This Farm is for the Birds (except chickens...)

(except chickens...) please refer back to post titled "Not Much Farming" for a complete explanation as to why this is the case. I am not ready to revisit it yet...

However depressing our chicken story is, our songbird population is healthy and growing. It is a daily blessing. Outside our kitchen window is the coolest birdfeder I have ever seen. The couple that built the house put it in. It is a tray that spans the distance of the two windows, with a seut feeder on each end. Every morning while sipping coffee we get to watch the birds literally right infront of our noses! There is a constant stream of feathers at the window and we all enjoy it. We added two feeders in close proximity to this one and it is constantly in use. It is 8:30pm and I can still hear the steady chirping of our birds.

Not the best picture of it, but you can see the driftwood collection. We put it everywhere in the gardens and the birds just love perching on it. We actually had one at the old house that a bird found a little hole and began living in it.

Adam's grandfather recently gifted us a beautiful birdhouse. Yesterday, while Ben napped I loaded the birdhouse, cordless drill, and Simon in the wagon and headed out towards the muscadines to set the house up. Simon was thrilled to be a big helper and Ben was surprised to see it up when he awoke. The excitement of these two little boys over a birdhouse got me thinking about the environment that we are trying to create here at our farm. So, today after the boys hunted their Easter eggs (which I also took as a sign that it was time to think about birds) I took the camera out to photograph all of our little homes and feeders.

So beyond the patch of forest behind us which is home to so many birds, cardinals, tufted titmice, pine warblers, to name a few, we have an assortment of homes scattered across the farm.

This house is home to a lovely bluebird. She has three eggs in there, I spied. I tried very hard to get a picture of them but it was just too impossible to do without disturbing them. I wish I could share with you the amazing color of those teeny tiny eggs.

This nest in inside one of our large Camelias. Simon has adopted this Camelia as one of his play homes. Today, he pulled me in and we discovered two nests amidst the branches.

We got this from a client of Adam's. We haven't spied any birdies coming in and out yet.

We inherited this one in the muscadine vines. We moved it though and had to do several repairs. Ben picked the colored nails. It is a nice touch. This one reminds me of the little cabin I lived in when I met Adam, equally as ramshackle and repaired in much the same way, a nail here, maybe one there, yup I think that will hold it!

Ben painted this itty bitty house last summer in Gatlinburg Tennessee.

Some of these gourds came with us from our garden in Newnan, the vine overtook the backyard, very stinky flowers but very cool fruit. One actually began growing between the boards of the arbor and was flat on two sides, we called it the pancake gourd. It didn't make it here though, I think it cracked and rotted instead of drying out. Too bad. The white ones we discovered in the corner of the shed here shortly after we moved in. One afternoon we tied them all up into the Sycamore tree. That big white one has constant traffic in and out. There must be babies.
This one I just think is pretty. It looks so natural and I think if I were a bird it would be the best choice.
Today, the new birdhouse witnessed the boys hunting Easter eggs. Simon spied an egg to high to reach on his own and his Pop-pop gave a little needed assistance. Can you imagine the tales a birdhouse would tell if it could talk? Just think, all the different birds from year to year, babies hatching, and then the goings on of all the humans raising more humans.
Thank you Great Pop-Pop, for giving us a beautiful home for our birds and for inspiring us to contemplate our relationshiop with our feathered friends.

Earth Day

Earth Day has always been one of my favorites. I grew up outdoors, from an early age I learned the value and to value what Mother Earth provided for us. I have always taken pride in my conscious efforts to make choices that promote a sustainable lifestyle. I even gave birth on Earth Day, a sure sign that the collective conscious recognized that I really was trying to put our eco-system first!

Then, while searching for some Earth Day ideas on the web for my 20 first graders I ran across a Footprint quiz. I took it (and yes some questions were very general). By the end I learned that if everyone lived like me it would take 4 1/2 Earths to sustain our lifestyle. I made two green pledges (which I feel confident that I already do and were not factored into the quiz) which reduced my footprint to 4 Earths.

So much for the idea that I thought I was making gains in sustainable living.

I guess I just need to work harder, 4 Earths is too many, we only have 1.

