Farm Stand Music Jam

Young musicians joined David in a wonderful music jam at the Farm Stand on July 11.

 Appreciation to all the kids who joined in to ensure David had lots of fun!

senior villager scales silo

me on top

Lea takes pics from below

Viv said she would like some panoramic shots from the top of the blue silo before the demolition of the barns begins.  As a lover of climbing and goofy adventures, I said sure, why not?  But there was the small problem of the ladder beginning high overhead.  Even standing on a barrel, my hands were only able to reach the bottom rung of the ladder.  Chin-ups were never a thing I had mastered.  I then noticed some bolts on the side of the silo, and drawing upon some very rusty climbing skills I managed slowly and awkwardly to walk my feet up the bolts and my hands up the ladder.  From there it was relatively easy, but high!  It was gorgeous up on top, very safe-feeling, and a real adrenaline rush!  That night I had the best sleep I'd had in years... not sure why!

My feet, looking down from the top of the ladder

almost down

Yarrow Days 2012 (My third Yarrow Days, and first one living here.)

I actually choked up.  I was standing at the driveway with my daughters waiting for the parade when I suddenly realized that the very first time I ever set foot on the Ecovillage was about half an hour before the parade began two years ago.  I clearly remember getting out of the car.  we'd been driving for a long time and had no idea what to expect.  The first person we saw was a five year old boy.  "Folks are starting the parade!  We're all over here watching if you want to join us!"  And off my kids went.  We collected out baby and headed towards the action.  I remember even then knowing I was going to move here.  How many places can you move to that has its very own parade?

So much has changed.  So much has stayed the same.  I'm exhausted at the idea of changing out all the pictures on the website.  They are all so out of date!

What has changed the most is simply our numbers.  My!  We are a growing village.  It used to be that I was a newcomer!  And now I am considered an old timer!  And yet more neighbours will come.  More neighbours will put their own love and ideas into this village...

 and it will just keep getting better.  The kids will get older, and then they too will begin to shape the place we live.

They do it already!  A group of children actually succeeded in getting the adults to give them back a dirt mountain.  Two years ago Dirt Mountain was a pile of clean fill that was waiting to be used.  It was covered in weeds and the kids would spend hours digging and shaping it.  They would come home filthy and exhausted. Of all the things a group of kids could ask their parents for, a pile of clean fill seemed achievable.  So now they have a dirt mountain again.  At least until we start the next round of construction.

 This is a picture of my son dressed as a farm dog for the parade.  He has just realized all his neighbours are waving and cheering for him.  Two years ago he was barely old enough to grasp the concept of a parade.  Although I seem to remember he had no trouble at all catching candy.

After the parade the park next store becomes a market and stage area.  I have never seen so many families in the park at one time.  I recognize faces from all over greater Yarrow.  Every so often I bump into one of my cohousing neighbours.  We enjoy things separately, but it is sure nice to see a smiling face.  If you want to find at least one ecovillager- head over to the guy selling beautiful silk bohemian wear.  Not many of us bought much, but we all looked and admired.  I couldn't help feeling proud when my six year old select a pink and blue gypsy skirt as her Yarrow Days treat.  My son found an angry bird that a local teen had made of felt for his treat.  Millie chose cotton candy with help from the older two.  Of course they helped her eat it aswell.

Some of the ecovillagers helped out with the BBQ.  I think others worked security at the dance.  The whole weekend was fun.  It is the cutest, quaintest, little festival a city slicker like me could ever ask for.

And the parade floats still throw candy!  My kids were thrilled!

Garden Tips from Nevin

Hello aspiring green thumbs!

This time of year is perfect for those early seeds and early transplants. With low temperatures overnight now hovering above 6 degrees, most flowers, herbs etc can be transplanted into your garden. This is also a good time to start some early vegetables (direct seed) such as : Lettuce, Radish, Kale, Carrots, Beets, Arugula. Wildflower patches can be seeded directly now as well. Check the west coast seeds info sheet for planting this time of year, and you will notice the doors are opening for great possibilities!

Also as a note, with such a beautiful spring upon us, we are actually getting some dry periods! This is wonderful, but dont forget about those tiny seedlings you may have already planted, if they haven't sent out a root to get water, and the surface is dry as a bone, they are going to have a rough start! So just keep an eye on the weather and give them some h2o when you see them panting in the sun. Remember watering usages this time of year should be minimal, but a few sprinkles here and there can make all the difference early season, however we might also go back to rain and not need to think of that again till late May, only time will tell :) Also remember to consider mulching your surface areas after transplanting to retain moisture and make your garden lower maintenance!

