Welcome June!

A photo of our first true harvest of the year. 2lbs 5oz of shiny, freshly picked tart cherries. We went out early this morning to gather them before the temperature began to climb to high. Tristan has a skinned knee (which necessitates being carried as much as possible and dramatically hobbling when forced to walk) from a riding tumble so he sat on the bench, an old church pew, and watched as Shannon and I worked our way around the 6 1/2' tall tree. We picked one ... yes one, single, little strawberry this year. Our black-eyed susans have spread like crazy and choked them out. So, this is our first real harvest.

June is here. I don't know where you live but, as much as I love the Summer Solstice, it does NOT mark the beginning of Summer for me. Not when we have several days of temperatures in the 90's. Nope. Summer began a while back. Whenever it got hot enough for me to crave a pool. Which, amazingly enough, we got this year. Every year we've had some form of kiddie pool and this year is only a slight exception. We've been able to move out of the driveway and into the backyard where there now sits a 15' round above ground pool. Justin's parents had an extra one and so, viola, now we have a pool. Sure, I can sit on the bottom and the water comes up to my chin but, ya know what?? I don't care!!! Because it is nice and cool!! It's a friggin' tropical paradise in my mind! I would seriously spend the majority of my time there lately if I could. Of course, once Tristan decides he routinely likes getting in the pool that'll just make the experience even better. Right now it's a battle that involves lots of tears and screaming and forcing him into a swimsuit, then sometimes literally plopping him down in the pool. He cries for a minute or so then remembers that he really LOVES playing in the pool and happily does so for a couple of hours.

The chickens aren't too thrilled about this heat though I am sure they're at least happy that we decided (wisely it seems given the heat) that after last year's HOT HOT Summer they needed more shade and so their 'winter chalet' has become their permanent home. Plus, the tractor needs rebuilding and I don't think it would've survived being hauled around the yard much longer.
But since they still aren't so happy about the heat they aren't laying quite as productively as they had been. We've had a couple of no-egg days. Though, when I went out to gather yesterday's eggs this morning (yea, I forgot yesterday, it happens) I found Patti nesting on the floor of the coop. I leaned in there and forced her off. She was sitting on 3 eggs. I am hoping they are not that old. I don't think they are, and I know they're fine outside the fridge for quite a while on their own anyways.
So .. it's Tally Time!!

May Egg Tally: 79 eggs (only three less than in April)
Year To Date Egg Tally: 349

Still pretty sweet!!

Also going on around here ... hmm, let's see. Shannon is in the process of doing his first year of end of the year testing required for homeschooling. Justin is the one handling this as I have a lot of issues with the whole thing. Plus, it allows him to have some more direct involvement with their schooling and that is good.
Tristan just finished up Story Time at the local library for the year and this Summer we'll be sending in his first NOI for kindergarten.
We've finally got a logo for our brewery, which is pretty sweet. If you want, take a second and go check it out http://soulonebrewery.blogspot.com. We've even been able to get some merchandise for it already which is really cool. I'll post the photos of that stuff on that blog as soon as I can.
You may have noticed the profile photo change on here. Finally a photo of me with dreads!! My dreads are already 6 months old now. Yes, people with dreads talk about "how old their dreads are." Dreads are an on-going thing. They change as they age. It's cool. Except in Summer, when your dreads reach down the middle of your back. Then it's pretty darn hot. High ponytails have become a staple for me. But, again, here is where dreads can be fun. You can wrap up a pretty massive bun if you've got the length for it (I do!). You can tie your hair up in an updo using one or two of your dreads ~ try that with a pencil!! I have been known to wear mine up in high pigtails using only the dreads themselves to secure them. Plus there are wraps and bandanas and etc to wrap them up with. That's always really fun.
And, finally, a reason why I haven't been posting on here as much. I've taken on more work with the Main Street Newspapers. I now do at least a feature a week for The Vinton Messenger and the Cave Spring Connection papers. I also do here & there stuff for The Salem Times Register. ALSO - I'm now doing a lot of online stuff for them. You can check them out at http://www.ourvalley.org
It's really, really cool and something I love doing. I finally am getting paid to write. Very cool. However, it is also a huge adjustment period for me. Being able to work from home means I can work whenever, but it also means I need to learn to decided when exactly that whenever might be, and (very importantly) when it isn't.
So, to try and implement this, this morning here is what I've done: picked cherries, weighed cherries, gotten sourdough bread going, fed the sourdough starter, fed the kefir, got the dishes going, fed dogs, gathered eggs, done the tallies, BLOGGED!, sent kids to their rooms for fighting, and then let them play outside once they've decided their done fighting. No, I haven't gotten my shower yet (be glad you can't smell me through the computer I suppose), but I'll get to that shortly. And I've only checked work email through the phone, where I haven't replied, just looked at one email. :)

And there is the beginning of our Summer here. How is your's going?

