Signs of Fall

September has brought cooler mornings, which we are enjoying. It inspired us to pack up the camping gear and head to Alabama for a river run down the Coosa River. Adam paddled it a few times in the spring and has wanted to bring us there all summer but neither one of us wanted to sleep in a tent through 90 degree nights in a family pig pile!

I am so glad we made it because it truly is such a beautiful river, southern enough that the Cypress trees lining the river's edge are draped with that creepy yet romantic Spanish Moss that I so love. Adam enjoyed seeing the river with more summer growth, he said it added a whole new dimension to the river's beauty. We took the canoe down most of the river, Adam even took us down a few rapids which both the boys enjoyed. My heart lept a bit going into some of the waves but that canoe is just as smooth as can be and it was quite a little adrenaline treat! The big pull to this river for Adam is a class III rapid about half way down with a nice eddy that he can surf in his kayak. So we towed his kayak behind the canoe until we made it to a very large rock formation in the middle of the river. We parked there and unloaded. Adam geared up for the kayak and hit the waves! I wish I had better footage, it was very sunny and our video camera isn't the best. In addition I had two little boys tugging at me. I was very nervous on the rock because it was surrounded by all of these class III rapids (in case you are unfamiliar with river ratings they range from class I which is flat water to class V which is pretty gnarly) anyway I was nervous to take Simon out of his vest in the event he tumbled etc...I was a little bit of a wreck and now if we go again I have a much better idea of how to handle the rock time so that all of us are having fun!

We also took some photos of the rivers edge. Beautiful Spanish Moss, Cypress roots peeking out of the water for air, Elephant Ears draping into the water. It was quite lovely and so unlike the rivers up north.

Camping didn't go as planned. We spent quite a bit of time on the river and didn't make it to camp with enough light to wind the kiddos down! We scrambled to get the tent up and make dinner. We had two exhausted boys who had a total meltdown at sundown! Lesson learned, don't run out of daylight! We were discouraged for a quick moment but now we are putting plans in place to make packing easier and are going to be more conscious of time limitations so that we can keep camping this fall with smiles on our faces!

Fall is also bringing a little harvest at the farm. We have some pomegranates ripening, our apple trees which we figured out are pear trees (silly but they really did look like apples for most of their development!), chestnuts, pecans, and muscadines by the pailful. I really should be working on turning these grapes into jelly but I was much too excited to post all of our adventures...I have to get some more jars anyway!

Ben and I spent part of Monday making homemade spinach pasta with Mom's pasta press! Ben enjoyed turning the handle and Adam really enjoyed watching it slice the noodles up. We made flat noodles for some lasagna and some linguine in the freezer for later! Dinner sure was delicious. We actually did quite a bit of cooking Monday, from noodles to broccoli soup to banana flaxseed muffins! That extra day off sure was a treat for this working Mom.

Here is a photo of my boys getting ready to start the new skid steer! Ben especially likes this new tool!

As I said we have been busy! We also took a day and went to a bluegrass festival about an hour north of us. My boys again, enjoying the tunes together!

For just a mommy moment...the boys are growing so fast. It is hard to believe that just a year ago we were up north and Ben was doing his BenSpeak. He is now rambling sentences and interjecting his own bit of humor throughout the day. I was worried about him on the big rock in the river and he looks at me, waves his hand, and says "No problem mommy, no problem". His confidence is growing by the day! Simon too is changing, he is the silliest little character who as challenging as he can be at times can just look at you with his michevious little twinkle and melt your heart away. Adam and I talk often of just how lucky we are. Missing you all and hoping that fall is as full as joy up north as it is here on the farm.

172 days to go!

Yes, that is correct, 172 days of school left. I usually don't start counting the days left yet but my oh my! Since the boys have been back to daycare we already have a cold. Thank goodness Adam was able to take the past two days to stay home with the boys because there is nothing worse than having to miss any moment of the first week with a new class! I certainly love my job but I wouldn't mind taking a break until the kids are older. It is a lot for me to keep track of all of my responsibilities and do any of them well. My goals are to stay as healthy as can be so that I can spread myself as thin as I need to to get the jobs of mommying, wifing, teaching, and existing done! Lucky I am not lazy and like being busy!

