barm-flog

Living and Learning

Fri, 25 Sep 2015 19:03:23 +0100

An important realization: I am not naturally a business person or blogger. I didn't realize the importance of internet communications, constant contact, and detailed plans and information processing that would go into being a farmer, homesteader, and community member! Always a learning experience- today I'm catching up on the (way outdated) website information, blogging (about blogging...is that really a word??), and sharing information and experiences on Facebook. I'd like to think I'd be doing this even if it weren't raining outside...

Because this IS an important point of connection. We are living dynamic lives, and we have the capacity to learn and share without even considering the mileage between us. My goal is to be present to outreach as a practice- something beneficial I can integrate into my life for the betterment of myself and others. I love this land-based, community life, and I know that many people who have supported us throughout the years are interested in what we are up to and how it is going here at Coffee Creek.

So THANK YOU! For your continued support, your interest, and your time. I hope that we will both be diligent in utilizing this valuable resource to learn about all of the projects, plans, plants, and produce of Coffee Creek Community & Gardens now and for seasons and years to come.

C is for Community

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 02:59:37 +0100

There is a rabbit hutch on the north side of the Longhouse. No domestic rabbits live at Coffee Creek yet, but when they do, they will have a great little hutch to reside in. There were many lonely days on the farm when my young son, Waylon, and I were the only members of our "intentional community." The intentions were always here...

Holding space throughout the many transitions that Coffee Creek has seen has been a difficult and often painful process, and at times I have reflected upon the many different situations that brought me to this space and prepared me for the incredible amount of work that it has taken to feel at home. No matter what I was able to accomplish in transition- be it the gardens, the business, the ties in the outlaying community- nothing has made more of an impact than sharing this.

Ten people are living, ten minds are planning, twenty hands are working. Together. Ten souls have converged in time and space, each breathing, learning and evolving. Each of us shares our knowledge and learns a new path with each beloved interaction. With our love combined we are creating a magnetic environment, and are consistently drawing attention and energy from the lives that we touch when we venture off the farm. Our community is growing, our love is spreading, and our work is becoming more and more important and made evermore enjoyable because we are working together.

Coffee Creek develops everyday. Each time that we come together to make a difference in our space, in our systems, in our lives, change is made. When we divide and conquer our reach is far and wide, and when we work together as a team, we reach deep. The foundations that were built are being improved upon and everyday I can look around to see the evolution of our home as it takes shape and becomes the place that we all want to come home to. That we all want to share with our family, our community, and you. And your rabbits, too.

March Forth!

Mon, 07 Mar 2011 06:52:13 +0100

The beauty of March is that the mornings are too cold, and the evenings too dark to get more than eight hours in the gardens. With all the excitement of the season, it is important to pace ourselves and ease back, not only into the physically strenuous aspects of farming, but the brain and time consumption.

Already we have gotten a lot done. A late start is our style, but this year we really did it right by actually taking some time to get away! Two weeks spent in two feet of east coast snow was just what we needed to really feel ready for our return, home and to work. And what was waiting for us here but another week of snow! It is still winter, after all.

We have our second brood of mini meaties, the first being all Cornish cross and the second a mix: six red broilers and seven Cornish. Despite a higher than ever mortality rate in the first brood, they are peeping away under warming lights in their now-closed brooder. Soon after feathering out, they will be pecking about in their own yard, as any happy chicken ought to. I purchased the second batch from another source, and they seem to be hardier, as far as chicks meant for eating go. Alas, their lives are short but pleasant here at Coffee Creek. We are seeing a little wear and tear on the coop, and will have some minor repairs soon, but all is holding up for now. Even the pail of chick starter, but not for long. I will put that on my growing list of things to do: we need a new feed distributor, and I am hoping it does not have to be me!

We finally removed the sure-to-break-an-ankle-at-some-point pallet floor that once graced the greenhouse, and replaced it with crush and run. The gravel is so neat and tidy in comparison! My hopes are not only that it will be a much safer environment, but that the thickly laid, and well tamped gravel will pose a barrier for the mice that reeked such havoc among seed trays last spring. We shall see about that. An already apparent improvement: the pallets made a much better bonfire than they ever did a floor!

I spent the warm afternoon disinfecting plug trays in bleach water and laying them to dry in spotted sun. It was all Waylon could do to not mess with them. He is so bored without other children on the farm, and is only interested to hang out and help us in the gardens for so long. He really needs a buddy close in age, but there are no other children in the neighborhood. Swimming lessons begin mid-month, and tomorrow while we are in town for laundering we will check into some gym time with other kids. I see martial arts looming in the not too distant future, and for that I am both excited and apprehensive. The boy is so interested in fighting we must nurture it to a degree, so long as there is a discipline to which he is interested in adhering.

