Cider!!

We made cider! We got to visit the Shaffer farm and partake in the annual festivities. It was fun and the cider is tasty. But I am really bad at cutting worms out of apples.

Mushroom Hunting

Okay.....so I guess we weren't abducted by aliens after all. It did feel like that at times, however.

During the non-alien time, Paul's been working hard at hunting & gathering. Well...gathering mostly. He brought home a pound of chantrelles on Tuesday. We are trying to figure out a tasty way to eat them. So far our experiments have been fairly delicious....but we are hoping for knock-the-spores-off-the-mushroom kind of delicious. Any recipes?

Visitors

Whoah. I think we might have been abducted by aliens. The last thing I remember was taking this photo......and all of a sudden it's OCTOBER!! :)

We've sunk to a new low

http://www.democracynow.org/2008/9/2/amy_goodman_two_democracy_now_producers

A shift in focus

Hmmm....it gets harder to be a "farmer" when you have to be a teacher again. I did plant some wheatgrass seeds today, and we tried to pick blackberries and apples, but the blackberries need to dry out and the apples aren't quite ready yet. We did harvest some potatoes and carrots - the purple kind, even. They are actually orange inside. I was hoping they would be purple through and through, but they are still good carrots - proabably our best ever, actually. I think potatoes shall be our new rice. Potatoes are good for you, right?

Sometimes I get a little ahead of myself and I just want the farm to be done already - trees planted, full grown and healthy; greenhouses built and filled with sprouting seeds; old pool aqua gardens complete with fish and food; willow fences 8 feet tall sturdily keeping out those pesky deer; I could go on and on.... In my head I know that these things take time, and that the joy is in the journey, and yet I let myself get discouraged. What kind of "farmer" has to buy zucchini at the farmer's market???

Other times I feel proud of how far we have come and of the direction we are heading. It's funny what times of transition can do to a person's outlook. In a few more weeks, it will be fall. I love fall. I'll be used to having to work again. The apples will be ready. The blackberries will have dried out. Maybe our corn will even have kernels. Yoga class will start up again. In the meantime, I'm going to get to bed on time, not take life too seriously, and appreciate the present. :)

Tonight, Paul and I tried to imagine what the world would be like if it wasn't tilted like it is. Can you imagine no seasons? Kind of wild, huh?

WORMS!!

We are now the proud parents of, um.....LOTS of eisenia foetida, otherwise known as red wiggler worms!! My mom was the inspiration on this one actually. She almost couldn't go on the chocolate factory tour a few weeks back because a friend of hers was coming over to help her set up her very own worm bin. I thought, hmmm......worm bin...... and said, well, gosh....as long as you're going to get worm bin construction supplies for yourself, might you pick up some extras for me?? And of course, being the ever-selfless supermom that my mom is, she provided me with the instructions, the bins, and all the necessary parts - right on down to the teflon plumbers tape!! Now all I had to do was find the initiative to put it all together. So....after a few weeks....I read up on the directions, realized I would have to use some power tools, and called in for reinforcements. Usually, at this point, I would just give the job over to the power tool guy, but this time I was determined to do it myself (mostly). Once Paul helped me decide which of his three drills I should use, showed me how to put the drill bit in and how to hold the drill, I was READY. The 1/4 inch drainage holes were pretty easy. The 1 inch hole for the spigot thingy didn't go quite as smoothly. I guess you have to pull the trigger ALL the way back even though it makes a loud and scary noise. :) Paul pinch hit for the two 2 inch holes on the lid, but other than that, my first ever drilling experience was a success! Now I just needed to find some good bedding material and some worms! After way too much research, I settled on a combination of soggy newspaper, cardboard, straw, and a couple handfuls of sand and compost. Now for the worms. Turns out that Kurt Hawley 's mom lives right up the road from us, so instead of having to drive out to Sumas, we got our worms hand-delivered right to our doorstep. Thanks, Kurt! Thanks, Mom! Here's a picture of Paul giving them their first PJ's Patches meal! Mmm mmm good!

The Fun Guys

So the other night, in between episodes of "The Wire", in the waning light of the evening, we made ourselves be productive. What on earth are they, you say?? Why, they are mushroom towers of course! Layers of wood chips, straw, and mycelium (courtesy of Jerry, of course!) all wrapped up in tall hoops of plastic! My innate landscaping senses told me they would be a unique eye-catching addition to the "side garden". Plus, mushrooms need shade and water, so there weren't many other places for them to be. These better be some tasty fungi!