The Happy Peasant

Old Roots New Page

2012-01-01T08:07:00.003-05:00

With the cold long winter nights upon us, and the tucking away of the holidays, we find time to rest, think and renew.

We are gifted with a plainly wrapped package of the new year, ready for us to write upon the blank pages of the book of time. The old crone whose roots are ripe with wisdom is holding the newborn baby of this wonderful year in one hand, and is handing us the book with her other hand. We must learn to honor and use her wisdom, roots that reach deep, while still writing on the blank pages of the book before us, branches growing new.

Moon fires and rain dances await many, rites of passage will be crossed, flouncy carefree girlhood will fill children's days, responsible and shadowy manhood will greet many young men, and we may find ourselves handing out kindness as one would pass out apples overflowing from a bushel basket to those who are hungry and in need. All these, and so much more, await us as we set out on the wooded trail, thick with moss and twinkling night sky. As we set out to greet the year ahead.

Happy New Year, 2012

A magical gift, in all it's cloaked, rooted, sleeping wonder.

"Wrap the cloak of winter, and her short days, about you tightly. Slow your movements to examine the weave of this warmth; each one a representation of the days that have passed before you. Be they unraveled, or tight, or moth eaten...reflect on them and then sleep deeply in the silence of night, the blackest midnight. The light, and movement, will come soon enough..."

What Keeps Me Awake At Night (Part I)

2011-12-11T06:55:00.002-05:00

What Keeps Me Awake At Night

~That the written word will be lost as we sit and type all our deepest thoughts on our blogs and emails.(I am just as guilty)

~That the beauty of secret journals and little girls with diaries adorned with heart shaped locks, will disappear.

~That dusty books, the smell of an old book, the discovery of a forgotten tome of paper with broken spine and four leaf clovers pressed deep inside will become a thing of the past.

~That my son, and the sons of the world, will not realize he is capable of anything he could possibly accomplish, and will choose, instead, a less than savory path in life, influenced by all that this immediate-gratification world will thrust at him repeatedly.

~That my daughter, and all the daughters of the world, will sell herself short for the sake of airbrushed techno-pop fads that leave her self-esteem bankrupt.

~That tradition, family meals, recipes written by hand, tea parties, music played on old fiddles (including ancient instruments with funny names such as hurdy gurdy and lyre), and storytelling around the fire will vanish.

~That my children's children will not know the sweet taste of honey on their toast, and oatmeal, and in their cups of tea because we have addicted ourselves to digital satellite signals and bushels of high fructose corn syrup that are clogging the bodies and minds of these ultimately important pollinators.

~That simple folk medicine and the remedy of proliferate herbal wilds will be lost in exchange for a physician's prescription supporting mega-pharmaceuticals.

~That annual trips to cut Christmas trees and drink in the sharp pine air of north-wind winter will vanish with the ease of early artificial trees from Walmart.

~That the art of Christmas card writing will go the way of the dinosaur because of the internet.

Please help me to keep these things alive.

Tell the stories, take the time, do things the long, slow, and difficult way to preserve them.

Keep the ways of old flickering bright, so that they may be something new, exciting, beautiful, and useful for the generations to come.

Tradition, storytelling, handwork, care, time...keep them going.

Light a candle and do something the old way, the beautiful way.

Woodland Thanksgiving

2011-11-22T06:54:00.002-05:00

This Thanksgiving, may the peaceful quiet of the leafless trees 

and the nesting animals smile down on you, 

and give you rest, and pause. 

May your thanks be for blessings, happiness and love.

There is no beauty like the silence of the woods in the crisp and cold of late November.

Happy Thanksgiving from The Happy Peasant.

Black Walnut Day

2011-10-14T15:37:00.000-04:00

Black walnut day in October. 

Rain in peaty browns.

Rivulets on top of leaves. 

Black walnuts, ready.  

Air so cold, 

fingertips feel numb. 

Black walnut day, in October.

Goat Girls Get Ultrasounds (: (Silly, I Know)

2011-10-08T22:14:00.000-04:00

If...if you had told me ten years ago that I would one day be calling a vet to come out to the farm and perform ultrasounds on goats...I would have laughed you off the face of this planet. But, that is just what I did this past week. Amelia and Fiona, my two main Nubian milk goats, were starting to come into milk and this during the week they were supposed to leave to be bred! What to do? I couldn't imagine that they would be pregnant (Amelia had triplet boys in March and I separated them at 12 weeks). It was heard of, but not common. Still, I couldn't send them off to be bred 'if' they were pregnant...and they had to be bred on time or there would be no milk in the spring. What to do? Call the vet. Oh, for a picture. I wish I had taken a picture.

Goat, on stanchion, munching her grain. Vet, with ultrasound wand and fluid and little electronic ultrasound box screen.... Did I mention that a goat ultrasound shows much of their goat insides that digest all that hay they eat? Well, there, I did. Anyhow. No goat kids/no secret mystery pregnancies. Breeding continues as planned.

It turns out that milk goats tend to be what is called 'precocious'. That is, they can come into milk, sometimes without even being bred, and produce milk for years this way.

Tomorrow, the two of them will go to visit their gentlemen goats for a few weeks and Mr. S'more will get to visit the Ewe ladies.

Aren't you glad you stopped here to ready today? A little birds and bees blogging. (:

Busy day of apple sales. Very hot here in Michigan for October 8th! 80 degrees. 4 different sets of family friends stopped today to visit, and the phone rang from out of state...all at the very same time.

The moon is shining brightly in the twinkling night sky. The chickens are calling softly out to each other on their perches in the coops. The goats are ruminating. The children are tucked into bed.

I am tired.

Thanks to everyone who voted for Lesser Farms in the cider contest. We are in 2nd place and it ends tonight. Thank you for taking the time. We appreciate it. Thank you, too, for supporting small family farms. And remember, to try and buy organic food anytime you can. Every little bit helps.

October 3 - More Short Notes

2011-10-03T17:03:00.000-04:00

The sun is the protagonist today...playing front and center in the autumn warmth, Indian Summer. Ladybugs are out in droves, landing on arms and face, biting sometimes. It is okay; we soak up the sun while we can.

Two of my does are 'mysteriously' coming into milk...one day before being taken to see the 'gentlemen goats' for breeding /: Further details as we unravel this, ahem, goat mystery.

My list was excessively long for groceries and errands this morning. I have been holed up selling apples and working here. I didn't make all my stops, but did treat myself to a container of my favorite raw chocolate from Arbor Farms natural foods store in Ann Arbor and managed to procure meat, bread and milk in lieu of the two loaves I baked on Saturday, the steer that is due to be sent to market on Wednesday and the, ahem, goat mystery.

More details to follow on these happenings. (:

PS: Our farm, Lesser Farms & Orchard, has been nominated for the Best Cider Award from Ann Arbor.com! We have until this Friday to garner enough votes to win. If you would like to vote, you can do so at www.annarbor.com/bestof

Thanks so much! We hear from lots of people how they think our cider is the absolute best, but it would be great to win an award to prove it! (:

PPS: For some reason, spellcheck is not working on blogger, so please excuse any typos. (:

Long Shadows - Short on Time

2011-10-02T10:20:00.000-04:00

So very busy, this autumn season is. With apples, cider, harvest, school. Too much, really. My writing has been scarce. The words roll around in my mind, waiting for my feet to stop and to be put on paper, or here.

Lack of time is plentiful, and so I will write short notes until my feet can move slower and the world rests for the winter.

October 1, 2011

The sun is more golden this afternoon and I notice the shadows have changed. The leaves on the trees clack with a knowing that frost will soon be here. Birds sing only the necessary songs.

I gathered goldenrod to dye the wool with. Washing wool and finally putting it out in the crisp fall air to dry.

Unloaded a truckload of pumpkins with Amanda and gathered a half bushel of chestnuts with Albert.

The help for the day served themselves from a dish of homemade lasagna and a fresh apple pie.

The chill was unmistakable in the air tonight. Woodsmoke fills the air here and there and it is time to have the woolens out of the drawers.

Picked the leeks from the garden and will make leek potato soup when time allows.

October 2, 2011

Sun is bright and air is windy and crisp. It will be another very busy day. Served fried oatmeal squares with our own maple syrup, strong coffee and cider for everyone to drink (well, not coffee for the children) (:

Back to the apple room, the eggs and making soap.

Stepping Off The Train

2011-09-04T06:51:00.000-04:00

And so, September has arrived. I have said it before, but, the changing of these seasons..? Summer, she reminds me of a beautiful visitor from afar packing her bags to leave us after so many lovely months of carefree fun, laughter and dinner parties. We begged her to stay, but she has other duties elsewhere. She promises to return again next year, though a little older and wiser.

September, he has already stepped off the train and is shaking hands with everyone, smart and serious in his tailored tweed suit.

"Goodbye Summer." We wave her off with tears in the corners of our eyes. Swallowing hard, we know we must do what we must, and so resolutely attend to the tasks at hand, with September offering his punctual and necessary attendance.

I am sure I'm not the only soul who feels this way. It does not get any easier as the years go by, does it?

Happy September to all the beautiful poetic souls who may stop here to shake hands with the man in the tweed suit, and to wave Summer off on her journey.

