5/09/2012
damn it!
i spotted a deer lying on the side of the road this morning. i was with megan so we turned around to check it out. her and finn looked. i wasn’t up for it. she said it had been hit really hard, it was really bloated but still cold from the night, fresh. she had teats but no milk.
we told star about it and she came and picked it up. saw her later and stopped by while she was gutting it and watched for a minute. she cut away the fat to render. the organs were spilling out. and all of a sudden she pulled up a sac filled with a tiny fawn. we all did the ahhhhhh thing. it was so precious. so sad. a dead little baby, no fur yet but spots showing through on its little back and white white hoofs on its tiny, spindly legs. it was so little and sweet looking. grey and lifeless. i had a cry-the smell of blood and organs was strong, crooked neck of mama on the ground, hind legs hooked to the tree, and baby dead beside her. it was a boy. and all of a sudden another one, a sister. it was so emotional!!!! i just looked at them side by side, their innocent bodies so close to life and living. darling creatures. the three of them taken in a matter of seconds.
they were appreciated today.
4/21/2012
yerba santa-holy herb
the bright new sticky leaves of the yerba santa are out and begging to be plucked and made into tea. i gather a few into a glass jar, add some honey, fill with water and set out in the sun for a little while. it makes the most delicious tea!!!! i like it iced (it was nearly 90 degrees today!) especially usefull in the spring and autumn and good for all things bronchial (think decongestant, asthma, allergies, sore throat). abundant in my region of the sierra nevadas, if you want to try some i'll send some your way.
4/11/2012
this gorgeous beast
the great horned owl
for several days now i've been hearing an owl outside my window. tonight i heard at least two call back and forth. maybe more? if it was a group of them i would be able to refer to them as a parliment of owls. really! how cool is that?! anyway, i've been waking up to it either early in the morning when it's still dark or hearing it at night-tonight it was 9pm. i know they're great horned because of their infamous hoo-hoo-HOO-hoo-hoo, which is such a great sound to hear so close! owls are magic to me and knowing they're right up there in one of those trees but unable to see them makes me happy and a little intimidated too! they are so big and mysterious! i really think they might be the reason the cat is missing. i've just had that gut feeling ever since she dissapeared during the night (it was a full moon too) and i started hearing the hoo. poor yapita!!!!! i hope i'm wrong but owl tells the brutal truth. wise, feared, honest. a true seer even in the darkness. and a strong hunter with amazing crushing power! oh geez
for several days now i've been hearing an owl outside my window. tonight i heard at least two call back and forth. maybe more? if it was a group of them i would be able to refer to them as a parliment of owls. really! how cool is that?! anyway, i've been waking up to it either early in the morning when it's still dark or hearing it at night-tonight it was 9pm. i know they're great horned because of their infamous hoo-hoo-HOO-hoo-hoo, which is such a great sound to hear so close! owls are magic to me and knowing they're right up there in one of those trees but unable to see them makes me happy and a little intimidated too! they are so big and mysterious! i really think they might be the reason the cat is missing. i've just had that gut feeling ever since she dissapeared during the night (it was a full moon too) and i started hearing the hoo. poor yapita!!!!! i hope i'm wrong but owl tells the brutal truth. wise, feared, honest. a true seer even in the darkness. and a strong hunter with amazing crushing power! oh geez
4/10/2012
3/25/2012
good clean food
misty weekend mornings. good for sleeping in and drinking tea. taking the goats on a leisurely wander and calling relatives. and for making chicken stock. my first one. a new era of health- building the blood, nourishing the bones, and honoring the animals that make me feel better. after more than 12 years of being a vegetarian, my body asked for something different. i was weak after working in the fields, adrenally drained all the time, unable to remember the simplest of things, shakey, tired constantly with an upset stomach, a lack of appetite and just an overall frailty. i didn't feel good.
i was never a strict vegetarian because i believe that you should eat what you want, listen to what your body needs, take advantage of unique opportunities, and respect the traditions of other cultures (like eating raw buffalo liver in lakota ceremony! chewy!) and of course because bacon is so delicious and very linked with comfort for me-sunday morning breakfast is my favorite of all time. but the whole reason i vowed to give up meat with gavin levy in my basement bedroom when i was 17 was because of factory farming. the unacceptable reality of tortured animals in the hands of big corporations making a buck on brutality was just not ok. of course the effects on our bodies after consuming this meat is equally deplorable and so i boycotted that shit.
