May Day Celebration

I am just bursting with joy today as I reflect on the amazing amount of fun that we had yesterday sharing in the celebration of May Day and the welcoming of Spring with a nearby Waldorf school that so generously allowed us to join in with their families.

We had never been to the park that we were all to meet at and I wasn't quite sure what to expect as we made our way down a gravel path leading behind the industrial buildings along the roadside. Not far along we crossed a wooden bridge with a small creek running below it and just beyond was a wide open field surrounded by forest.

It was as if we had stepped out of the city and directly into a country field as the surrounding brush and trees closed out all signs of the bustling streets beyond.

  

There were colorful blankets placed around the field with a cluster of children and parents in the center busily working together creating flower wreaths to be worn in their hair. The children and I found strings of ivy that had been cut into long lengths just perfect for creating the sturdy bases of our wreaths and we settled on a rainbow colored blanket to weave our ivy and flowers into wonderful floral creations to wear :)

It was so cute to see all of the little ones running around and playing in the sunshine with their flower crowns on and as everyone finished up we joined in a large circle around the May pole to get started. The littlest children in kindergarten were first as they sang and weaved around one another, sometimes into each other, but so bright were their faces as they performed what they had learned for the special day.

As each group of children took turns skipping around the May pole and winding up the ribbons in different patterns it was finally time for any visitors or parents with tots to join in and my little guy in the photo above was beyond excited as he had thought he wasn't going to get a turn *grin*.

My oldest son even took part in one of the rounds with his crown of flowers upon his head :) 

He's 13 years old and growing up so quickly but I'm so thankful that he still enjoys joining in with the younger two and has fun doing it.  

When all of the children had taken a turn around the May pole it was time for just the adults to try something a little trickier. We were all numbered either a '1' or a '2' and then both groups moved in different directions around the pole as we weaved over and under one another as the waldorf teachers sang White Coral Bells. What a challenge that proved to be *grin*. Once in a while there was a little mix up but we all giggled and smiled as we fudged through it while creating a lovely braid down the May pole.

With the festivities winding up for the afternoon we shared a lovely snack of fresh fruits and veggies, raw brownies and other goodies and made our way back home where the children have been talking about it ever since :)

Hugs,

Rosina

Catching Up & A New Magazine

Somehow the few days I had intended to stay off the computer during the Easter holiday have turned into nearly 2 weeks! The days are flying by me at great speed but we had a wonderful holiday baking cookies, making and sharing in big family dinners, chasing down clues hidden all over our property for our easter hunt and getting ready for the new members of our family to arrive :)

No we're not having another baby although I really really want one *grin*, but we're adopting two new baby calves just barely a week old that we're going to bottle feed and raise. I think I may be more excited than the kids!! I just melt over their little doe eyes LOL. So we've been cleaning the cow barn and doing some repairs to it that were needed and as soon as hubby gets home from work we're going to load up the trailer and pick them up. Yay :)

I had wanted to share some pictures with you tonight as well but for some reason Flickr's new photo program Aviary and I are just not getting along and it wouldn't work for me :( I'm crossing my fingers that it's just some sort of glitch and I can get back to business soon but in the meantime I wanted to share with you this really great homesteading e-magazine I found.

The Homestead Community Post is a brand new online magazine published by the Harrison family over at Homestead Drying Racks and right now they are offering it as a free preview for anyone and totally worth checking out!

It's 40 pages long and looks just like a professionally laid out magazine unlike some of the newsletter type mags I've seen and it is full of stories, helpful tips and tricks, recipes and more. You can click on the link below to go directly to PDF of the magazine or save it to your computer or ipad to read at your leisure and check out their website as they are having a fun giveaway to kick of their magazine to :)

Homestead Community Post ~ Spring 2012

Hugs,
Rosina

Weekending

Somehow we were spared the deluge of rain that was supposed to hit our end of the island and instead we had nearly two full days of sunshine!! So out we went to enjoy seeing our shadows and exploring what was left in the garden :)

As the kids ran through the secret pathway and tromped through the knee high grass that has taken over a neglected flower bed they found some fairy lanterns. Well poppy seed heads actually but the winter had left nothing but their skeletal innards and my daughter thought they would be perfect little lanterns for fairies to use to light their way through the long winter nights *grin*.