Tasha Tudor Day ~ Part II

2011-08-28T12:55:00.004-04:00

Tasha Tudor was a traditionalist and yet, Tasha Tudor was a revolutionary. ~

 ~~~~~

"What?", you say..."Tasha, a revolutionary?". 

Yes. You see, while she chose to live as though she were in the 1820's, she also 'chose' to live as she desired. Which, for her time, was revolutionary.  

I think, too often, when we try to emulate Tasha with our homes and our lives, that we become automatic carbon copies of her and feel as though something is missing. I can tell you what that is. It is your own signature style and your own twist to 'living as you choose.' Which, by the way, I am certain Tasha would highly approve of.

In that respect, I would like to share some beautiful clothing that I love. I believe these are very Tasha-ensian and would pass her approval. Feminine and billowing, beautiful yet artistic. I would love to collect more of them.

Let us remember Tasha for her contribution to the world of beautiful things, but let us, also, not cease in bringing our own beautiful things to the table.

Please do join me in celebrating the joy of beauty...the joy of being feminine.

Take Joy ~ Take Peace ~

And, please enjoy wearing skirts if you are so blessed as to be a woman!

Take Joy - Take Peace - Happy Tasha Tudor Day!

2011-08-28T08:13:00.000-04:00

Today, August 28, 2011, is Tasha Tudor Day! In honor of the birthday of the beloved illustrator and author, Tasha Tudor. Please take a moment today, to join us in remembering Tasha's beautiful and authentic ways of living. We will be posting pictures and snippets of the ways we incorporate her beautiful ideas into our daily life, and will be having a special Tea today, as well. Check back for pictures, recipes, ideas and thoughts. And as Tasha would have said, "Take Joy!!!".

Beauty and Comfort - The Feminine Home

2011-08-23T07:36:00.000-04:00

A while back I was so happy to stumble across a beautiful and charming publication called The Feminine Home Magazine. This magazine was FILLED with romantic pages the likes of the (old) Victoria magazines that we all remember and chock full of roses roses roses. Imagine my surprise when the creator of the magazine, artist Jo-Anne Coletti, invited me to write for the magazine as well!

The Feminine Home magazine has no advertisements. It is a superb high quality glossy 'book-a-zine' that you will definitely want to add to your decorating collection and to use as a resource for your home. It is also perfect for sitting down to read and dream with a cup of tea.

Romantic Artist Jo-Anne Coletti, who creates the magazine writes:

The Feminine Home Magazine

Where The Heart Is.

Vintage Rose Collection Exclusive!

THE FEMININE HOME-Where The Heart Is- Embraces the heart and soul of a woman. It is a singular place where loveliness resides and the language of romance and poetry lives; a home that coaxes an extraordinary life that is enduring, purposeful and distinctly feminine. Rooms are presented in noble sophistication that is rich in tradition, yet casually fashioned. It is pretty, not fussy, spiritual and earthy. Flowers are painted with sweetness. Decorative flourishes, ornamental borders, penned verses and tender poems all mingle to orchestrate a pensive bucolic beauty. Cottons and velvets, crystal chandeliers and whitewashed walls, scrubbed wooden floors, simple furnishings and objects from the garden; these are the elements that make a romantic home.

This is a gorgeous, full color 128 page magazine with thick, high quality paper, with superb printing (Best I have seen)! Filled with beautiful romantic homes, painted roses, poems, and inspiring devotionals to nurture a woman's soul.

This is no throw-away ladies- It is more like a book you won't want to put down. No advertisements or ads! A keeper that you will go back to again and again for inspiration. Order your copy now while supplies last!

by Jo-Anne Coletti

Thank you for allowing me to introduce you to the grace and beauty that my friend, Jo-Anne, has created. I am happy to share it with you!

The Feminine Home magazine is a treasure of photo journalism on the faded charms and lovely gracious living of romantic decorating.

If you would like to learn more about ordering copies for yourself or for your shoppe, please click here:

http://www.vintagerosecollection.com/Feminine%20Home%20Magazine2.html

The first edition of The Feminine Home is also available, at the link above. And, you can pre-order a beautifully packed Christmas issue as well!

Saving Seeds of Basil, Ratatouille and Summer's End

2011-08-20T19:12:00.003-04:00

A honey customer stopped on our porch today to chat for a while. She asked me if I knew that when Basil seeds out at the end of the summer that you can 'gather' the seeds by drying the basil and separating the tiny black seeds. She then plants them, both scattering them in the fall and saving some for spring, and has her own profuse patch of basil every single year! I don't know why, with all the seed saving we do, that I had never considered basil. So, I wanted to pass this basil seed advice on.

Right now there is a small kettle of garden ratatouille on the stove. I make it with whatever is in season. This pot contains zucchini, brandywine tomatoes, fresh garlic and onion, olive oil, and a small eggplant.

We will serve it in pottery bowls with a hot pepper on the side to season it with and some chewy homemade chapati bread, which is really very simple and much much healthier and more delicious than the 'flour tortillas and pita breads' that we are relegated to purchasing in the store.

The goat girls are being dried up for breeding season, which I hope to begin one month earlier this autumn. A small amount of milk has been procured this evening, and it is chilling in the cooler. I think it will compliment the simple summer meal, as the rays of sun reaching through the west windows of the house remind me that autumn is not far off.

End of summer, you always break my heart, leaving much before I am ready for you to go. You leave us with sand shovels in our hands staring up at you with a dazed surprised look on our faces. "Already??", we whine and stomp! "Noooo."

And you leave us with tiny pink bathing suits haphazardly dangling from clothing lines. You depart, and we are reminded of your exodus with the detritus of popsicle boxes in the freezer and flip flops and sand encrusted crocs scattered across the porch. You startle us too, for we were certain that you would go on forever and ever, and that we could run, jump, dive, splash, giggle, somersault, sleep, stretch and relax forever.

Would you stay if we threw a tantrum? Would you stay if we promised to wear our sunscreen and didn't complain about the mosquitoes? Why do you have to go?

And, why do you take a little bit of that rare magical land of childhood with you every summer when you leave? I will never understand you, Summer. Never. I love you, but I will never understand you.

Pure Summer Joy

2011-07-26T07:33:00.001-04:00

This is a picture of our daughter, gleefully sprinting off a dock into the lake...

8-year-old-pure-unbridled-joy style!

May your summer be this full of spontaneous happiness and splashing in the heat!

Hot Searing Heat

2011-07-21T15:24:00.000-04:00

It is so hot here in Michigan (100 degrees right now) that you could fry an egg on the sidewalk (my dad used to tell me that when he was a boy in Baghdad, this was so...and I've loved this phrase since...). Stay cool...and please, pass the ice.

Flower and Herb Tea

2011-07-07T18:14:00.000-04:00

I have been craving a huge gallon glass jar filled to the top with sweet flower petals, strong iced black tea and herbs, so...I made some. I went into the yard and garden and gathered organic rose petals, bee balm, mint, lemon balm and red clover blossoms and let them all steep together with the brewed tea. After steeping, I placed the gallon jar in our egg cooler to chill. Then, I poured the ice cold tea over ice cubes and drizzled raspberry syrup in. Proof that you can make dreams into reality. (:

Etenoha - Completed

2011-06-27T07:14:00.003-04:00

As anyone who tries to take the art in their head and put it on paper knows, what we end up with and what our desired goal was are sometimes two different things; however I did like the completion of Etenoha or Ina Maka ~ Earth Mother. She will be in an upcoming book by my dear friend, Nicole Tichy, titled Wheel of Light Energy, which is due for publication this fall. I will update you when it comes out and we can see Etenoha inside the book~ (:

In The Moment - Work...and Joy

2011-06-20T08:19:00.000-04:00

~ ~ ~ June ~ ~ ~

Month of cakes, roses, weddings, love, moonlight, refracting sunlight in little pools of happy water. 

Month of sleepy mornings, open promises, beautiful beginnings. 

June -  

My favorite month.

And yet, like the William Waterhouse painting above, my June is an unfinished event. I am working so diligently to finish projects, align creative ideas, bring artistic piles to fruition and all the while I am aware that the art and joy is in the doing, not the finishing.

May you see the beauty in the unfinished work of your life and of this June, month of fresh promises, month of fleeting time, month of Joy!

June ~ Eight Weeks in Seven Days

2011-06-05T22:32:00.010-04:00

During April and May, here in Dexter, Michigan, it rained for what seemed like 8 weeks. I say 'seemed', but I'm pretty sure it rained almost every day and night. At the end of May, there were ducks in yards and rivers where we had never expected them to materialize. Lo and behold, the clouds parted and the rains stopped. Eight weeks behind on planting our corn and soybeans, the mainstay of our farm, we are running around like chickens with their heads cut off (pardon the term, but we 'do' look like this right now) trying to 'fit' fields, plant seeds, haul manure to the field before we plant, move pastured animals, make sure we have food for next year by dropping seeds in rows in the huge garden, and a billion other small details.

Did I mention that the hens decided to have an egg laying marathon? ha.

Work. I am never bored.

I just wanted to say hello to all my blogeautiful friends out there and to tell you that I have not abandoned writing. No no no. In fact, I have more writing projects going on than you can shake a rain soaked stick at! (:

As soon as all our precious and crunchi-licious non-GMO veggies are tucked safely in the garden, and the last flower is artfully placed in the front yard, I will settle down here with a huge mason jar of iced sweet tea and tell you all about it, for June is my favorite month. (Did I ever tell you that I am a vegetable-a-holic? Yes, I am. And, I don't want to be cured. I'm not a vegetarian, I do eat meat. Yes, a true vegetable-a-holic in which I had my first addiction brought on by a drought of vegetables when I was an undergraduate.

But, back to June. Non non No! That doesn't do her justice, since June is the pinnacle of my year. Let me try that again...June is my FAVORITE month!!! Yes, I love the roses, the fresh plants and birds and insects. I love the butterflies and the bursting forth of life in full 3D touching all five senses.

In June I decorate the house with roses. Fresh roses, dried roses, rose bundles. And, we have tea. Not just afternoon tea, but June Tea. Sweet tea with little cakes decorated with blossoms and frosted violet leaves. For June is the month of sweetness and romance. June is the month I was born. June is the Summer Solstice and the month of ripe full moons hanging low and perfume-y in the sky.

Yes, I will sit down and write to you all...just as soon as those hens decide to call it quits to the iron-chicken triathlon....

Blustery Weather

2011-04-19T19:00:00.014-04:00

This spring promises a later Easter than we have had in a long time (this coming Sunday), and yet the trees have not opened their little leaves and the weather here in Michigan is very very cold and very blustery. As I type, my fingers are numb from filling the wood box. Yes, we are still using our wood cook stove in the kitchen. I am wearing a wool sweater. And, speaking of wool. I tried to capture a wonderful picture of Charlotte and her first lamb, but the lighting has been so dim that it turned out quite poor. Here, below, is the picture, taken in the barn, of Charlotte and her little lamb. Oh, but look at that little head, so sweet! And, those big big ears.

Lambs, if you have ever held them, make the sweetest 'snuffling' sound when they are just but a few days old. Snuffle snuffle. Oh, I do love him....
And, here is a picture of a Ewe and babe that I found on the Internet (and can't remember where for the life of me). I love it though, and hope one day to provide my readers with such lovely ewe and lamb pictures.

Stay warm if you are anywhere near Michigan. Me,??? I'm so behind on my work I could drown in it, but I am going to burn the midnight oil and also give myself a reward of some reading time afterwards. I received two delicious new books in the mail today...by John O'Donohue, Anam Cara and To Bless The Space Between Us: A Book of Blessings. I can't wait to delve into these. Alas, I have many dear customers awaiting their soaps and candles and artwork that has a deadline and writings to complete, not to mention fun projects I want to accomplish with the children (sewing doll clothes with Amanda and moving around the seedlings under the grow lite with Albert), gardens that need much attention and jars of milk in the cooler awaiting their turn at cheese. sigh. Oh for more hours in the day!

Shepherdess

2011-04-16T22:13:00.003-04:00

Our ewe, Charlotte, gave birth to her first little lamb today...a boy who looks just like his daddy, S'more. Mom and lamb are doing wonderful. I am over the moon happy with being a shepherdess. My flock may be small, but it is growing and I am happy. I will post pictures of the wild and wooly family tomorrow!

Spring?

2011-04-08T14:57:00.004-04:00

Spring? Is it you? Are you here? I don't believe it, but I hope it's true. (:

When I Close My Eyes, All I See Are Baby Goats...

2011-03-24T08:16:00.007-04:00

Exciting News!!!!!

The Baby Goats Have Arrived!!!!!

Last Wednesday and Thursday we witnessed the birth of our first goat kids!

Fiona gave birth to a singlet doeling whom we have named Celeste.

Like mother like daughter; don't they look identical?

Fiona is a proud and very caring mama!

And, the next morning, dear Amelia gave birth to triplet boys! All spotty and sweet.

We have named them Jupiter (Joop for short), Zaphyeer and currently...no-name. Still working on the littlest one's name as he looks just like his mama and we have been ill-mannered-ly calling him 'little Amelia'. Not a very masculine thing for a buckling (;