and now, all these years later as i slowly introduce meat back into my world i'm still boycotting those conditions, those big businesses, and making choices that support the change i want to see. for me that means buying local from farmers that treat their animals with respect, let them eat what they are meant to (NOT GMO corn) with some fresh air and a dignified life. the way it used to be-the old norm. it's kind of a big deal for me to eat meat. i still struggle with it a bit, but i think food is medicine and i'm feeling better with meat in my life. so thank you to that beautiful four pound chicken for feeding and healing me.
i was never a strict vegetarian because i believe that you should eat what you want, listen to what your body needs, take advantage of unique opportunities, and respect the traditions of other cultures (like eating raw buffalo liver in lakota ceremony! chewy!) and of course because bacon is so delicious and very linked with comfort for me-sunday morning breakfast is my favorite of all time. but the whole reason i vowed to give up meat with gavin levy in my basement bedroom when i was 17 was because of factory farming. the unacceptable reality of tortured animals in the hands of big corporations making a buck on brutality was just not ok. of course the effects on our bodies after consuming this meat is equally deplorable and so i boycotted that shit.
and now, all these years later as i slowly introduce meat back into my world i'm still boycotting those conditions, those big businesses, and making choices that support the change i want to see. for me that means buying local from farmers that treat their animals with respect, let them eat what they are meant to (NOT GMO corn) with some fresh air and a dignified life. the way it used to be-the old norm. it's kind of a big deal for me to eat meat. i still struggle with it a bit, but i think food is medicine and i'm feeling better with meat in my life. so thank you to that beautiful four pound chicken for feeding and healing me.
3/19/2012
happy ostara!!!
it's the spring equinox tomorrow!! a time of new beginnings and celebration! think persephone and daffodils, eat chocolate, eat eggs, dye eggs, watch the sunrise tomorrow morning and bless your seeds for the garden. how grateful we should be for our abundance in life. yeay!
2/18/2012
just one more reason
pieter hugo's new project:
PERMANENT ERROR
"For the past year Hugo has been photographing the people and landscape of an expansive dump of obsolete technology in Ghana. The area, on the outskirts of a slum known as Agbogbloshie, is referred to by local inhabitants as Sodom and Gomorrah, a vivid acknowledgment of the profound inhumanity of the place. When Hugo asked the inhabitants what they called the pit where the burning takes place, they repeatedly responded: ‘For this place, we have no name’.
Their response is a reminder of the alien circumstances that are imposed on marginal communities of the world by the West’s obsession with consumption and obsolesce. This wasteland, where people and cattle live on mountains of motherboards, monitors and discarded hard drives, is far removed from the benefits accorded by the unrelenting advances of technology.
The UN Environment Program has stated that Western countries produce around 50 million tons of digital waste every year. In Europe, only 25 percent of this type of waste is collected and effectively recycled. Much of the rest is piled in containers and shipped to developing countries, supposedly to reduce the digital divide, to create jobs and help people. In reality, the inhabitants of dumps like Agbogbloshie survive largely by burning the electronic devices to extract copper and other metals out of the plastic used in their manufacture. The electronic waste contaminates rivers and lagoons with consequences that are easily imaginable. In 2008 Green Peace took samples of the burnt soil in Agbogbloshie and found high concentrations of lead, mercury, thallium, hydrogen cyanide and PVC.
Notions of time and progress are collapsed in these photographs. There are elements in the images that fast-forward us to an apocalyptic end of the world as we know it, yet the alchemy on this site and the strolling cows recall a pastoral existence that rewinds our minds to a medieval setting. The cycles of history and the lifespan of our technology are both clearly apparent in this cemetery of artifacts from the industrialised world. We are also reminded of the fragility of the information and stories that were stored in the computers which are now just black smoke and melted plastic."
2/08/2012
bad man's plaything
i've been thinking a lot about yarrow. it's a flower that makes a pretty bouqet, a leaf that's soft and yummy to sniff. a cough remedy, a fever inducer, it's the one you reach for when you have a cut that won't stop bleeding (damn new razor!) and why i just had to tell you about it, one of the best monikers in history!