Eggs, Chickens, Kitchen, & Kids

While the legality of chickens in Salem lingers on in limbo I have been fairly silent about chickens and eggs. At least fairly silent for me, which is a completely relative measurement. But no more, and especially not today.

You will not take my chickens from me. A defiant statement I realize, but it simply won't happen. I have no intention of fighting with anyone, nor am I attempting to wave a red flag by stating this, I am simply saying it.

We've reached a time in history where pasture raised chicken (chickens not kept in tiny little pens) are $4 lb and eggs from pasture raised chickens can easily be over $3 a dozen, you will not take my chickens from me. I paid over $27 for a rabbit (for eating) yesterday. Animals that once were common are now affordable to only those of flexible, or considerable, income.

It isn't just about the money though. Not by a long shot. It is much more about the beauty and richness that the experience provides us. That can not be measured, it can only attempt to be described.

I've been reading Julia Child's My Life in France. I read about her first dining experience and how customers were asking (she had to get her husband to translate for her) "how was the chicken raised?" This has left me speechless and saddened, for I know how few places I could dine at now where anyone in the restaurant could begin to know that. The world has changed, and along the way we lost something precious.

Something beautiful happened though when I to page 60 in the book. This is the 'Le Cordon Bleu' Chapter and she is talking about how Chef Bugnard taught them how to properly made scrambled eggs. Here is the excerpt from the book:

With a smile, Chef Bugnard cracked two eggs and added a dash of salt and pepper. "Like this," he said, gently blending the yolks and whites together with a fork. "Not too much."
He smeared the bottom and sides of a frying pan with butter, then gently poured the eggs in. Keeping the heat low, he stared intently at the pan. Nothing happened. After a long three minutes, the eggs began to thicken into a custard. Stirring rapidly with the fork, sliding the pan on and off the burner, Bugnard gently pulled the egg curds together -- "Keep them a little bit loose; this is very important," he instructed.
"Now the cream or butter," he said, looking at me with raised eyebrows.
"This will stop the cooking, you see?" I nodded, and he turned the scrambled eggs out onto a plate, sprinkled a bit of parsley around, and said, "Voila!"
His eggs were always perfect, and although he must have made this dish several thousand times, he always took great pride and pleasure in this performance. Bugnard insisted that one pay attention, learn the correct technique, and that one enjoy one's cooking -- "Yes, Madame Scheeld, fun!" he'd say. "Joy!"
It was a remarkable lesson. No dish, not even the humbled scrambled egg, was too much trouble for him. "You never forget a beautiful thing that you have made," he said. "Even after you eat it, it stays with you -- always."

Immediately after reading this for the first time I knew I simply had to make scrambled eggs. And so I did, and I was overcome by how delicious they were. Amazing. The best scrambled eggs I've ever had, and I've always thought I'd had some pretty darn good scrambled eggs in the past. And that first batch has stayed with me. And I am reminded of it each time I remake it. I have been so taken with this part of the book that I haven't been able to read beyond it yet.
Something so remarkable from something so simple. Amazing.

But, of course, the chickens and eggs aren't just enriching in the delicious and healthy food they provide for us. Nor in the benefits that they provide for our yard and garden, which are quite numerous as well. They are beneficial in what they have taught my children.

Tristan attends story time at the local library (a fantastic library by the way!). The week of Easter the stories revolved around eggs and there was an Easter Egg Hunt afterwards in the courtyard. ~Yes, Salem's library has a gorgeous courtyard that is enclosed by a beautiful brick wall and that contains tables situated under brightly colored umbrellas, old gnarly tree roots that beckon you to lean up against them while reading, and landscaping that makes you feel like you've stumbled upon a secret garden. All it lacks is a small pond with fish.~
While we were at the library for story time this week I was pulled aside by the girl who had happened to read to the children Easter week. She wanted to let me know something that Tristan had said.
"I was reading to them a book and in it there was an egg, but it was a robin's egg, and it had a little bird inside," she told me.
Apparently Tristan felt the need to correct her on this and tell the class what was REALLY inside of eggs. He had the full attention of all the children there as he informed them on what was really in the eggs. They began asking questions such as "how do baby birds get in the eggs?"