Zaphyeer and 'no-name' testing out their legs.

Jupiter is a big boy....moon spots and all!

Beautiful and perfect...still wet behind the ears. Look ma, I can stand! (:

All are doing very well and happy and healthy! What a joy! I'm hooked on Nubian goats! When I close my eyes, all I see are their little velvety sweet heads! (: Too much fun~

I Come In The Little Things...

2011-03-12T15:07:00.010-05:00

I come in the little things,
Saith the Lord:
Yea, on the glancing wing
Of eager birds,
the softly pattering feet
Of furred and gentle beasts.
I come in the little things,
Saith the Lord:
Not borne on the morning's wings
Of majesty,
but I have set My feet
Amidst the delicate and bladed wheat.
I come in the little things,
Saith the Lord. Amen.

-Evelyn Underhill

This beautiful little poem is compliments of Bethany Tudor's (daughter of Tasha) book, Drawn From New England. It has always brought tears to my eyes. It is beautiful and real. The little things. Don't forget them, for they are what this beautiful world is made up of. And, all too often, we overlook the little things until it is too late, then they are gone from our world.

Make room, and time, for the little things.

Etenoha - The Feminine as Art

2011-03-09T15:46:00.007-05:00

Etenoha: Our Mother, the Earth. The feminine earth name of the Native Americans. The Lakota call her Ina Maka.

This is a small peek (with just one eye, mind you!) of an artwork in progress. I am not going to divulge her completely until all is done. I apologize for the graininess of the picture...I must invest in a scanner.

May you feel the ground beneath your feet and rest peacefully under the stars as our seasons shift from Winter to Spring in a few weeks time.

My First Blog Award

2011-03-08T05:50:00.014-05:00

I am very pleased to announce that I have been graciously awarded my very first blog award by Jenny of Sheepy Hollow Farm. The goal of the Liebster Award recognizes creative/crafty blogs with less than 300 followers and shares them with others.

Upon accepting this award you agree to:
1) Blog about the Liebster award & reveal your 3 blog picks;
2) Let the recipients know that you chose them;
3) Copy & paste the blog award on your blog.

Thank you ever so much to my dear online friend and kindred spirit, Jenny of Sheepy Hollow Farm. Jenny loves all of the same things that are dear to my heart and raises sheep and goats too. Stop on over to her site and take a look. She is one busy, creatively inspiring woman!

Part of the Liebster Award denotes that you recognize three other bloggers who have outstanding sites and have under 300 followers. So, on that note, I pass the Liebster Award on to:

Julia Guthrie at East of the Sun, West of the Moon. Her artwork is magical and she has a splendidly inspiring website!

Maureen Anderson and family at The Fullness Thereof, Hearthside Farms. If you are looking for 'get your hands dirty and get back to basics while living a charmingly beautiful life' tips...this is the place to be!

and

Marqueta, at a site so beautiful, feminine and gracious, it looks to be straight out of the pages of an old Victoria magazine...Sweete Felicity.

Please have fun looking at all these lovely, inspiring sites. And, thank you for taking time to stop by and enjoy a word or two here!

High Feline Tea, Butter, Goddesses and the Divine Feminine

2011-02-24T08:29:00.022-05:00

King Ulysses says 'hello!' (: He has been partial to taking naps next to Raggedy Anne this winter. Too adorable. He is the Romeo of the barn around here lately. (And if you look closely, you can see that Amanda has adorned him with her 'royal' locket as well).

Last year, at this time, we were successfully harvesting maple sap for syrup. This year, winter still has us firmly in his icy grips. So, while the snow still flies, I am catching up. Both in my home and on the computer. Here are some photos of what we have been doing for the past two months around the farm and in my 'Happy Peasant' world. Enjoy!

Building 'Snow Goats' (Nubian, of course!)

Tea Parties With the Cats! (and for the cats, as well)

Smartie is dressed in a fine frock for tea,

and Abbey, our resident barn calico, gets spoiled with high feline tea!!!

~Making Butter from Organic Milk!~

So fresh and so fun.

Nothing like making your own food AND knowing where it came from.

Transferring honey from one jar to the next, some with comb, some without, some with herbs in them...

Plum Cordial, made in the late autumn...being finished off during this hunger moon.

It is spectacular mixed with sparkling Pellegrino water from Italy.

Homemade Valentines. Always...always homemade.

We have a huge 'Valentine' box that is crammed full of floral papers, lace, trims, glitter, old Victorian cat calendars and ephemera for making homemade Valentines. It is a must in our family to 'make' your Valentine.

I have been relentlessly pursuing some artistic butterflies that I cannot scatter from the creative center of my mind. My Create 365 stares me in the face daily. I know, full well. that creating meals, love and a clean home all count, but this does not deter me from feeling a pang of sadness that I cannot create a new sketch or painting each day. However, I have continued to paint and am working on some very inspiring artwork in regards to the mythic goddess, the goddess as art, the goddess as feminine, and the stories surrounding all her many existences. I've also been reading and studying about the divine feminine and all the writings, stories, songs surrounding it. There is much more to tell here, but with a huge project on the horizon incorporating all these goddess/feminine creations, I will leave it to your imaginations until the project has reached fruition.

And, while all these little daily joys go on, I am noticing that the sun is up longer and the days seem to be filled with more light. The mist in the morning accompanies the spring song of resident birds, snow or not...and the maple sap will most assuredly flow in the days to come.

The seasons tilt forward, creaking one into the next. It seems the older I get the faster time goes, and also the faster winter goes. Funny, I always expected to dislike winter as I became older, but it is becoming quite the opposite. A secret wisdom to share with you: Winter is a luxury of such rest and quiet, I would love to have two more months of the 'time' that it affords (minus the snow), if you catch my drift (no pun intended for all of my Michigan readers).

Ah the drifts and the glitter of 20 degree snow under moonlight.

Enjoy this last bit of winter before the busy season arrives.

Soon we will have baby goats and chicks and lambs (and some piglets are on the horizon too!).

Soap making must resume quickly, barns must be readied, seeds and supplies need ordering. But, let me sneak just one more tiny afternoon with a stack of books, a warm wool blanket and a pot of Darjeeling, dear Winter? Thank you ever so much.

The Hands of the Clock (Winged Like Cupid)

2011-02-14T15:38:00.003-05:00

It seems the hands on all my clocks have acquired wings...like Cupid. They fly faster than I can run. Ah, but Happy Valentine's Day!

Things I am loving about today:

That the wind has been blowing for days and making all the wind chimes at the back door sing day and night!

That there are patches of blue sky in between fast moving cold clouds.

That we are above freezing temperature for this first time in MONTHS.

That there is (still) a stack of delicious books waiting for me to delve into next to my favorite reading corner in the cozy living room.

That I am inspired.

More soon. Hugs and Valentines to you!

On Paper

2011-02-04T16:03:00.002-05:00

What I have been doing:

Cleaning
~
Organizing
~
Lightening my Load (Less Stuff/Less Worries)
~
Making Granola
~
Steaming Veggies
~
Feeling The Warm Sun Through The Window
~
Watching Snow Fall
~
Stoking The Fire
~
Wearing Wool
~
Feeding Cats
~
Writing on Paper
(I'm taking a small detour/break from blogging in the 'traditional' sense and will be taking some time doing some quiet writing for my self...old style....)

Soothing Vegetable Chili Recipe

2011-01-24T09:56:00.005-05:00

Soothing Vegetable Chili

2-3 T Butter or Olive Oil
2 Medium Onions, minced
4 Cloves Garlic, minced
1/2 C. Celery, minced
32 Ounce Can/Jar of Tomatoes
2 Cans of Beans (Pinto and/or Kidney, do not drain)
1/2 Package of Frozen Corn
1 Can Vegetarian Refried Beans
1 Can Tomato Paste (Optional)

In large large stock pot brown onions and minced garlic in 2-3 T butter or olive oil. Add 1/2 cup minced celery. Saute together.
Add beans (I like one of pinto/one kidney, undrained), tomatoes and corn.
Season with cumin, pepper and salt to taste. Stir in one can vegetarian refried beans.
(If thicker chili is desired, add one can of tomato paste. Bring to slow boil, stirring frequently, reduce heat and simmer until ready to serve.)

Serves 4-6

Serve with crackers and canned fruit (peaches) for dessert (:

Feathered Friend - Completed

2011-01-18T10:44:00.006-05:00

The oil paint finally dried and I was able to apply the last touches on my oil painting. Encaustic beeswax with oil paint. The entire encaustic process was so fun. I was immediately transported back to Kindergarten. Sitting at the table with all the other children, I reached into the crayon box and pulled out a full white crayon. While the other children switched colors, I intently colored with the one white crayon, adding layer upon layer, discovering the texture and delighting in my discovery! The wax of the crayon built up in beautiful ridges! "Look! Look everyone", I thought, "I have discovered something." My excited Kindergarten mind thought surely that the teacher would stop at my drawing, hold it up and proclaim it a crayon marvel...a first time masterpiece.... I fully expected her to instruct the entire class to color with only one crayon and to exclaim, "look what Amy has discovered. The world of crayon coloring in Kindergarten will never be the same!!!"

Alas, this did not occur. But, I have never forgotten that 'aha' moment. And, while working with the oil paint and encaustic beeswax medium I, again, felt the same exhilaration. The oil paint became 'movable' and living. The wax added a layer of depth and age at the same time. Very enjoyable. I highly recommend it.

The Hunger Moon

2011-01-11T14:14:00.006-05:00

Yesterday, as I was gathering eggs in the old henhouse, the light was dim and dark and I was certain that I had been sent back in time to Charles Dickens' world. The dark wood and the barren surroundings implied it all too well. As I grabbed the warm brown eggs out of each nest, I realized that the hens had drastically cut their egg production in almost half in the past few days, due to the extreme cold weather. And, it was then that I remembered we had entered what was/is commonly termed by the Native Americans, The Hunger Moon. The Hunger moon is the time of year when fresh food fed by green pasture and flowing spring is meager. When the last of the meat is being used up and the body begins to crave the vitamins and plentiful bounty of spring and summer. Dairy animals are due to give birth soon, and so the milk is not yet available. All things are low, the earth is cold and sleeping and the light is dark to, at best, dim.

With this Hunger Moon upon us, I feel a special need to share some of my favorite winter farm and field recipes with you. So, while I wait for my 'Create 182.5...um, I mean Create 365' paintings to dry, I will be posting some comfort food to warm the soul, feed the body and keep us healthy until the waters and the sun flow and shine once more.

Feathered Friend

2011-01-05T13:38:00.004-05:00

With my 365 Create I am learning that art projects take more than one day, due to drying time, layering or simply having to run out and get more supplies (: Here is my oil painting, 'Feathered Friend' still drying in phase II, and ready for it's finishing touches which will occur in phase III. Then I will move on to my next idea (trust me, I have a list a mile long of projects just jumping off the page to be created!).

Create 365

2011-01-03T09:40:00.006-05:00

Last year, I came up with the idea to have a 'Create 365' project. Where I 'created' one project or piece of art each day and then photographed it and shared it online. I think this is a great motivating idea for staying creative. However, I've joked that it should be revised to 'Create 182.5' (: (One every other day).

With 2011, I am beginning Create 365, and will share my latest creations with you!

Happy New Year! Happy Creating, from The Happy Peasant! (:

The Layers (a poem)

2011-01-01T22:14:00.003-05:00

I have walked through many lives,
some of them my own, and I am not who I was,
though some principle of being
abides, from which I struggle
not to stray.
When I look behind,
as I am compelled to look
before I can gather strength
to proceed on my journey,
I see the milestones dwindling
toward the horizon
and the slow fires trailing
from the abandoned camp-sites,
over which scavenger angels
wheel on heavy wings.
Oh I have made myself a tribe
out of my true affections,
and my tribe is scattered!
How shall the heart be reconciled
to its feast of losses?
In a rising wind
the manic dust of my friends,
those who fell along the way,
bitterly stings my face.
Yet I turn, I turn,
exulting somewhat
with my will intact to go
wherever I need to go,
and every stone on the road
precious to me.
In my darkest night,
when the moon was covered
and I roamed through the wreckage,
a nimbus-clouded voice
directed me:
"Live in the layers
not on the litter."
Though I lack the art
To decipher it,
no doubt the next chapter
in my book of transformations
is already written.
I'm not done with my changes.

─ Stanley Kunitz

Herbally Healthy - Herbally Good

2010-12-27T12:48:00.005-05:00

With the New Year shortly upon us, now is the time to begin thinking about how you will change your health and change your life. You can start by implementing all natural herbal health care products into your home, and removing those that contain harmful chemicals. You can help your body by drinking plenty of clean fresh water and by picking a healthy lifestyle of fun exercise and deliciously fresh whole foods such as local pasture fed meats, crispy deep green leafy vegetables and wild herbals such as nettles and dandelions.

May your New Year bring New Health to you!

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-24T07:09:00.003-05:00

Don't Forget To Believe in All That Can Be....

Winter Angel

2010-12-21T07:43:00.006-05:00