Yarrow
Achillea millefolium
"In Greek mythology, yarrow grew from the rust that Achilles (thus, Achillea) scraped from his spear to help heal a man he had wounded (there's an interesting connection between iron/rust/blood/war/Mars here, kind of a neat obverse of the Venus/love aspect of this herb). Perhaps this myth is why in the language of flowers, yarrow can mean war or healing. Because it is aromatic, yarrow is often associated with the Element of Air, and it contains the planetary metal for Jupiter (tin), but it is traditionally connected to Venus because of the usefulness of the fresh herb as a poultice in skin problems. Yarrow also has the ability to potentiate other herbs when added to incense or when incorporated into love magick. It is put into love sachets, because it is believed capable of keeping a couple together for 7 years.
In Divination
Magickally, this herb is good for divination--the I Ching was originally thrown not with coins but with dried yarrow stalks--it makes a nice ingredient for dream pillows and for divinatory incense and tea (great to combine with mugwort for this purpose). Burning yarrow is said to produce visions of snakes. On a lighter note, yarrow has often been a device for divining the identity of one's future lover or determining whether one is truly loved.
As a Protector
In the past, yarrow was used as a protectant. It was strewn across the threshold to keep out evil and worn to protect against hexes. It was tied to an infant's cradle to protect it from those who might try to steal its soul. The Saxons wore yarrow amulets to protect against blindness, robbers, and dogs, among other things.
In Herbalism
Yarrow was commonly used to flavor beer before the introduction of hops, and it still flavors vermouth and bitters. A tea of the flowers raises the body temperature (good for the start of colds), works as a bitter tonic to help digestion, helps promote healthy coughing, eases spasms, and promotes menstruation (don't use during pregnancy). In India, yarrow was put into medicated steam baths for fever; the Chippewa used it very similarly for headache. Even now, the tea is sometimes taken as a remedy for the blues and for restlessness, especially during menopause. It is helpful in shedding fear and negativity.
Its Many Names
The many other common names for yarrow reflect how widely this herb has been used: allheal, angel flower, bad man's plaything, bloodwort, cammock, carpenter's weed, devil's nettle, devil's plaything, dog daisy, gordoloba, green arrow, herbe militaris, hierba de las cortadura, knight's milfoil, milfoil, nosebleed, old man's (the devil's) mustard, old man's pepper, plumajillo, sanguinary, soldier's woundwort, squirrel's taile, stanchgrass, stanchweed, thousand-leaf, thousand weed, woundwort, and yarroway." -harold roth
1/22/2012
the forest floor on a recent mushroom hunt
goat walk
full moon rising-a view from the kitchen!
the rain has come and planning has begun. there's lots to do on the new property. all kinds of fun with olives, fruit trees, herbs, flowers, goat kids in june!!! a new perimeter fence, chicken tractor and possibly a rabbit hutch/worm farm. and that's only the beginning! Ahhhhh, so much to look forward to!
goat walk
full moon rising-a view from the kitchen!
the rain has come and planning has begun. there's lots to do on the new property. all kinds of fun with olives, fruit trees, herbs, flowers, goat kids in june!!! a new perimeter fence, chicken tractor and possibly a rabbit hutch/worm farm. and that's only the beginning! Ahhhhh, so much to look forward to!
12/19/2011
read up
GMOs and why you should never use Canola oil.
February 8, 2011 in Ecology, Nutrition
Olive oil comes from olives. Sesame seed oil comes from sesame seeds.
But what is a canola? Canola is actually a made-up word for a genetically modified product.
Canola stands for “Canadian oil low acid.” It’s (sadly) a Canadian invention and subsidized by the government. The subsidies make it very cheap to use, so almost all processed or packaged foods contain canola oil. Be sure to read the ingredients. Here’s why you should:
THE SCOOP ON CANOLA
Canola oil is developed from the rapeseed plant, which is part of the mustard family of plants. These oils have long been used for industrial purposes (in candles, lipsticks, soaps, inks, lubricants, and biofuels). It’s an industrial oil, not a food.
Rapeseed oil is the source behind mustard gas, and on its own it causes emphysema, respiratory distress, anemia, constipation, irritability, and blindness. But through the beauty of genetic modification, we now sell it as an edible oil.