Lastly, look at starting some seeds indoors in preparation for May, things such as : Summer squash, broccoli, cucumbers, winter squash, etc. These things can be started anytime between April 15th and the end of the month, for transplant mid to late may to your garden!

Nevin

A Well Read Blog. Otherwise known as "Ode to a Neighbour"

Hello Neighbours, Neighbours in Waiting, and Neighbour Wish You Could Be!!

I found out today that at least one person (Hi Taryn!) reads the Blog! Well let me tell you that made me want to Blog more! So here I am...

With an impromptu Blog post with no real aim... just to give my loyal readers (Taryn) something to read.

I'll tell you what today looked like at The Village in the rain.

6:00am Wake up cuddle with all three kids. At heart we know it's "7:00" but it still feels like 6:00 to us.

7:00 am Standard Daddy Pancake Breakfast.

8:00 am (I think I'm making us sound very productive. The truth is it was more like 10:00)

10:00 am A Neighbour calls about moving the chicken coop.

Have I mentioned the coop? SO,.... when we moved here, my husband got right into the farm of things. He and A Neighbour decided they needed to have a mini chicken farm. Over the past couple months they managed- despite having 7 children between them- to build a coop. Only they built it in the barn where they could use power tools. Final location of coop? About 500 meters from where they built it.

10:30 (pooring rain) Operation Move the Coop begins. I know its going comically when I see another Laughing Neighbour racing through the farm with his camera.

10:35 Taryn and Darrel show up. Darrel right away gets whisked away into the coop movement. Taryn comes in. They've come to see what a typical day at the village looks like. They are considering making some serious life changes and we may be one of them.

11:45 We take pity on the poor men, so we whip up a Borcht and fresh bread lunch for them. I now brag about my Farming Neighbours. Almost all the produce in the Borcht is fresh from our farm. While we make and brew we talk about lacto fermenting pickles, and co-parenting, cycling whilst pregnant (her not me!) and other random awesomeness.

12:00 noon. All the while a number of stray children come and go. Some of mine are at This Neighbour's, others belong to That Neighbour. Random Neighbours call to see if I have one of theirs. Its good to have kids that can play. I end up feeding 5 kids- only two are mine. I'm still not sure who fed my son, but he assures me someone did. Thanks to Neighbour Annonymous.

1:30 Bread, Soup and Beer are enjoyed by Some Neighbours while we chat and laugh about what becoming parents did to our realities. More kids come, some go. I'm pretty proud of our parent check in system. I actually always know where mine are, and always call to let other parents know when a new one comes. These are the Sundays I live for. No particular agenda, but a whole lot of coming and going. If you've had enough, you just put a note on the door.

3:30 Taryn and Darrel head home (sad!) and Another Neighbour pops by to collect two of his.

4:00 I watch Those Gardening Neighbours in the pouring rain tend to garden spaces.

4:30 (okay it was more like 5:30) After tea and excellent conversation Another Neighbour and two kids leave to meet other off site friends for supper. (Yes. We all have friends outside the Village.)

5:30 We have 1/2 hour to eat before Hubby takes off to go next door for a night of games with Rowdy Neighbours. A regular biweekly event he really enjoys. We make Fancy Omelettes with our Egg Neighbour's Eggs. Off site friend and neighbour.

6:30 Yet-Another-Neighbour pops by. She's been away for a week with her new baby. Boy I missed my Baby Neighbour! How he grew in a week!

7:30 My kids hit the wall. We crawl in bed to read stories. Out the lights go. I begin to write this Blog post. Knock Knock Knock (Yes. We knock before we enter.) Going Shopping Neighbour pops her head in. She's off to superstore and wonders if I need anything. No need to go in for milk tomorrow! Woopee!

9:30 Finishing the Blog post. Thinking about bed. Wondering what I would have done with a Sunday in my old hood. One thing is for sure. None of my Old Neighbours there would have even noticed a chicken coop driving by. Isn't that sad!

Good Night Taryn! And anyone else that reads- go ahead! Let me know you're out there. It makes me feel good! Maybe one day you'll come on out and be my New Neighbour!

Coop moving pictures to come!

Valentine's Day Ecovillage Style

I've never really believed in Valentine's Day. The "Hallmark Day"... No point really, when you live "out there". Sure, Paul and I would "try". It never ended well. One way or another the expectation of a perfect romantic day would always crumble into either a screaming match- or a crying match... Or a scream and cry match.