This morning we woke up at 7:00 (believe it or not but that was sleeping in for me now that I am up at 5 every morning during the week). Ben came into our room, tried hard to snuggle and go back to sleep, then popped up and said I'm hungry! So we began our day; breakfast, tea, we picked the last of the figs and preserved them. We also pulled out some of the frozen peaches from our orchard visits and made our first ever batch of peach butter. Right now Simon is napping, Ben is chillin with a movie and we are all feeling sick and drained from the change of schedule and introduction of new germs.

We do have exciting news and I should take a picture soon for you. Adam bought his first big machine! He is so excited that he will now have some mechanical help to move the large piles of materials and giant stones around the job sites and to work on preparing our fall beds. We both want so much to get planting but neither of us has the energy to pull out that rototiller and work the hard Georgia clay...Adam has been doing too much digging this summer in god forsaken temps and I perpetually have two little ones tugging on my skirt! So needless to say this is an exciting moment for the farm. We plan on garlic and onions this winter. Two easy crops here that will need little attention with delicious results!

We are also beginning to think about winter which is rather hard to believe since we are still seeing temperatures in the 90's. But this winter we get to go back to our roots and heat this little home with wood! I am so excited about this. For all my years toting wood around at Millwood I never though I would miss it, but I do. The dust, the perpetual sweeping of the floor between door and stove, remembering to keep the kettle filled on the stove, splitting, stacking, worrying about having enough wood. I actually miss it all! I like even better that if I am blessed with a night in which I am not woken by Ben, Simon, Rama, Leo, or Adam that we won't freeze if I can't pull myself out from under the blanket to stoke the fire, we have back-up heat! A little luxury that I wish I could share with my Dad. Anyway, we are thinking about this and beginning to organize our wood, we also need to get a flu for the chimney. I am hoping that Simon is maturing enough that he will understand the danger of the woodstove. Right now he thinks it makes an excellent climbing wall.

Oh yeah, this is big news for me. Ben suprised us by counting to 10. Mothers all around me brag about how smart their kids are, I know Ben is smart but he doesn't show us all in academic ways (which is fine with me, he is so creative and kind!) My colleagues brag that their two year olds know all the letter sounds already...while we are hard pressed for Ben to correctly name a letter! But he does point letters out all the time, and numbers, and as he was putting his trains away he counted each one up to ten followed by non sequential teens! This is a relief to me because of course I am a teacher and my kid is supposed to know stuff right! Really motherhood has taught me to be a better teacher, I certainly appreciate each kids uniqueness a bit more, and as always my heart goes out to the kid who doesn't know their letters but sure can tell me an interesting story that will knock you off your feet with the giggles! All in good time...unfortunately state assessments will argue against that and insist that all children learn everything they need to at the same time etc. Makes me want to puke. Another goal of mine...ditch public school and open an outdoor preschool...one that encourages natural exploration, creativity, and story-telling. We can always dream.

Lots of love.

Go Figgy? and Happy Birthdays!

Well, August is here and might I say moving right along! We celebrated Benjamin's 3rd birthday and Adam's 37th this past week. My goodness, how time flies (an old adage, but so appropriate...). To prepare for the festivities Ben, Simon, and I made a banner for the newest addition to the farm, a pint sized picnic table. The banner has held out through three crazy Georgia summer storms and looked quite good yesterday during a home-made peach pop break! You can see Simon enjoys the table, the shade, and the pop. Ben also decorated his own party hat that he was kind enough to share with his Daddy for part of the night. Sadly somehow Mommy missed a picture of that though. For my talented sisters, notice the two tie-dyes on Ben in one day...they are by far his favorites and it is always his first choice. Lucky for him he has two Aunties who love him so much to keep his drawer filled.

What else...

Yes, yesterday we picked a big basketful of figs from our most productive plant. Today we cooked them up and canned them for some sweet and tangy preserves to enjoy this winter. It is fun to have a little harvest our first year. Ben is keeping a close watch over the apple trees insisting that we take almost daily walks to check on their progress so I imagine there will be more canning of applesause and maybe apple butter in the coming months. Aren't those figs beautiful!