The claim is that canola is safe to use because through modification it is no longer rapeseed but “canola.” Except… canola is just genetically modified rapeseed. It has been marketed as a wonder oil that is low in saturated fats with a beneficial omega-3 fatty acid profile. It is recognized by the American Dietetic Association and the American Heart Association based on the belief that the absence of saturated fats alone makes it healthy.
It is now believed that rapeseed has a cumulative effect, taking almost 10 years before symptoms begin to manifest. One possible effect of long-term use is the destruction of the protective coating surrounding nerves called the myelin sheath. This is like having raw, open wires in the body. Some symptoms include:
tremors and shaking
uncoordination when walking or writing
slurred speech
deterioration of memory and thinking processes
fuzzy or low audio levels
difficulty urinating/incontinence
breathing problems/short of breath
nervous breakdown
numbness and tingling in extremities
heart problems/arrhythmia
From a nutritional perspective, canola oil has been found to deplete Vitamin E. It has a tendency to inhibit proper metabolism of foods and normal enzyme function. It also depresses the immune system.
THE SCOOP ON GMOS
Today, 72% of all products from the United States are genetically modified. The top 3 genetically modified foods are:
canola
corn
soy
Not too far behind them are potatoes, tomatoes, sweet peppers, peanuts, and sunflower.
Companies that commonly use genetic modification are:
Kellogg’s
Kraft
Miss Vickie’s
Hershey’s
Coke
Gatorade
General Mills
Labatt beer
McCain
No Name
President’s Choice
Quaker Oats
Ragu
When an attempt was made for new legislation to force the labeling of genetically modified products in grocery stores, the three companies of Kellogg’s, Monsanto, and DuPont spent $55 millions to fight it and eventually won. It is not mandatory for companies to let the consumers know when they have used genetic modification. Which is why today I refuse to use a Kellogg’s product (very corn-based). Produce that is genetically modified is sometimes identified by a 5-digit number on its sticker that starts with an 8. But not always.
NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF GMOS ON HUMANS
1. Toxicity
Apparently they have GMO Christmas trees that glow in the dark. Slightly cool, but kind of disturbing. They can also make pigs glow in the dark by injecting them with jellyfish.
2. Allergic reactions
Our bodies were not built to recognize and consume GMOs. They are foreign substances in our digestive system and in our bloodstream.
3. Antibiotic resistance
Many plants are engineered to become resistant. We consume those same toxins and may in turn develop resistances.
4. Cancer
GMOs are an offense to our cells. They depress our immune system and may allow for the onset of cancer.
5. Immuno-suppresion
Our immune system doesn’t recognize GMOs. It works to expel them from our bodies as soon as possible, and has less time to work towards our general well being.
Besides the above, GMOs have a negative effect on nature. It upsets the balance of the earth, harms wild plants, and disturbs the life cycle of wild animals.
WHAT CAN WE DO?
Boycott that shit!!!! Don't buy it. Don't eat it. Read, learn, do it!
February 8, 2011 in Ecology, Nutrition
Olive oil comes from olives. Sesame seed oil comes from sesame seeds.
But what is a canola? Canola is actually a made-up word for a genetically modified product.
Canola stands for “Canadian oil low acid.” It’s (sadly) a Canadian invention and subsidized by the government. The subsidies make it very cheap to use, so almost all processed or packaged foods contain canola oil. Be sure to read the ingredients. Here’s why you should:
THE SCOOP ON CANOLA
Canola oil is developed from the rapeseed plant, which is part of the mustard family of plants. These oils have long been used for industrial purposes (in candles, lipsticks, soaps, inks, lubricants, and biofuels). It’s an industrial oil, not a food.
Rapeseed oil is the source behind mustard gas, and on its own it causes emphysema, respiratory distress, anemia, constipation, irritability, and blindness. But through the beauty of genetic modification, we now sell it as an edible oil.
The claim is that canola is safe to use because through modification it is no longer rapeseed but “canola.” Except… canola is just genetically modified rapeseed. It has been marketed as a wonder oil that is low in saturated fats with a beneficial omega-3 fatty acid profile. It is recognized by the American Dietetic Association and the American Heart Association based on the belief that the absence of saturated fats alone makes it healthy.
