the hen house, a call from a friend and the pond

 the weekend was hard, the good kind of hard work. Our goal was to make the Coop into two sections, one for the hens and one for the rooster. trip to hardware stores, farm stores and then we started. K and i thinking about things as we went, which as you know can take much longer, create more problems but we moved through it. Saturday night finally arrived  as i came in i received a phone call from a friend, in this call came such an act of kindness. i was overwhelmed and that became what most of my thoughts for the rest of the weekend went to, how someone could be so good to me and if i am deserving of this kindness. ( i promise to share soon). Sunday what we thought would be just a few more hours of work turned into a full day once again, poor k weekend was consumed in making my hens happy and in turn making me happy. sunday evening we showered then headed to the market, just what we needed and came home and  prepared a meal and watched a movie as we did this K said would you like me to take a day off tomorrow, oh YES please.(he never, ever takes a day off imagine my excitement)

Monday i woke up extra early so i could finish without having to ask k for help. then we headed into the city for a coffee and to the grain store. came home and decided that we must go for a walk, did i mention that it was in the eighties and that we had the windows open, the weather surreal. as we were almost out the door i ran in to grab my camera k turned and said why are you bringing it when it has stopped working, i told him i just wanted to and maybe she would wake up but truth is it is habit i can not break, maybe even while clicking empty clicks she helps me see. we walked through the forest, k hoping to see a bear, i hoping not to:) then grace ran to the pond and we knew that she was going to jump in and we went to the pond and there she played and swam and then sophie joined her, i sat at the edge of the water as the dogs took turns  splashing me and thanked the sky for the lovely extra day, it was perfect and my camera although she was not able to take a hundred pictures i had snapped on that walk she managed to give me a few that captured the essence of my hearts content.

today i woke up to my daffodils blooming, imagine that happy spring.

the woods, a pond and the listening moon.

i had waited for k to come home, it had been two weeks. two weeks of being here on the hill on my own, two weeks of watching over everything. i thought for sure once he got home i would get in the car and go somewhere. what happened instead is i realized i did not want to be anywhere else but here, that what i really wanted is to share this space with him. saturday morning he ran errands, even then i wanted to stay back so off he went and i went to explore. a light dusting of snow had fallen but had already begun its melt. i went off into the woods, took photographs and looked into tree holes, mossy rocks and leaves gently covered in snow. k came back and joined me. later on we took a walk to our pond and back into the woods. how i love the woods.  back at the house i cleaned up the outdoors, treated the chickens and ducks to leafy greens and shared a snack with k. a few minutes later Joe the farmer arrived with a half a cord of wood.  this made me happy for two reasons, knowing we will not run out, since i heat the house with it and the fact that i would end the evening stacking wood underneath the moon and a star filled night sky. a weekend that is balanced with things that must be done and things we want to do in the company of people we love. that night as i lay in bed i stared up through the skylight at the moon, she was lovely, i told her things and asked her for a few things, she graciously listened till my eyes grew heavy and closed.

the muted sounds and colours of a late autumn stroll

the sun has been shining for days now this afternoon was no exception. we put heavy sweaters on and wool hats the wind made it a must. we walked down our dirt driveway and cross the woods, i wanted to see where the bones of our house came from. see it used to be a five story barn across the way,  boards and windows piece by piece were moved up the hill by joe  who had a clear vision of what one day  would become this beautiful house on the hill. only the foundation remains on the other side of the road,  finally we jumped over the stream so that i can have a moment to explore. the vastness of it took my breath away, moss covered bricks and stone, trees pushing through openings. 

 then we walked a little further to discover two cabins, we peeked through windows, swedish stoves in cobalt blue, beautiful oriental rugs and simple furnishing all against a beautiful view.

i am never lost when i am outdoors listening to leaves rustle under foot, the colours remind me of andrew wyeth and his love for late fall and winter.  on the way back we strolled through tall grasses, visited a tree flanked with yellow apples that looked as if winter lights hung all over it. i am the happiest under golden sun filled afternoons, more so i simply better here on the hill.

when summer takes a day off

i had mentioned in my previous post last weekend was wonderful. 