Since this was beginning to veer into territory beyond the simple Easter themed story the girl reading the book suggested they just get back to the book.

Aside from interrupting story time and someone reading aloud to a class, I am quite proud of Tristan. This is a subject he does know a lot about, though please remember that since we don't have a rooster we don't have fertilized eggs and the chance of chicks.
I am proud of him for being able to speak up and out on an issue he was informed on. On having the desire to want to share that knowledge with others. Of holding the attention of the other children. Especially since these are children who have likely not seen a live chicken, much less ones in a backyard setting, or petted one, or raised one, or who have been responsible for gathering fresh eggs out of the nest boxes.

Never underestimate the power of doing things for yourself. Of taking charge of your lives and the ability to provide for yourself and your family. Never underestimate the endless benefits that can come from such acts.

Looking Back at April

Shannon started his first year of rec soccer. This was his first game. I apologize for the poor photo quality, I was playing with a new camera, but you can see him there ~ he's the one with the ball.
He also lost his first top front tooth this month. We've finally come to the stages of big, goofy gaps in grins.

Eggs! These were the eggs we actually colored for Easter, something we haven't done in several years since ours are naturally colored. It was a fun experiment.
Here are our current Egg Tallies:

March 2011 - 97 eggs
April 2011 - 82 eggs
Year to Date (as of the end of April) - 349 eggs!

This month has been good egg wise as it is the first month since we've EVER had chickens where ALL our gals laid an egg on the same day. That happened twice this month. Pretty cool.
The general vibe about chickens continues to be positive, and that's making life a lot nicer. We may even look into placing another order of the "What the Cluck" t-shirts as we've had some inquiries about them.

The gardens have begun blooming and we've tried something new this year: selling some home raised plants! Most of them are heirloom varieties and, of course, they're raised 'organically.' I suppose legally I can't use that word since they aren't certified organic, but we grow the all naturally, without chemicals, even using collected rainwater as often as we can to water them. We've sold a lot of our tomatoes, the peppers are still coming in & we have some spoken for already, and the feedback has been really good. It will definitely be something we do next year too.
The best part of this is that it makes me feel like a true urban homesteader now. Obviously we're not able to completely live off of what we grow, but what we grow helps sustain us greatly and now it is even providing us with a little bit of income. Plus, it is wonderful to be able to get to meet new people as we have when we've sold the plants. Absolutely fantastic!

Finally, there was the last day of April, and the 60th Annual Ernest "Pig" Robertson Fishing Rodeo. This is our third year and, like previous years it was full of calamities. Broken lines, a broken pole, and so on. However, unlike previous years, this year both Shannon and Tristan caught a trout. Shannon had actually caught a second one, but as we were reeling it in and trying to get it out of the water, the line broke. We fished for a while longer with no success. Justin's parents were there (also an annual tradition) and, just as we were beginning to get ready to leave, Bill noticed a trout just kinda hanging out where we had our caught ones on the hooks in the water. Justin deftly swooped it up in the net!! It turns out the one that got away didn't get very far, and so we went home with 3 trout.

April also went out with a bang. Justin turned 30 and his party was last night. Needless to say it was a very good one. Full of good food, good drinks, and, most importantly, good friends.

We certainly are looking forward with hope and happiness.

A Quick Look Around

Just a quick look around at all the things growing & planted.