It is now believed that rapeseed has a cumulative effect, taking almost 10 years before symptoms begin to manifest. One possible effect of long-term use is the destruction of the protective coating surrounding nerves called the myelin sheath. This is like having raw, open wires in the body. Some symptoms include:
tremors and shaking
uncoordination when walking or writing
slurred speech
deterioration of memory and thinking processes
fuzzy or low audio levels
difficulty urinating/incontinence
breathing problems/short of breath
nervous breakdown
numbness and tingling in extremities
heart problems/arrhythmia
From a nutritional perspective, canola oil has been found to deplete Vitamin E. It has a tendency to inhibit proper metabolism of foods and normal enzyme function. It also depresses the immune system.
THE SCOOP ON GMOS
Today, 72% of all products from the United States are genetically modified. The top 3 genetically modified foods are:
canola
corn
soy
Not too far behind them are potatoes, tomatoes, sweet peppers, peanuts, and sunflower.
Companies that commonly use genetic modification are:
Kellogg’s
Kraft
Miss Vickie’s
Hershey’s
Coke
Gatorade
General Mills
Labatt beer
McCain
No Name
President’s Choice
Quaker Oats
Ragu
When an attempt was made for new legislation to force the labeling of genetically modified products in grocery stores, the three companies of Kellogg’s, Monsanto, and DuPont spent $55 millions to fight it and eventually won. It is not mandatory for companies to let the consumers know when they have used genetic modification. Which is why today I refuse to use a Kellogg’s product (very corn-based). Produce that is genetically modified is sometimes identified by a 5-digit number on its sticker that starts with an 8. But not always.
NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF GMOS ON HUMANS
1. Toxicity
Apparently they have GMO Christmas trees that glow in the dark. Slightly cool, but kind of disturbing. They can also make pigs glow in the dark by injecting them with jellyfish.
2. Allergic reactions
Our bodies were not built to recognize and consume GMOs. They are foreign substances in our digestive system and in our bloodstream.
3. Antibiotic resistance
Many plants are engineered to become resistant. We consume those same toxins and may in turn develop resistances.
4. Cancer
GMOs are an offense to our cells. They depress our immune system and may allow for the onset of cancer.
5. Immuno-suppresion
Our immune system doesn’t recognize GMOs. It works to expel them from our bodies as soon as possible, and has less time to work towards our general well being.
Besides the above, GMOs have a negative effect on nature. It upsets the balance of the earth, harms wild plants, and disturbs the life cycle of wild animals.
WHAT CAN WE DO?
Boycott that shit!!!! Don't buy it. Don't eat it. Read, learn, do it!
12/16/2011
geriatric computer motions have kept my blabbing to a minimum. that with a lot of too busy dicking around. also, i've been busy moving into a new place and getting accustomed to my new chore of goat milker/goat wrangler/goat bitch. it hasn't been easy but tonight i made moves. i ditched the leashes and saved my sanity. it was so fucking easy! there was no running away, no humping on the trail, no head butting me, no breaking through the gate, no shocks from the fence, no tug o' war, no nothing! my fuck it attitude really payed off this time.
and with another gift of vision, this one in the form of new specs, i could actually see what i was not giving a shit about. and somewhat unfortunately, the unblurred surprise of the ever fascinating goat penis. corkscrewed! for real!
and with another gift of vision, this one in the form of new specs, i could actually see what i was not giving a shit about. and somewhat unfortunately, the unblurred surprise of the ever fascinating goat penis. corkscrewed! for real!
11/27/2011
11/26/2011
c'est la vie
so many goodbyes! so many changes a happening. that time of year, that kind of life. work on the farm is over and i'm the last lonely person around. just me and the chickens, cats, rats, foxes and deer. my preffered choice of companionship? nah! i spent a wonderful morning collecting cranberries with new pals-just pulled a cranberry walnut tart out of the oven for dessert, it's homemade turkey pot pie for dinner. yum! turkey that i missed on thanksgiving, driving away. driving back. a costly reminder to remember. good thing i like driving. not a good thing my memory sucks.
