Mixing it up

Things have been a little mixed up here the last few weeks. Lee has been between jobs so he's been home a LOT more. This, of course, is a wonderful thing. However, he also poses as a distraction to the very new rhythms and routines the girls and I had been working on to get homeschooling underway along with our usual daily rhythms. How ever wonderful it is, it's been feeling a little, well....mixed up! 

Having Daddy home means there are lots more opportunities to drop any type of plans and go on an adventure, which of course, the littles love. Seraphina would be happy to solely exist in her backpack. There are so many wonderful places to visit on the land we live on; tent platforms, streams, fairy ponds, sheep, deep woods, neighbors, and secret passages that lead from one end of the land to the other, each one rich with treasures to be discovered. 

Since any type of  "formal"schooling has been put on the back-burner (for now) we've been taking every opportunity we have to use as a learning experience. Such is our life, really. This is one of the reasons why I so love homeschooling....even if book work isn't accomplished I can guarantee we have all learned something wonderful, crossed paths with some beautiful people, played and laughed. Like this little moment above. We've been researching and connecting with area beekeepers because we wish to have a beehive in our midst. We dream of having one right in the center of our garden, the heartbeat of the space that produces and nourishes our bodies and souls. We hope to move a hive to our home next spring.  I've found plans to make a homemade skep.....they are beautiful. Anyway, this was one of the stolen moments where accidentally we all had a lesson on bees.

Having Daddy home also means that I'm able to spend a bit more energy than usual baking and learning new techniques for our gluten free pantry. My usual crutch has been using an already mixed gluten free all purpose flour. It hasn't been my favorite to work with and the results are usually not very exciting. The taste isn't all that great and well, it's made those of us who aren't gluten free really dislike the idea of gluten free anything. As a result, I took the plunge this week and experimented with a gluten free cookie recipe that blends two different flours as it's base as well as a gluten free all purpose flour blend that I mix myself using several different gluten free flours. The *new* gluten free all purpose flour I tested with homemade cheese crackers. Each new recipe has (so far) turned out to be far superior than what we've used in the past. I now have 5 - 1/2 gallon mason jars filled with my new gluten free flours that will be the foundation of all my baking moving forward. It wasn't easy to stray from the norm. I've always been a bit nervous and unconfident when taking risks in gluten free baking, it's science after all, and I find a bit less forgiving than baking with wheat flours. Either way, it's been a very successful couple of weeks.

Who can resist a golden, buttery, cheesy cracker?

I'm sure when Daddy goes back to work we'll see more of this kind of work but for now......we'll be seeing much more of this...

and this.....

If you're interested in what recipes inspired me, I've listed the links below :) xoxo

 Gluten free all purpose flour

Gluten free Cheese Cracker recipe

* I did augment this a bit by adding more salt, cheese, and dry mustard. My next batch I will use a spicier cheese and a bit more salt, still! Overall, it's a really yummy cracker and I found that the crackers are done at around the 8-10 minute mark rather than 12-16 minutes that was listed in the original recipe. 

Welcome Autumn!

The world is full of color,

'Tis Autumn once again;

And leaves of gold and crimson

Are lying in the lane.

There are brown and yellow acorns,

Berries and scarlet haws.

Amber gorse and heather,

Purple across the moors.

Green apples in the orchard

Flushed by a glowing sun.

Mellow pears and brambles

Where colored pheasants run.

Autumn has peeked her pretty head from under the warmth of Summer. It was a cool and blustery Autumn day here yesterday. Very cool, in fact! The cool day inspired me to break out the slow cooker and have dinner steam away all day, creating warm and delicious aromas of root vegetables and rich broth that made me wish we had the wood stove on! Outside chores were done, the chicken coop was tended to and our yard is now a bit more bare as large plants have been cut back and our outside seating is being collected before it migrates to it's winter storage. The garden still has plenty to harvest; kales, pumpkins, and squashes, and the orchard still has much to give over the next few weeks (even though it was dutifully picked through the day before, you'll see why in a moment!).

With the chill of yesterday I was also inspired to mull my first bit of  homemade cider. Every year as a way to celebrate the Equinox and the Autumn Harvest, the community we live in gathers together to pick apples and press cider. It's a very full day beginning just after breakfast and lasting until supper time. 

Apples were picked all day Friday and first thing Saturday morning. The apple washing began after breakfast and lasted until the final pressing (over 7 hours of apple washing!!!) The first cider pressing began around noon, this is what you're seeing above. 

As you can see (and some you can't even see) there were a TON of apples collected. We had 5-7 folks washing, 2-3 folks working the chopper, 2-3 folks working the press, and 1-2 bottling the fresh apple cider. For weeks, everyone (11 households worth) collected bottles to use for storage.