On the flip side. I do know that I work hard at sustainable living and if I take up 4 Earths, how many Earths do other people use?

At the Painting House we live by this code of sustainable living, which we are preaching to our offspring.

• lights off, off, off.


• line dry he clothes...that is when the pollen count is down!


• we pick furniture off the sides of the street...and find ways to use it at home.


• most clothing purchases are from second-hand shops.



• we avoid purchasing anything packaged (hard to hit 100% here, but efforts are made)



• gardens are in and growing-local produce



• wood heat



• Ceiling fans in every room.



• Dr. Bronners, safe for the septic, safe for humans.



• AC at 78 during the summer.



• old adage "if it's yellow let it mellow, brown flush it down"



• we use magnets to wash our clothes.



• we use the "eco" light bulbs.



• COMPOST



• Re-usable containers everyday.



• our boys have been clothed almost completely in hand-me-downs.



• Cloth diapered both boys (that is almost 4 years of diapers spared from the landfill)



• High efficiency low water use washing machine.



• Heavily insulated attic space.



• Re-cycle everything we can!! And according to Ben we can even re-use shrink wrap...see endnote for a silly story about that!



• we plant things, let's not forget that green things clean the air.

Plans for more sustainability at the farm...

• insulate the floor.



• raise chickens for manure and fresh eggs.



• bigger garden and more fruit trees.



• new windows



• solar power



• Sarah needs to find a human to carpool with...very hard to do...observed that people like to work on their own clock, come and go when they want.



• continue to raise conscientious children.

Ben's 3 R's Story...

The boys and I are reading books. Ben finds a set of books wrapped in shrink wrap. "Mommy can we read these ones?" Of coure I say yes and we open them up. I ever so nicely ask Ben to throw the plastic in the trash, he looks at me and says flatly "no Mommy." I reply, "Ben, please throw it away like I asked." Again, "no Mommy", but this time he adds, "Mommy, reduce, reuse, recycle. We CAN reuse this." I am looking at the balled up shrink wrap wondering how I am going to explain that it is hard to reuse plastic wrap. Then Ben informs me that we can use it on the sail that we are planning on sewing for his driftwood pirate ship. So, I acknowledge his thoughts and instruct him to go set the balled up plastic on the sewing table. He was happy with this and we went on to read two fabulous Robert Munsch books. Ben won't be four until August but he sure is thinking like a little Earth Soldier.
This is one proud Mommy signing off, wishing her little boy Simon (Earth Soldier#2) a very happy birthday tomorrow, and pledging to make every effort to live a more sustainable life everyday.

Peace Mother Earth, may we at the Painting House Farm continue to observe, honor, and protect you.

Happy Birthday Simon!

Escape to Lake Wedowee...return to babies on the farm!

We had wonderful weather for my Spring Break, which meant zero housework got done! Instead of tackling my mile long list of things to do I sat back and did some relaxing with the kids. The first few days we spent at home, making dinosaur tails for the boys and homemade pizza, yum!

Yes, Simon got one too! He has a great growl!

Ben made a self-portrait.

Adam knew I would never sit down if we stayed home for the whole week so he bartered a trade...stonework for some time in a beautiful lake home on Lake Wedowee in Alabama (which I might add is an unbelievably pretty place). Everyday we took the boys out on the lake in the canoe, finding little nooks and crannies to search for new driftwood for the gardens and watch the boys find endless joy in tossing rocks into the water. Rama and Leo were excited to be part of the adventure and eagerly awaited the return of the canoe (Leo tried to follow us once and thank goodness he changed his mind because I really didn't want a repeat of the the time we were on the same lake, in kayaks, me 8 months pregnant with Ben, dragging a huge driftwood raft that we couldn't seem to part with, Leo tried to jump into MY kayak, which filled it with water, and made me swim to shore toting a super heavy kayak, a tired dog, and too much driftwood).

Can't get enough driftwood!

The last day was quite hot and Adam surprised all of us by running off the dock into the water. Of course the boys were eager to join him until they realized the water was really rather cold! Ben was out faster than he got in and Simon just enjoyed it. We left after that bring home too very tired boys!

