So glad we Share a Birthday

Dawn: Happy Birthday

You plan to succeed.

In parenting, in love, in future adventures.

You plan so you can enjoy time.

With loved ones, littles ones, and new ones.

You plan to have fun.

On vacations, creating, on one day.

You hope for so much.

For love, happiness, security.

You hope for so many.

By giving, by making, by being kind.

You hope for us.

For cherished moments and savored pasts.

You love beyond.

For your family, our family, and community.

You love always 

And remind others of their virtues.

You love selflessly

And listen even when your tired. 

You spin a web of positivity around you through your planning, hoping, and love.

I wish for everyone a friend like you. Thank you for being you and for being extraordinary.

So glad I get to be with you on this journey. You make it so much more beautiful.

Love,

Me

Last year

http://sewingseedsandgiggles.blogspot.com/2013/09/why-god-gave-me-twin.html

This is the only picture I can find of us in it.

We must get more sister pictures this year!

The bunnies

Our newest family members.

Rocket and Bouncer.

Goodbye Sammy

I remember the day we brought Sammy and Soma home. Here is the link of the first days.

http://sewingseedsandgiggles.blogspot.com/2012/11/chicken-day.html

http://sewingseedsandgiggles.blogspot.com/2012/12/chickens-and-boys-on-roam.html

http://sewingseedsandgiggles.blogspot.com/2013/05/chicken-coop-remodel.html

Sammy was the most gentle chicken.  She did not mind if the boys carried her around the yard.  They could make a roost for her anywhere, place her there, and she would stay and keep them company.  Just a couple of weeks ago a neighbor stopped to talk and my eldest propped her on top of a tricycle inside the wagon.  Our neighbor thought is was the sweetest thing that our chickens were tame and did not mind being carried.  Sammy was a bit unusual. She was raised by the gentlest family I know and loved dearly by my little boys.  She was 4 years old.

Sammy was the lead chicken for some time.

Sammy's first days with us

feeding Sammy

This week we said a long good bye to her.
She was amongst 6 boys on Tuesday at play group.  I was talking with another mother and she was only in my periphery.  Then another mother told me that she had thrown up.
The poor thing.  I lifted and examined her.  I could not tell if anything was hurt. She was calm and did not seem to be harmed.  I put her away in the coop.  Right where I placed her she stayed for 24hours.  She did not move to eat or drink. The next afternoon we gave her a space all her own with a soft bed, and water and food she could reach without moving.  My boys gathered greens for her and pet her comb.   Her back started to look arched and I suspected that was the cause of her distress.  I explained to the boys that Sammy was dying and we just needed to make her comfortable.  My eldest insisted I get her medicine and that we nurse her back to health.  It was somewhat heartbreaking.  I was not going to take Sammy to the vet.  I've been trying to figure out for a year how I was going to oust the oldest two birds.  The boys did not want them to be for stew. They were their first pets...
So I quietly asks friends the best way to put her out of her misery.  We left the door to the cage open just in case a fox would like to have an easy dinner and take care of the misery for us.
Each morning I was surprised to see her. We refilled her water.  She hadn't eaten any food.
On Saturday  the boys and I dug a deep hole between our blueberry bushes.  I explained that when Sammy died we would bury her in the hole, say a prayer, and she would go to the earth and heaven.
My eldest was ready to put her in right away.  It was a good transition to acceptance for him.
Then I went to my serving job and it was too late (1:20am) to put her in the feed bag with a hole cut for head and my tree loppers.  I said before I went to sleep, "Tomorrow I will..."
Upon awakening, I looked out the window at the cage and it was empty. I put my boots on and inspected the yard.  No signs of distress, no feathers, no Sammy.
I explained to the boys that a fox must have had her for his dinner.  They were OK with that.
The hole was a mud haven for much fun the following day, yet to be filled in.
Goodbye Sammy, thank you for blessing our family with eggs, cuddles, and love.

Beautiful bees

On Friday my friend Sarah (pictured) asked if I was available to help with the bees. I jumped at the opportunity.  I am not quite ready for the responsibility and equipment for my own bees. Therefore, I take every opportunity that Sarah provides.  I want to learn the lingo and understand what I see in the hive, but most of all I just want to be with the beautiful bees and with Sarah who is filled with kindness, wisdom, and ease.
There is something magical about the hum of the bees. I go into a bit of a dreamy trance.  Sarah asked me which hive we had taken supers out of.  I had to pull myself out of the trance with no sure answer. Hence the reason I don't have bees yet, I have a lot to learn.
In the first hive there were many queen cells found but no queen. We removed any queen cells we found, removing one in tact in case another hive was queen less. Sarah planned to add a marked queen to the first, because it is the county observation hive which needs to be ready for the fair.
The first hive was a little worked up due to no queen.  I was given the task of recharging the smoker. I didn't do a great job with the smoker and I ended up surrounded by upset bees with a sting  in my thigh.  Looking for something flat to scrape the stinger out, Sarah suggested the hive tool. A little scrape and we were back to work. We moved down the line getting through 4 hives before a break for lunch.
By some miracle, mostly the help of another adult friend, the children played nicely through the afternoon in the yard and I was able to help Sarah with the last two hives.
I got a lesson called smoker 101, which was very helpful and came in handy in the depths of the hives.
I somehow overcame the trance state late in the day and was able to follow through with directions and put a hive back together by myself.  A few times I did a little shake of the bees giving them back to their home before closing it up.  That was indeed a very beautiful moment for me.  There is a rush, a hum, an intensity, that runs through you when you move so many bees at one time, but especially when you see them drop unharmed into their home.  I am trying to describe it but words fail me.
All I can say is BEAUTIFUL AND MAGICAL. 
Sarah's eldest, my former student, had the task of cutting the comb honey in the kitchen and extracting the honey from the supers in the basement extractor. At one point he had an audience of 7 children. They watched him cut the caps off the wax of the supers and place them in the extractor. He very patiently answered the 20 questions from my youngest sons lips.
I had to extract my boys from the hum, much like the bees. They were filled, not with honey, but joy.  They needed a little brushing off, like I swept the bees from the supers intended for extraction.  They were finally tucked into the car with the help of Sarah's sweet daughters and I could see for the rest of the evening they could feel the magic and anticipated tasting a bit of it with goat cheese for desert.

My boys watching us for a moment before heading off to play in the chicken yard, sand box, and with play mates.

Sarah searching for the queen.

Me in the spring.

Comb honey on goat cheese.  Our favorite desert.

Comb honey with butter on Toast takes me back to my grandparents kitchen.

Overnight oats warm weather breakfast

Here is my recipe for Overnight oats.

1 1/2 cups boiling water.

Add one tablespoon coconut oil and dissolve.

Then add 1 cup oats, 1tbls. Chia seeds, and 1/4 raspberries or strawberries optional.

Stir well, cover, refrigerate over night.

Enjoy with a topping of yogurt and maple syrup and more fruit.

In the eyes of the beholder

My garden is much like my life.

I want to do so much, learn lots, and eat really good food, but there is not always enough time.

Sometimes I get plants in ground when intended. Sometimes I get time to weed. We always eat and sometimes really well from the garden.

I think this years garden is beautiful. My first chicken manure compost made a few plants extra healthy and beautiful and maybe a bit chaotic. To some I think it looks like a mess. 

This bothers me not. I say to myself it is "all in the eyes of the beholder" = my littles and I.

Foraging First of 2014

The first foraging of 2014 brought 1 cup of mulberries and a pint of elder flowers once de stemmed.