~This photo really does the scene NO justice! The cherry tree (in the foreground) is in bloom and spectacular. Daffodils are finishing their blooms along the front porch, with tulips springing up in between them. The tulips from Salem's 'Tulip Day' are giving the fence line mad color, and you can see irises growing wildly in the lower right-hand corner here. It is beautiful and breath taking, and not captured properly here.~

~The front 'Salad Bed' - I've labeled things as best I could, pardon technology if you can't read them. We have Romaine & Red Leaf lettuce, Kale, Chives, Plants that are supposedly Leeks but look like Chives (blame Lowe's if they're Chives), a little bit of Garlic, a Blueberry Bush, and some Strawberry Plants waiting to come up.~

~Looking inside one of the 'Tulip Day' tulips. When I was little and we lived in Abingdon, VA my mother planted tulips along the front walk. I loved to gaze down inside them and was amazed by the yellow & black center. They were my favorite flowers for the longest time because of that. I still love them and this year I got to show Shannon the inside of tulips.~

~These were some of the first daffodils we planted. We ordered them from one of those catalogues you get in the mail & are never quite sure about. They're double-blooming (obviously) and called 'Tahitian Sunrise'~

~The blossoms on the Nectarine tree were already starting to die away by the time I took this photo. We planted the tree last Summer, when we decided that the things we planted should do double-duty and be good for not just beauty or shade, but also provide us food. I've left the tag on there just in case it didn't live the 1st year (it did) as we could return it.~

~Red Leaf lettuce growing in a container hanging off the deck. There is a thistle seed filled bird feeder beside it that needs to be hung up .. somewhere~

~ Romaine and Red Leaf lettuce growing in a pot on the deck. Every year Kroger (a grocery store around here) has these clay pots for sale in the Spring and they're SUPER cheap .. at least comparatively speaking. They're good quality and look a lot nicer than using plastic containers. I've stocked up on several and use them for growing things on the deck & filling in "blank spaces" out in the front gardens.~

I took all the photos on April 3rd, which was 3 days ago. Since that time the Nectarine tree is mostly leaves now, the lilac bush (leftover from the days of my great-grandmother) is beginning to bloom, the big dogwood tree is now in bloom, and things seem to be changing by the minute.
We're also in the middle of an insane (albeit kinda short) heat wave, with temperatures today supposed to reach 91 degrees!!! I'm eager to see how this effects everything growing. I'm also tempted to take the boys down to the river and let them wade around, skip stones, and cool off some.

A Confused Chicken

This is Patti.

Patti is confused.

Why is Patti confused? Well, it seems the silly little biddy has decided to go broody. When a hen goes 'broody' it means that she feels the urge/need to sit on her eggs and hatch them. Think of it as her biological clock is ticking. Of course, we don't have a rooster, so our eggs won't hatch. No matter how long she sits on them.

So .. where is the confusion part?? Patti won't sit on eggs. She's exhibiting all the signs of being broody - sitting in one spot all day long, refusing to move except for an occasional break for food and water.

When a hen goes broody she will quit laying eggs. Patti has never been a very good egg layer anyway (Cochins are only 'Fair' egg layers), but still. So .. what to do?

We decided that if Mother Nature has told Patti to sit and go broody, we'd allow her to rather than trying the things you can try to get a hen to quit being broody. We also decided that we'd get Patti a few eggs to try and hatch. Think of this as the Spring project you used to do in grade school, hatching chicks and ducklings. We don't plan on keeping the chicks (we'll sell any that do hatch) since we don't need or want any more chickens. We just wanted to let Patti go through the natural experience of hatching some eggs.

Yesterday, I met up with a lady and bought a few eggs for hatching. This means that she does have a rooster, and so hopefully these eggs will hatch if sat on. She was very kind and threw in 3 extra eggs, bringing the number we got to 6. We have 3 Blue Black Splash Orpington eggs & 3 Split Black/Lavender Project Orpington hatching eggs.

So far, however, Patti won't sit on them. I have managed to pick her up and put them on the eggs a couple of times now, but she won't stay on them. We originally put them on the floor of the coop (we don't want potential chicks trying to hop down out of the nest boxes, they're too high), but this morning I moved them into a nest box. Hopefully Patti will figure it out. I picked her up and sat her on the clutch of eggs, even gently nudging one up against her underside. She sat there for a while, but when I went back out just a bit ago, there she was back outside.

This is part of nature though too. We'll see if Patti, or even one of our other biddies, decides to sit on these little eggs. If not, oh well. I'm not sure why Patti is going broody but refusing to sit on eggs, but oh well. Even a confused chicken is worthy of love.