Their next exciting find was the 'Ice Whales' swimming in one of the frozen buckets of water :) The thick piece of ice covering one of the pools of water had formed some mysterious shapes that we could think were none other than the dorsal fins of miniature ice whales that were visiting our garden :)

As the kids continued to poke around and dance around the giant mullein stalks still standing in the garden I thought I would get busy and take on the mega job of digging up and turning the soil in the garden for spring planting.

I usually have it rototilled but as I was plucking some of the weeds I noticed how many wriggly fat worms there were just under the surface layer of soil mulching and fertilizing and I made up my mind that this year I would take it upon myself to save those precious little workers from being chopped up in the tiller tines and turn it all by hand.

I only got a quarter of the way finished today and my shoulders and back are aching a bit from the strenuous activity after a lazy winter but if I can get it all finished I'll actually have it ready for planting even earlier than usual since I usually have to wait longer for the soil to dry for tilling so it doesn't cake up to much as it is turned.

I think I'm going to see if I can get my strapping young teenager to help me out though when I return on the next sunny day *grin*.

Hugs,
Rosina

Homemade Rhubarb Juice ~ Recipe

We are still swimming in rhubarb around here as our plants just keep giving and giving :) So I thought that I would share again with you my favorite way to make a rhubarb juice which is such a wonderful summertime treat :)

The kids and I filled an entire laundry basket heaping to the top with fresh rhubarb stalks to bring into the house for stewing and of course once it is cut it's best to use it up right away so I got busy washing them up and trimming off any dirty spots.

This is so super easy to make and even if you only have a little bit of rhubarb you probably have enough to make at least one special batch :)

Cut up 6 cups of fresh rhubarb stalks into 1 - 2 inch pieces and place in a heavy bottomed sauce pot. Add 8 cups of water, 2 1/2 cups of sugar and 2 or 3 nice thick slices of lemon and bring to a boil. Once boiling reduce the heat, cover and simmer for about 15 minutes when the rhubarb has completely gone mushy.

Let the syrup cool and then strain it through a fine mesh sieve into a jar. You will have a gorgeous pink liquid and you can eat the boiled rhubarb to! The stewed rhubarb is so sweet and tasty that the children love to eat it warm straight from the sieve :) Usually there isn't a stitch of mushy rhubarb left when we're done but since I made so much this year I shared it with the dog and the cow *grin*.

I got some great new jars this spring to that I couldn't wait to use and this seemed to be the perfect time. They have rubber stoppers that you clamp down tightly and we've filled them quite a few times with rhubarb syrup to take along camping with us or for a picnic by the pond.

The rest of the juice I canned in my mason canning jars and some of it I froze as well. If you want to can the rhubarb juice all you need to do is wash up some of your larger canning jars and pour the boiling hot juice straight from the pot after you've strained it into your jars and then screw on your lids with your canning seals heated up just like if you were making jam :) So far I have about a dozen quart jars to last us through the winter and 7 wine bottles full in the freezer. It's going to be so much fun to be able to pull them out in the dead of winter and enjoy a little bit of spring :)

To finish off your yummy rhubarb juice you can mix 1 part syrup with two parts water or for a fizzy spritzer you can use a sparkling water like Pellagrino instead plain water for a real treat. Personally that's my favorite way to drink it and it is so refreshing on a hot day.

Have fun making some of your own!

Hugs,
Rosina


PS. Looking for more yummy recipes?? Check out this week's Hearth and Soul blog hop :)

Feathered and Ready To Explore

The girls are growing!
We keep calling them our babies but really they don't look much like those fuzzy little fluff balls we had anymore :) Their feathers are fully in and they are growing more inquisitive every day. You can see them eyeing up the outdoors when we come in to feed and pet them so I think we're going to have to get their yard finished. Some of the fence needs mending and a layer of fish net needs to be hung over the pen to keep the hawks and eagles from swooping in and taking any. We definitely don't want what to happen!

So while they're waiting to be released into the grassy wild we've been feeding them little dandelion blossom treats and they love them.

So much in fact that they fight over them *grin*.
One will get a flower in its beak and then another will swoop in and snatch it away and this goes on for a while until we drop in another for them to squabble over :)

My daughter on the other hand mesmerizes them. I think I have mentioned in another post that she is like the chick whisperer and it never fails that they flock to her :) Every time she picked one up it would just tuck its beak into the dandelion blossom and hang out. Talk about taking time to smell the roses.... or dandelions in this case *grin*.