On this Winter's Solstice, let us find a space to be thankful for the blessings we have been given, to request peace for the world, to love one another and to look with joy toward the celebration of Jesus' birth.

Home and Heart

2010-12-16T05:56:00.006-05:00

"And Mary Bore Sweet Jesus Christ, On Christmas Day In The Morn'."

A Few Of My Favorite Things - Part I

2010-12-15T06:48:00.010-05:00

Okay, so the Julie Andrews song won't get out of my head. But, I thought it would be fun to list some completely random things that are my favorites in this beautiful world that we live in. Please comment and let me know some of your personally random favorite things!

Sanibel Island (I had to be dragged away from this magical island...I will return).

Early Renaissance Music For some reason, this genre really speaks to me. Perhaps it is the emptiness of the compositions, they leave room for personal interpretation and enjoyment. Unlike the 'wall of sound' of the Motown era, these songs are sparse and simple, yet rich as well. I like this. Sparse yet rich. That speaks volumes of good to me.

Tribal Bellydance and West African Dance Yes, I love dancing, barefoot (: Since I was old enough to walk I have been drawn to the rhythms and dance of Africa. When I am dancing, I am one step away from Heaven.

Art Is there anything more liberating to the soul than looking at art, making art, thinking about art? The whole creative process is such an exciting thing. I would surely cease being who I am if I knew that creativity were dead in the world. New things are being created everyday. So exciting!

Dimly Lit Rooms I don't collect shoes, no...I collect little table lamps (: I have always lived with little lamps turned on versus one big bright overhead light. (my husband likens me to a bat sometimes..but hey...it is easier on the nervous system. Bright lights overwhelm me.

1970's Music Was there ever a better time for good straightforward musical ballads? With real instruments and words that told little 4 minute stories, I could listen to 70's music all the time.

Bookstores I am like a kid in a candy store, no...worse...in a bookstore. So many little square packages of worlds unknown, just waiting to be discovered. And, magazines too. Save me! (Don't please).

Going Barefoot I'm sorry, I have never been a shoe person and I could never understand women who were. There is nothing better than the feel of the floor, earth, ground beneath the sensitive nerves that God gave us on our feet, to feel where you are at, what the temperature of the room is, and where you are going. Better yet is the first walk outside in the spring barefoot. Sheer delight. Now, running shoes? Sure, I'll take those (: (Although running barefoot on the beach is a pleasure all it's own). Listen to Michael Franks Barefoot on the Beach

Waking Up Really Really Early I have always been a morning person, an early bird. Now that I have children, it is imperative to the start of a good day that I get up while the sun is still sleeping. The earlier I can pull it off, the better the day! We're talking 4:00-5:00 a.m. ideally. Yikes, I know. Don't get me wrong, I still fantasize about sleeping in! I just know that the early bird gets the worm. It's true.

So: Tell me some of your favorite things I would love to hear them!

O Christmas Tree

2010-12-11T05:57:00.004-05:00

Today is the day we go and cut our Christmas tree. We visit a tree farm about 25 minutes west of here and ride a horse driven wagon out to the fields. There, we run amok like children (with our children) among the trees to find the 'perfect' one. "Be careful", we remind each other, "they look smaller out here!" Our son helps his dad saw the tree and we drag it back to the horse and wagon and ride back to pay. Once the tree is safely attached to the car top, we have Christmas cookies and tea or cocoa and head home.

Our tree of choice is usually a Concolar Fir. Beautiful soft needles that are still strong enough to hold up ornaments, the tree has a lovely orange-y pine scent for the holidays and loses less needles than any fresh tree we've ever owned.

Whatever tree you put in your home, tiny, big, old, new, fresh or not...may you enjoy your tree day when it arrives.

And Tho' It Be Dark, We Are Snug

2010-12-07T05:37:00.005-05:00

These December evenings, so inky black and all encompassing, always remind me of this Brambly Hedge illustration by Jill Barklem. She is one of our favorite authors/illustrators of children's books. Walking by old trees and big stumps, we often comment, "look, there's a 'Brambly Hedge sort of tree/stump!'.

May winter's snowflakes surround you with peace and may your Christmas preparations be merry!

Busy Tasks and Readying for Christmas

2010-12-04T06:52:00.003-05:00

A Tasha Tudor kind of day!

Though your day be busy, in all ways, remember that love is the most important 'busy' of all.

My Favorite Winter Words

2010-12-01T05:59:00.003-05:00

The Shortest Day

by Susan Cooper

And so the Shortest Day came and the year died
And everywhere down the centuries of the snow-white world
Came people singing, dancing,
To drive the dark away.
They lighted candles in the winter trees;
They hung their homes with evergreen;
They burned beseeching fires all night long
To keep the year alive.
And when the new year's sunshine blazed awake
They shouted, revelling.
Through all the frosty ages you can hear them
Echoing behind us - listen!
All the long echoes, sing the same delight,
This Shortest Day,
As promise wakens in the sleeping land:
They carol, feast, give thanks,
And dearly love their friends,
And hope for peace.
And now so do we, here, now,
This year and every year.

All Is Safely Gathered In...E're The Winter Storms Begin

2010-11-22T07:25:00.003-05:00

Here in Michigan, the weather is turning quickly. Ole Man Winter is beating at the door, and soon we will let him in.

May this week bring you moments of of peace and plenty with those you love, no matter how large or small your celebration, no matter how large or small your means.

A slice of bread broken over a table filled with love is more filling than a feast filled with strife. Remember this as you greet your loved ones and prepare your Thanksgiving Dinner.

We are looking forward to a small celebration and much quiet rest after a long and busy harvest.

Happy Thanksgiving from The Happy Peasant!!!

Season's Harvest (Of Teacups and Wine)

2010-11-19T06:27:00.029-05:00

We have had an amazing harvest this past season...in all ways. I thought I would share some pictures of just what we have been busy doing since September.
**************************************************************************************

This is our soap display at the Waterloo Farm Museum's Pioneer Days in early October. It was a hot day but the fiddles, horses, and Civil War encampments and bonfires certainly made the day. I think the picture is amazing in that it looks as though we have truly 'stepped back in time'.

It is always difficult removing ourselves from that century to return home to this century. Amanda, Albert and I took turns cooking the food on the old wood cookstove in the house, selling soaps and blacksmithing (Albert, of course) (:
~ ~ ~

A bowl of freshly gathered chestnuts...so good heated up and held in your cold hands before peeling and eating the decadent little feast inside. Our son, especially, likes these for a mid-afternoon snack...little squirrel that he is.

Peaches, ready to be canned in heavy syrup (I like the heavy syrup best, even though the fruit sometimes floats...it just 'tastes' better in the heart of winter.)

This is a picture of a happy, homeschooled, confident little girl, who loves to help load and unload pumpkins.

Cinderella pumpkins, kittens and grapes for turning into our first wine ever! (Rosehips in a bunch too, for decorating and putting into medicinal teas). Aren't the colors that God has given us just amazing?!? Makes me want to grab a paintbrush and create...but how to capture such color, such beauty?

Abbey, the cat, peering around the grapes and playing with the rosehips.

This is 'Dot' our cat who has two different colored eyes. If you look closely you will see...one orange-ish brown...one green! (: Neat.

I love to 'stack' these Cinderella pumpkins (otherwise known as the heirloom pumpkin Rouge V'ifD'Etamp) in stacks of two and three. They are so bright and robust. Very evocative of the bountiful harvest of autumn and very romantic and fairytale-ish, don't you think?

And, the official 'stomping' of the grapes (don't worry, her little feet were clean (: )... so fun. The grapes are from an ancient concord grapevine that runs the length of our garden. It has been here for what seems forever. The wine is bubbling and fermenting in the cellar, and will be ready to rack and bottle in time for Christmas~

In late September, the children and I set up a candle display to sell candles at the Historic Webster Fall Festival, in Webster Township, Dexter. The day was a blustery chilly one, so we were thankful for our warm cozy corner next to the old piano.

We sold soy tin can candles filled with the cozy home scents of Apple Butter and Buttery Corn Bread...

And, candles in all shapes and sizes made with the sweet honey smelling beeswax from our bees. Rows of gleaming homemade jams and jellies sold well on that cold day.

This is a somewhat grainy/blurred picture of my soap booth at Art on the Farm, a wonderful art show at the farm next to ours, filled with highly talented artists of all walks. It was humbling to sell my soaps alongside such talented individuals. The day was so busy that it was difficult to take a drink of water or even re-arrange things into spots that had sold out. Thanks to our neighbor who hosts and organizes the show. She promotes it wonderfully.

After the show, we hurried home to go trick-or-treating. (:

And this? This is our source of many many good tea parties...tea times and where I go to 'select' a teacup or two when a good friend shows up at the door. Does this lend itself to 'She Who Dies With the Most China Wins???" ...I thought so too. (: (I love English tea china...really, you ask?) haha. Which cup/teapot would you choose?

And now, I shall grab a mug from the china collection, have some more coffee, and return to my labors of love for the upcoming season. May the dark weeks ahead fill you with a time for contemplation, creative introspection and warmth and love among your family and friends.

Children and Stress

2010-11-11T06:44:00.004-05:00

This is just a quick post, for anyone who might stop by. A reminder. If you have children, remember that it is easy to get caught up in the fast pace of our world. Things are flying by at an unprecedented pace in human history.

How many times do you tell your child to 'hurry up' each day? Be conscious of this today and take a deep breath and wait a little. So, you may be late for whatever lesson, appointment, person you are going to. Are they more important than the mental health of your child? What are you teaching your child? Hurry hurry hurry, for what? I was using the phrase, 'hurry up and die', a lot this past summer...because it seemed so silly that we are all rushing towards....? what? What are we rushing for? But, now I have to rethink this phrase because a classmate from our son's middle school, a beautiful normal 13 year old boy, in our little small farming town of Dexter, has taken his own life this past week. A wake up call to everyone, everywhere. Stop pushing, slow down. The minds and hearts of our children are more important than success.

We are pushing our children too hard. All, and I repeat ALL of this will be waiting for them when they grow up. Why are we pushing so hard?

Relax, wait, be late, breathe, laugh, sit on the couch and read together. Do nothing for once. Slow down. Your children will be all the better for it.

Homeschooling The Road Less Traveled

2010-11-02T07:32:00.008-04:00

THE ROAD NOT TAKEN
Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth.

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same.

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Sometimes you cannot get away from an idea, no...not just an idea...a way of life... no matter how you try to dodge it. You can close your eyes, but it shows up in your dreams. You can try to take other paths, but it meets you at the end of each trail. You can talk of other things, and it presents itself, still, squarely and brazenly in your mind, words and heart.

Homeschooling.

The word, the concept, the lifestyle came up in talk last year. Certainly if any family desired a homeschooling 'set up' or lifestyle, they would be happy to overtake our life. With a full time farm, huge rambling farmhouse, and every tangible life skill at our disposal, we are all set to teach and learn about anything and everything. Our oldest child wanted to be homeschooled. Our life, he sensed early on, lends itself to the whole homeschooling concept. All summer we, as a family, tossed around the idea. But, my husband and I were public school graduates, former marching band geeks and we had 'subscribed' to the public school system in our heads and hearts. I could picture our oldest walking proudly to Pomp and Circumstance in my mind. So, abandoning these preconceived pictures in my head was a huge mental hurdle to even considering homeschooling. One friend who homeschools said, ' just jump in, you'll never regret it.' She was right. My heart told me at the beginning of this school year that my children needed home and what I could teach them. We jumped.

For four anxious weeks I struggled to grasp this new concept. I spent hours each night and early morning compiling curriculum and then presenting and teaching it to the children, all in conjunction with the advent of our busiest season of apples and cider, harvest, farm store employees and in-laws. I was constantly on 'show' for all to see and 'judge' my homeschooling abilities. I was mortified and stressed and anxious beyond anything I have ever experienced. "This can't be right for us", I reasoned. My dear husband saw my stress and suggested putting the children back in school after four weeks of homeschooling. In a moment of weakness and lack of tangible curriculum-induced anxiety, I succumbed.

We contacted both schools, re-enrolled the children. Our youngest had lost her spot in her school building, and after much combined communication we achieved her comfy spot back with her old teacher and schoolmates.