The restaurants are full, the flowers are expensive, and the expectation is huge of that ONE significant other. Try as they might, you'll be let down.

So we had given up on Valentine's Day. I think a lot of realists and visionaries do. Apart from the continuous freak out about hand made cards for school parties, we've given up entirely.

Until today.

Today, every time I opened my front door, a new goodie had appeared! Today neighbours young and old brought my family chocolates, notes of appreciation, thank you cards, cookies, a hand-made door knocker, gourmet Angel Kiss.

Every hour or so I was delighted with appreciation from my neighbours. So much so that we just had to share in the joy of giving. My children and I set out to decorate organic lollipops I bought from Winners last week with paper cut out hearts.

They were filled with GLEE to take them door to door.

Then, I went for a walk with my two year old through the town of Yarrow. What I saw made me run home for my camera...

Even Hank, the barber in Yarrow for 68 years, was amazed....

Someone had Art Attacked Yarrow!
Hank's Wooly Heart door....

He though it was for his birthday!

Outside the Vedder Grill it was written in Chalk "Yummy Fries!"

Rain Proof Shiny Hearts hung all over Yarrow Central Road...

I recognize the door knocker.... I got the same one, But from who????? This was not an ecovillage initiative!

What is "Greenall"? A calling card?

MCC ladies were gleeful at the decorated store front. One shouted "We should call The Progress!"

This proves the attack was well thought out.
My two year old was in awe... pulling at the hearts in flower pots... excited by every out of place piece!

Post Office Mobile blowing in the wind.

This says it all!

The Park Monument looked like a chocolate shop!

The trees in the park.
This gives you an idea...
Wow! What a place to live. The magic of such inspiration makes it easy to want to give back. I think today built on itself. One inspiration after another. Living somewhere where people give a tiny bit of their very best does two things; it tells you that a little bit is enough, and it makes you willing to give. Simple.

Not all of today was awesome. In fact parts were really hard. I- being human- really screwed up. (More than once.) I got to a point where I just couldn't smile anymore, and I fought with a neighbour. It was the first time I have even been really angry here. I yelled. People don't often yell here. I saw red. I was horrible to my neighbour about something that seems very small now. I'm embarrassed that I yelled. Truth be told I couldn't hold it in anymore. Sometimes living here gets the best of you. Sometimes living here makes you be someone you don't like to be. Truth be told we're still human.

At the end of the day. My neighbour (that I foolishly yelled at) and I will be okay. We may even be better off. At the end of the day, the most special thing about being here is that the people around me forgive my human-ness. And because of that, I hopefully grow.

So, sometimes it is really good to live here. And minutes later it can really suck. And minutes after that it can be really good to live here all over again. The key is a willingness to be whole- hearted. It sure beats Grey's Anatomy!

So Thank you Groundswell. Thanks for reviving my belief in a day for love and hearts. Thanks to Greater Yarrow for filling my day with smiles. Thanks to my husband for the surprise chocolates on my pillow. If the point of Valentine's Day is Love... We got the message loud and clear today.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Guess Who's Coming To Dinner?

Tonight's Community supper was a treat!

We usually all crowd into our makeshift community dining hall. We've got some heaters and lights and enough chairs and table to 'almost' have enough room. To be honest, it gets a little loud and cold in there. I think it's on purpose so we don't loose our motivation to get our common house built.

Tonight we did something different. Some of us cooked, and some of us were guests. The idea is used in communities quite often to encourage more one on one time with community members that wouldn't normally get a chance to see each other. With my husband out of town and three young kids I wasn't fussed about going out tonight- so I said I'd host.

As supper time arrived I found myself wondering who was cooking and thinking about the barn, and the rain. Suddenly I remembered I was cooking! In a mad scramble I got the kitchen under 'somewhat' control and fished around in the fridge.

It turned out to be take out. On my way home from picking my son up, we stopped for two pies... chees for the kids, and garlic vegetarian for me and my surprise guest.

We got home to Cheryl! Sitting on our couch waiting for us. (The coordinator of the evening had passed her the message that I was running late.) We experimented with children's manors which my children seem to have lost somewhere) and we even had HALLOWEEN CANDY for desert.

Cheryl helped with dishes, we played a racing game to clean up the toys, and as I type this Cheryl is enjoying my kids whilst reading the bedtime stories. a treat for both of us.

After a five day spurt of having my husband away I feel so lucky to be here. My day began at 6:45 when the toilet backed up. From there the following:

1. Joel stopped by to help with the toilet.

2.Ingrid popped by to drop off some paperwork and the giant coffee maker.

