The 500 Year Flood

Taken at the very early stages of the flooding

We had to leave our farm, but we are back now. We are all together and safe. All of the animals are alive and well except for the loss of one sweet banty hen. Our house is intact and remains un-flooded. There's a massive river running through the middle of our property, but we are so grateful that it wasn't worse (and so sad for those not so fortunate). Much fence-mending and cleaning up is ahead of us. I'm still processing the events of the past 72 hours, but I've been very much reminded of what's truly important in life. Indeed, that life itself is precious beyond measure. And that home is not really a place or a house - which in the end is just another possession - being home is truly being with your dearest loves.

Picking "flowers for the bees" in her nightgown on this rainy morning

this girl

She is my constant companion and helper, wanting to do everything I'm doing and trying to "do it all by me-self." She pulls her chair up to the kitchen counter, standing tall on it to see what I'm doing, or to help wash dishes, or get utensils to set the table. She usually sports a mouth that needs to be wiped, her clothing is optional and sometimes inside out. She's serious and silly at the same time; Easy and challenging at the same time, too. (Notice the sling she fashioned for her baby doll - yes, that's my bra she's using).     

She got her first haircut from mommy, and is very pleased not to have those stragalies itching her neck anymore. She loves her brother so very much, and baby boy is an absolute angel whose smile just melts all our hearts each and every time (and he smiles a lot, this sweet one).

She loves bugs of all sorts - worms, butterflies,"roll-roll-poles" (roly-poly bugs) and even the "waspies." We found an inchworm on a garden squash, whose antics fascinated us all. He was given a little pea pod and some water and kept as our pet for the day. I'm thinking of creating a homemade poster, kind of like these old ones, documenting all the bugs she takes interest in lately.

Oh, these days! Have you ever heard the song Take My Breath Away from Eva Cassidy? There's a line about love being like a child, "sometimes gentle and sometimes wild." Which is so often how I think of these days at home with my (big) baby girl and my newborn son. 

apple and wild alfalfa treats

 for our sweet and spunky Spring.

small harvests and good food

My neglected garden is producing tiny amounts of this and that. Which is just perfect for the tiny pockets of time I have to harvest and cook these days. And we have a wonderfully bountiful amount of chicken, eggs, and goat's milk flowing into the kitchen!

Here's a smattering of recent kitchen treats:

A hash made with rainbow chard, onions, and potatoes

Same hash put into a breakfast strata with homemade bread, eggs, goat's milk, mushrooms, and farmer's cheese

 

 

 Homegrown chicken and a rainbow of potatoes ready for roasting

Refrigerator pickles

Goat's milk ice cream, based on this recipe and using this no-machine method. It is SO GOOD, I can no longer eat store bought. This has forever ruined me.

We hosted a big family get together here a couple weekends ago, and a good portion of the food came from our own efforts. Curry chicken with homegrown chicken and potatoes, shish kebabs with garden veggies, our fresh garlic put into every sauce and marinade, our eggs...oh it made me so proud! It's a dream I have, really, to host a family gathering where everything served was produced right here on our land. In fact, I would feed the entire neighborhood that way if I could. Maybe someday I will.

the honeybees are here!

 

Meet the Sugarloaf hive. Is it possible to become ridiculously fond of insects? Why, yes, I think so.