But, just like the unexpected death of a loved one in a car accident, something was gone that was never coming back: The ease of sending my children down the road on the bus for someone else to teach. Every minute they were gone, I was haunted by the 'what ifs' and the 'why didn't you's?' and reminded that I had abandoned a dream. Strength and dreams go hand in hand. When we believe in our dreams they become reality. We attract the reality and it works! When we believe in our dreams, no matter how silly or far fetched, others begin to believe with and alongside us, and, before we know it...all of a sudden...our dreams become inspiration for others!

The Waldorf educational style, which focuses on embracing the developmental stages of the child and nurturing, presented itself time and again. So much so, that a certified Waldorf teacher whom I had taught to make cheese last winter, showed up on our doorstep ready to educate me on the Waldorf homeschooling methods. Support and encouragement from people I had never met before poured into our lives.

Coincidentally (or not) our entire set of 2nd grade and 8th grade curriculum that had been ordered during our first few week's adventures into homeschooling, arrived in the mail the very 'day' the children went back to school. The boxes sat for two weeks, and then I opened them and gingerly set them out for each child. Amazingly, even after being in school all day, they wanted to work on their education. They worked simultaneously on homeschool curriculum AND went to public school. Admittedly, our oldest was lost somewhere in between and though he has always been a straight A student, I could see his heart and mind choosing sides. His assignments at school began to fall by the wayside, while his love of learning and education at home continued to grow.

We continued this way for the bulk of October, culminating in this final All-Hallows-Eve weekend. I sold soaps at the now-famous Art on the Farm art show next door and then took our youngest trick-or-treating. She had a small cough and sniffles for which I decided to keep her home from school the next day, and we all fell asleep exhausted after her sorting of candy.

Monday dawned fresh and cold, and our 'Closed' sign was placed on the door for cider and apples. There was a quiet hush to the landscape and our home. No employees, no customers. Just the occasional mewing kitten and the stirring of our corn bin drying the harvest across the road. Both children begged, my heart recovered, and my dreams dusted themselves off.

I have failed. But, I try again. We all fail at things everyday. We try again. This is life. Don't stop trying just because you fail, or your dreams will never manifest themselves.

It is with the most sincere and heartfelt apologies (and let me tell you that I see their hardworking faces all too often in my thoughts and prayers and think of them with thanks for the job they strive each day to accomplish) to the dedicated and super-hardworking teachers of our children, that we return to our homeschool journey...a little worn around the edges from taking the beaten path, but ready to journey down the less traveled, colorful and soul strengthening road of life, education and dreams.

Listen to thehappypeasants Playlist

2010-10-27T08:31:00.001-04:00

Sun to the Earth

2010-10-16T17:59:00.000-04:00

Even after all this time the sun never says to the earth,

"You owe me."

Look at what happens with a love like that ~

It lights the entire sky.

— Hafiz

Things Poets Ponder

2010-10-12T08:18:00.000-04:00

How trees look like old men.
What things are blue.
How words taste.
Whether a diphthong is one syllable or two.
Whether anyone will get the allusion to Shakespeare's 53rd sonnet.
Whether Eliot stole it first.
The difference between puce and magenta.
What rain puddles remind them of.
The sound of one dog barking.
Whether to imagine bagpipes or flutes.
When to stop alliterating.
Whether the magpie image will offend mother.
Shapes.
How similar things are different.
And vice versa.
The pleasures of paradox.
Why the line breaks before the direct object.
What depends on a red wheelbarrow.
Grecian urns.
Larks, nightingales and ravens.
Why April is cruel.
When to borrow and when to steal.
King James' English.
Nursery Rhymes.
Drivel and doggerel.
Time, eternity and due dates.

~Marilyn McEntyre

Story~Word~Journal~Book

2010-10-07T16:41:00.000-04:00

"A story is a medicine that greases and hoists the pulleys, shows us the way out, down, in and around, cuts for us fine wide doors in previously blank walls, doors which lead us to our own knowing." ~Clarissa Pinkola Estes

A Devil Named 'Defeat'

2010-09-30T22:25:00.000-04:00

"The devil named defeat is hot on my trail and trying to get me...I'm still outrunning him, but the gap is narrowing...."

Life, on the farm, is very beautiful and full of an amazing bountifulness. But, it is also filled with daily life and death. Life and death decisions, the death of beloved animals and pets, injuries, and accidents. Sometimes, the 'in your face' life and death of watching the seasons, the harvests, the battles of bird and cat, baby mouse and hawk, bug and squash become commonplace. Other days, such as today, my heart is wrung out and hung out to dry with the pain of it all. Never be fooled, farming is living with your heart right out on the line. Your heart right out in the thunderstorm, in the lightning, in the icy pelting rain, in the finger numbing cold. There is no hiding from the absolute truth of God's seasons and no ducking the realities that come with it, try as we may.

Today was an especially painful day here on the farm. Not the first, and certainly not the last.

That old devil named defeat...he can keep chasing, but I'm still in the lead....

New Things

2010-09-24T06:17:00.000-04:00

"At first people refuse to believe that a strange new thing can be done, and then they begin to hope it can be done, then they see it can be done-then it is done and all the world wonders why it was not done centuries ago."

~Francis Hodgson Burnett

A Newly Found Autumn Treasure (and it was right there all the time!)

2010-09-18T06:58:00.000-04:00

(photo courtesy of Emmalee Rose Photography)

One thing I've noticed this year is that September is more beautiful than I ever remember. But then, so are a lot of things. I don't ever remember it being so golden and glorious, so heavy with fruit and possibility. I used to push September aside to try and quickly get to regal October. Oh, but look what I have missed out on all these years!

This has been a month of lists upon lists and work beyond measure. I have undertaken new tasks that I never thought I could accommodate, and yet life makes room for what it needs to.

Evenings are full of fairy tale books and the Redwall series (a book about mice who live in Abbeys). So, now we have a pet mouse (a wild field mouse who is living well beyond his/her? means in a critter cage complete with cozy wool nest and all the grain she/he can store away) (:

My wish is that this September is more beautiful than your last.

Seperating the Boys...From the Girls

2010-09-04T23:33:00.000-04:00

Today was a crazy day. Okay, okay...everyday around here is a crazy day. But, this one was just a little crazier.

Cleaning the sales room and the old attic above the sales room left me covered in dust, dirt and cobwebs. Add to that the dirt from cleaning an unused horse stall...unused for the last, oh 25 years or so...and then throw in a mix of about 30 various customers from all walks of life AND the moving of the boys from the girls. Sheep, that is. (:

Today I finally found the time to clean out another stall in the old horse barn and I moved the girl sheep away from the boy sheep. (Just for the record, I'm not giving any birds and bees lessons here.) I moved everyone to their respective stalls as I do not wish to have January lambs that run the risk of not surviving the harsh night temperatures, or January lambs that live out their early days in our kitchen next to the wood cookstove.

The boys were all excited when I moved the girls. They thought it was play time. The girls thought it was fun too. "Oh look", they all said, "We're getting attention and maybe there is corn over there." It wasn't until everyone sniffed around their freshly hay strewn stalls that their little sheep eyes dilated when they realized that they were not together in their 'herd'.

Sheep have a very strong herding instinct. They will stay together in the most ridiculous, and sometimes deathly, of situations. Silly as they may be, they are very lovable creatures (and warm I might add, as the temperature dipped quite low today).

I felt quite the Shepherdess when I had to hand tie a rope around a horned female Dorset and urge her towards her new home place.

(And don't think I've forgotten for one minute that I promised the Sheepherder's Bread Recipe on this blog. I haven't. In fact, the starter is sitting on the counter right this very moment, waiting to be made into a fresh loaf. I will then post the recipe and instructions so, you too, can try your hand at separating boy sheep, oh, I mean...so you too can try your hand at baking Sheepherder's Bread. (:

Goodnight. I'm off to count sheep....

Kindness and Consideration

2010-09-02T22:02:00.000-04:00

Being considerate of others will take your children further in life than any college degree.

~Marian Wright Edelman

Horse Barn in Morning

2010-08-29T16:05:00.000-04:00

Horse barn in morning, painting, acrylic on canvas.

Dance 'Round Him, You'll Glitter Like Gold....

2010-08-24T18:13:00.000-04:00

"Dance 'Round Him, You'll Glitter Like Gold" -Rumi

When I was very little, frequently my daydreams would include a big old house with many rooms to explore, and each room would have a box inside of it, a magic box waiting to be opened....

In the midst of all the farm work that you see me doing on my blog posts, I do have a quiet side that I don't share very often, and that is my artistic side. I have decided to try and devote more time to this side of myself and am starting by sharing some of my art.

This blog post is about art. It is not about politics or the divisiveness of religions, it is about art and love and beauty.

The pictures below are of a specific grouping that I made for Art on the Farm 2008.

First, I was very (and continue to be) impressed with the God/love poetry of Rumi. I made two 'dream boxes' that are pictured below. The first one, is handwritten in French and is an original composition of mine.

It reads (translated):

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder,

but the beholder is not allowed to own beauty,

touch beauty, feel beauty.

Beauty mocks us and then disappears, leaving us jealous of its abilities.

Beauty generates the ugly and gains them as it's loyal followers.

I hand wrote the translation in French and then overlayed it on a black painted wooden box, and the front and sides are hand tinted with pastels and acrylic. There are fingerprints, on purpose... a trace of one's personality, more important than beauty.

On the front panel is a page from an old book. At the time I was making the boxes, I did not choose the pages for content, but for their sepia tone. It was not until the whole project came together that I realized the cohesiveness and the oddity of how each piece of my project complemented the other. The front panel begins with, "...are all invisible to him...."

I then created an aged ribbon of sepia and hand wrote, in French,

"I love you, but I don't know why"

on the entire length of the ribbon.

Love, without thought. Another Rumi-esque quality.

The second, and most important, box

was painted black and layered with elements of time. An ancient clock key, a fortune I had picked up off the sidewalk that reads, "A man without aim is like a clock without hands, as useless if it turns or if it stands", a page from a scientific magnetic observation chart that I had found in the attic of this old farmhouse and my favorite quote about time,

"Time flies, suns rise and shadows fall, let it pass by, love reigns forever overall.

On the front panel of this second dream box the sepia book panel reads, "Physical beauty is a noble thing when it is seen in perfectness; but the manner in which the moderns pursue their ideal prevents their ever really seeing what they are always seeking; for, requiring that all forms...." I honestly didn't read the words on these panels until after the project was complete. I chose them solely for their color. Amazing, huh?

When you open this second box you are met with your own reflection staring back at you from a piece of shattered leaded glass mirror that is wrapped (so as not to cut). As you stare into the mirror inside the box, there are words on the mirror. As you read the words, you see your reflection looking back at you. The words on the mirror are from Rumi. They read,

"The minute I heard my first love story I started looking for you,

not knowing how blind that was.

Lovers don't finally meet somewhere.

They're in each other all along."

Of course, when I tried to photograph it, it lost some of it's effect due to my reflection having to include a camera. But, I think you can get the idea..
At that moment, you realize you are reading about looking for your love while you are looking at your own reflection, and you shut the box!

My display for the show included many fragments of mirrors, all with Rumi poems and quotes on them, sparkling and reflecting the light from the white prayer candles.

The white candle is a prayer candle.

Pure white, for the pureness of God's love.

C'est tout. (:

I Got A Goat (or, Thank You Charlie Brown)

2010-08-17T22:41:00.000-04:00

When I was just ready to turn 39 I was doing the dishes one day and I looked down at my leg and I could've sworn I saw the dreaded 'varicose vein'. In actuality, it was just a blue vein that I saw through my skin. But, I was so terrified (I'll let you in on a secret that my Toledo Hungarian side of the family *which boasts upwards of 20 children per woman* is no stranger to varicose veins). Anyhow, I was so terrified, I vowed right then and there to do whatever it took to make whatever it was disappear. I read up on it and took Bilberry and extra Vitamin C and then I read that exercise helped. So I took up running. Well, running took me up (it was addictive, fun, stress reducing and healthy). My 'varicose vein' disappeared and I ran right through 40, 41 and 42.

Around 41 I started realizing that I was living 'mid life'. Aha, so THIS is what everyone is referring to...'Mid Life Crisis'. Halfway between. Not quite young, but not ready to be old. Strange. A very strange place to live.

