  So tonight will be the first night Alida spends without us, and therefore our first night with no kiddo responsibilities for 3+ years.  Currently everyone is excited about it...

Our 15th anniversary was Thursday the 15th and that evening held another first.  It just happened that our anniversary fell on our regularly scheduled every other Thursday date night where our girls enjoy the evening with Aunt Emily and Uncle Jonas and we enjoy the evening to ourselves.  We invited good friends B & E, who are also great musicians, to accompany us for a song at the Little Grill's open mic night.  What fun!  We sang Gulf Coast Highway and I was kind of sad when it was over.

There were a few other firsts and lasts that I was thinking about yesterday, mostly food related.

Yesterday morning Jason found the first 3 ripe strawberries, and in an act of pure generosity offered them up to the 3 ladies in the house!  Kali since found one more than she and Alida split.  So the strawberry season is upon us. Yay! For the last few weeks we have been eating strawberry jam with no restraint, after realizing it would soon be time to make more. It's amazing how fast a jar of it can disappear when we are not attempting to conserve it - yesterday Alida enjoyed her buckwheat oatmeal buttermilk pancakes with a thick layer of jam (like Jack in a frequently read book, Pancakes Pancakes).

It's nice to have some seasons starting as we clean up the last of other foods.  Yesterday for breakfast I used our very last bulb of garlic, sauteed with fresh asparagus.  That, alongside stinging nettle eggs and the last of a batch of saladkraut, made for a fine breakfast. Jason's was even more decadent (for those that like mushrooms) with some sauteed shiitake.  Then for dinner last evening I used our very last sweet potato in a soup with canned chicken and fresh spinach.  There were no leftovers! We feel so wealthy when we sit down for our meals together.

Don't need computers or TV to have a real good time!

My post from last night was done in a hurry since the bedtime routine was underway, so it's not surprising that there were a few things I wanted to include that I omitted.

We are enjoying another beautiful spring day and I just returned from a long walk with a friend, during which Alida fell sleep and is now sacked out on my lap!  After three solid days of rainy weather, the sun has been so wonderful.  But the rain was nice too and contributed to the fact that it feels like we can almost watch the peas grow. Tuesday was one of the rainy days and Jason picked a huge vat of spinach in the rain and then, since there wasn't much else he could do outside, he joined me inside and processed all the spinach by himself. At one point, Alida and Jason were jamming to a kid's CD in the back kitchen and Kali was deep in a book in the front room and I felt like I was smiling from the inside out with the pleasure of a rainy day all at home together. I took a short video, which Jason has yet to see and didn't know I had taken, and liked the lyrics caught in the video (the title of this post comes from the song).



I also took a little video of the double rainbow mentioned in the last post, since I couldn't fit it all into a picture.  

I couldn't resist taking this picture!  I'm not sure how many egg hunts have taken place in the time surrounding and since Easter, but probably more than I could count on my fingers.  Alida and Kali hide them for each other (full or empty) and really don't seem overly impressed with the things in the eggs anymore.  Alida will empty the contents of an egg out in the morning and it will stay wherever she deposited it all day (unless I get on a straightening binge and put it back into the egg).  It looks like the smarties that I used that remained from last Easter might make it to go into eggs again next Easter. On one of the outdoor hunts, Jason's daily egg hunt coincided with the girls ending theirs.  I'm way more impressed with what is in Jason's basket!  We continue to average 18-19 eggs a day and that doesn't count the 3-4 duck eggs Kali is getting. While it would not meet all our nutritional needs over the long haul, we could subsist on eggs and spinach and stinging nettles for quite awhile with the abundant supply of each of those that we are enjoying, and able to share with others!

Speaking of abundance, I love all the plants that are doing their amazing thing - both inside and out:

Tomatoes, peppers, basil, sweet potato slips...

The strawberry blossoms are making our mouths water!  We've got one bag left in the freezer to enjoy in the coming weeks but there is nothing like fresh sun ripened and warmed berries!

Alida was snacking on one of these on our way to the garden.  She knows a lot more about what plants are edible outside than I did when I was 30!

Peas!

Lots of new spinach coming on, alongside lettuce and other mixed greens.

And, last but not least, my little helper and chatterbox!  While I picked spinach today she was picking weeds for the chickens, and they were happy for her contributions to their coop.

And then spring arrived...

Anyone been wondering where we have been?  Not lingering in front of computer screens any more than we need to, that's for sure. Too much wonderful stuff happening in all corners of life - chicks hatching, gardens bursting forth, children growing, hosting large graduation parties and small groups of friends, and soaking in so much beauty around us.  Here are a few visual images of the last number of weeks:

Most recent hatch - they went to their new home last evening (friends are taking a flock of these Shenandoahs to try out one of the breeds Jason is working on developing)

One of several Easter egg hunts!

Always worth carving out time for a hike to the lake...

...and a picnic and time with good friends/housemates!

Not everyone is scurrying around - tough life these kiddos have...

Not a bad spot for checking out one's Easter egg "loot."

