I’ve spent the past 11 days in hibernation, or “hermit mode” as I’ve always called it. I haven’t left the homestead since New Year’s Day except for one quick jaunt up the road to pick up chickens. Not chicken as in groceries, chickens as in henhouse. We planned ahead for this, even let people know…
Of Sirens and Satan and Sisters and Snow
This morning I had an unusual dream. I know, dreams are weird by nature, but lately they’ve been really vivid and included many people and symbols I’ve never encountered before. And I know it’s SO BORING listening to other people’s dreams but I’ve decided hey, this is my blog, so if I’m going to write about something I’ll do it here and folks can choose whether to read or pass on by. Those who read on are about to discover that I’m a little woo-woo, but if I keep overthinking what’s appropriate to post then my blog is going to fade into the ether and there are at least three people who think that would be sad. Yes, I am one of them.
So in this dream I’m back behind “our home” and there is a huge wall of snow, 20′ high and maybe 60′ wide. It’s loosely packed, like snowflakes have fallen but not melted or stuck together. I’m shoveling it away from the wall when I notice a big, dark hole has opened up.
Can I can? I can!
Amongst what feels like ONE MILLION things I’ve tried for the first time since moving to the wilds of western Sonoma County, canning tomatoes has probably been the scariest. There is so much terrifying information on the interwebs! My fear of killing everyone within a 100′ radius of my potentially lethal tomato sauce was powerful enough that I nearly…
My New Doughbaby
I’ve started attempting to make bread! I never imagined myself bothering to make bread but then I found a beautiful, vintage cast iron Griswold skillet at a little antique shop in Tomales, which led me to join a cast iron group on facebook where they share all kinds of recipes and info specific to cast iron cooking….
Blogging My Way Back
It’s been a long time since I last posted about our new life here in Bloomfield. It’s not that nothing interesting or post-worthy has happened, if anything it’s the opposite. Life here on our new little farmstead is anything but dull! But in the midst of all the excitement of uprooting our entire lives and attempting…
Tomatomania: Potting Up and Lessons Learned
My indoor tomato-sprouting project has been fun but it’s taken up quite a lot of time and energy! It’s so rewarding seeing those tiny seeds sprout up and take form, but when you start too early and they do so well it means lots of potting-up. They can’t live in those little seed-starter 6-packs forever. This means…
El Niño Esta Aquí
It’s a crazy day here in Bloomfield! The long-promised El Niño storm system has finally arrived and it is no joke. Water is pouring from the sky and neighboring meadows have become seasonal ponds… …the highway is closed and traffic is being diverted through our tiny town with its tiny streets and tight corners… Huge trucks and trailers…
The Hugel Bed is Sprouting?
When we moved into our new home the meadow was a mess. There were piles of new and rotting branches everywhere, even old Christmas trees chopped up and laying around. In a “lemons to lemonade” burst of inspiration I decided to turn these branches into hugel beds. I bundled some up, dragged them to the garden and piled…
Seedling Overload
It’s been a busy couple weeks sowing, transplanting and hardening off seedlings. I’d nearly forgotten how much I enjoy this process! Maybe I enjoy it a little too much. It doesn’t seem likely that I’ll have space for 72 tomato plants unless I devote my entire garden to tomatoes. But if I do that, where…
Bird, Bee & Butterfly Buffet
A follow-up to my post Putting the BLOOM Back In Bloomfield, … Today I scattered the first seeds into the new pollinator habitat, a.k.a. the Butterfly Buffet. It was very exciting! Well, that’s a stretch, but it was fun. I hadn’t planned to start so soon but days are getting warmer and our risk of frost…
Starting Seeds, Salve For My Soul
I’ve been feeling a bit untethered since we uprooted ourselves from San Diego and transplanted ourselves here in west Sonoma county. I couldn’t be happier about the move, but the transition into a new life is exhausting. There’s so much to think about, figure out, find, solve, address. Where do I buy chicken feed? Why is…
Putting the BLOOM Back in Bloomfield
When we found this property one of my first thoughts was “Butterfly garden!” Not that it had one, but that it desperately needs one. I immediately envisioned a wild, natural habitat for butterflies, bees and birds flowing along the entire southern fence line. The expansive green meadow is begging for color, the sloping terrain ideal for…
THE UNFETTERED FOX 