10/18/2011
i had a nice birthday away from the farm this weekend. fat and happy in truckee with nathan and the aspens. yeay!
back in action today, i mowed down the last of the corn and the eggplant with the tractor. i was sad to see them go but driving the tractor is the best!!! little red wing black birds guided my way. after we mow the cover crop (legumes, oats, vetch) is broadcast and then all is tilled under and into the soil. the oats in the cover crop we planted where the melons were is already coming up! it looks so pretty and little. everything around the farm is really beautiful lately. my favorite time of the year. it's been cold and dark waking in the mornings and i just noticed how far over the sun has been settingi
i picked some of the last and some of my favorite flowers today-marigolds and strawflowers. also, some hot peppers, and some renegade mint and mugwort. we finished planting the huge plot of garlic and weeded the tiny little onions today too. tomorrows CSA box will barely close filled with beets, carrots, broccoli, lettuce, green beans, peppers, kale, garlic, winter squash, and radishes. life is good.
back in action today, i mowed down the last of the corn and the eggplant with the tractor. i was sad to see them go but driving the tractor is the best!!! little red wing black birds guided my way. after we mow the cover crop (legumes, oats, vetch) is broadcast and then all is tilled under and into the soil. the oats in the cover crop we planted where the melons were is already coming up! it looks so pretty and little. everything around the farm is really beautiful lately. my favorite time of the year. it's been cold and dark waking in the mornings and i just noticed how far over the sun has been settingi
i picked some of the last and some of my favorite flowers today-marigolds and strawflowers. also, some hot peppers, and some renegade mint and mugwort. we finished planting the huge plot of garlic and weeded the tiny little onions today too. tomorrows CSA box will barely close filled with beets, carrots, broccoli, lettuce, green beans, peppers, kale, garlic, winter squash, and radishes. life is good.
9/30/2011
9/27/2011
we harvested the rest of our winter squash today-carnival, sunshine, confection, bon-bon (aka bon-bon barnacle bubble butt). we mowed down the corn, the summer squash, the cucumbers!!! the tomatoes are looking wimpy and all of the beautiful flowers are gonners soon too. birchville is becoming a field of flat again. it’s all coming full circle. seems not long ago that we were plopping all of those seeds in the ground to grow.
it's not all doom and gloom though. our scallions and spinach are coming up and the showy fennel flows in the breeze. the dragonflies are everywhere, making the sky busy and beautiful along with the bees. the fragrant citrus of turkey mullein fills the air and praying mantis cocoons abound.
fall. new moon in libra. balancing act.
9/23/2011
happy mabon
the fall equinox is a good time to bring harmony and balance into your life. as the days become shorter and the nights longer until the winter sostice in december, celebrate, harvest and save seed for the dark, cold days ahead.
we have so many yummy things to eat on the farm right now like pears and corn, raspberries and winter squash. i've been collecting herbs like mugwort to dry and saving seeds from popppy's to dill. as things wind down think about what you can lay to rest and look forward to change.
9/05/2011
today was pretty awesome. after a quick and easy harvest for the CSA (carrots, cabbage, eggplant, corn, basil, tomatoes, zucchini, cucumber, and melons!) we got to extract honey from our hives! it’s a once a year deal so i felt pretty fortunate to be a part of the whole process from sweeping the bees off the frames to uncapping the comb with a hot knife to holding down the huge extractor with the jumble of the spin. i ended up getting stung on the arm which made me kind of excited. i never hold a fear for that and even as the bees were swarming around us as we took their honey filled frames from their hives, i only got stung inside the shed, away from the hives as we uncapped the comb, totally random. so great though. it’s good to get stung and so damn good to eat fresh, sweet, raw, unfiltered honey- comb and all.
another highlight of the day was hearing a strange crunch noise in the distance and realizing an hour later that the pigs had gotten out. 5 big fat boys running around in our huge broccoli patch! it was such a wonderful scene. i’ve been taking care of them for the past week and have grown to adore them. i was happy they got a chance to run around free for a bit today. i think they had fun! wrangling them back into the pen was really easy too. they’re so smart and sweet.
oh and the cherry on top of the 11 hour work day of mostly fun was dinner! we made raviolis filled with zucchini, thyme and cheese with a browned butter and thyme flower sauce, yum! i’m pretty proud of my new recipe. soooo glamorous! i sleep now like the pigs, fat and happy. and thinking of my honey
another highlight of the day was hearing a strange crunch noise in the distance and realizing an hour later that the pigs had gotten out. 5 big fat boys running around in our huge broccoli patch! it was such a wonderful scene. i’ve been taking care of them for the past week and have grown to adore them. i was happy they got a chance to run around free for a bit today. i think they had fun! wrangling them back into the pen was really easy too. they’re so smart and sweet.