Once home Ben noticed the backdrop of our farm in the spring (white spirea, dogwoods, native azaleas, and formosa azaleas) and insisted on taking pictures of all the new blooms with his brother Simon. We witnessed some exciting pollination by a bee in the azaleas and a butterfly in the lilac! We also discovered that two of our young peach trees have baby peaches! Yippee! After the peaches we decided we should check on the pear trees and they too are sporting lots of fruit, which is great because we just finished last season's pear sauce! The clematis on the swingset is blooming and we have some super tall bearded white iris that I put in last summer, in crazy hot June, not because it was smart planting time (it wasn't, nor was it smart to work a rototiller that weighs more than me in 90 plus degree weather), but because I just needed to plant a garden! Let's see, we also have columbine in bloom, blueberries, diathus, and roses! The best part for me is to witness the excitment my children have for what is happening outside! They are eager to count the seedlings as they pop up and jump up and down a the thought of picking our own fruit!

How cute are those baby pears?

And fuzzy little peaches?

Life is GOOD!

Getting the Farm on!

Spring, Spring, Spring!

Everywhere we turn there are new blooms.

Days begin outside and end outside.

We are all enjoying each other, playing outside, and checking up on all that is growing!Kale! Lettuce!

New mulch, plants from house #1, boys enjoying their Daddy!

Peach blossoms...thoughts of mouth-watering fruit in the fall!

Dogwoods, gracefully dancing in the wind like ballerinas. What is not to love about this delicate tree.

Apple blossoms, maybe this year it will actually produce! We can hope!

Figs anyone? Already showing themselves...we need favorite recipes if anyone has one!

Swing set with two trellis for peas this spring and beans when it is too hot for peas! Clematis in the center of both already blooming. Hoping this strategy will provide a little extra shade for the kiddos when we are working in the garden.

Boys, still enjoying the giant pine tree Grandpa cut down. Daddy moved it this morning out of the front yard and into his little "man" grove fire pit area. Great climbing and imagining for the boys.

What is left of the big pine tree in the front yard...Adam trying his hand at chainsaw sculpture...I have requested a giant mushroom. It is coming along. We plan a big garden bed around it. It is so much fun having acreage to indulge in garden fantasies!

Evolving Perspectives

Here I am a little more than 6 1/2 years into a career, 5 years a wife, 3 1/2 years a mother, and recovering from yet another stomach bug. Why is this pertinent? Friday's are a pretty great day for me. I get to wear jeans to work, leave at 3:00, I am amped for the weekend so somehow my psyche pushes the weeks built up fatigue aside and I energetically clean the house so that when Saturday comes around I can sit with my coffee, watch the boys play, and not see the trails of dirt, scattered toys, and random sippy cups around the house. I like Fridays! Well this Friday I stayed at work to photograph our school's annual "Mother & Son Gala" so I didn't make it home until almost 9, didn't clean, barely felt alive. In other words crashed with the hubby and kids. Saturday I usually get to sleep in a little but this week Simon woke us all up puking at 5:30 am. We nurtured the sick little one, put chores aside, had snuggle family time, and actually thought that a miracle had descended upon our household because we made it all the way through Monday with out anyone else showing signs of illness! Tuesday morning, again 5:30 am I woke up to begin my day as usual only something was a little uneasy. I tossed it aside thinking it was far too late in the morning to call in a sub which always entails more work than actually being there. Bad choice. I greeted my 20 7 year olds curled in a ball in my "thinking chair", tossed them some work and warned them not to make a peep or else. I didn't make it through the day, called in a sub after all and left work at 11:00. Adam tried his best to keep the kids from tampering with my nap but Simon is in a "I'm crazy for Mom" phase and it was an afternoon of intermittent napping, nursing, wishing I was in a hole, underground, and alone. I finally crawl out of my cave around 9:00 and Adam convinces me to take Wednesday off. Good idea this time. Adam takes the kids to his parents and I have a day at home alone! Any other day I would have been moving non stop like a lightning bolt. Be proud of me, I actually rested! The guilt periodically overcame me but the illness eventually overcame and kept me flat. That evening Adam returns with the boys, Simon happy to see me, Ben a limp boy now ill, ill, ill. Nurture mode kicks in and eventually all four of us crash in the family bed. Adam and I are both joking that he is still the healthy one, however we both know that he is going to be boarding a plane early Saturday morning for his Colorado "Ski Mancation" and we are both actually wishing that the virus starts soon (how sick is that!) Wishing aside, the virus hit Adam this morning just when I was crawling out of bed for work. He insists on keeping the boys. I go to work and begin the clean up from a two-day absence with a big math test to give Friday. Ahhhh! I make it through the day rather exhausted. I come home to Adam curled in a ball on the couch, and the boys making do with a sick daddy. I send Adam to bed, take the boys outside for a peak at all of the blooms that appeared during our sick week, beg the kids to come in, bathe, nurse Simon to sleep, snuggle Ben, and alas here I am, looking around my home and I see a never-ending list of things to do...vacuum the carpets, clean the bathrooms, fold more laundry, organize the art room, finish the income taxes, wash the windows, weave another basket, make the boys a sail for their pirate ship, on, and on, and on.