Some people, I've noticed, deal with this 'in between' age by getting plastic surgery. I've never been a fan plastic surgery. The whole 'plastic' part gets me first, but then I also happen to actually like what God gave me, big nose and all. And I immediately agreed with what Robert Redford had to say about wrinkles, the first time I read it, “Look, I know I don’t look the way I used to. Everyone in Tinseltown is getting pinched, lifted and pulled. It’s becoming a sick obsession. They lose some of their soul when they go under the knife.” The part about losing some of their soul, yeah, I can agree with that. Some people have affairs or get divorced or paint their walls sixteen different colors. New car, old car, trip to Europe; Every middle age crisis has it's own antidote.

So, instead of plastic surgery or a new car or a trip, what did I go out and do? I GOT A GOAT.

I didn't get a collagen lip boost, I GOT A GOAT.

I didn't go to Italy. I GOT A GOAT.

I didn't buy a Lexus. I GOT A GOAT.

But wait! Not just one, I GOT TWO GOATS! Yes, that's right. TWO. ha.

Like Charlie Brown on Halloween. Can't you hear me? I GOT A ROCK. No, I GOT A GOAT!

Dear sweet Charlie Brown. Your rocks were beautiful because they were different. Just as I am proud of my silly stinky sweet brown little goats. Different, but perfect.

So, if you are feeling a little bit of 'neither here nor there' in your system...don't fret...don't worry about fitting in. Do what is right for you and be proud of it. For me, it was a goat (or two).

I GOT A GOAT (and no varicose veins, yet.)

August Eve

2010-08-05T20:59:00.000-04:00

Blissful dry cool air is blowing in from the west tonight after weeks, WEEKS of hot humid weather and incessant days and nights of having the world outside shut off with the humming and droning of the air conditioner. So thankful to hear the birds, the crickets, the wind, the echos of distant dog barks and mooing cows. We scrubbed and cleaned house all morning and now it feels so good to rest. Big stacks of books await my eyes if they don't threaten to play hide and seek with my eyelids.

To all who read here: I have acquired a scanner, finally, and will now be able to share works of art instead of just photographs! Coming soon (as soon as I get it all figured out) (:

The Bird Flying Over You

2010-08-04T21:47:00.001-04:00

(a shadow dream in words)

I am the bird flying over you
My wings my bones
Eternity
My shadow
Not to darken your way
But to follow you with love

I am the bird flying over you
Angel of the elders
Opening the meeting place door
Soft as golden velvet

I am the bird flying over you

~All words copyright of Amy Lesser 2010

Jack of All Trades, Zucchini and The Arts

2010-08-01T21:37:00.001-04:00

Isn't it so true, that at the beginning of the summer, when the three months lay ahead of us like unopened oysters perhaps containing that one special pearl, that we feel so fresh and exuberant in a child-like way? And, isn't it true that by this time of the summer we have, as adults, accepted that the pearl may not be in the oyster and, well, the oyster may not even be there?

Each summer turns out differently than I expect. Each leaves such strong bittersweet memories. I have to say that I have bitten off quite a few more tasks this trip around the sun than I did last year. This year, I began to be afraid that I was becoming a 'jack of all trades and a master of none." A personal insult to myself, which I pondered deeply. First, I know that it is good to do one thing well, rather than many things poorly. However, I am the sort of person who functions best (and most creatively) under duress and pressure and schedule, under multiple jobs. So, while this old cliche may hold true for others, it does not hold true for me. Jack of one trade? Nope. That is not me. I like who I am and I like juggling all the beautiful things I am trying to learn while I am here. What have I been juggling this summer?

Here's a short synopsis:

Feeding one Nubian goat and 4 mixed breed sheep (my little ruminants) morning and night and then milking said goat. (Penny, Charlotte, Eustace and S'more from left to right with Amelia in the back. )
Filtering milk, making cheese, gathering eggs, washing eggs, waiting on customers, cooking breakfast, cooking lunch, cooking supper, doing dishes by hand, making stacks of supplies and notes for each art project and each creative idea that comes into my mind, helping cats give birth to kittens, mowing lawn, taking children to piano lessons, swimming with children, teaching children to swim, keeping children safe, gathering big magical maple branches to decorate with, baking homemade granola, feeding wild birds, laughing, reading, writing, singing, playing my fiddle, driving long distances and home again, missing home, missing those who have gone on before me, running on the cool dirt road and saying hello to my friends the chipmunk and the trees, gathering herbs,
making medicine, making pickles,
making jam, eating juicy blackberries, swatting mosquitoes, climbing the hayloft in the dusk and throwing hay down while the setting sun beams in, crying over how quickly children grow up, praying, lighting the night candle,
cleaning, dreaming of baking bread,
consoling, helping, Twittering, making wonderful new friends, throwing impromptu tea parties, telling my children I love them, smelling the sweet smell of corn pollinating in the field, hunting for lost kittens and wishing for more time to do all these, and more, over again.

Today, in the name of family, I went with my husband and our children to his 'favorite' pastime, an old steam engine show. Oh good Lord it was hot and miserable for a girl (for two girls). Hot steam tractors in the August heat, ash raining down, fried food and hot sun beating down. Sitting on a hot bleacher in the middle afternoon sun I suddenly burst out laughing in hysterical laughter. It was all just too silly...Amanda and I sitting there in our calico skirts. One of the 'old-timers' sitting next to me looked over and laughed with me. I said to him, "he said there'd be girl things...girl things!" and I continued laughing. They laughed too. I kid you not, we drove through Hell, Michigan on the way home (and no air conditioning in our car, mind you!). Um, I was sooooooooooo glad to be home....cool water, cool vegetables, not Hell. I don't think tractor/steam engine shows are my thing.

Tomorrow is more garden scavenging (amongst the weeds which have proliferated in the equatorial rains we have had) for pickling cukes, zucchini (I think August 8th is sneak-some-zucchini-on-your-neighbor's-porch day, if I'm not mistaken) and eggplant. But, more importantly, MOST IMPORTANTLY after today's tractor show...I have realized how very very important the Arts are in my life and how I am going to give the art in my life front-and-center for the next few months.

Do any of you realize how bland and ugly this world would be without music, dance, art, and the written word. I never realized, before today, how very utterly important it is to support the Arts and to encourage new artists to continue creating. It is the balm for our troubles, the soothe on our cuts, the ahhh at the end of the long day. For every loud muffler, hot shadeless park or miserable work day, there should be an equal love song, cool shaded nook with book and inspiring painting waiting for our senses. Join me in supporting the Arts, they are so very important! They are the balance for our world, and it is tipping. If you know of an aspiring painter, song writer, musician or writer, support them with your words and a little bit of your time, would you? The world will be a better place for it.

North of North

2010-07-22T14:09:00.000-04:00

Our oldest child, Albert, is now a good 12 hours and close to 1000 miles away from us! He is North of North! He is on a Canadian fishing trip with my parents and I am missing him terribly. There is obviously no cell service where they are as I haven't heard from him since they crossed the Canada-Michigan border at Sault St. Marie. I am in a summer 'rut'. I have soooooooooooo much work to do. Primitive orders, soap orders, garden weeding, apricot jam (apricots are all accounted for/sold now), canning, berry picking to become blackberry jam, herb gathering, house cleaning, piano lessons for our daughter...and of course, the Ann Arbor Art Fair is running this week. Friends who I have not talked to in 6 months have called, wanting to have lunch together and go antiquing. I am maxed out and tired.

When we head in many directions we succeed at nothing. What I need is a nap in a hammock and iced coffee aftewards with a good summer novel.

So many beautiful things to do, so little time to do them.

Checking in here to tell you all that I am still 'around', just buried in my work once 'gain.

Who Do You Write Like?

2010-07-13T20:32:00.000-04:00

This is so fun. (Well, for a writer at least). Simply copy and paste a sample of your writing style in the box on this website, http://iwl.me/ and it will inform you what famous author your writing style resembles! Fun!

(For the record, it says I write like Mark Twain and...Stephen King...scary!) (Addendum on July 18th! I pasted in some of my 'blog' writing instead of my fiction and poetry and it told me I write like David Foster Wallace and James Joyce...ouch, that's dark and scary in itself...in addition to Stephen King!)

Extraordinary

2010-07-11T08:42:00.000-04:00

OVERCOME the notion that you must be normal.
It robs you of the chance to be extraordinary.

Create, Do, Be, Live, Now

2010-07-07T06:39:00.000-04:00

I DIDN'T SLEEP much last night, it is very very hot here in Michigan, and our old rambling farmhouse is not insulated well, so heat comes in and cold. We have one bold brave little window unit air conditioner for when things get really nasty (such as today). But, there is hope on the horizon. The children and I have been invited to go to a local lake to swim for the afternoon. Summer afternoon at the lake. Summer breezes and cold lemonade. It is, most surely, the heart of summer. How it has gone by so fast is amazing to me...how can it be this late in July?

And so, on that thought. I am going to attempt to be more creative, in the midst of life. I have commented to many that I don't understand how artists, writers, dancers and musicians jot down their work as the creative thoughts enter their head. It is a subject that I find fascinating. For me, ideas come all wrapped and packaged, instantaneously. And, I must write them down or, better yet, DO them at that moment, or they vanish. Tell me, do you write your most creative epiphanies on receipts in the car, on your hand, on the grocery bag, on lists, in journals...or, do you just go do them in the midst of life and living? That is my goal for today and the rest of my life, to just go do them and make and create them as they appear in all their full color and three dimensional glory...before they fade, and before life, and the ever present march of time wins out over the joy of art and music, dance and words!

And, I must also confide to you that God has been sending a whole bunch of new friends my way! What a gift. New friends! You know, the sort of friends who stay with you for life~Wow. I can't tell you how thankful I am for that. He knows just what we need, when we need it. And, so the above card is in honor of that. The photo is a tad bit askew, but then, so is life, huh? (-;

Round Peg Square Peg...What Is The Difference?

2010-07-06T11:50:00.001-04:00

I was just emailing someone, and commenting, that 9/10ths of the time I feel as though I am a round peg in a square hole, or a square peg in a round hole. (Does anyone know the difference? Perhaps a square peg is a little less conforming to societal norms?) But, then I was thinking...maybe we all feel this way. Maybe all of us are all square pegs in round holes and round pegs in square holes and our pupose is to not 'fit' in, but to just be who we are, regardless of who we are surrounded by, related to and married to. Maybe that is the whole 'shape' of things. Be yourself, create, do what comes naturally to you, and don't worry so much.

Log Cabin/Soldier/Blacksmith Days

2010-06-28T19:52:00.000-04:00

http://shar.es/mD0fr

It was difficult to bring ourselves 'back' to this century when it was all over yesterday. It is not me playing the fiddle, but I wish it were. I did play my fiddle, but must learn the song that the reporter added to the little video clip. A beautiful haunting song.

Gifts of Summer

2010-06-21T21:41:00.000-04:00

Just now, as I was sitting down at the computer to type, I heard a startled bird cry from across the garden, over in our big pine tree. I thought, perhaps, as the solstice sun was setting that a cat might be attacking young birds. And so, out the door I went. I trekked across the garden. When I arrived to the tree, at first I thought there was a large 'moth' hatch going on...it was dusk and hard to see...but then I realized that the tree, some 50 feet high, was swarming with honeybees and that the birds were distressed from all the bees! I stepped back and looked. Amazing. A solstice swarm. Tomorrow, my brother in law, the beekeeper, will have the swarm. They are most likely from one of his hives. I do hope the birds survive unscathed and unstung. Poor things.

This afternoon, in our back sales room, which becomes a catch all over the winter, the inside of the screen door was covered in beautiful summer solstice butterflies! I had gathered two bushels of nettles a couple of weeks ago and, unbeknownst to me, they had little caterpillars all over them when I brought them home. By the time I realized that the little guys had set up 'shop' in our shop with cocoons while the nettles were drying on a screen, it was too late. And here, today, they hatched in all their glory and fluttery winged splendor. My daughter and her little friend held them gingerly on their little girl fingertips and they fluttered in their curly hair. Very summery, indeed.

I also received an early birthday gift (for tomorrow)

from a new kindred spirit friend (a gift in itself!)who gave me a summer solstice bracelet that she created herself of malachite and a hand blown glass ladybug bead, a beautiful quartz crystal, a sliver of magical amethyst (my favorite crystal) and a Native American arrowhead from Tennessee. She delivered it all in little secret pouches of gold and leather and included a bouquet of wild purple flowers and mini sunflower heads. What a truly beautiful day!

I treated myself (while performing the perfunctory grocery shopping this a.m.) to a pink raspberry fondant cake that waits a-cooling in the cooler and even the man at the vacuum repair store (ours conked out yesterday, no wonder on this gritty dirty farm) was pleasant and 'summery' as I dropped old faithful off to be fixed. What magic occurred today. What beauty came forth from the ends of the earth. I wish the solstice occurred more than twice a year. O day of beauty and gifts. A gift that cometh down from above.

