Summer Love

Wishing you a summer weekend filled with beautiful moments.

Warm wishes,

Tonya

Yarn Along

I have been experimenting (playing) with dyeing lately and having so much fun!

This skein reminds me of the day lilies that are out right now all around our pond. 

I knit another Plain Vest and added some handmade maple buttons (another fun project of late using the maple saplings that were easy to peel).

I grabbed a book off my shelf to read through again - The Unsettling of America by Wendell Berry - one of my favorite authors.

And then on my desk I have my home school planning piles - planners, three ring binder, catalogs, notes, and I have been reading through When Children Love to Learn, A Practical Application of Charlotte Mason's Philosophy for Today - by Elaine Cooper.  A really excellent book that is giving me much to think about and apply in our home.

Joining in with Ginny's Yarn Along today - and looking forward to seeing what everyone else is knitting and reading.

Happy 4th of July!

Warm wishes,

Tonya

Excited About Zucchini

I know in another month, I will be looking through all of my cookbooks to come up with creative ways to use all of the zucchini  - but for today I am excited to have a new vegetable to serve after having lettuce and kale nearly every day for a month (no - I am not complaining - but just excited for a little variety!)

I remember thinking last year at the end of June, beginning of July that there this is this space of time in the gardening cycle where we just seem to be waiting after the spring crops are coming to an end.  Perhaps I should add some other greens and go back to snap peas as the shell peas are wonderfully fun for the children but would require a lot of space to amount to enough for us all to eat.  Any suggestions for something to fill in that gap to plan for next year?

Goats

We brought these two home late April of last year, bottle fed them for weeks, weaned them, been through a terrible poison scare when they ate skunk cabbage (were hand fed some by a one of our children), clipped hooves, repaired fences after numerous escapes (thankful that the onions and kale completely recovered)....

I have come to love these two girls.  Now comes the time when they are nearly ready to breed - this fall they should come into heat.  Now comes the time when my fears all surface - will I be able to handle the birthing, the milking, separating the babies from their moms.

Listening to reason I know that the goats' milk will be such a blessing to our family - to our daughter who has a mild lactose intolerance to a perfect second milk for a toddler.  Plus how wonderful it will be to not have to buy milk at the store or even rely on our neighbor's raw milk ($9.00 a gallon is a lot and for sure we will save some money).

Now to come up with a plan to get them bred.  Do we buy a buck and companion?  Do we find someone that rents one out?  For you goat owners, I would love it if you would share your thoughts and experiences.

Warm wishes,
Tonya

Maple Branch Blocks and a Giveaway

Our family has added a new product to our shop - bark free maple branch blocks. 

Right about this time of the year in northern Vermont - mid June to the beginning of July - the bark just peels off.  So our family spent an evening outside in the shade peeling.

Mike then cuts the pieces and then we hand sand each piece lightly and the rub each with a light layer of our homemade beeswax finish.

Safe for teething babies!

We are offering one of our sets today in a giveaway.  Just leave a comment and you will be entered.  The winner will be chosen Monday morning 7:00 am est.

Using a random number generator, the eighth entry wins!  Ginger, please email me at naturalearthfarm@netzero.net so I can get the set off to you.

Thanks so much.

Thanks and warm wishes,

Tonya

Just Loving

that I am able to be outside today doing this after a few days of rain

watching this little girl enjoy playing among the clover

the excitement in Abraham's voice when he spotted the first flower among the nasturtiums

 day lilies with a thrifted vintage table runner

the children eating peas off the vine

So many blessings.  What are you loving today?

Warm wishes,

Tonya

Knit Hats and Finally a Sock!

After a super hot week last week, I had to put a wool vest on Emmy yesterday morning.

The cool and wet weather found us starting a fire in the wood stove - with the clothes dryer beside it and beans cooking on top of it.

Perfect weather for knitting!  (although, almost anytime is a good time to knit, right?)

I finished the bonnet in super soft baby alpaca using the largest size pattern from Vintage Knits for Modern Babies.  It is a good fit for an autumn cap for Emmy.

This hat also came off the needles - a simple knit 2, purl 2 rib for the first few inches, cast on of 80 stitches on size 8 needles using a beautiful soft merino yarn.  It fits a woman's head snugly and makes a nice fit for a youth.

Finally, a sock is working out for me - on four double pointed needles, using this pattern.

Yeah!

As for reading, I finished Greenhorns last night and am looking for another good read.  But, also it is time for me to plan out the next home learning year.  Any good suggestions for web sites, catalogs, etc using mostly a Charlotte Mason approach?

So happy to be joining in with Ginny's Yarn Along again this week.

A Low Sugar Treat

I have been on my new eating regimine of no/low sugar and no whites - white flour, white pasta, white rice - for about two weeks now and I do feel much better.  Honestly, my mood seems to stay more consistent throughout the day.  My energy level is higher even when not getting enough sleep because of a certain night nursing girl lately.

I realized that I was consuming far too much sugar and white flours - often having a bit of dessert after each meal - either a cookie or a piece of cake - all homemade but all having sugar.
I have had a baby size icecream once.  But other than that I have used this or a variation of, to satisfy my sweet tooth just a bit.

1/2 cup cocunut oil, melted
1/4 cup maple syrup
3/4 cup oats
3/4 cup whole what flour or millet flour
1 cup finely chopped walnuts or almonds (chopped in a food processor)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Combine all.  Press into the bottom of a buttered glass pie plate.  Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.  Take out of the oven and add a light layer of jam.  Continue baking for about 20 more minutes.

Not using plastic wrap, I just keep it covered with a pretty linen.

A Simple Meal

In my quest to feed my family a more plant based diet, I have been experimenting with various sauces to make our whole grains more interesting.  Taking the 30 Day Vegan course most certainly helped to inspire.

The other night I made a garlic kale stir fry.  

First, I sauteed about 7 - 8 heads of finely chopped garlic in 1 T. sesame oil (a low heat setting).

  

Then, I added - 1/4 cup maple syrup, 1/8 cup organic tamari, 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger, and the juice of 1/2 a lemon.  Combine all over a low heat setting.  

When the brown rice or other grain is ready to serve, add the chopped kale over the top of the sauce, put on a cover and let cook slightly for 1 minute - serve over the rice.

Right now we have lots of kale in our garden but you could certainly substitute whatever green you have on hand.  I also like to add a few cashews to my own serving.

A Beautiful Cycle

I love the cycle of weeding buckets full, feeding the weeds to the chickens - composting their poop when cleaning the coop - gathering the compost two years later - full of beautiful worms (I love turning the compost over and seeing all the worms squirming around!) - returning the compost to the gardens - harvesting vegetables to feed our family (and of course more weeds to nourish the chickens!)....

Making it Work

Mike can be pretty clever sometimes, coming up with solutions to fix things around the homestead.

This is my hoe - the handle had broken about half way down.  Mike cut it off straight and then cut a notch out of one side.  He then took a freshly peeled piece of maple and did a similar notch on the end and then used screws to hold it together.

This is my potato fork - it has had a branch handle for two years now.  The handle goes all the way down to the metal base.

I enjoy working with them and feeling the branch in my hands as I work in the soil.