I titled this post "evolving perspectives" because of this, it was just a little stomach bug, a 24 hour mess per person. I am feeling guilty because my carpets haven't been vacuumed in two weeks, my table needs to be wiped, and all I can muster up is a cup of tea and this post. What was my mother feeling as she watched her own independence and control slip out of her grasp, not during the course of a week but over 12 years? My mother, a woman who had a full time career as a nurse, moonlighted as a mid-wife's assistant, mothered 6 children, married my father, made anything she put her mind too. how did she feel about all this? She laid there in bed watching her home fall to pieces as it was attempted to be cared for by two teenage girls and man-size boy. She laid there in bed watching her husband try to manage while spining in ADHD circles unable to rest her arms upon him and calm him with her focused energy. She laid there in bed watching the family's already tenacious finances get worse. She laid there in bed watching her two youngest children attempt adolescence without their mother's reassuring words to guide them. I was too young to understand, too much an angry teenager to accept a different type of motherly communion. One that now I crave on a daily basis. Just as I was realizing what was happening to my family and starting to process the picture of our new life she was rapidly losing her ability to communicate. When I did have the questions, she couldn't answer with words, but I do remember her eyes, my mother's beautiful eyes. All I remember is a deep sadness that none of us could make better. As I venture forth in my new role as teacher, wife, and mother, I think I know where that sadness in my mother's eyes began and it breaks my heart. All a mother wants to do is care for her family with whatever means are at her disposal. I want to go back to those last few years of her life, snuggle next to her a little longer and a little deeper, and reassure her that no matter how sick she was or was going to get, she was my mother, and I will never stop loving her and admiring her for all that she was. Even in sickness my mother was the strongest person I have met. I feel so lucky to have been a part of her life. As angry as I am that she was not able to see me grow up, catch my babies, and advise me through motherhood, I know that she is with me and I need to find peace with that.

Thank you for letting me ramble. The tears running down my cheeks are painful but feel incredibly good. I like remembering her. I like remembering what her illness and it's trials taught me. It keeps me grounded in the present. I think it is why I am the happiest person I know. Every moment we spend and communicate together is a gift. Life can't throw at me anything worse than what I have already been through. And if it does, I will face those challenges with lessons learned, and always an ever evolving perspective.

These pictures are for my mother. A glimpse of what is blooming right now in my life on the farm.

Friday Afternoon Chores!

Gather kindling, chop wood, and oh yeah...change out of your work clothes Sarah...

Well, we got most of that done before dinner!

Rain, Rain, go Away...

It feels like weeks of rain. Everybody is going stir crazy. Adam can't work, the boys are trapped inside. Even in my classroom the children are starting to freak out.

I got home one day and Simon was relentlessly pushing me out the door. It was pouring, had been all day. "Oh well", I said, "Let's do it." Ben piped right up, "I want to go out too." So out came the rubber boots, warm coats, and out we went.

I had totally forgotten how much fun it is to stomp around in mud puddles. I guess I was going a little nuts with the cold, wet weather too.

Nothing is better than rubber boots, deep rain puddles, and soaking wet rosy cheeks!