With all the trays stacked in the greenhouse and ready for planting, I went on to the next, and possibly the most time-consuming project: sifting compost. I am trying to cut back on my farm store habit as much as possible, and potting soil is top on the list. We have two bins in our three bin system brimming full with composted goodness, and it is my intention to sift out the chunks over 1/4 inch so that I may blend our potting soil with little dependence on bagged compost, peat moss, or the dreaded vermiculite and perlite. What is the trouble with these? Well, other than their high cost (I start all of my plants from seed, and sell plants and starts throughout the season. I go through a LOT of potting mix), my life is farming, not mining Vermiculite often grows with asbestos, so I don't consider it a safe material to have around, especially the children. The more we can provide here on our land, the better. Better source, better quality, and a better price. We have no shortage of chicken shit, so let it be our gold.

Tomorrow, there will be laundry, and with it comes town. Francis has a job in the city, framing a room in a fellow's basement, so it will be a Waylon and mama day. That used to be the way it was. Everyday. It is really special to have these two very different experiences to relate to and compare, and I find that I am thankful for the helping hands as well as the time to just be with the boy. I think we both look forward to a little time to ourselves, even if it is for work, as well as time one on one with Waylon. He is so different with me than he is with Francis. I have always thought of myself as a real no-nonsense mama, but for some reason he always has to try with me, and he doesn't with Francis. They have a special understanding with each other. So do we, but I think he is a little too aware of that unconditional acceptance sometimes.

Tomorrow is another opportunity to build upon today, and we will in many ways. Waylon and I will have our time and our dynamics. I will tear down the oppressive dirty clothes tower and build a mountain of pristine pants. I will shovel and sift and sift and shovel and sift until my first batch of potting soil is ready for the planting. Then, dinner with the girls, and I am cooking. But tomorrow will not be as enjoyable unless now I sleep, so good night, and fare the well.

Anticipation! Preparation!

Sun, 23 Jan 2011 06:04:19 +0100

The season of rest is coming to a close, and I can feel it in every step. We may still be in the midst of a Northwest winter, but the greenhouse is on my mind...sprouting begins next month, but it is already in my heart, my dreams, my breath.

Along with the excitement, I am also thankful- I really feel like I made the most of my winter. I have been sewing and knitting- and not by myself. I have taken the steps toward intimate friendships that I haven't had the "time" or "headspace" for over the last couple years. There has been so much going on here at Coffee Creek, right in front of me, that I didn't get out for much other than work. I have been aware of the existence of interesting people in our community, but now I am nurturing it. Embracing it. And being embraced! There are some truly amazing women and men in my life right now, and we are all taking the time to be a community of creative, thinking, feeling individuals.

Our family has really grown this winter, as well. No, not by expansion, we are three and will continue to be. Our growth has been inward...we have contracted and become a closer unit while at the same time all becoming a little more independent of each other. Waylon will be five this summer(!) and has become so focused in his interests. He enthusiastically learns, explores and pushes limits...with himself and of course, with his parents. Francis and him are closer now than ever before and I feel their support as I connect with my ladies and take time to myself. It is a beautiful balance for a mother to be engulfed in love while granted freedom.

Just as father and son have grown closer, so have Francis and I in our partnership, as parents and as man and woman. I feel more at ease with our relationship and also more dedicated to our friendship than ever before. What a winter, indeed.

With all of this intimate internal growth propelling us into the season of external growth, I believe our capabilities have increased infinity-fold! Having taken seed inventory I am now planning our rotations of greenhouse and gardens. Last year our season was so unexpectedly cold and damp, that I feel myself taking extra precautions. Many plants that I would have normally sown directly into the gardens were skipped altogether, so I am planning to take full advantage of the greenhouse. This will not only ensure that we are able to plant our favorites, but expand our nursery supply to ensure a bountiful harvest for all.

We had such positive feedback on last year's CSA that we are continuing, expanding, and improving our offerings. I feel so blessed to have the time, energy and space to provide nourishment for not only my family, but the community at large. A foundation of healthy eating is central to our functioning in all aspects of our lives, and to offer this to families that are not able to grow their own food is my calling. And it calls...sometimes louder than I am ready for...is it really going to be February so soon? Am I ready for another season of mayhem and markets?

You bet your dinner I am .

On our minds...

Fri, 07 Jan 2011 22:56:04 +0100

Creating space to free our minds and share our visions...with too much coffee involved to take advantage of it. I will thank myself later...