From Dawn till Dusk

Since the cool weather has decided to grace Georgia with it's presence we are embracing every delicious moment, from dawn till dusk! Yesterday we woke to both boys around 7:30 nudging us out of slumber with eager pleas to go outside. It happened so fast that both boys were dressed and outside before the coffee had finished brewing...Adam and I sipped our coffee to the boys roaming the wet grass and trapsing through freshly cleared garden beds which alerted me to quite an oversight-I put us all in sneakers! Lesson learned, rubber boots are a necessity at 8 am on a chilly, wet fall morning. In little over one hour all of us were soaked to our knees with a nice red clay paste glued to our cuffs! Simon was pretty much red all over so he underwent his first change of the day at which point I realized that I had never gotten out of my pajamas, so I changed too and this time both Simon and I were stuffed into our warm rubber boots!

As the boys played I did the go between-helping Adam around the house and tending the children! Always a juggling act! We had planned for a relaxing weekend but Adam doesn't seem quite capable of chilling out on the farm quite yet, he jumped right into finishing the rockery that he had started a couple weekends ago around the back porch. The plan was for an herb garden right off the house, that is what I got with a few add-ons. I had suggested that we create a small bird bath in the bed (I was thinking small concrete puddle). Adam built a small pond. I won't complain though, it is beautiful. We both have been wanting a place to display our rock collection from Ecuador and this little bird fountain is the perfect place. The colors in the rocks just seem so much more brilliant beneath a slow trickle of water! We also decided to move the boys sandbox and integrate the play area into the garden beds. It is much nicer, can hold twice the sand, and looks so much more beautiful. The boys dove right in and played till lunch. We ate lunch outside and took a plunge into a shower before nap time.

Nap time over the boys ran right back outside and proceeded to get even dirtier than before. I finally stripped both boys outside, grabbed each one under an arm and dumped them in the shower at 7:30, twelve hours after it all began. Jammied and exhausted they crashed, along with Mommy and Daddy! So busy days are ahead as the weather continues to invite us back outdoors! Today we took a lovely walk along Line Creek and the boys had a fantastic time playing in the moving water on the shoals. Could Simon possibly look any happier!

I think it was two weekends ago that we finished canning the muscadine jelly. It was quite a process but we do have lots of tasty jelly in the pantry. We are still eating pears off the tree. Adam found one outside his truck the other day with a stripe of tiny bites across it, most definitely a Simon leftover. The boys are really enjoying picking up a pear off the ground and munching to their hearts content. We are also picking up loads of chestnuts. I just don't know what to do with them. I guess turn them into flour since roasting them wasn't the culinary delight I was expecting. As a matter of fact Ben and I pulled the first batch out of the over, let them cool a bit and we were both so excited to try one that we peeled one, cut in in half, eagerly chewed it and we both looked at each other with an expression of confusion "Is this what they are supposed to taste like?" Apparently the flour is very good for cooking so, if we can figure out how to do it maybe we will make a stab at it.

Apart from the beautiful rock work Adam has been doing his creative juices have been flowing again. I suggested a wire project with a huge steel circle that Adam had saved from the recycling pile and the two of us began to work. Luckily Simon had a nap meltdown which took me away from the project, and I say luckily because Adam took the project in a completely different direction than I had imagined and it gave him an uninterrupted hour of creative play and satisfaction that I don't think he would have found had I been there. Ben watched as Adam was building and Adam told me at one point Ben just came up to Adam with a big hug and told him "I Love You." Side note, Ben has not been generous with the I love you's to Adam lately and this was a big breakthrough. Adam is convinced that his artistic segway from the daily grind enlighted Ben to an aspect of his Daddy that was special. I really can't argue with that, I feel the same way about Adam when he is creating. I was pleasantly surprised with the artwork and yesterday we hung in in the carport turned outdoor living room. I am not sure how intentional all of the artifacts were but believe me it says a lot about Adam!

And this I have to say...I thank the universe everyday for growing up with my Dad and my Mom! There are certainly elements that I will never understand about my childhood but one thing is for sure, they managed to instill a work ethic and unbridled creativity in their children. I see this more and more as a luxury as I work every fitful day to educate the masses. It is probably the most frustrating component of my career. I get so gosh darn bored with the curriculum and I want so much to expose the children to different media and ways to express themselves but oh my it is such hard work! And might I add so underappreciated! Not to mention that public education does everything in its power to undermine creativity (not sure if this is intentional or not). I will keep plugging along though and hopefully Adam and I are sharing with our boys the gifts of hard work, personal expression, and problem solving.

I had to add this picture of Simon as I say good-bye, one because he is so cute as he is totally obsessed with wearing his own backpack to and from school and two because his crafty mama made it for him! I also share a wonderful mommy moment...both boys building and playing trains together...PEACEFULLY. Is this a sign of something sweet to come?

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!