3. I bumped into Dorothy in the parking lot who offered to pick Paul up at the airport.

4. I borrowed Meg's printer, she poured me a splash of coffee

5. Joe decided he'd join me on a trip to Save on Foods in Abbottsford

6. A Chat with Maureen on the way home.

7. Met with Shayne and Cher for coffee while kids played

8. Shauna came over to discuss the Ten Mile Tour (almost sold out by the way!)

9. Dahlia stopped by to give a toy she was done with to by two year old (awwwww!)

10. Spoke with Julia about our sinlge mom week traumas

11. Had pizza with Cheryl... and my kids are getting stories.

In my previous life, I wonder how many people I would have seen in a day if Paul were away. My mom, maybe a car trip to a play park. Possibly one neighbour? One thing is for sure, I would have eaten supper alone with the kids. While that's nice sometimes too- options are really wonderful.

Thanks Cheryl!

Bedtime Story by Ben

"Mommy," says the four year old boy from under his Grandma made dinosaur quilt.

"Yes Ben?" I'm already working on the presentation I have to give tomorrow in my head as I cuddle my kids goodnight.

"Now I want to tell YOU a bedtime story. From my head."

All I feel is lucky. Lucky and a little bit guilty that I'm working in my head instead of being in the moment. I snap back into place, "Oh! Good! I can't wait." I close my eyes and really listen.

"Once upon a time... In a land all the way on the other side of this planet... there was a village. And it had many many... zoos. And many many transformers. And many many dinosaurs that were mostly longnecks."

As he tells the story he begins to sit up until he is towering above me with a sparkle in his eyes. I just watch him with a smile on my face while he continues, "and they all had lot's and lot's of community dinners! Every night!"

"And was there a circus Ben?" my six year old asks from the other side of me. Each in their own bed, but sharing a room.

"Yeah!" Ben's eyes gleam, "A circus comes... every twenty days! And they come to community dinner too."

It's quiet for a bit. Ben settles back down in his covers.

"You forgot to say The End Ben." Sophie reminds him with her big sister voice.

"Oh Yeah. Right. The End."

I'd like to tell you that they then drifted off to sleep while I sang their favorite lullaby. The reality is they asked for water, got up to go to the bathroom, begged for a lullaby, argued over the lyrics, and I ended up counting to three and removing myself from the room with the threat of my return for a time out.

Not every moment in parenting is bliss. I guess that's why the part of the story where everyone from the land on the other side of the planet get to go to community dinners was such a wonderful treat for me. It was a little clue from my son that he is happy here. Long necks, transformers, impatient moms, and all.

That's all I have. Back to that presentation for tomorrow's meeting!

Sweet Dreams...

NutShell Niblets #31- September 21, 2011

Ann's very personal, highly biased and incomplete guide to the ecovillage ... in a nutshell, and with only a little, a lot of no hyperbole.

It’s ages since I wrote a newsletter from Yarrow Ecovillage. It’s about time, I would say! How are you going to know what’s going on here, unless someone tells you?? And I like it to be me, because that way I can say whatever I like (… and you can delete it, if that suits.)

New neighbors moving in--- Oh, frabjous day!

Our two latest buildings are finished and five families are moving into their very own spiffy, new homes. And beautiful they are! As well, some have moved out of temporary quarters, and others have moved into those vacated spaces. The intricacy of these maneuverings could look daunting to the uninitiated. I heard one child ask his mum which home he’d left his shoes in--- # 4, his old home? or #12, the Quad -his temporary home? or #2 , his new one? I’m not downplaying the disruption that has been happening for many families as they settle in here. But it is also true that the nature of cohousing means that no-one bears the stress and pain of moving here, without the support and care of their neighbours.

The kids are scampering in and out of each other’s homes as much as they ever did. There’re always willing hands ready to lift heavy boxes. And neighbours who will clean and sweep at the drop of a hat.

I love to look out my windows at night and see the new houses lit with families for the first time. Figures moving around in rooms full of piled boxes. I see Linda unpacking, putting glasses? mugs? into kitchen cupboards.

My new neighbours, my new friends, already so dear and familiar, they seem like old ones, too.

Our two farms – Ohm and Osprey Organics --Both farms report great successes this year.

I pop down to the gardens see for myself, what’s doing today. Nevin is weeding pathways with a wheel hoe. We stand together in the sun, warm by the greenhouse and looking over the rows of vegetables, still going strong. White cabbage moths flit and land, disappearing into the white arugula flowers to become them, for a moment.

