my cup runneth over. for reals.

We had Thanksgiving dinner at my parents’ with 20 family members and friends, followed by some visiting with John’s family.

Then a second round on Friday with a gang of friends at our house for our “Annual Day-After Thanksgiving Leftover Feast”. Yum! Just writing about it makes me want more mashed potatoes… seriously.

A few things I am grateful for this year:

• my family
• my wonderful husband
• our growing baby bean (almost 5 months!)
• our dry basement
• craft fairs, loyal customers and awesome fellow crafters
• art, craft and doing-it-yourself
• furry friends
• my tribe of fantastic human friends
• mashed potatoes (can you tell I’ve gotten my appetite back?)

Hah, I really can’t even call it a harvest, our largest carrot was about 3 inches long, and it was by far the largest — many weighing in at a few centimeters, and the largest beet was about 2 inches in diameter, the rest about 1/2 inch. But, I patiently cleaned and chopped the bunch of them for dinner last night, and they were tasty {added to some potatoes, parsnips and carrots from our first Berkshire Organics box, that is}.

Normally I would listen to my mother’s advice and leave them in the ground until after the first frost (tonight?), to add some sweetness to the roots. But this year I had to get ‘em out sooner, because the plot where they were planted was all part of the big landscaping project (remember Operation Rain out of the Basement? It’s about done, I’ll show you soon!). There are some grass seeds there, now trying their best to sprout before the long winter.

I also had to cut these bad boys down, to make room for landscaping. These three were all that came of an entire package of seeds, though I have to say that bottom sunflower was mighty impressive. Dinner-plate-size!

I got to go apple-picking with some of my favorite folks, too. A perfect fall-in-new-england activity.

This lineup is a few of my apple-picking finds, plus some pears, apples and plums from the afore-mentioned Berkshire Organics box. Not sure how often we’ll have a delivery from them, but I’m thinking every other week will keep us eating well through the winter. I missed visiting a CSA this summer, and being forced to cook something healthy with all that produce that I didn’t even pick out myself. Having to look up recipes and try new things, it’s really one of the best ways to learn to cook, don’t you think?

Things are growing! Tomato blossoms and even a few tiny green tomatoes, these plants were grown from seed by my green-thumb Mom!

Last week John moved the chicken coop in with the goats, so they can graze together safely within the fence. The only real predator we’ve seen around here lately (knock on wood!) happens to be our HappyDog. She looks innocent enough, but after a little, erm, “incident” we are keeping her a safe distance from the Chickens. Well, at least on this side of the fence. She loves watching them, though. And the goats are trying their best to get to the chicken food, which we seem to have managed to barricade from them, at least for the time being.

And look at this photo below! Seem familiar? Quite uncannily like my radish painting, I GREW this one from seed, along with a whole slew of others. And they are delicious! Amazing how those tiny tiny seeds can grow something that can nourish our bodies so well, eh?

As inspired by the previously mentioned Michael Pollen and Michael Bittman, and perhaps a bit of spring fever, I have just finished a new series of paintings, entitled “Eat More Veg!” — I’m hoping this will help remind all of us of this simple idea?

Five veggie-themed prints from original watercolors are available in my shop now, as well as the title print, “Eat More Veg.” Enjoy!

It is 1AM. I went to bed around 10:30 to snuggle up and read with John. It’s no secret around here that neither of us read much anymore, so this was a nice treat. We both used to be voracious readers, but we have fallen into the routine of not reading much, being too tired from jobs and life on this tiny farm or work on this old house or just life in general and wanting more to veg out with a good movie or some of our favorite tv-on-the-internet each evening. But tonight I got around to finishing a book, while John started one he was excited about, that he got for a steal on e-bay.

Then I tossed and turned for the last hour or two after turning out the light; my mind is too full of ideas and thoughts to sleep! (or maybe it was the two sweet-potato fudge brownies I ate at 9pm? Recipe from Body+Soul magazine — delish!)

The book I finished was Jenna Woginrich’s “Made from Scratch“, published by the Berkshires’ own Storey Publishing, based in North Adams, MA. I had the pleasure of meeting and hearing Jenna read from her book this winter at Northshire Books in Manchester, VT. It was fun hearing her stories of homesteading from scratch, alone in the wilds of Idaho, and she even played her fiddle for us. She is now farming and shepherding in Vermont. Her book is really great, chock full of insight, true stories of the not-so-fun aspects as well as true joys of raising plants, animals and bees. She also has a list of great resources in the back, to get anyone going on their homesteading adventure.

So, what does this have to do with my adventure/story/thoughts? Well… we have been raising these two old goats for almost a year, the four little chickens for about 8 months and our dog for almost 2 years (oh and our kitty for just over three years!). I feel like it’s been slow going around here, partly because we are not sure what we are doing, what our plan is for this farm (can we call it a homestead?) or even why we are doing it.