This morning we all packed up for work and left the house early, you can see there is only one morning person in the family...Simon. He insisted on wearing Ben's cape out the door this morning and put on quite a display for the camera...Ben on the other hand is like "you got me up, let's go!" Now that the two most recent sewing projects have finally been completed (recycling old sheets and bedspreads into blackout drapes for the bedrooms) there is room on my table for a new project...I think Simon needs his own cape!

I spent the day learning a new software to differentiate instruction in my classroom, hopefully I will find the time to use it...the other part of the day I spent painting, cutting, taping, and decorating my new classroom. I can already feel a more mature area with less dramatic play furniture and more open space for bigger ideas (yeah right...wishful thinking!) I am pleased with my room so far and I am even thinking that I have enough energy this year to start a farm to school program. Maybe starting with a garden club. We will see.

I have an empty house (Adam is on a trike ride with the boys), so I am going to say good-bye tonight, finish my glass of wine, maybe read a quick bit out of my new Chicken Magazine, and probably be quickly interupted to put the boys to bed! Lots of love from the farm and if the jars seal right maybe some fig preserves this holiday season too!

Mmmmwwwaaa! from our first decent down Line Creek in our hometown! Lucky woman am I.

Montana...and back.

We ended our summer (or at least mine), with a Churchill gathering in Big Sky, Montana. We spent two weeks there and it is probably going to take that to get the boys out of mountain time...just in time for me to begin the school year! It was worth it all, we found Montana to be beautiful and filled with adventure. Adam and especially liked the Bozeman area, pretty cool town; lots of fun parks for the boys, pawn shops with great gear, and gorgeous views everywhere you turned.

We did quite a few hikes, spent a couple days in Yellowstone watching the earth boil, were stopped in the road for bison crossing, and got all bad-ass for a bit of downhill mountain biking (this time without the boys on back!) The mountain biking scared me immensely but I am super excited that I have a photo of me looking totally hardcore to flash at my new students this year, maybe scare them a bit! Adam guided his siblings and spouses down a section of the Galatin River. We went inside a mountain and saw totally amazing caverns! I stayed with back with the Grandparents (fallen out of far too many rafts to be game for it). Instead we checked out Virginia City which is a ghost town and the history reminded me that we truly were in the Wild Wild West!

Now that we are back at the farm we are trying to adjust to the idea that I am headed back to school. I have almost finished my role in the second bathroom so pretty soon we will be operating with two toilets, which is totally necessary since now Ben is officially in big boy undies all day! Super psyched parents are we that now we are back to one set of diapers to change and wash. Adam just finished a gorgeous pond in an atrium, it was a fun project for him because he was working with a vertical space rather than an open slope. He has several jobs in the works but I am not sure exactly what they are, I think some stone step rebuilds, and I am sure in a few weeks the fall planting season will begin. I get to teach first grade this year, so I am looking forward to a bit more maturity and a new curriculum to keep things exciting. Let's see, what else...we built the boys a mini-picnic table outside. Totally helps out the sandbox dilemna of needing to shower before lunch! I like it. The boys like to dance on it, especially Simon. He is also incredibly fond of wearing nothing but his hand-me-down yellow rubber boots which are still a bit too big. He is insistent on it though! Which brings me to another thought...the boys are goofier than ever! Ben is picking out more and more of his own clothes, yesterday hiking in a tie dye, patchwork plaid pants, and camo canvas hightops with striped tube socks! Simon adds his silly self with his "pizza delivery" dance as we call it because his hand is up flat like he is carrying a tray with is other hand and knees keeping the beat! We love it!

Weekend in Blue Ridge

The residents of the farm locked it up early Friday morning for a weekend in the north Georgia mountains. We drove off in typical Churchill style laden with toys for an action packed adventure. The van had two mountain bikes on the back both equipped with childseats over the rear wheel, we had the canoe on top, above the canoe Adam's kayak rested and beside the canoe a friends kayak was strapped on tight. Inside paddles, hiking boots, coolers and the rest of the lot teetered in piles behind the carseats. We did leave the dogs behind, they would have loved the trip but we hadn't been to the area before and were unsure how dog friendly it would be. We also had an 11:00 departure planned for the Blue Ridge Scenic Railway, so we had no place for the doggies while we were on the train.