Nevin’s face beams with pride when he tells me what’s gone so well this year---- Having happy customers who’ve shared this year’s vegies with friends and family, and now those folks too, wanting to sign up for their own vegetable box programme. It’ll have to be next year’s, now. He reaches into the arugula to pull out a seedpod and strokes and opens it with his thumb, to show me the seeds inside. “I hope for some dry weather to finish these off. “ he says.

He and the other farmers are expanding into bigger fields on the other side of the creek; it’s already plowed and ready for cover-crops. Nevin tells me that he designs it all on the computer… 128 small beds are plotted Landscape plotted and pieced—fold, fallow, and plough; GM Hopkins with soil conditions noted, succession crops planned, successes and failures recorded. With my own new expertise on the computer, I’m guessing all he has to do to expand his operations from his current ½ acre to next year’s 2 ½ acres, is push the keyboard buttons ‘zoom’ and ‘save’. Farming has become so much easier now, farmers hardly have to go outside :>)

Nevin finishes me off, by taking me into the greenhouse for a gourmet cherry tomato taste-testing. Hmmm! Which are the best? The ‘Black Cherry’ are sweet, juicy bursting nuggets of flavour… the next, ‘Solid Gold’ yellow grape tomatoes are too… and little red ‘Apero’, as well.

That was easy!

So, all is well on the farm, and will be better even, next year.

Waste Water treatment --- Let’s all flush!

I could tell you a lot about the inner workings of our wastewater treatment system. I know details of the new tanks, pumps and pipes. I know how magnificently it’ll serve the village--- for a total of 50 households, and more shops than we have room for. And I could describe the current ugliness, noise and odour of the tanks … soon to be landscaped with bushes and little boys playing, sound-proofed and with the smell buried and eliminated.

But really, I couldn’t care less--- I just want to flush.

Hang on! The constructed marsh we’ll have next summer in the back pasture… there’s the exception to my lack of septic-enthusiasm. Finishing off our wastewater in natural-looking pond with bulrushes, reeds and ducks. It won’t be perfect. That really does make my heart sing!

Eating Together

Whatever else is happening, there is a happy coming-together on the evenings when we break bread and have dinner as a group. We’re dying for our common house, but lacking one, doesn’t stop us from creating that same sense of place and belonging in other manifestations. If anyone had told me ahead, that some of my best community sharing times would be in a building called the ‘bunker silo’ I’d have been amazed. It was used to store haybales in the hay-heyday of the old dairy farm. Now it is humble, (clean), and has a warmth of charm you’ll have to come and experience for yourself. Come soon for dinner! In the cooler, wetter weather we’ll move into homes for smaller gatherings. But either way, you’re just as welcome.

Compassionate Communication Workshop and the Return of Chuck- our cohousing guru

If you’re a friend of the ecovillage, or a warm acquaintance, you’re invited to learn Non-Violent Communication ( NVC) along with us at a workshop spanning two Sundays --- Oct 16^th and 23^rd , taught by Raj Gill from SFU.

Some of us are practiced at NVC and others are total beginners, but for all of us, it is our commitment to better communication. It works in all sorts of aspects in life, not just intentional community life. (I’m planning to inflict it on both my mother and my daughters… check in with me later to see how I’m improving :>). Perhaps I need to rethink the word ‘inflict’?

And Chuck Durrett is coming back in November for another of his workshops to get us ship-shape and tuned up for the next building phase. You could come to that, too. We’re nothing if not welcoming and open. All you need is time (a rare commodity, that’s true!) But a well-functioning ecovillage with room to grow, is rare too! Think about that!

Write back for more details.

Stewart Creek

Earlier this year, we embarked on a rehabilitation project with the Dept. of Fisheries and other willing partners, to remove blackberries and restore native habitat along the north side of the creek. And it’s working just fine … as long as you remember there’re canes coming back, that‘ll need removing. (We can do that… softer ground after rain, will help.)

In a conspiracy of good fortune, the City of Chilliwack has also stepped in (literally, stepped into the creek). The verges along the creek have been trimmed and cleared. And the water course has been mucked out, to clear the central channel, freeing it of choking canary grass.

It was interesting how they did the muck-raking. I stopped the workers and asked them. They cleared all the water creatures bigger than my little fingernail, out of a stretch of creek, using two electrically-charged paddles. The paddles started together, and then as they moved apart, they herded the creatures out of that section of creek. Then the digger pulled out the mud and beer bottles in a long strip, but leaving an untouched strip too, so that when the fish and critters were released back in there, there would be food and hiding habitat for them.