sunday  i was to have the morning off and k and elle would be up early to do chores, i woke them up at nine fifteen:) we had a long breakfast.  even though the clouds promised rain we were determined to go pick some more blueberries at our neighbours farm, there is bushes and bushes bursting with fruit that no one picks. we put sweaters on and walked to our destination.  through the gate the horses greeted us, the apple trees lined the paths red shiny fruit had our arms reaching for low branches, was it fall? it did feel as if autumn came early.  we filled our baskets up to the rim with blueberries taking our time , i watched k. pick  berries i could not help notice him through the bushes " it is peaceful here i said" he agreed  i think he was surprised at how relaxing it was, although elle had never stopped talking not for even a minute. we walked and ate apples on our way back. i washed the berries and filled so many bags and stored them in the freezer, i will go again this week and fill my baskets (hopefully with ripe blackberries too) so i could make jam with a visiting friend. when we got home we made lemon poppy seed bread for k. to take to work, a banana loaf and blueberry scones as we watched a movie, then we were off for a walk just as the rain began to fall, we grabbed our rain gear and off we went to check on our apple trees where we discovered something exciting but i will share that with you another day.  i made dinner as elle and k played cards they made me laugh at how many times the rules of the game got changed, then i joined them for a game as we ate dinner.

as i went to bed the wet weather had gotten  to me but k held out his hand and offered me the warmth of the sun and we fell asleep.

* elle found the feather in the blueberry bush, there is so many birds while we pick but this one must had many bluberries and tainted his feathers:)

happiness is time well spent

it is sunday afternoon and i find myself loading pictures and posting. i am not bored or alone, in-fact  k and elle are waiting for me to start rango, i am happier than i have been in a long while. Yet i am here wanting to share a few pictures of  yesterday- a perfect day, yes it is true, perfect. 

we woke up and made breakfast  coconut french toast, mocha, coffee and smoothies. of course all the animals were fed. then we made a feather necklace for elle to wear, we where going to a Pow Wow on a open piece of land. we stopped at the farmers market, then grabbed a coffee in the city(pittsfield) stopped at the feed store and watched them as the made the grain, horse grain smells so sweet! then we were at the Pow Wow listening to the drums and chanting, watching the dancing, amazed at the beautiful traditional dress. we sat in a tepee and listened to a medicine healer. we picked up a few hand made pieces.  once home we had a very late lunch took the dogs to a dog park so they can socialize. once home we decided to go for along walk at sunset, we climbed hay bales, ran with dogs, had a race or two. the evening ended with a movie and some personal time with k, talking about my upcoming trip to france and how we must try to fit santa fe in there somewhere. 

it was bliss, today equally as beautiful, i will share pics of today soon. Gosh it is good when  k is home, real nice. having elle share time with us is extra special too, where is dylan you ask he like's spending his time at his cousins, video, games, junk food and late nights:)

*pictures with me in it, elle took

*dylan and elle are my niece and nephew

* my top is an old skirt, that i rigged up as a top during the day and a skirt at night:)!

the quiet moments

the farm has a glow to it. the picture above is of my mum, elle and dylan looking out of the kitchen window down a temporary kids pool we put out for the ducks. we spend a lot of time looking out our kitchen window something peaceful about watching all our feather friends go on with their business, it very soothing. when i look  at all the pictures above i reminded of the little moments that make living a quiet simple life on a farm  beautiful.

* my camera is broken, but using anyways( hence bad pictures)

* we are starting a book club 

a rainy sunday

we had a good weekend. saturday we walked to our library with the dogs and backpacks on, stopped at a safety fair.met all our volunteer policemen and fire department. sunday it rained , but i still found myself walking and exploring mid afternoon. nature she is magical. the other night i went to check on clarabel and mike, clarabel wanted so much affection it was if she was one of the dogs. she leaned on me( i don't think she knows how big she, it wouldn't be rude to call her a cow:)) well i scratched behind her ear and petted the side of her neck when i look up i was surrounded by a half dozen deers i inhaled and pinched myself once again.

I am also feeling a bit anxious, i have to build a structure to house a couple ducks, a goat and perhaps a horse with so many outbuildings already i feel the task to be daunting. i find myself driving around looking at tiny barns, visiting with neighboring farms and seeking advice from others. although i can draw up plans in a few hours it is the financial part that has me worried. I would like to build everything with reclaimed wood, hinges. windows and doors but such things take time to gather. I am already feeling like time is running out since i could not picture going through the winter without animal it would be much to quiet and i would have nothing to do... i must take a deep breath and think things through.

what things would you like to accomplish before winter comes?