So 2 1/2 hours later we arrived at the train and Ben could barely contain his excitment at the sight of the train. He has been very enthusiastic about the train set, tugging Adam every night to play Choo Choo trains. He even asked me to call Adam one day while he was working to ask Daddy if he would play trains when he got home!

Don't you just love Simon's look in that picture! Ben is mesmerized by the steady clanking of the railcars on the track and Simon is giving me the stink eye...Regardless of his expression we all had a great time together riding the rails. On the return trip both boys fell asleep, and I have to admit that both Mommy and Daddy snuck a quick shut eye on the way home. Thank goodness one of the railway volunteers pointed us in the direction of a quiet coffee house with a couch for the boys to wrap up their napping. We looked quite a group walking off the train each of us with a limp child snoozing in our arms. Once the naps were over we headed to the cabin to check our our place for the weekend. After we checked in and did a little exploring we returned to the town of Blue Ridge to play in the park and watch some live music.

Saturday brought more adventure for the family. We began by exploring some of the forest around the cabin. Ben has been very excited about wearing his new hiking shoes (now equipped with brand-new "mommy-made gaitors".) I am quite proud of these so I asked Ben to model them for you. Adam has been wearing his gaitors a lot lately at work when he has to do a lot of digging and we have been explaining to Ben why we have them and use them for hiking. He of course wants to be just like Daddy so during one of Simon's long afternoon naps Ben and I spent the afternoon fashioning a pint sized pair of them made out of some pretty cool spider web fabric. So, you can see like father like son, and Ben is putting his new gear into good use!

After our morning excursions with the new gear we packed up the van and headed to a put in on the Toccoa River. I looked out of the van window and saw a lot of rocks and began to get nervous about the boys first river run, then the experienced paddler in the family advised me to look at the level of water, if by any chance we did come into an issue with rocks it would be quite easy to step out of the boat and pull the canoe back into moving water. He was right, and we did have to do it a couple of times. We spent more time navigating around the zillions of tubers on the river than rocks. It was a great day though. Adam had a great idea to inflate a boat inside the canoe for the boys to have a comfier ride and you can see in the photo that the boys are ready to go. We put in quite a bit further back than all the tubers ("flotillas" as Adam calls them)so we were able to enjoy the first part of our river ride devoid of other humans, ate a picnic lunch of PB&J's, fresh picked blueberries, and a few blackberries we found off the side of the river. When we were done we pulled the canoe out and hopped on the bikes we had left at the take-out to ride the six miles back up river to the van. It was a full family day, both boys fell asleep within the first tenth of a mile on the bikes, and we made it home to enjoy a nice dinner and a fire outside.

Sunday. Sunday is the day Adam put me to the test. Always reading a map he finds us a trail described as a moderate mountain biking trail/footpath. So Adam corrals us all into the van, we drop the canoe off with some friends to enjoy the ride we did the day prior and we head to a trailhead. Well, I would not describe the trail as moderate. Me, with little mountain biking experience toting a 20 pound child on my rear was not exactly prepared for a few miles of climbing, in the woods, around rocks, over roots, with twists and turns all over the place. Oh yeah, did I mention it was all single track...Well I almost take a big fall with Simon and I decide the safest way up this mountain is walking so that is how I climbed the mountain, pushing a bike and a kid. It was a beautiful trail and forest so it all seemed worth it. Then the downhill part came and I learned why people love mountain biking...I was of course very cautious and took it very slow but what fun. I am a little jealous of Ben's ride because he was riding with the experienced rider zooming this way and that along the trail. Since the trail was far more arduous than we had expected we navigated our way to the main road to get back to the van which turned out to be (yes we clocked it afterwards) a 1.5 mile climb with no relief. Once again, this girl walked. I can't believe Adam's endurance as he toted 30 pound Ben and himself up that grueling hill, but he did it. I was happy to have made it to the top on my two feet! Never a dull moment with my husband! And I should add never a moment to doubt myself when faced with his challenges...