She's been taking on a lot of the responsibility of feeding them to and heading out in the mornings on her own to fill their feed dishes and talk to them. It's so cute :)

Oh and I wanted to let you know that Hubby made it safely home Monday morning!! I waited up until 2am for him to get here and it was so nice to have him back. I got the play by play account of how the whole accident went down from him blowing the gear in his tug, to calling out on the radio in hopes that someone might be near enough to help him out and getting no response, to him waiting till the last possible moment to decide to cut his tow loose as he waited hoping that it might hit the beach and hang up on the rocks so that he could save it, and finally how he threw out the anchor which I thought would be a done deal and it was over but no he wasn't sure if it was even going to hold him!! Thank goodness it held or he would have been smashed to bits on the rocks through the rapids like his tow.

We enjoyed two days together as he rested up and slept after so many sleepless nights and now he's gone again. All thoughts of danger pushed out of my mind as we count the days until he returns again :)

Hugs,
Rosina

Green Pastures and Rainy Days

I can't believe how green everything is getting around here. It just seems like the fields grew knee high overnight! We've moved our personal lawn mower up closer to the house to *grin*. Before we take Bee down to the bottom field he's making the rounds around my house. I love waking up to him mooing in the morning and having him close so we can scratch his ears and of course try and avoid those licks he loves to slather us with :)

Our baby chicks are growing at lightening speed to. Believe it or not I haven't taken any photos of them lately. I must be slipping! They've pretty much got all of their feathers now and are quite the lively bunch :) I'm still getting the kids to pick them up and hold them as much as possible to keep them from becoming to skittish around us. My plan is that as they grow bigger we'll be able to take a few of them each day out to the garden with us this summer to let them scratch around and eat bugs :)

While the chicks are thriving, my garden could use some work. I feel like I'm terribly behind all of a sudden. I know that planting time for us has just begun but for some reason I just can't get it together *grin*. The soil is tilled and ready to go but we spent our week of sunny weather camping and now it's raining again :( I can just see my dad shaking his head and saying you never waste a sunny day! Travel and visiting is best saved for those rainy days *grin*. Wise words but I guess I could use hearing them again since I just did the complete opposite LOL.

I guess I'm just going to have to put on my boots and get ready to be soaked!

Hugs,
Rosina

Weekend Blooms

More and more of the spring flowers are starting to bloom and it is such a treat to see them when I wander out the front yard. It was especially nice to see the bergenia this afternoon as I attempted to dig up the gravel pathway by the front door to get all of the grass and dandelions out that had made the rocks their new home. A little bit of beauty in a sea of weediness :)

The cowslip primula is one of my all time favorites with their big droopy clusters of yellow flowers and the smell is amazing. All you have to do is touch them and their sweet fragrance fills the air.

I have no idea what the name of this peony is but it pops up every spring. My mom planted it here nearly 30 years ago and it returns faithfully every year :)

A pretty little pink double primrose. This one is a volunteer that popped up in the driveway :)

And finally Therese Bugnet. I know there aren't any flowers on it yet but it won't be long and there will be masses of deep pink roses all over. She's super hardy to! You can really expose her to some harsh elements and it comes back just as full as the year before :)

Happy blooming Sundy *grin*

Rosina

Weekending & Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day everyone!!
The kids surprised me this morning with little pencil drawn cards chock full of xoxo's and a gorgeous bouquet of flowers. Oh it smells and looks just wonderful and it was such a treat :)

I can't believe it has been a week since I was last here! Hubby was home most of the week so we did a lot of work around the yard but it also gave me a chance to take a special trip down island with just my mom. An early mother's day outing you could say :)

We ended up in Coombs which is such a fun place to visit. Every spring they open up their little garden nursery full of super healthy looking veg starters, herbs and perennials...

and there is all of the great fresh fruits and vegetables in the market along with dishes, textiles and more. We had lunch at the restaurant and then slowly made our way back up north. I can't remember the last time we had a mother daughter day without the children, just the two of us :) It was really nice.

Back on the home front our house has been getting some attention. I finally got a new storm/screen door. Yay :)

The old one had an unfortunate incident with a mad one horned goat on a rampage and by the time he was done head butting it only the frame of the door was left. Yes it's true... not a stitch of screen or glass left *grin*. I can look back on it now and have a good laugh but in the heat of the moment you can be sure I was not impressed *grin*.

We have a great re-use store located in the next town that is operated by Habitat for Humanity and people donate all sorts of used building supplies that the sell to raise funds for building new homes for those in need and that is where I finally found my new to me screen door :) Can you believe that I got it for only $20!! All it needs is the screen repaired which is super easy and all of the glass and paint is pretty much like new!