One of the workers showed me a picture on his phone of a cutthroat trout he’d netted, hanging head and tail over two palms held side by side. Precious beauty, held. I can’t decide whether I’d be pleased if, after it’s happy return to the creek, our resident herons caught it for dinner, or I’d be upset. What’s to be done with inconsistent and conflicting values? Sit on the bridge to dangle one’s legs and consider them, I suppose.

Snakes in the Village --- (every village has ‘em) (the snakes and ladders of outrageous fortune)

Internet Explanation: From Hamlet -"The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune" and it just means all the stuff life has to throw at you.

(I actually like snakes and their use for metaphors is legion.)

Snakes are the worries and concerns we all have, that live and hide in holes and slither out at night, only to be gone in the morning. But you know they’re still there. The worries I’m referring to, are about financial security, the (un)predictability of outcomes, conflicts of fairness and a possible inability to connect and be heard, when it would seem to be most important.

We don’t kid ourselves that we don’t have snakes in this village. And I know you don’t kid yourselves that there’s any other place you can go to be guaranteed safe from them, either. We live in a world that seems more fraught with uncertainty than ever. And we are human. And a developing village has extra uncertainties than your average suburb does, until it settles down.

And that is happening. These new neighbours arriving now, are the settling forces. They bring strengths and talents and renewing energy. And with that support, we’re now able to turn our attention and care to the specific concerns we’ve been harbouring, in unintended secrecy, that somehow this village won’t be able to hold all together and progress onwards, in a shared vision of an eco-community.

In recent constructive times of building and moving in, we’ve focused necessary attention on ‘getting it built’. We’ve made lots of decisions in a rapid, progressive, but sometimes confusing way.

Right now, we are going through a deliberate exercise of exorcising. Slowing down. Paying careful attention. Pulling out those confusions and uncertainties in order to examine, understand, honour and then diminish them. Revisiting our agreements from the past- how to reinforce their strength? Poring through financial statements --- what do choices do they offer us? Hearing the stories of those who came before- what can we learn? Making space for newcomers – how do we best incorporate their capacities? Listening to those we’ve been closed to- gaining new appreciation and insight.

It’s hard to do, but harder not to. It’s like the creek-clearing. The muck from the bottom is piled along the banks … it’s rich and dark and full of nutrients and goodness. The creek needs the clearing and the new trees need the fertilising.

There’s an inherent irony … it takes a certain base of security from which to examine and draw out the forces of insecurity. And I believe that courage to live in uncertainty builds trust, and that allows beauty, and beauty is the door to mindfulness, which brings peace and security.

That’s what I believe. And a light is shining.

There’s lots of welcome for you here, should you like to visit. We won’t be trying to convince you of anything.

Poem(s) of the Day – I’m sharing you favourites , this time.

Choshu

The moon in the water;

Broken and broken again,

Still it is there.

A Warning to My Readers

Wendell Berry

Do not think me gentle

because I speak in praise

of gentleness,

or elegant

because I honour the grace

that keeps this world. I am

a man as crude as any,

gross of speech, intolerant,

stubborn, angry, full

of fits, and furies. That I

may have spoken well,

at times, is not natural.

A wonder is what it is.

Fav-ulous Fire

Steamed fava beans taste a lot like edamame...but with more scope for bad puns. Sharing food and music around the fire is what I think we humans are meant to do.

Muddy Buddies

Our mud-buddies, Tamara and Shauna, are working away at finishing the garden tool shed with a natural building technique that seems to include straw, clay, kids spraying each other with hoses, everyone getting elbow deep in mud and laughing a lot.  I think it's the last three activities that make this 'natural building'.   And these two gals , with their arms around each other? ( Tam's hands are too muddy to touch Shauna, but Tam's shirt is dirty enough and Shauna's hands clean enough to touch her :>) )  .... they are from two of the farming families here who produce so many vegetables my fridge door won't shut properly anymore without squishing the bags of green goodness  therein. They've been friends since grade eight in a small interior BC town.  Usually they're hauling bales, washing and bagging salad mix, or hand-tilling the weeds between the rows.  But in this moment, they turned to each other and said "  When we were in high school, did we have any idea that we end up here together???"
They look happy. 

I don't know exactly which day this is. It's hard to tell one great campfire experience from another. We like to hang around the fire roasting marshmallows, wieners and corn. We like singing around fires, and we like gazing into them. Life is pretty good here!

Look what I got in my vegie box from the farmers this week!