And yes, after that we headed straight back to the river to rest our weary feet and refresh. We also had to pick up the canoe. While Adam and I are maneuvering the tie-downs Ben found a headband and winter hat in a chair pocket and this is what Adam and I turned around to see. You just have to laugh, it came at just the right moment. We have spent so many hours strapping and unstrapping boats on cars and being frustrated with it that the boys comic relief was just what we needed after a fun but exhausting day.

Now we are back at The Painting House Farm. I am eager to finish the dog fence tomorrow and begin training the dogs to their new boundaries in hopes of once again trying to occupy the chicken coop with live chickens. Before we left for the mountains Adam, the boys, and I armed ourselves with tape to mark the dogs new zone, rented a little trencher (by the way totally awesome, took us 30 minutes to trench 1200 feet!) and all that is left is laying the wire, covering it up and teaching Rama and Leo. I will leave you tonight with one last photo from our boundary marking day, these are my two little warriors who are daily keeping us on our toes and teaching us how to stay adventurous even while parenting! Peace and love from The Painting House Farm.

Not Much Farming...

No, not much farming going on...but we are hitting milestones at The Painting House Farm!

Mother's Day was awful...Leo got into the chicken coop and murdered the babes, they were just getting so cute and I could just strangle Leo! However, emotions aside I understand instinct and I will forgive him for now. It was probably my fault for being overzealous at the thought of chickens and I should have known that Leo would be a problem.

Milestone #1: Reality Check...remember sometimes things die."

Lesson learned, I guess we will have to put in the electric fence in after all and give Leo the larger shock collar. I will have to admit though, I really don't want to see any more dead chicks. Oh and to top that off, I almost forgot. After I buried the chicks I took Simon in a wagon ride down the road and saw that a cat had been run over in the road. I knocked on neighbors doors but no one knew of a pretty tiger cat. Well, of course I couldn't leave it to rot in the sun in the road (I guess some vultures would have found it and it probably would be been a more ecologically sound decision to brush it to the side of the road but I couldn't do that.) so I gave the orange tiger cat a burial on the farm too. Sad day. I have been so ashamed I haven't wanted to write about it.

Father's Day was so much nicer! We built the boys a sandbox and Adam reused the last of the old kitchen cabinets into a new recycling center. After that we took the boys swimming.

Milestone #2: Ben took off on his own, swimming across the pool. (Yes he did have a float on but this is a huge step in bravery!) Needless to say we are very proud of him.

Milestone #3: Ben is weaning! This is huge since "Boobie" as Ben calls it has been one of his favorite things for almost 3 years. We have been going on one week now and the celebration begins tonight with myself having a nice cup of tea because he put himself to sleep without a tear, without the "I want Boobie!" mantra, without the subtle request for just 2 sips...he just said "Goodnight Mommy." And that was that. Funny, I never thought it would happen.

Milestone #4: Simon is walking! Cute as can be and we are all so proud of him. Everytime Ben sees his little bro cruising around he announces "Simey's walking!". This is exciting for Mommy and Daddy too because we won't be washing so many dirty knees and worrying about what his hands are padding across...maybe those knee callus' will begin to fade. I have a feeling the kid is still going to get just as dirty though!

We are not harvesting much at the farm this summer apart from the figs and muscadines already established here (though I do forsee some pumpkins this fall out of Ben's patch...tune in later), but we did make it down to an orchard last week to pick peaches and blueberries. Oh so delicious and inspiring of what our own trees will be giving us in a few years.

So, not much farming...well I did (who knows why in this 95 degree Georgia heat) till a garden bed. Couldn't help myself. I have been moving some plants around so that I can get to work on some of the old weed filled beds that we inherited with the place. There are some amazingly cool plants here but scattered around in odd places.

So here is a happy Mommy, pathetic wanna be chicken farmer...signing off tonight.

Simon looks a little spooked doesn't he!