Something New

We had a few bursts of fantastic weather last week and took full advantage, starting with our visit to Shelburne Farms for Green Mountain Draft Horse Field Day on Saturday.  What a beautiful day that was.  Not only was there sun and yet a more tolerable heat than we have become used to this time of year, but there was so much to see and do.  From learning about how they make their cheese, not to mention sampling some, to riding in a tractor-drawn wagon, meeting all the animals, watching as horse drawn carriages sauntered by, and even celebrating their Sicilian donkey's 30th birthday, we enjoyed a wonderfully memorable day.  My favorite part was our short hike from the farm barn up to the top of Lone Tree Hill where we saw sensational views--of Lake Champlain and the Adirondacks to the east and of the Green Mountains to the west.  I found myself stopping just before we began the trek downward, lifting my eyes to the sky and consciously soaking in every last drop of that moment.  Our God is AMAZING.

After a couple of busy days at home I took the boys hiking on some trails we had not personally explored before.  We climbed up the steep slopes of one hill on Tuesday and then another on Wednesday.  Thomas said his favorite part of hiking was the exploring part; not knowing where a trail would lead us until we tried it.  Thankfully I tend to have a pretty good sense of direction, so we didn't get lost.

Logan did very well, considering how steep he had to climb.  As out of shape as I've become, it works out, having a little one to set the pace.  Between his short legs and my extra pounds, we take things slower than I used to, but I have to say, since moving here walking and hiking have become somewhat routine, and I'm able to take on more.  Honestly I'm a little proud of us both!  And of Thomas and Gabriel too; they never complained about having to wait a minute here or there, while Logan caught up, though most of the time he kept up just fine.

 

 

 

On Thursday we ventured into the mountains to pick blueberries.  It had been ages since I'd done so, and the boys never had.  Growing up, we used to drive up a long dirt road to a place with many, many mature bushes and an old wooden farm stand with a sign on it, stating the price.  We signed a piece of paper on a clipboard with the amount that we had picked and slipped some money into the box.  I always loved to go, though I remember it getting pretty buggy.  I felt like I could get lost amongst the bushes.  They were so tall and bushy, and they seemed to go on forever.  Maybe I was just small.

The place we discovered out here was fantastic.  The bushes were young but plentiful in berries, and while there were clouds we welcomed a bit of sun and a heavenly light breeze.  It made for easy, wonderful, joyful picking, and the site was so beautiful that I have to admit I probably spent more time playing with the camera than picking berries.  Thomas took care of that though.  He was on a mission, and he picked well.  Gabe and Logan helped too, of course.  We took home 5.35 pounds of plump, ripe, tasty berries.

 

For years I'd wanted to try my hand at making and canning jam, and since I ran out of time with the strawberries (we picked right before our vacation and ended up having to freeze most of them), I thought, "Why not blueberry jam?"  I had never tasted blueberry jam before, but it sounded pretty great, so after watching a completely unnecessary number of how-to videos online and picking up a few materials at the hardware store, I dove right in.

 

It was delicious, and miraculously, all of my jars sealed.  Now I'm hooked.  I'm thinking of thawing out those strawberries for a strawberry-blueberry mix, followed by some apple jelly in September, and definitely both strawberry and raspberry jams next summer.

I wonder what we'll discover this week.

Two Month Garden Update

 There have been successes and failures already, as expected, but ultimately it's been a lot of fun, and I am already getting ideas for next year.

 

 

Looking Back

This afternoon I found myself in the basement with a pair of Logan's dirty shorts that needed to land themselves directly in the washing machine. (I'll spare you the details. You can thank me later.)  I looked around at the mess of boxes and papers all spread out, still from our flooded basement incident over a month ago.  I had left some things on the ironing board and needed to put them away, so I sifted through some of the loose papers on top.  One of them is about to be recycled.  It is all crinkled and somewhat brown, and I can't really read my professor's handwriting in his comments, but it is a very short piece I wrote for English 465, back in 2001.  It describes my childhood in only one and a half typed pages, but I think that if you read it, you can grasp why I love New England so much, so I thought I would share before dropping it into the big blue bin in the garage--

*****

"Set in the outskirts of a quaint New England town, home is a secluded three-acre wonder at a little place called Russell Reservoir.  There I spend my summers canoeing past turtles and frogs and swimming for hours on end.  At least once a year I climb the breathtaking Mt. Monadnock with my father.  We stand at the top for hours, gazing in awe at the land below, basking in the cool mountain breeze.  At night sometimes I swim under the stars with my sisters and my brother.  As we walk barefoot down the old dirt road, we wonder at the bats overhead.  The moon on the water is bright, and we've been waiting all day for our mystical midnight swim.