The old railing around our sundeck came down this weekend to. It was in really rough shape. Most of it was rotten and the giant juniper hedge growing around it had wound itself through many of the spaces in the boards so hubby had to bring out the big tools to rip it down. Why use a hammer when you can use a chainsaw :)

So with the deck down this is going to be the future spot of my new greenhouse :) Hubby's been working on plans, figuring out measurements for fitting in the windows and how to make it all work when it's only going to be 8 x 11 feet.

And to top it all off my dad surprised us with a whole bunch of rough cut cedar that he hand cut on his mill :) This is such a blessing! It will save us so much money and I love the skookum size of the big 2 x 6's. I'm crossing my fingers that it will be done and ready to use by the beginning of next month :)

Camping season is inching ever closer as well and every summer we have strict campfire bans here on the island which is no fun. So this year we purchased one of the new propane fire pits that have a low flame, throw off a nice bit of heat, don't spark like a normal campfire and they are allowed during the fire bans :)

Hubby wanted to try it out so we had it set up on the front porch and it really will be nice to use it this summer because sitting around an empty fire pit in the evenings while camping is just not fun!

Hope you all had a great weekend :)

Hugs,
Rosina

Weekending

I thought I'd share a few snapshots from our weekend :)
It has been a beautiful couple of sunny days which was a lovely change from the rain and weird hail storms we've been having although as I type this I think we are heading back to stormy days by the look of the gray clouds that are sweeping across the blue sky!

The children have been enjoying the first dandelions of the season and making necklaces, bracelets and earrings with them. I can't think of a better way to use them up :)

Under a big oak tree in the backyard we have an old tractor that we use for parts and it is the perfect refuge during a flash rain storm or when it's to hot out :) It makes a pretty good play place to as the steering wheel gets a good workout and all of the knobs and levers are cranked back and forth *grin*.

Of course with three bums and only one rusty old tractor seat it just doesn't accommodate everyone so naturally someone has to ride shotgun on the giant tire *grin*.

Lately my oldest has been using it as a bit of a learning tool as he takes apart bits of the engine at a time to see how things work together. This weekend he freed up the gear box which has been sticking and he was rather pleased that it can now be shifted into first, second and third gears *grin*. It will never run again as it is missing to many parts and seized but how wonderful it is that he can tear it apart and rebuild to his hearts content :)

It wasn't hot enough to dry up all of the puddles but what is a puddle without someone splashing in it :)

Sending warm thoughts to all of you this Sunday afternoon.

Hugs,
Rosina

Transplanting

It was a perfect day to sit outside and do some much needed re-potting of my tomato plants :)

I can't believe how fast they have grown! This will be the last time I re-pot them until they make their final trip out to the greenhouse which I hope is very soon. I'm so excited because hubby and I found some great big pieces of glass for the new greenhouse he is building me and I'm hoping that when he comes home he will be here long enough to maybe nearly finish it *grin*.

So with all of my tomato babies packed outside I got busy pinching off all of the leaves that were going to be buried underneath the soil in the larger one gallon pots...

and then filled each pot up with potting soil and a really healthy dose of cow manure. I think I must have filled each pot more than half full with manure *grin*. Mama wants some BIG tomatoes LOL.

When I started packing them all back inside I had just enough room on the bay windowsill to fit all of the pots. I guess it's the next best thing to having a finished greenhouse :) Maybe it will be good incentive for hubby as he really doesn't like it when I turn the dining room into an indoor jungle *grin*.

Hope you have a wonderful Sunday!

Hugs,
Rosina

Chick Love ~ Fuzzy Baby Overload

We brought in some of the babies so that we could cuddle and love them and somehow it turned into a bit of a photo shoot. I just couldn't help myself!

In my defense though I did warn you that I might go a little chick crazy... but could you resist such an adorable little ball of fluff?!

I thought not *grin*.

Such sweet little girls :) They were so content to just hang out in the little dishes we put them in so we could ooh and ahh over them *grin*. After a while they got a little more adventurous and started hopping in and out and checking out the flowers. They didn't stray far though and they are so incredibly docile to. We can pick them up and cuddle them and they don't squirm or try to fly out like past chicks we've had.

Of course it was inevitable that there would be a little 'incident'. At least they kept it on the paper that I had put down for just that exact reason *grin*.

Hugs,
Rosina