Jenna’s book reminds me that part of the reason we are doing it is self-reliance. That is much of the reason I also find myself forging a path of self-employment. It is really empowering to know that I can make a living creating artwork and craft from my imagination and people will buy it! John and I are both also very concerned with the state of the environment and the economy, and we are happy to do our part to lessen a little bit of the global warming trend, as well as cultivate a smaller, more sustainable economic future for our community and our family. I enjoy selling my work to people all over the world through Etsy, but I am also so very thrilled when I can provide for the needs of my friends, family and neighbors with my work!

Part of the reason our farm has been slow to grow is because our conditions are not optimal for any of the things we are trying to do. We live on the north slope of Beartown Mountain, in a dark, shady woodland area, with our very own gushing spring and eroding streams each spring. Our back yard is basically a cliff, if you ask me. It’s too steep even for sledding in the winter. It is not optimal for any kind of gardening and the dogs don’t even like to play in it because it wears them out too quickly. It’s s-t-e-e-p, and did I mention it’s pretty small, too?

So, I’m going to put my wish out into the universe, and see what comes back. It can’t hurt, can it? I don’t know what the solution is, but I do know that I wish that I had a place for goats and sheep to roam (even maybe one or two dairy cows?), a nice space for chickens to peck at veggie garden-pests (re: space for a veggie garden to be fenced-in and bountiful), and space for dogs (and someday children) to roam and play and explore and maybe even show-off agility-style with their own obstacle course (the dogs, not the children). I would also like a sun-filled studio space and a screened-in porch, but those might have to wait. I think the solution, rather than terracing our backyard and trying to will the sun to shine for a few more hours on our plot (possibly by also cutting down a few trees — perish the thought!) is to find a new place to live. John and I agreed that we would live in our house for 5 years and then look into moving; we have lived here for just over 3 years, so I think it’s ok if I start dreaming of, um, greener pastures, right? I’m not making any grand statements of intention just yet. Especially in, as they say, “these tough economic times” it’s really not smart to be looking to sell our house. The best solution I can imagine is finding a new place to buy and being able to keep this house as a rental property, which our economic situation does not allow for at this time — but maybe within the next two years?

Why am I telling you all of this? Well, mostly because it’s on my mind. It’s late and I’m not completely thinking straight. I am really interested in hearing your thoughts on self-reliance and cultivating community; how far should we go to reach these goals? How much time and energy are we willing to spend on our own land (or at our own sewing machines) as a trade-off for the convenient throw-away culture we are so used to? (and will you help us find our dream homestead, too?)

I like the feeling of excitement I have right now about all of these ideas. I know when the sun is shining and beating down 80 or 90 degrees on my face and the mosquitoes are swarming around my head I will beg for some shade and the comfort of a cozy bed on a cold winter night, but right now of course all I can do is dream about digging in and growing my own food. I guess the sewing machine will have to suffice for now.

If you’re interested in what I’m talking about here, these are some of the books that have led me to this thought process (many available for download as audio books and of course at your local library, though most have great recipes and resources that are great to have on hand for reference — not that you need more STUFF around, I sure know I don’t!):

Barbara Kingsolver, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle

Bill Bryson, A Short History of Nearly Everything (also check out I’m a Stranger Here Myself, and, well, anything else he’s written)

Bill McKibben, Deep Economy (haven’t finished it yet — yes, I am reading about 10 books at once)

Jenna Woginrinch, Made From Scratch

Michael Bittman, Food Matters

Michael Pollan, In Defense of Food (haven’t finished it yet, but it’s great so far), The Ominvore’s Dilemma, The Botany of Desire

Mireille Guiliano, French Women Don’t Get Fat

Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin, Skinny Bitch

It’s fall, and it’s beautiful. This time of year definitely reminds me why I came back here. It’s gorgeous! Ok, it’s raining today but this fall has been one of the best I can remember.

Sometime last week (or maybe two weeks ago?) I went to a local farm-stand here in South Lee, and was pleased to find some cornstalks to bedeck my front porch! Woven Roots Farm is just up Fairview street, and I have to say it is such a great find, they are part of Berkshire Grown and take Berkshares! This summer I’ve supplemented the bounty from Farm Girl Farm with their beets, yellow beans, squash and cherry tomatoes. Yum!

Right next door is Consolati Farm, with their adorable sheep and horses, as well as some hefty looking pumpkins!

This is the view from, ahem, Fairview street. Get it? yeah… it took me a minute, too.

Here’s some of the gorgeousness of my little Willow St./Pine St. neighborhood, and those cornstalks at home by our door. Too cute, eh?

I didn’t get too many good shots, but North Adams the other day was also gorgeous; these are words I never thought I’d every write or say, because poor little North Adams was honestly quite ugly when I was growing up in the Berkshires, but also honestly, it is coming along and getting better and we had a lovely meal and a fun meeting and some good time hanging out enjoying the hills which almost looked to be on fire with fall color. Breathtaking!

I have a couple of new photos for sale in my etsy shop. Hope you likey.

I think they’d make a nice series, maybe in a kitchen . They are listed as 5×7 prints, but I’d be happy to print them larger, even poster size for you. Veggies, veggies everywhere!Ok, I’m finally off to plant my beet, bean, and pea seeds. Better late than never, right?