At autumn's arrival we delight in the cool, crisp air.  A family trip to Hancock means it's finally apple time again.  Soon the house grows warm with the scent of Marme's fresh apple pie, and we've packed the freezer with enough applesauce to last until next season.  After the fall of the last red leaf, the cold settles in, and we snuggle by the fireplace in our old sleeping bags.  Every day we watch deer sample leftover apples in the garden, and by Thanksgiving, we suspect the ice will be almost ready for skating.

Winter brings with it plenty of snow and cold, and Dad makes us stack wood for the stove.  While he swings the axe, Andy loads pieces into the wheelbarrow and pushes them up the icy hill to the bulkhead.  There he dumps them all into a big messy pile.  Becky stands inside and stacks the wood that Jessi and I throw down to her.  I'm little, and I get very cold, so I sneak inside every once in a while.  Marme is always there with a hot cup of cocoa, and Jessi gets jealous, but I take full advantage of the privileges that come with my age.  Later Jessi's happy to show me a new game in the snow, and I'm impressed by how brave she is to sled so fast down the long, steep hill.

Come springtime we can't wait to haul out the bicycles and baseballs.  We all rush outside every chance we get, even though the mosquitoes swarm endlessly.  Dad takes us up to the school to throw the baseball, or we swing a bat in our own front yard.  Becky is a pitcher for the Varsity team, and Dad's convinced that some day, when I throw the ball to him, it will strike his glove just as hard as it does when she throws it to him.

Marme is always there, watching, helping.  She listens to all our problems and cures them with her motherly skill.  Her care is the true reason we're all so close, and it's because of her that we've learned to appreciate all that is home.  In times to come, we'll all return to her and to one another.  We'll always remember best our childhood days together at Russell Reservoir, and as we begin to raise families of our own, we'll do our absolute best to ensure that our children enjoy all the wonder and excitement that we did at their age."

*****

Two posts in one day? Someone check my temperature!

I mentioned a couple of posts back that we recently moved.  We happen to now live in an area abundant with conservation groups and, well, other nature lovers.  I've discovered a couple of organizations that offer regular outdoor exploring and learning opportunities, and what a blessing they have been.

A little background: I was born a nature-lover.  I still treasure so many incredible pictures in my mind from when I was growing up in New Hampshire; of the elegant blue heron standing knee deep in the water, past the dappled birch trees in the dewy morning fog, of the small snapping turtles sunning themselves on rocks at the far end of the pond as I passed quietly under the arched tree tunnel in my canoe, of sunshine sparkling on the water as it flowed between the smooth river stones.... of bright red salamanders hiding under mossy rocks and of peaceful lady slippers blooming in the woods behind my house... 

Since moving we have spent a good deal of time enjoying what our new area has to offer.  Some times that has been as simple as a boat ride out into the lake or even trudging onto the snow-covered ice in our heavy winter boots.  Other times we've walked down to the water's edge and watched the waterfowl prey on fish and insects, or skipped a few stones, but we have also explored some local hiking trails and taken advantage of a couple of organized hikes not far from home. I treasure all of these.

Our latest adventure was rough on Brian with his allergies, and it ended with Gabe's first deer tick incident (not fun), but otherwise we had a really nice time, and since it was a guided hike it serviced as a good refresher on some wild plant and tree identification. 

Among our finds were white trillium (everywhere), jack-in-the-pulpit, red columbine, wild ginger, blue cohosh, hepatica, early meadow-rue, bellwort, goldenrod galls, and countless trees including shagbark hickory (a previously unfamiliar tree to me), plus a turkey vulture, turkey feather, centipede, toad, and one tiny little worm.  We had fun climbing over fallen trees and up and down a few steep, moderately rocky areas. These things make me happy. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I could do this every day.

"Build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them;"

~Jeremiah 29:5

If I'm going to resume blogging, I might as well start with a gardening post, right?