Winter Ramblings

As usual, I've let too much time lapse between blogs. It isn't that I haven't wanted to write, quite the contrary. It is more that the muse strikes me at times when, well, blogging away on the computer simply isn't possible. Times when I couldn't even write it down on paper first, even if I wanted, which I don't as I was never a fan of rough drafts.
But, right now, the house is fairly calm. My music is on, I'm in between cooking stuff for Super Bowl, the boys are napping, the dogs are almost behaving, and Justin is .. well, I don't know what he's doing and I find in those times that it is best to not ask. Just go with it. So let's ramble about a little, shall we?

January 13th was Shannon's 6th birthday. Justin took 1/2 a day off and we picked him up from work and headed up to Mill Mountain Zoo. We try to do trips instead of gifts for birthday presents. Create an experience and memory rather than junk. We did, however, give him on little but very special gift for his birthday: his first camera. He loves taking photos and this was a perfect time.
The cake above is a completely from scratch, organic as can be, Chocolate Zucchini Cake. Insanely delicious. I have to admit that when I first heard of using zucchinis in cake years ago that my first thought was "yuck!" but no no no .. this is some good stuff. This is the cake Shannon gets every year for his birthday. He just asks for a "Zucchini Cake" now. Both boys got to help make this one.
As part of our homeschooling journey, Shannon has been slowly learning Russian. In honor of that, the front of the cake says "Happy Birthday" in Russian. On the back (you can't see it here) it says "Many Years" in Ukrainian. Similar languages, subtle differences. Alla, my stepmother, is from the Ukraine though, so hence the use of both.

Also new, the Blue Nymph just got a little blue-er. For Christmas my brother gave us a gift card to Lowe's, so we put it to good use and painted the living room. Finally. This makes our 5th room that we've painted some shade of blue in the house, and of course the outside of the house is blue. Well, maybe 4 1/2 - one of those rooms was a 1/2 bath and I used the same paint from another blue room. So, between 4 & 5.
The reasons for the two photos above is to show how much the color of the room changes depending on the light. Seriously, I've never seen a paint color like this, it is bizarre. Which makes it a natural fit around here!! hahaha. It goes from a beachy shade of blue, to a very greenish blue, to a gray-blue that is like the ocean. Wonderful and strange all at the same time.
We're trying to work on the front room and hallway as well, but still have to get the right shade of paint for that. Sometimes colors don't work out like you'd expect. Not bad, just not right either. Until we get the paint though there is plenty of paint scraping that needs to be done. Always fun.

Moving on.
If you live around here you're VERY well aware of the snow we've gotten this year. It started mid-December and just as the last of that snow melted we got hit with a couple more storms. FINALLY!! I LOVE the snow!! LOVE IT!! So, I've been very, very happy about all the storms. The only part I'll admit to not liking is when the snow shines bright on the snow and bounces back in all my windows. For someone who has migraines that are triggered by bright lights this makes me feel like a vampire running for cover of darkness.
We've been sledding up at the local golf course, Salem Municipal Golf Course, which is within walking distance up the hill from the house. For the first time since I've known him, Justin and I actually went sledding together. We kept getting turned around and going backwards down the hill, tumbling over and out, laughing all the way. Shannon would come to our "rescue," trying to push us further down the hill, while Tristan sat up at the top of the hill, content to eat snow. At least he was eating the fresh, white snow. That has been a fun lesson to try and teach him this winter. We don't eat snow from the bottom of our boots. We don't eat snow that has been plowed. And, though he didn't try this one (he did do the other ones), we don't eat the yellow snow!
Days of sledding followed by mugs of hot cocoa. Making more hot cocoa mix. Making hot cocoa using Cacao bars and warmed milk & sugar. Comforting, warm foods. All the things that make Winter so truly wonderful.

And, while I think I talked about this last year, it is worth noting again. Life is a little different when you have an urban homestead. It's gonna dump snow?? Well, better get out there and cover the chickens' tractor so that their winter run area stays dry. Once the snow stops, gotta get out there and uncover them, even if that the cover has more than a foot of snow on it.
Mornings find me out there, in flannel pj bottoms, an old sweatshirt, and worn-out faux ($15) ugg boots, checking on the chickens. Navigating not-cleared off steps down the deck with fresh water in one hand, feed in the other. Scraping snow off the top of the hay bin to make sure they have fresh hay. This morning Justin was out there with me: scooping the spent hay out of the nest boxes and walking it across the yard to the snow-covered garden.
The biddies aren't liking this weather. The last egg we got was on February 1st, and even then we only got one egg. I've tried enticing them with treats and even a plastic Easter Egg in the nest box. The plastic egg only seemed to annoy them. The treats were gobbled up, but we haven't yet gotten any more eggs, and so yesterday I resigned myself to buying a dozen from the store. Such is life.