Solstice

2010-06-20T22:35:00.000-04:00

Solstice

The words rolllllll off my tongue. Isn't it a lovely word? I have threatened to change my name, legally, to...just...plain...SOLSTICE. Not Solstice Lesser. Not Amy Solstice. Just - Solstice.

(Ah, she's gone off the deep end, you say, quietly to yourself). No. I'm turning 42 in two days! I am entitled to dream, a day before one of the most lovely days of the year, of running barefoot through pine scented forests with no responsibility and worries and a singular beautiful name of 'Solstice'. Summer Solstice, the first official day of summer. The longest day of the year (and shortest night of the year). The day when the sun 'stands still'.

The word Solstice is composed from Latin. Sol for sun and sistere (to stand still). During the summer and winter solstices, the visible movement of the sun (north or south depending on your hemisphere) comes to a stop before reversing direction.

And, for those of you wondering about the scientific aspects of the summer solstice, it occurs at exactly the moment when the Earth's axis is tilted greatest towards the sun at degrees of 23° 26'.

The summer solstice was also traditionally represented by the sign of fertility, and June herself is a month that boasts of lush fertility and life. So, this is fitting.

I love the solstices. They are beautiful days that God has given us. One is long and bright and full of life and fruit and smells and activity...sleep few minutes dear children of the solstice, this is a time to revel and dance and make merry. Eat berries, cook outdoors, smell, laugh, run, feel the sun on your skin. Or, just languish in the shade in the heat of the afternoon. (-:

On the other hand, the dark and hibernation inspiring winter solstice is beautiful in its own inky black darkness and cold. It is pinpoint starlight nights that make us run for the shelter of home and hearth and help us turn inward to look at our souls and our homes and the quiet that rests within.Summer is outward and extroverted, winter is inward and introverted. They represent the yin and yang of ourselves. They represent our conservative and our liberal meshing. They represent a balance of the halves that make us whole.

Both days are gifts, and there are many artists who have spent lifetimes painting and communicating their views of the solstices, writing songs or choreographing dances. It is not out of our grasp and everyday reach to take a moment to appreciate the wonder and enchantment of a long bright June day. A day when time and the sun seem to 'stand still'.

Gather Ye Rosebuds

2010-06-17T10:55:00.000-04:00

Ah, beautiful lush June. I have two favorite months, June and October. June is so fresh and perfect. Everything is in it's prime. The yellowjackets have not yet set up residence in mailboxes and such, the grass is not parched and brown. Roses bloom, fruit ripens, children are still excited to be home for the summer.

I have been busy helping Amanda learn to ride her bicycle without training wheels, milking our little goat, doing lamb aerobics (this is where you repeatedly lift a 60 pound lamb over a gate that they proceed to jump over again and again), providing ready-to-lay hens with treats of grass clippings and succulent weeds to lure them into early laying, filling swimming pools and pretending to know how to read those lovely manuals that come with them (in 16 different languages nonetheless).

The garden is full of blooming English roses; Othello, Mary Rose, James Galway. The honeysuckle is entwining with the mint and the hops are beginning to cover the sage plants. Sycamores are blooming, the starlings are on their second batch of babies and we have all grown accustomed to walking in the garden barefoot.

We spoiled ourselves the other day by making fresh goat milk ice cream with ripe strawberries from the garden; Breyers, move over!

May your June hold a Midsummer's Night Eve, or two, to remember. Such a magical time of year!

Blessed Complicated Living

2010-06-11T18:15:00.000-04:00

In my previous post, I elaborated on simple uncomplicated living, of my younger years. Ah, but uncomplicated was without my lovely beautiful gifts-of-love children, and without my crooked old chock full farmhouse, and without all the knowledge I have learned from the years. Uncomplicated is safe...I forgot this. Real life is messy, dirty, unpleasant at times and never what you expected it to be. Dirty floors mean people have been walking on them, messy rooms mean there is life going on. Piles of papers and to-do lists slide this way and that. But it is beautiful, is it not? Yes, after thinking it over...the past was nice, but I'll take my complicated beautiful life any day!

Simple Uncomplicated Living

2010-06-10T22:19:00.000-04:00

The simple path, the singular view, the way we looked at things when we were 22. These are the things that we need to get back to.

When I was 19, I had a blue plastic milk crate, about 8 textbooks, two pairs of jeans, some over sized sweatshirts and a futon. Oh was life good...I lived on frozen yogurt rejects from the yogurt store I worked at and stayed up late watching black and white reruns on a used couch owned by one of the other girls in my house. I hadn't yet figured out why people were the way they are. I had tons of questions about the universe. I owned nothing, I had no bills, I had no responsibility save my next term of classes and exams and showing up to the yogurt store the next day. Coffee was instant, not expensive Starbucks as I'm accustomed to now (and it was great!), discussions about life were full and exciting and the world smelled and felt good.

We should all try to get back to one blue plastic milk crate and a futon. Liberating and simple and real.

African Animals, Toledo Tornado and Soup

2010-06-08T10:49:00.000-04:00

On Friday, I drove our daughter to Toledo, Ohio, which is only about 45 minutes south of us, to join her first grade class for a day at the zoo. It was a beautiful hot day and the zoo was clean and full of many animals and botanical beauties. Amazing that just hours after we drove through Toledo and Dundee, Michigan on the way home, tornadoes swept through the area decimating many homes and businesses.

Upon arriving home, that evening, my husband had a forlorn look on his face. "Can't you stock the cupboard with some cans of soup that are appealing to me?" He asked. Yes, husband-starvation sets in when a woman leaves home for longer than 8 hours (-: What sorts of soups would you like? I asked. He replied that he had looked in the cupboard and viewed only, and I quote, "Cream of Junkyard, Cream of Worm Bed and Cream of Sawdust" /-: !!! I laughed so hard at these descriptions that I had to share them with you. I think they translate to Cream of Shrimp, Cream of Mushroom and Cream of Celery or thereabouts! Enjoy that visual image if you will.

Dance, Pray, Love -Benedictus

2010-06-04T22:58:00.000-04:00

“Like the joy of the sea coming home to shore,
May the music of laughter break through your soul.
.
As the wind wants to make everything dance,
May your gravity be lightened by grace.
.
Like the freedom of the monastery bell,
May clarity of mind make your eyes smile.
.
As water takes whatever shape it is in,
So free may you be about who you become.
.
As silence smiles on the other side of what’s said,
May a sense of irony give you perspective.
.
As time remains free of all that it frames,
May fear or worry never put you in chains.
.
May your prayer of listening deepen enough
To hear in the distance the laughter of God.” — John O’Donohue

(Benedictus - A Book of Blessings)

Herb Rack Watercolor

2010-06-03T05:58:00.001-04:00

And here, is the folk art watercolor I did of my herb rack. It was featured in the Summer 2010 issue of A Simple Life Magazine http://www.asimplelifemagazine.com/ in the article I wrote about the lore and history of the Herbwife/Herbwyfe.

I will be offering prints of this watercolor on my website, http://www.picturetrail.com/thehappypeasant

And, I must say it is easy to lose one's cares and relax inward when one is painting. I plan on doing more paintbrush lifting than I have in the last few months.

Herb Rack

2010-06-02T12:26:00.000-04:00

This is the herb rack that hangs in my kitchen. There is a little tiny wooden 'widget' bird hanging in the center. Each year I replenish the herbs from my garden. I have painted a folk art rendition of this rack that I will share with you, as soon as I can figure out *how* to upload it, as it is quite a large file. Happy gathering.

Three Unlikely Friends

2010-06-02T11:34:00.000-04:00

Yesterday afternoon the weather was perfect. So I put my pet Starling, Widget, out on his little hook (in his cage) on the back porch, to soak up some sun. Along came Mr. Daddy Cardinal and visited with Widget from the back of our lawn chairs, chip chip chipping to Widget. And, as if that weren't enough for an afternoon bird tea party...along came Miss Ruby Throated Hummingbird to sip some nectar alongside her colorful (and verbal) friends. I didn't catch a photo to share, but wanted to let you know that birds don't necessarily have to be 'of a feather' to flock together.

Hello World!

2010-05-29T20:26:00.000-04:00

When we put a few cocoons in my daughter's bug box a few months back, we thought we'd have some moths or butterflies come May and June...but we were in for a BIG surprise. Amanda squealed with delight and told me to come running to her room. Overnight, hundreds and hundreds of baby Praying Mantises had hatched out of one of the cocoons. They were absolutely adorable and their heads as tiny as the top of a pin! We let them go the next day in the flower bed. They stayed around for several days, getting noticeably larger in front of our eyes. What a miracle. Cute little guys.

Lost Without Lost

2010-05-24T08:18:00.001-04:00

I am gritty eyed and fuzzy headed this morning. I watched a marathon of television and stayed up until 2:00 a.m. The final episode of LOST aired last night and I feel, today, as though I attended a funeral for those I love. LOST, you were a wonderful show and I doubt if I will see the likes of you again in my lifetime. Thank you for making us think, love and cry. Namaste. sniffle, sniffle.

This Day Will Never Happen Again

2010-05-18T07:22:00.001-04:00

From Keri Smith's Fantastic Creativity Generating Website: The Wish Jar http://www.kerismith.com/blog/

Rainmilk, Sticks and Stones and When I Was Young

2010-05-15T20:49:00.000-04:00

I grew up in the suburbs. A city girl for all intents and purposes, but we gardened and canned food, went camping and took vacations at Lake Michigan. So, I was no stranger to getting my hands dirty.

My mother and step-father retired to 'Up-North'. We built a pine 'vacation/retirement' home complete with new wood stove and five acres adjacent to state land. We had pet rabbits, a pig named Petunia and some geese that followed my mom around everywhere, honking as they went. So, it came as an utter bewilderment, really, when I was asked to babysit for our Mennonite dairy farmer neighbors down the road from our 'retirement' home, and found their farmhouse, um, messy. Not just one day messy or, we haven't had time to tidy up messy, but really really, unfathomable to me at the young age of 15 kind-of-messy. This family milked an entire barn of dairy cows and it was the finest quality cow's milk. Creamy and fresh. They also piped classical music into the barn for their cows day and night to keep them happy and calm. This from a simple midwestern farm family in a white farm house of modest means.

Flash forward to today. Here I am living in a simple midwestern white farm house of modest means. When the wind blows from the north, we can distinctly smell the barns in the house and, though I don't have Vivaldi and Mozart in the stalls and pens, I do now own a milk goat and some sheep in addition to our farm's cattle, pigs, chickens and honeybees (I wonder how bees would like classical music???). But, the most succinct message I am trying to get across to you today??? My house is 'Mennonite Dairy Farm' messy! There are piles of clean clothes on the floor, just as the Mennonite family had. There are clean mason jars covering the counter year round, just as the Mennonite family had. There are bags of lamb's milk replacer on the kitchen floor and baby lamb bottles and herbal goat toner and milk pails and filters and bowls of slightly over-ripe bananas and sourdough starter and drying herbs and sometimes unmade beds (something you would have NEVER ever caught me doing, and still....still...this is a life or death only thing), and boots with mud and muck scattered hither and yon. Sometimes the cat bowl is empty and sometimes the canary chirps his special chirp for 'feed me, my bowl is empty'. Yes, I now understand, in full glorious surround-sound dolby enhanced color realization, just EXACTLY what was going on in that lovely Mennonite farmhouse from my past. Exactly.

Amelia, the goat, has been nibbling on banana peels, as she is doing here (yes one of the slightly over-ripe ones from the bowl in the kitchen).

And I have been turning creamy sweet goatsmilk into feta cheese,

and homemade pizzas with chevre, garlic, fresh tomatoes and onions,

and Amanda has been foraging at the creek with her daddy for wild asparagus (almost bigger than her),

On another note, we endured approximately 9 days of cold rainy weather, of which I had the pleasure of milking Amelia the goat, outside. After I finish milking her, I set the pail of milk outside of the gates of the pen to take in to the house. I noticed, last week that there were quite a few raindrops added to the milk. Rainmilk.

While spending so much time outside these past few weeks, I have come to see that getting rained on and dried by the sun or wind, and having twigs and hay and straw in my hair, and mud on my legs, amongst other things, is not so bad. In fact, I think we could all use a lot more time outside. A lot. I have never felt healthier or more relaxed. I have even paid more attention to the beauty of the sticks that fall from the tree limbs,

and the stones that dot my way. I have made time, though I didn't have any left to make, to take my children fishing in the pond near where the cattle are pastured. We didn't catch any large mouth bass or bluegills, but the dried grasses around the perimeter of the water were warm and soft from the sun, the poplar tree overhead clicked its leaves in a soothing rhythm and the water was sparkling while the birds sang out their warnings to the new young, that intruders were nearby.