This was taken after the first 8 gallons of juice were pressed. We bottled just about 75 gallons of juice and ran out of containers for the last 25 gallons. We ended up using 5 gallon coolers for immediate consumption within our main house. Each family went home with about 7 gallons of juice which will ripen and sweeten over the winter time in our freezers! 

It's not easy to turn the crank of a full cider press, it takes a LOT of strength. Everyone present each had their turn at pressing cider from the apples. I was impressed by how few turns I could actually complete (I think, maybe seven) while Casen gave the crank over 100 turns and the gentleman he is standing next to worked the press all day!

We never cease to be amazed of all the glorious gifts we are given. To spend a day so rich and lively with some really wonderful people, creating memories, making cider, working hard, sweating lots, and laughing together. Living in an intentional community certainly is work, learning, loving and growing from each other. It's days like this that remind me completely of why we're here at all. 

We wish you all beautifully colored days and nights that are warmed and delighted by the smells of wood stoves and mulled cider. Happy Autumn!

{ pretty, happy, funny, real }

~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life ~  
Every Thursday, at Like Mother, Like Daughter!
I haven't participated in {pretty, happy, funny, real} in a long while and I'm so glad to be back. This is one of my all time favorite link-ups out there. Focusing on the beauty and happiness of life through pictures really speaks to me. This series is my homage to the end of summer. We had some really beautiful high points that have been sticking with me and carrying me through the changing season. Thank you for stopping by to see how our everyday life brings our family much contentment.   ~ Marcy
{pretty}

Yesterday's heatwave had me dreaming of our recent trip to the ocean. It had been our first ocean visit in 8 years and the first for our three youngest. I daydreamed all day about sitting on the gorgeous beaches all. day. long. Soaking up the sunshine, embracing the ocean waves. Watching the children bask in the openness of the ocean's expanse. Having sand in every crevice and roll and crease. This was our best vacation ever and I miss it. Everyday.

{happy}

Every year our little town sees a County fair come through. We look forward to the week it is in town all summer long. The bigger kids look forward to a little bit more independence from us, walking around with friends and going on all the rides over and over again. The littles, well Charlotte anyway, is at her second year of really enjoying all the rides for smaller kids. Kiki, however, had stepped foot into just one ride last year and cried the whole time. She is our "non-risk taker". She likes moments of excitement when they are self motivated and where she is in full control. Rides are not that kind of excitement at all. This year was a new year for Kiki. She, of her own volition, got on a few rides and really, really, enjoyed them. She was all smiles and showed just a bit of trepidation; you could see her talking herself through. This evening, everyone was very, very happy.

{funny}

Summer means Daddy usually works more but this summer he has been home, lots. For better and worse. It is so wonderful to have Daddy home, even if he is just outside working around the house, the fact that his presence is felt, his voice is heard and his hugs are available at any moment, make our days so much more enjoyable. As a family, we do so much better when we are all together. Everyone feels held and heard, us adults feel supported and having a buddy around releases the loneliness and missing we feel when one of us isn't at home. I love my husband deeply. If only we didn't have to make money we would be content just spending every minute of everyday together, with our children, in our home, on the land. Then, life would be perfect. In the meantime, life is still perfect, just a different kind of perfect. 

This picture captured an impromptu "morning meeting" where discussions about George of the Jungle and boogers, various trees and our elderberry/peach smoothie were heard. Oh, and I can't forget Kiki's current photography series. She was very eager to discuss and show the many pictures she had taken in the course of the morning.  

{real}

Over the weekend we picked up our newest additions to the family, a flock of six Shetland ewes. We currently work with a flock of Oxford cross sheep that are kept mostly for meat processing. Living in an intentional community, Lee has taken on the shared task of shepherding with another family on the land. One of my deepest passions is working with wool. I love everything about it. Last year, I taught myself to knit and needle felt and the children learned to wet felt and finger knit. This year, our goal is to process our wool, from shearing to spinning (or felting). I was specifically interested in Shetland sheep because of their size, demeanor, and for the quality of their wool. Their wool is excellent for spinning, another modality of wool work I look forward to learning. Shepherding and working with sheep is a family passion. While Lee currently spends the most time caring for them (I'm working it in to my rather full day of caring for 5+ children and keeping the house) and the children visit and look forward to snuggling up and patting the girls on the head, I look forward to it becoming more and more a shared effort between all of us.

Nuts and Trees and Leaves, Oh My!