A Little More Rambling.
Our next door neighbors have a huge Holly tree. It is taller than their two-story house, just the biggest Holly tree I've ever seen. It makes me think of my great-grandmother. She loved Hollies and planted several (all of which are now gone) here when she lived here. Their tree is gorgeous. I can see it from our bathroom window quite well, where it seems framed perfectly with bright blue sky behind it.
The past couple of mornings when I went out I noticed that the tree was swarming with life. Hundreds of robins were in it. If you made a loud noise they'd quickly fly out and into nearby trees. Yesterday morning I had to get the kids to see this. I ran back inside and grabbed everyone. I was in my pjs and held a barefoot Shannon on the deck. Justin was still barefoot too, so he held Tristan from the back doorway. We listened to the birds in the tree. Then we clapped very loudly and yelled "BOO!" at them, and watched as hundreds of birds quickly flew everywhere around us. It was magical.
The tree had been full of bright red berries (I have a picture of it that still needs uploading, as do all my snow pics). Within a couple days, all the berries are gone. The birds have eaten their way from the top of the tree to the bottom. Randomly dropped red berries stain spots of snow in our yard. Nature is buzzing all around us, and at the same time is dormant and silent.

Perhaps this is why I love this time of year. Life abounds, but is silent. It forces us inside. Inside to the hearth, where we cook foods that warm our bellies and souls. It forces us to be with one another. It forces us take the time and be quiet, to look within ourselves and reflect.
Like flower bulbs that require the cold so that they can bloom in the warm Spring sun, we too require Winter so that we may bloom anew and refreshed.

I think I may go do one of my truly favorite Winter activities now: take a nap.

2 1/2 Years of Blogging ...

~The Blue Nymph, and it's current inhabitants, braving the snow and cold this winter with a smile~

I started blogging here on July 20, 2007. It's now almost 2 1/2 years later. When I started this blog it was with the intention to try and document our journey. And this morning I find myself feeling a little reflective. Perhaps it is the biting cold outside, though I must admit today is warmer than yesterday and that I like the cold anyways.
We call our home "The Blue Nymph." It was built in 1890 and has it's own definite and unique personality - we decided it needed a name, so we named it.
In the two years plus that I have been blogging, the house has seen some changes. We've added a fence out front, as well as a proper picket fence around the main garden in the back yard. We've added a brick patio at the base of the deck, a small outdoor pond, rain barrels, more garden beds, more trees, and of course the chickens. We've made changes indoors as well, the most major was the addition of lots of insulation and a new boiler heater.
The house still likes to fight back though. The big bathroom seems to refuse to warm up this winter, as does the sunroom. The latter seems to show the house's true sense of humor and irony.
We're currently waiting on a contractor (nothing new there I suppose) to come look at what we fear is a leak around a chimney. It's a completely internal chimney, not attached to any outside walls, and since we haven't had a leak there before (not since we've been here anyway), we're assuming the recent snow and ice is to blame. We shall see. We are anxious though. This will prove interesting.
But that is part of the journey. Part of owning a home. Part of having an older home especially.

When I started this blog, Shannon was 3 1/2 and Tristan was not yet 1. Now Shannon will be 6 in a week and Tristan is 3 1/2. We've officially begun our homeschooling journey.
Right now we're unschoolers. Most days it feels as if we're "no-schoolers" as it can be hard to readily identify knowledge being learned. But we, they, are learning everyday. Right now I would be completely lying if I didn't fess up to the fact that they're NOT learning that Mommy is getting ready to whip their butts if they don't quit fighting.

............ I typed the above an hour and a half ago and with one massive blow-up/meltdown (a Mommy thing) from me later, and the kids have been fed lunch and are now down for naps. I've eaten my lunch and read my comics. So let's try this again. I thought about deleting the above, but for now, I'll leave it in.