oh and the cherry on top of the 11 hour work day of mostly fun was dinner! we made raviolis filled with zucchini, thyme and cheese with a browned butter and thyme flower sauce, yum! i’m pretty proud of my new recipe. soooo glamorous! i sleep now like the pigs, fat and happy. and thinking of my honey
9/01/2011
today we found a baby rattlesnake in the weeds we were pulling up. tiny little rattle, slither away under the shade. moved to the creek side. then found a dead one to match. a different snake crushed flat by the tractor.
we chased a gopher out of the potato bed and then found a dead one decapitated by the tractor. we save. we kill. sometimes on purpose sometimes on accident.
praying mantis were everywhere sending their wishes i guess.
we chased a gopher out of the potato bed and then found a dead one decapitated by the tractor. we save. we kill. sometimes on purpose sometimes on accident.
praying mantis were everywhere sending their wishes i guess.
8/22/2011
wild geese
You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.
-mary oliver
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.
-mary oliver
8/18/2011
just beginning to recover from one of the funnest four days in a long time. first there was the nevada county fair where i lived out my fantasy of getting high on life through multiple hours of being upside down while spinning around fast on dangerous metal contraptions with teenagers, dancing wildly, eating corn dogs and caramel apples, and taking home a stuffed animal! the zipper was the highlight as usual. my stomach was in knots we were laughing so hard! high as kites!
THEN the next day i drove to san francisco to meet up with sandals at outside lands for three days of awesome music. we met some amazing people on the monkey bars and it just kept getting better. black keys, tune yards, john foggerty, the roots, dead maus, girl talk, mavis staples, sooo much goodness! left at 4 in the morning to get back to the farm and here I am partying in a different way. we have so much food it's crazy-melons, corn, eggplant, tomatoes, basil, beets, carrots, lettuce, strawberries, arugula, zucchini, cucumbers, CRAZY! damn i'm a lucky girl.
7/28/2011
WHOA!!
too excited to post any photos but you HAVE to look up the mud dauber wasp! i got out of the shower tonight and went to put on my shirt and it had a thumb sized, cocoon like mud thingy on the back center of the collar! but it was familiar. andrew had found one a couple months ago and we put it on the window sill awating action. it has since dissapeared so i ran into the kitchen displaying my discovery and then decided the best thing to do was see what was inside!! i crumbled the mud between my fingers and oh my god! 7 spiders fell to the ground! holy shit!!! i was not expecting that! we poked and prodded and they appeared to be dead. what the hell was going on? i had a sneaky suspision that there might be a wasp involved and after a google search of mud wasp spider we found the answer. mud dauber. so fucking cool! the mud dauber wasp builds a mud tube, then hunts for spiders, stinging and paralyzing them then carrying them into the mud tube. THEN, she lays an egg on one of the spiders, closes up the hole and leaves forever, her young to hatch and grow on the spiders!
i've seen a video about other parasytic wasps but holy crap! this thing was on my shirt!
read more about it here. although i don't think it was a pipe organ wasp. the ones flying in and out of my cabin are black and yellow.
http://www.hiltonpond.org/ThisWeek020401.html
i've seen a video about other parasytic wasps but holy crap! this thing was on my shirt!
read more about it here. although i don't think it was a pipe organ wasp. the ones flying in and out of my cabin are black and yellow.
http://www.hiltonpond.org/ThisWeek020401.html
7/14/2011
in these moments when there's time to wonder around the farm i find peace in the beauty of onion blossoms and beetles hiding out inside mariposa lilies. i dream of days laying amidst flowers like these with someone i love. on my own farm, watching the insects fly by against the blue sky and calling out images the clouds are making with my daughter. then i think about what i might dream if that was in fact my life. would i dream of being a lonely intern with nothing? i wonder.
7/11/2011
7/07/2011
this week....
tomatoes!!!! hot, hot days. strawberry basil crumble. fox in the morning. bear in the trash. mariposa lillies. lots of ice cream. even more flies and mosquitos. 6 stitches. reflection. a much needed break.
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