Our homeschooling experience has been rich and full these past few days. Yesterday marked the beginning of our first full week, and full it is! We were blessed to have Daddy home with us, which always makes our days seem as though they run more smoothly. I find that having a buddy around for the majority of the day helps me accomplish more, or I at least have help. Lee is our biggest motivator for taking walks about and exploring. While I really enjoy being outside and exploring, sometimes I find it really sits at the bottom of my "what's important for today" list. The girls get plenty of outside time; they swing, play in their sand box and the garden, and run about on their adventure park. Mostly, I feel compelled to use that quiet time they're outside for quick clean-ups, laundry, cooking/food prep, and to tackle the never ending pile of dishes. Some days I'm able to just let it all go, like yesterday. It meant way more to me to be a part of our little "field trip"!

Our goal with this meandering was to find varieties of nuts and leaves to take back home with us so we could learn about them. We learned all about the parts of a leaf, how the stem works, and the importance of the waxy, waterproof coating of a leaf. We learned about seeds and how they are all different for each tree. We learned about the two different kinds of trees that exist where we live and how evergreen trees hide their seeds in pine cones. Charlotte is investigating the inside of a pine cone in the photo above.We also gathered a bit of nature stock to create our Autumn Nature Table. Wow! We sure collected some bounty! 

We found piles of acorns, pine cones, milkweed pods, hickory nuts, many different and beautiful varieties of grasses, and leaves. Lots of leaves! Oh! And we picked our very first pumpkin out of the garden! 

To celebrate all the wonderful and beautiful gifts we found yesterday, I thought it would be fun to make beeswax acorns to add a bit of color to our table. We found plenty of acorn caps and used those. We simply warmed up our beeswax and rolled it and shaped it into the form of an acorn. Then, we topped them off with an acorn cap!

The girls love them, and so do I! They add a bit of whimsy and delight to our very colorful Autumn Nature Table.

What are you creating for Autumn with your littles?

* This post is part of the link-up over at Frontier Dreams for Nicole's Keep Calm, Craft On series.

Homesteading Adventures

This isn't the first time our chickens set us off on a "wild goose chase" to find their eggs. We have many chickens just coming into laying age and our coop, for whatever reason, isn't satisfactory enough for them to lay their eggs there. I think they get a kick out of seeing us rummage through each corner of their run, poking under brush, and peeking behind out buildings just to catch a glimpse of a golden brown orb just waiting to be found, at least by one of us! Lately, no such luck, that is until the other day when Lee found the "mother load"!

Within the chicken run we have their coop (stocked with nesting boxes of varying sizes loaded with straw for their laying comfort) and a smaller coop that one of our broody hens used while she was laying earlier in the springtime. That coop was ostensibly out of commission, so we thought. This is where, after walking past it day after day, all the eggs lay. There were 3 1/2 dozen eggs just laying around, not being sat on, just.....there. Gwen, our broody Mama, was laying beneath the coop sitting on another cache of eggs. The cold eggs were gathered and Gwen's were left as she was protecting them fiercely. More chicks!!! 

Charlotte brought in all the eggs that she and her sister had collected. The initial thought was to just compost them all, believing that they had been in the coop far too long and were all rotten. After seeing how many eggs there were, I decided to just check and see how many were actually no good by sitting each egg in some water to see if it would float (if an egg floats it's too old for eating, if it stands on it's point it's old but still edible, if it sinks then it's fresh enough to eat). 3 1/2 dozen eggs was far too many in my eyes to simply just throw away.

After going through about 1/4 of the eggs I finally had a floater. I picked it up out of the water and as I set it aside I noticed a crack on the underside. Upon further investigation I realized it wasn't just a crack but a pip! There was a baby in there. A baby that was either dead from not having been sat on or was dying now that I just dunked him in a bowl full of water! So, I began to gently open the pip to see what exactly I was dealing with. As I broke open the pipped area, I saw the chick. My heart sank as I could see there was no movement or sound and the egg was stone cold. I opened the egg a bit further and then, shockingly, I saw the baby's beak open. I thought it was just my eyes playing tricks with me so I opened some more and again, the beak opened and closed. Then the chick moved. At that point, I called for Lee to go grab the incubator from the basement, I completely hatched the egg and out popped a little ice cube of a baby chick. I gently unfolded her, wrapped her in a soft cloth, handed her over to my two oldest girls so they could hold her under a heat lamp until the incubator was up to temperature. At this point, I called our neighbor over so she could assist me with candling the rest of the eggs for fear that there were more babies waiting inside those 3 1/2 dozen eggs. After checking, just one seems to have a chick in waiting. I'm not convinced it will hatch as it, too, was stone cold, but it's sitting in the incubator and we're hoping she'll pull through.