In the last 2 1/2 years here are some of the things that've occurred:
*We made both small and gigantic steps in urban homesteading. It is a new world in front of us. Not everything was a success, there have been many failures, but we've learned from every bit of it & are eager for the future.
*We've realized that while you can work with all your might to weave a closer-knit community, you can't please everyone. Some people will down-right hate you, for no good reason. My personal line here is that if you're going to hate me over flowers, then go ahead because I just can't reason with you.
*We've had to tell our children that people aren't always nice and that the world isn't always friendly. Even typing that brings tears to my eyes, a child's innocence should never have to be shattered.
*We've realized that the world has changed, and our street, in it's mere design, is not a neighborhood. But that having a close-knit community doesn't require that we all live within a block or two of each other, and that the web is a wonderful tool in developing a good community.
*We've learned we very easily can produce a significant amount of food on this land, and that we haven't even hit the tip of the iceberg yet. And it feels really good.
*We've stood our ground, known our rights, and felt how strong we can be and are.

Some things we've learned:
*I've learned I cuss, a lot. That wasn't anything terribly new, but I'm more aware of it now. As much as I adore house-dresses of the 40's, I am not a delicate housewife. I am one tough mother, and that isn't always a bad thing.
*That just because you want a blueberry bush to grow "here" doesn't mean that it will. It might grow if you move it 5' to the left though, even if that isn't where you wanted a blueberry bush.
*That keeping the heat turned down low has to have it's limits. We killed a guinea pig (we think) this way. The house is now set at 66 degrees. Some rooms feel warm, some feel cold, and that can sometimes depend on the time of day or not.
*The importance of truly dressing for the seasons. Why Southerners move slowly - in the Summer it is hot, not running about keeps you cooler. On that note, we've learned that everyone crammed into the dining room for cake & ice cream in the middle of August is a guarantee for an instant sauna.
*That even though you're not "in school" you're still learning. Sitting in an English class isn't the only way to learn English.
*That each kid really does have their own time-table for learning.
*That child-led learning still requires guidance from parents and that, like most things, isn't as smooth or as easy a process as we may have hoped.
*Being broke inspires creativity. Actually, it doesn't inspire it so much as it requires and demands it, but saying it inspires it makes me feel like I have a choice in the matter.
*That we do things as a family. "Everyone helps" is our motto.
*That you CAN make most things you need, and you will save a lot of money.
*That you have to unlearn things if you do that one above. Our laundry isn't scented, and I will admit that, at times, I miss the scent of fabric softeners, even though I know how gross the commercial ones are and won't use them.
*Vinegar + Water = a very efficient multi-cleaning spray. The smell of vinegar goes away quickly. Use old cloths for wiping, and silently curse fuzzies from those cloths - wiping till all is dry and they too fall away.

It's both difficult and amazingly easy to live on an urban homestead. The things we do and grow we had to learn how to do. The saying that a journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step is true.
For me the hard part is remembering that we live in town, in the heart of our little city, and how to handle that. That, as much as I may want a cow or goats or sheep, I can not have them. The houses are close together around here, and I don't think there is one that can't see into our windows at some point of the day. It's a constant scrutiny, something that comes as part of the deal when you live in a small town or city. Being different makes you stand out, for the good and for the worse. You can't just decide you're going to live a certain way, as much as I try to. It isn't the late 1800's, I don't have 500 acres, I can't send the boys out to chop down firewood.

And, most importantly, given how long it has taken me to write this post is that I'm constantly reminded that things don't always work or flow the way I/we want them to. I woke up feeling reflective and ready to write. But I hadn't checked email since noon yesterday, so there was a lot of work there. And then there were dirty bathroom mirrors and surfaces needing cleaning. And laundry needing folding. And phones that rang and little boys that needed time-outs.
So I've learned to take my moments of Zen when and where I can get them. Hanging laundry outside, something I must fess to not nearly doing often enough; the sips of warm tea and the feel of the warmth from the mug in my hands; quiet dogs lying under foot; kids who still like to cuddle in bed with you and watch cartoons; the warmth of my husband beside me, and the way the scent of him lingers on his pillow after he's gotten up in the morning.
That is where our last 2 1/2 years have gone. We look forward to where the next 2 1/2 years will take us.
We're grateful for those who read this blog and enjoy it, even more grateful for those who leave comments and let us know you're out there. You're part of our community, part of our lives, and part of this journey, and we thank you for it all. Namaste.