The large 'stick' pictured here is a Witch Hazel tree from our woods. It seems we have an abundance of them and my husband brought me an entire tree so I could try my hand at making homemade Witch Hazel astringent.

When I called my sister on the phone and told her that the farmer had hauled home a Witch Hazel tree from the woods she laughed and promptly recited, in very thick Medieval English, "M'Lady! I've brought you a Witch Hazel tree from the wood. Be ye so kind as to accept my gift and turn these branches into a fine medicinal?" I love this image. Can't you just hear the sparse Cantata music playing?

I stripped the fresh bark with a pocket knife and snipped the small branches with pruning shears into 1 inch sections. Then I filled a kettle and covered it all with distilled water and boiled, then simmered it all for 8 hours. I then filtered it, added distillers alcohol to preserve and bottled it. I ended up with over two gallons of beautiful astringent to which I plan on adding Attar of Rose and Lavender.

Sticks and stones didn't break my bones, they healed me. May your day be full of natural beauty, relaxing thankfulness and maybe a glass of magical rainmilk.

Antique Botanical Bird Egg Print

2010-05-07T16:07:00.000-04:00

Old old print of bird eggs. Oh the healing sound of birds upon the branches of spring trees!

I'll be posting some things to inspire while I tackle my over-piled horizontal surfaces and work mulitplying like field mice....

Tipping Sloping Stacks of Work

2010-05-04T07:37:00.001-04:00

I'm afraid I must take leave for a few days from this beloved writing contraption. I have promised articles, I have promised explanations about publications and promised recipes...I have tipping sloping stacks of work and every horizontal surface in my home (no exaggeration) is covered with a job to be completed. And so, dear readers, I must leave you for a few days. I promise to be back again very soon with lots of special treats, stories, tales, and pictures that we can share and talk about. Until then....

Of Butter and Jars

2010-04-30T07:03:00.001-04:00

Today is set aside for house cleaning, and most importantly, the gardens! I need to weed, I need to transplant, I need to prune. It looks to be a beautiful day already as the sun is rising and the birds are singing in a beautiful chorus outside.

Above is my butter paddle collection, surrounded by mason jars of varying sizes and shapes. Our new milk goat, Amelia, has graciously provided us with fresh creamy spring milk for making cheese. After the gardens are tidied today, I will be making some homemade feta.

I will post a picture of it, along with the full Sheepherder's Sourdough Bread Recipe. Happy April, tis the last day she will provide this year.

Wouldn't it be nice if children still went door to door and surprised people with May baskets on their doorknobs?

Ripe fruit. Pick Quickly But With Care

2010-04-28T11:15:00.000-04:00

Ripe fruit. Though some be rotten, keep picking. Pick not only for yourself, but mostly for others. It is in picking the fruit for others that you will discover your greatest self. For, though you don't fear death any longer, will you be content that you gave/did/created/lived what you were supposed to with the life you were given? In this brief brief time, in this blink of an eye, do not wait!

What We Have Been Busy Doing....

2010-04-25T08:57:00.000-04:00

Our new lambs, S'more and Charlotte...they were part of a set of quadruplet lambs!

Herbal Medicine

2010-04-14T21:09:00.001-04:00

Herbal Medicine is a favorite topic and practice of mine. In fact, it is a way of life that I build my life around. I suppose it started when I began noticing the plethora of weeds here on the farm, that I had never noticed anywhere else before. There were lots of weeds, and many many that I had never seen before or knew the names of. As the years went on, I learned each one...through just living with them, pulling them, seeing them bloom, seeing them appear at special times of the year (year after year after year). After a while, I began noticing the seasons by the weeds and plants...and I looked for them and the signs they gave. It was then that I began learning that some of these 'weeds' were actually potent healers and health givers. I began reading, and studying, asking questions, talking to other herbal women. I now gather a lot of our family medicine from our farm and the wild, and I must say we are healthier than we have ever been! Today, I relied on my trusted herbal tincture of Motherwort. I was experiencing some pretty common heart palpitations for someone of my age, due to hormone fluctuations. I took the motherwort and within minutes my symptoms were resolved. Hooray for herbal medicine. I will write more as the season progresses and talk more about these wonderful healing greens.

Sugar & Spice, Country Pink

2010-04-11T21:04:00.000-04:00

Sugar and spice and everything nice, that's what little girls are made of! I have always had a love/hate relationship with the color pink. It intrigues me and draws me in, like a frosted cupcake from a long ago kindergarten memory. It is soft and motherly and baby-like and feminine. It can be a brown-pink or a hot pink...each stands for something different. Brown-pink is old, comforting, 1950's, black and white televisions and fathers coming home from work in their steel vehicles. Hot pink is passionate and egotistical...gardens of the tropics.

So, being a primitive country lover who gathers herbs and lives to light wood fires in the cookstove, pink is something you won't see me shouting from the rooftops about very often. I have, however, noticed that pink is part of our daily lives...and I have compiled, on my studio walls (thank you) a pink palette for you...a pink sunset from our back porch over the orchard and a favorite pink teacup with a sliver of my homemade soap where I do my dishes three times a day. Enjoy!

Mama's Cherry Pie, Little One's Apple Pie

2010-04-09T11:13:00.000-04:00

Old Farmhouse

2010-04-09T10:02:00.000-04:00

So I am craving the quintessential Old Farmhouse look. What is that, you ask? Well, it is simple...red rusted coffee cans, threadbare warm cozy quilts, stacks of firewood in baskets and woodboxes, daffodils and tulips jammed in old blue canning jars on weatherbeaten window sills...pies in the oven, cats asleep by the fire, bluebirds singing in the orchard. Simple...nothing fancy...just plain home comfort.

Hot Cross Buns

2010-04-03T11:02:00.001-04:00

Easter - New Beginnings

2010-04-01T08:18:00.000-04:00

Good Morning. I have always had a difficult time with Easter decorating. It is, for an Autumn person, difficult to give in to the colors, shades and hues of early spring, beautiful as they may be. I tend to have a mish mash of sentimental Easter decorations mixed in with my earthy, soulful, things...it works...and then it is time to move on to the next season...but I am definitely an Autumn person. What season are you?

How to Get Joy

2010-03-24T10:35:00.000-04:00

Joy is in us, already. We simply have to remember that we CHOOSE joy over misery, over anger, over hatred and over violence. You are in charge of you and YOU can choose joy. You do not have to participate in anyone's negatively lived-out world. It is true! Join me in choosing joy for yourself. It is THE way to live...joyfully!

The Best, Most Healthy Greens In The World!

2010-03-23T18:04:00.000-04:00

I am sharing my personal recipe for steamed dandelion greens served with a warm salad dressing. This is, hands down, the healthiest thing you can eat this spring. It is safe for everyone and makes a good spring tonic, body cleansing and liver cleansing. Do not eat this if you have gallstones or gallbladder problems, as they can be exacerbated by the diuretic/cleansing properties of the dandelions.

If you do not have access to fresh dandelions that are not exposed to exhaust fumes or pesticides, you can buy them in the produce section of Whole Foods and Plum Market grocery stores.

Boil about a quart of water and throw in as many dandelion greens that you can cram in the pot. Put a lid on and boil on high for 4 minutes.

Remove from heat and drain. Replace lid to keep dandelions hot. While the dandelions are sitting. Prepare hot salad dressing.

Hot Salad Dressing

1/4 cup butter, melted in 1 quart pot

Mix following ingredients together well and add, slowly to melted butter:
1 1/2 C water, cool to lukewarm
1 beaten large egg
1/4 cider vinegar
3 T flour
1/2 t sea salt
1/4 sugar

Stir all together over medium low heat until thick.

Pour over greens and enjoy!
I usually place a sliced hard boiled egg or a poached between the greens and the sauce, for a complete meal. You can add whatever you like...hot peppers, cheese, whatever. Enjoy!

Maple Syrup Revisited

2010-03-23T14:54:00.000-04:00

So, we finished our very first Maple Syrup harvest and it was...successful! I was shocked at how simple it was. Really, if you follow directions and have the time, it turns out wonderful. We gathered the sap from the trees every day while the temps were below freezing at night and above freezing during the day. On good days, we got at least 11 gallons of sap. Once the nights went above freezing, the trees stopped running their sap. But, that was okay...we were getting tired of lugging 60 pound buckets of sap around! Albert rigged his own cinderblock evaporator with an old stovepipe. We searched and found some used restaurant grade pans on Craigslist for a few dollars a piece and we gathered a pickup load of old branches from the woods. We were in business. Albert stayed with his boiling sap every Saturday and Sunday, bless his heart. He has some good stick-to-itive-ness for a 12 year old. He came in pretty darn tired most evenings.

When all was said and done, we have well over 2 gallons of pure maple syrup from our first season. Not bad for 7 trees!

I have posted pictures above that show the sap evaporating and cooking. Enjoy looking!

I Am A Radical Homemaker

2010-03-20T07:12:00.002-04:00

Who knew there was a name for it. Nice to know that others think the same. To the right is some hand ground, sourdourgh Sheepherder's bread with fresh honey & comb. It is a simple sourdough and an easy loaf to make and share. I will share the recipe and the sourdourgh starter recipe in my next post.

NY Times Magazine Meets Radical Homemakers : Chelsea Green

2010-03-20T07:12:00.001-04:00

NY Times Magazine Meets Radical Homemakers : Chelsea Green

Posted using ShareThis

2010-03-15T07:04:00.000-04:00

"Life is a grindstone. Whether it grinds you down or polishes you up depends on what you are made of."
— Unknown

Stripping Away The Layers

2010-03-14T17:57:00.000-04:00

This afternoon it was cold and rainy, and I went upstairs to clean and organize the 'library', a huge middle room in the house that holds ALL our books...and there are a lot of them. I love books. As I was organizing, I realized that the center bookcase, which always houses my favorite of favorite books, no longer was up-to-date. It no longer held books that were in line with who I am today.

So, I gathered all the books from around the room that were who I am today, including my father's collection of Kahlil Gibran books,

Colette Barron-Reid's Remembering The Future http://www.hayhouse.com/details.php?id=2815 and,Butash's Bless This Food http://spiritualitybooks.suite101.com/article.cfm/bless_this_food_by_adrian_butash.

I then proceeded to place my father's picture and his Mason books in this special spot. It was then that I became aware, all at once, that we spend our entire lives layering and covering up who we are when we are born into this world. When we are born, we come as an already programmed, complete package. And, anyone who has more than one child can tell you this is true. This little person comes out into the world, ready to go, and already making facial expressions and gestures that will be their's for life. We are who we are...there is no changing it. Why we spend the majority of our days layering, searching, building, buying, seeking and pretending...when we already have everything we need to be who we are, is beyond my comprehension. However, I am content to be who I came into this world to be. I am stripping away the layers, and it feels wonderful and light.

The Happy Peasant

Old Roots New Page

With the cold long winter nights upon us, and the tucking away of the holidays, we find time to rest, think and renew.

***Happy New Year, 2012***

A magical gift, in all it's cloaked, rooted, sleeping wonder.

What Keeps Me Awake At Night (Part I)

Woodland Thanksgiving

Black Walnut Day

Goat Girls Get Ultrasounds (: (Silly, I Know)

October 3 - More Short Notes

Long Shadows - Short on Time

Stepping Off The Train

Tasha Tudor Day ~ Part II

Take Joy - Take Peace - Happy Tasha Tudor Day!

Beauty and Comfort - The Feminine Home

Saving Seeds of Basil, Ratatouille and Summer's End

Pure Summer Joy

Hot Searing Heat

Flower and Herb Tea

Etenoha - Completed

In The Moment - Work...and Joy

June ~ Eight Weeks in Seven Days

Blustery Weather

Shepherdess

Spring?

When I Close My Eyes, All I See Are Baby Goats...

I Come In The Little Things...

Etenoha - The Feminine as Art

My First Blog Award

High Feline Tea, Butter, Goddesses and the Divine Feminine

The Hands of the Clock (Winged Like Cupid)

On Paper

Soothing Vegetable Chili Recipe

Feathered Friend - Completed

The Hunger Moon

Feathered Friend

Create 365

The Layers (a poem)

Herbally Healthy - Herbally Good

Merry Christmas!

Winter Angel

Home and Heart

A Few Of My Favorite Things - Part I

O Christmas Tree

And Tho' It Be Dark, We Are Snug

Busy Tasks and Readying for Christmas

My Favorite Winter Words

All Is Safely Gathered In...E're The Winter Storms Begin

Season's Harvest (Of Teacups and Wine)

Children and Stress

Homeschooling The Road Less Traveled

Listen to thehappypeasants Playlist

Sun to the Earth

Things Poets Ponder

Story~Word~Journal~Book

A Devil Named 'Defeat'

New Things

A Newly Found Autumn Treasure (and it was right there all the time!)

Seperating the Boys...From the Girls

Kindness and Consideration

Horse Barn in Morning

Dance 'Round Him, You'll Glitter Like Gold....

I Got A Goat (or, Thank You Charlie Brown)

August Eve

The Bird Flying Over You

Jack of All Trades, Zucchini and The Arts

North of North

Who Do You Write Like?

Extraordinary

Create, Do, Be, Live, Now

Round Peg Square Peg...What Is The Difference?

Log Cabin/Soldier/Blacksmith Days

Gifts of Summer

Solstice

Gather Ye Rosebuds

Blessed Complicated Living

Simple Uncomplicated Living

African Animals, Toledo Tornado and Soup

Dance, Pray, Love -Benedictus

Herb Rack Watercolor

Happy New Year, 2012