This is Milly, short for Mildred which means "gentle strength". She is a little warrior and is as determined to be alive as anything I've ever seen. Minutes after warming up she began to cheep and stretch. Her feathers began to fluff up and she opened her eyes. We kept her in the incubator overnight to keep her at a steady temperature and for her to get her barrings after such a jarring entrance into this world.

I have to admit, I was rather surprised when Lee woke me up this morning and announced that the little chick had been peeping and bouncing about the inside of the incubator. She isn't the strongest on her feet and she kept getting herself in precarious positions inside the incubator. I ran to the basement to get another container to use a brooder. Almost immediately after putting her in her new home she was able to find her balance and get her footing enough to start to walk around. Aside from being quite small and weak (er than I'm accustomed to seeing baby chicks who have a normal hatching experience) she is working hard to figure this whole thing out. She is very vocal, loves when little faces come to visit (in fact, she sits right by the glass and quiets down when she has visitors). Her eyes are bright and she's discovered her waterer. 

I think she's going to be OK!

A side note, here is a picture of some of our sheep that we currently tend to on the land. They are Oxford crosses and are used for meat, mostly. A project over the winter is to make felt sheets with all of their wool that has accumulated over the past few shearings. This weekend we will be introducing a small flock of Shetland sheep to the group. We are so excited! I am so eager and excited to further my crafting skills using wool and we look forward to having a few new ladies to care for and get to know. Shetlands have a warm place in our hearts as they are a direct line to our Scottish/Irish heritage.

To me, it's these moments that make this dream of homesteading so meaningful. Loving for and caring for our animals, seeing the successes and honoring the not so successful. We have a deep love and respect for farming and can't wait to get our hands......dirtier!

And so it begins....

Our first day of school began this morning. Lee and I were up early but were not the first to rise. Our son was up bright and early eager to greet the day. While he hasn't admitted his excitement for school to start, his jitteriness and desire/need to be on top of my every move this morning (read: standing right next to me as I cooked breakfast, nonstop talking, and near panic over his lunch sack not fitting in his duffel bag!!) led me to believe otherwise. Maybe he was feeling a bit nervous, either way, I think he was "feeling" something other than what he was trying to portray! Needless to say, this morning called for warm, homemade biscuits, strong coffee, and a light heart.

Charlotte also began her first day of first grade here at home. She was soooooooo excited and couldn't wait to jump right in. Kiki was slow to wake this morning so we had to alter our plans for a morning visit to the sheep and instead meandered around the yard looking for signs of Autumn. We said "Good Morning" to the chickens and the sunshine and welcomed the day with our morning prayer::

Awake, the sun is shining bright:

He drives away the long, dark night. 

The moon and stars have gone to rest

And earth in softest green is dressed

Now will we open wide our heart:

Of this great world we all are part,

And if we work, or sleep, or play:

Be with us golden sun this day.

The morning moved along well. Seraphina, our one year old babe, made it almost impossible to press on and Charlotte and I became a little concerned that our desires to work this morning would be just about impossible. I opted to try and put her down for an early nap, hoping we could at least get through a majority of our work. Today, we succeeded. Seri napped long enough for us to complete our task, although Charlotte was resistant to stop for breaks in between for fear that Seri would awaken and then we'd have to stop. 

Anyone homeschooling with super littles at home have any advice on how to work with an eager first grader while managing a toddler who demands full attention? 

I was amazed at the amount of dedication Charlotte showed today. She loves to learn and she picked up on all the concepts and rhythms that were appropriate for her. I snuck in a math game that was a bit advanced, she gave it a whirl but quickly communicated that it didn't feel right, she wasn't getting it! Our main goal for today was to review a bunch of things we did last year so I could see how much she retained. WOW! Kids minds are amazing. Where I thought we'd have to begin again, Charlotte breezed right through and I found we were able to jump ahead to where we'd left off, no problem. 

Tomorrow will be so exciting as we really jump into our science and art blocks!

You've heard me speak to the size of our home, 1000 sq ft (+/- a foot here and there). It's a constant battle to find the right flow from room to room so we decided to overhaul our two main living spaces; the family room and  the dining room, in an attempt to have more space for each. We flip-flopped the two rooms and I think, so far, all that we'd hoped for with the switch is coming to fruition. There is a bit more peace for little Seraphina who had a hard time navigating the narrow and high spaces and always felt left behind, our family room in now in the same space as the kitchen which has been nice for engaging the children more, sharing in more conversations, and just being happy to glance over from the kitchen and see every one's little faces. Having the dining room separated has allowed me more space to create a "school room". We are "kitchen table learners" so having a room pull double duty in the smaller space was a challenge. I think we've been afforded just enough space to satisfy what needs to be done right now. Fingers crossed!

I hope the school year is proving to be a beautiful one for all of you. I would love to hear how you all are doing.....