Enjoying little friends, who are determined not to stay little!

Will we get any peaches - we used a sprinkler to try to save the blooms on two of our three nights below freezing.

This is what the blooms looked like before the freezes - only time will tell...

Pictures don't do this rainbow justice. It was the first time we could see the entire arch of a double rainbow on the mountain in front of us.  Spectacular!

Alida's cherry trees in full bloom.

Potato planting day - even I got my hands in the dirt and a tool in my hands!

Extending the potato field by an additional 50 feet.

Loving a first (of many we hope) visit from the newest niece in the family.

More chick gazing!

And soccer season is here!

This chick is very likely not as into Alida as Alida is into the chick!

What a hike!!

Thankfully my fingers are not feeling as weary as my legs, so I think I can still get a few thoughts jotted down tonight!  Alida was plum tuckered out this evening after our big day and fell asleep while I was holding her just now - she was waiting patiently for us to candle eggs and we didn't finish a conversation with our housemates in time.  So she is where the rest of us hope to be as soon as possible!

We got an invitation a few weeks back to hike to Massanutten peak, something we have been wanting to do for a really long time.  A friend of Emily and Jonas' grew up at the base of the mountain and we were being invited to hike up the trail they use to the top.  Seemed like a fabulous opportunity!  We weren't sure how it would be with kiddos along but were told it was about a 2.5 hour hike.

Today was the day!  We headed out around noon with Kali on her bike, Alida in the jogger and the rest of us on foot to Emily and Jonas' home where we were to meet up.  Their home is exactly 2 miles from our home and then their friend's home was about 1 mile from that.  By the time we started the hike, we had already traveled 3 miles.  That was the flattest of the walking we did, that's for sure!! But every step was so very worth it!  The picture here is from Mountain Valley Road and our final destination is the farther peak to the right - I'm kind of glad Jason didn't point that out to me on our walk into town as I was not honestly sure what our final destination was until we got there. I knew the top, but now looking back on the day's adventures I'm kind of glad starting out I didn't know quite how far our legs would take us (we figure 10 miles plus).  Jason gets the medal, as he carried Alida on his back all the way up Massanutten mountain!  I carried her some of the way back down and that was plenty for me.  I think we will all be feeling some underused muscles tomorrow and I'll be going to bed tonight with that good tired feeling all over!  Alida did hike a good portion of the way down the mountain because all the leaves were super slippery under foot and we were worried about falling with her in the pack.  As it turned out, some of us found that sliding down the mountain worked better than anything!  Listen closely for a little giggle:



What I'm still getting over is the fact that we did this hike from our home without setting foot in a car. A true Sabbath for us!  Here's some more pictures and then I'm getting horizontal!

Kali was incredible - she rode her bike 2 miles, hiked 6 or more and then rode her bike home 2 miles and we could hardly keep up with her. I didn't hear one "I'm tired" the whole way.  BUT she also did not complain a bit getting ready for bed and Jason and I are still up and she didn't do her normal arguing about going to bed before us - I haven't heard a peep out of her so my guess is she is sound asleep!

At our final destination - pictures really don't do it justice!

Enjoying an apple cookie and some pumpkin seeds at the top. She was quite perky, having gotten a ride all the way up AND a nap!

 

Yes, Jason is holding Kali's ankle!

We were able to see Emily and Jonas' home from up there. How fun!

We are extra smiley here since Alida has become a fan of turning away from the camera and not letting us get her face in the picture.  So we had several people entertaining us during this photo shoot (including showing off their belly buttons)!

The whole hiking crew!

See the turkey vulture soaring?  They were having a grand time up there...  Quite understandable, as we found it to be a fairly magnificent place to be too!

We are back to eating weeds, and other news...

It's going to be a two blog posts evening because I can't combine all the adventures of the day into one!  So this is the one of random odds and ends and then I'll get down to business on the other one!

Can you see the little male mason bee in the bottom far right corner.  I think they are super cute!

I think we have bought close to 100 pounds of carrots this winter from our friend who operates Seasons Bounty Farm. I think this is the best carrot we have found to date!

Weeding the onion beds landed us this mess of winter cress.  I'm loving that it is that time of year - when everything is greening up and we can start consuming all sorts of delicious "weeds."

Not sure there is much to say about this one!  She was entertaining herself the other evening and came up with this.  There is no end to the creative juices flowing through this residence!

FIRST CHICK hatched this morning with another soon to follow and two more while we were hiking.  Hopefully lots more peeping will be heard throughout the night tonight.  Exciting for the young and old alike!

I am posting a picture of them each looking at the incubator alone since they are struggling to share the space - neither wishing to give up prime viewing abilities.

There's the little chickie who gets the prize for being the first out of the egg.  The one that followed was a little dark one. Alida is eager to get her hands on them!

First "nettle eggs" of the season!

They accompanied the sausage and squash winter cress soup superbly for this morning's brunch.

We are expecting busy bees and so added some additional housing for them to expand into.  Here's hoping they like it!