So... remember when I was stressing over gardening two summers ago, in New York?  Well?  Now I'm all in.

Two of my biggest gardening challenges were always money and space.  Space is no longer an issue.  (Yay!)  Money... Well, starting up new gardens, particularly raised beds because of all the soil they require, is not cheap.  (Otherwise you can probably do it on a dime, so to speak.)  However, you may also recall that I'm a longtime online reward site member, and now I have it down to a science.  I spend a little time (not money) on my site each day, and I reap the rewards.  In a typical month I earn anywhere from $40 to about $55 in gift cards, and that's without referrals.  I don't even sacrifice as much time as you might think, now that I have it all figured out.

Last month I decided it was time to cash in on my gift cards and went a little crazy.  I bought two very nice raised bed kits, a swift (off topic I know, but I'm excited), a window bird feeder and some seed (more on that later), several heirloom organic seed packets, and a few other little things.  I still had to buy soil, but I scoured the area stores and am confident that I found the best deals.  I had to compromise a bit on the types of soil, but I think I did okay.

Constructed outside right now are our two 4x4 garden beds.  Brian helped me prepare the ground for them, and then we built and filled them with a mixture of top soil and compost.  I'm going to attempt square foot gardening, and I know that is not the ideal soil mix, but I'm chancing it this year because the recommended mix is way too expensive.  I have also heard some bad things about the effects of peat moss harvesting on the environment, so I think it's worth a try as is.

Last week I bought some cheap rabbit fencing too.  As soon as the lawn gets another mow I'll have to put that up.

We are still getting frost advisories, so I haven't planted anything outside just yet.  Inside I do have corn, two varieties of tomatoes, peas, cucumbers, cayenne peppers, jalapeno peppers, bell peppers, sunflowers, and marigolds, and most of them are looking pretty good.  The hot peppers are just beginning to poke through the soil today.

 

I will also be planting some zucchini, beans, onions, and lettuce directly outside, and I hope to dig out a spot (and then build up a mound) for some pumpkins.

Last but not least, we've loaded up a hanging basket with some basil, oregano, and parsley.  We are sooo looking forward to using fresh ingredients from our own garden!

I still have a lot of work to do.  I've started to clear an area for some flowers that Thomas wants to grow.  He picked out larkspur, cosmos, and daisy seeds.  I also need to dig up some grass and till the soil for my sunflowers.  The fence has to go up, and I have to decide where to put the pumpkins and get that space ready.  Then I get to plant!  Yay!  That's the fun part, and if all goes well next year should be significantly easier.

I plan to keep my blog updated with progress.  I'm not holding my breath just yet; between the non-ideal soil mixture, the plethora of animals and birds, and the distinct possibility of insect and disease problems, not to mention our unpredictable weather patterns, we'll see what happens.  I have received a lot of joy from all that I've accomplished so far, and I have our maker to thank for that; the miracle that is gardening never ceases to amaze me.  Even if nothing succeeds, I have found enough enjoyment already that I'll have to remember that. Plus, learning experiences are so valuable.  I may never learn if I don't try, right?  Here's hoping all goes well!

Today, before I tackle the above list, I weed last year's flower beds.  And try to avoid the snake that I am pretty sure lives in one of them.  (Joy.)

Looking Back

In all the time that I haven't been posting a lot has changed.  For sure we've started a new chapter in the family book, most notably by saying our goodbyes and moving a few hours away, to beautiful Vermont.  There is so much to say, so much I feel, that I find it difficult to even begin writing about it all.  Let's just say it feels like home.  Wonderful, breathtaking, nature-abounding home. Until I go out, at least, and remember that I still don't really know anyone here, and that everyone else does know one another, since no one really leaves -- or rather, very few new people like us move in.  In fact, according to some comments I've read on the local news sites, the locals don't exactly want outsiders coming in and populating their state.  -Especially not New Yorkers!  Ha.  Thankfully,  our New Hampshire heritage seems to put more of an even keel on things.  When it comes down to it though, I love it here.  I think it's safe to say that we all love it, actually, though maybe I should admit to being the most attached. (Seriously, I had a nightmare the other day; we had to move again, and it was out of Vermont.  The horror!)

Here is a brief glimpse at some of the fun you may have missed last year.  In June we will have lived one full year in our new home. I like to think you should expect another update before then.