Weeds for dinner

It was so exciting to find a patch of nettles on the very edge of our garden - free food! But before we started consuming them I took a sample to a plant expert neighbor just to be sure. 

I first had nettles 3 years ago as part of an herbal infusion during my pregnancy with George.  At first taste, even mixed with other herbs and honey, they were almost too bitter to swallow without gagging. But I have since grown to like the taste enough to drink it alone, and I suppose enough to rejoice in finding this weed all over our property.

It was two years ago that we took the Huron River edible plants walk with Linda Diane Feldt but it wasn't until yesterday that I had the courage to go out forging on our own.  I took Henry with me and it turns out the patch on the edge of the garden got mowed down but we found another huge one towards the back of our property.  I had gloves on and collected them in a brown paper grocery bag.  All the while urging Henry to stand back from getting stung by the nettles.  I think that made him really curious because I caught him more than once reaching out to see what would happen, good thing he did not actually come into contact because his skin is so sensitive.

In the kitchen I was not as cautious.  I thought just soaking them in water would take away the stingers but no, I got stung.  I showed the kids my sore fingers and reminded them of why they should be careful in handling this plant, but it really was not so bad.  I proceeded to wash and pick off the leaves with zip lock baggies over my hands. I followed Linda Diane Feldt's instruction as she explains in her book Beyond Spinach.  So here they are into the pot. 

I decide we'd make soup after finding this recipe online.  We used fresh goat milk instead of half and half, grated in a bit of nutmeg, cut chives from our garden, topped it with parmesan cheese and it was incredible!  Paul and I recently heard Joel Salatin speak and what stuck with me was his encouragement to find connections with our food, that something happens on a chemical level in our bodies that helps us digest better when we find connections with our food.  The kids certainly felt the connection because they wee lined up with bowls to give it a try (that rarely happens with something new).  Maryanna doesn't look too sure but they all were curious what it was going to feel like to eat "stinging nettle soup"as the called it.  Turns out most of them loved it coming back for seconds and thirds.  

Henry was among those who had three bowls, maybe because he felt the most connected watching me collect the nettles and he being the one who carried the bag back to the kitchen.  I'm happy the kids liked it, it is so full of nutrients, high in iron and calcium and more protein than most other greens, and it was free!  Not too far from my kitchen door and requiring almost no work from me, what a gift from nature.

I made 5 qts but this is all that was left, time to go cut down as many nettles as we can and process them for the freezer for future use.

Working and playing with dirt

Paul got the soil turned last week in preparation for planting.  We joked that since he works from home his ride on the tractor after work was like his commute.  A running tractor is still really exciting for the kids but even more exciting was the soft and squishy soil.  By the time I came out the girls had their shirts off and Henry was down to his underwear.  When I asked why, the answer was they didn't want to get their clothes dirty and the soil felt so comfortable on their skin.

Then a few days later a dump truck delivered 10 yards of compost. The kids instantly ran from their breakfast and the pile instantly became a play structure.  I told this to my sister in law Kaley and she directed me to this little article that argued that girls who played in dirt would grow up to be healthier.

It is hard to believe how much energy I use to put into the physical appearance of my children, especially my girls.  They use to spend their days in handmade dresses with matching bows while I'd spend my days making sure they remained unsoiled.  That doesn't work out here and we all feel liberated because of it.  They do have a few outfits that are reserved for going into town and to church but other than that it seems anything goes.  Clara must have picked this day's outfit from a pile that was too small for her, I love how instead of pants she wore tights.  It doesn't matter to me that they barely cover her and do not match, what matters to me is her being embodied with joy and confidence and I saw that shine through while playing in the dirt.

Maryanna is also bringing her own style to the dirt pile, that and her joy of cooking with beautiful mud pies.

But the day finally came that the pile of compost had to be moved.  The younger children had fun helping with this project for about 5 minutes.  Then it was just the boys and me, but you can only do so much shoveling and wheelbarrow dumping with a sleeping baby on your back.

So the older ones agreed to moved the whole pile for $5 apiece.  It doesn't look like much of a pile but it took them all afternoon.  And before I even paid them they said it was actually kind of a fun job.
 

All the while the younger ones played along side them.  This little crowd at the door was soiled enough that they were kept outside until bath time, and even then they actually required a hose down before they came in.  Life is as good as it is messy out here!

What's happening

William grabbed my camera today and captured some regular moments.  I'm glad he did because it is the regular moments that so easily slip away from us.  

Most my free time lately has been spent reading, studying, planning and mostly avoiding the work that needs to be done out in the family garden.  But I was soon motivated to actually get my hands in the dirt when we discovered an existing strawberry patch.  Already the plants have sprung blossoms and already they were almost covered in weeds.  I used the trick of The Little Red Hen to call in my helpers, I cried out loud "who wants some strawberries"?  Almost everyone came running and even a few stayed after I explained that it was going to take a lot of work before we actually got to enjoy the strawberries.  But more challenging than the weeding I discovered was the task of keeping them from getting trampled.  All that hard work only to be mashed under some quick little red rubber boots!  So a deep breath and an internal reminder that the goal here is building family connections and not a perfect garden.

James roped the patch off with some leftover twine from a hay bale and we have since discovered an asparagus patch that could also use our care.  Both the strawberries and asparagus have been renamed "tip toe territory".

Meanwhile baby Charles has been spending most his time either crying or wrapped on my back, I prefer wrapped to my back so that is where he is even in the garden.  

George is well into the two year old phase (should have snapped a photo of the way he soaped my shower door today).  Here he is playing the game "will it sink or will it float" in the duck bath.  He got lucky a few weeks ago when he found an old sardine can in the compost pile, it served as the perfect toy boat and his 3 siblings just older than him were very jealous.  George may have had a sampling of this water because I heard some spitting and "yucky"s coming from his way.  But it is also possible he tried to dig into a grapefruit tossed on top of the compost pile as well, this boy eats everything!  He's going to love when there is actually something yummy to taste out here.   

Henry got a really big ouchie on his finger when he and Clara crashed on the scooters yesterday.  He was smart to keep his new garden gloves on.  The girls and him have been finding worms and when he begged for a jar I was honest and kind with my response......"would you rather have a sad dried up dead worm in a jar or a happy fat and juicy worm to eat our compost pile".  He chose the latter and Clara found another worm for his worm "to marry".    

Here is Clara explaining the proper care and handling of worms to George.   She's also discovered the fun of a "high ponytail" this week.

Speaking of worms, Peter discovered you could put a few on a frisbee and send them from one end of the garden to the other and they'd survive, but that's old news because I already facebooked it.  Peter also confided in me today that "sometimes grass looks so tempting to eat".  He then explained that he'd be nervous to eat it because of all the people that walked on it but didn't seem to mind when I reminded him of the animals and what they do on it. 

Peter was able to snag the camera from William for a moment and capture the inside of his nose.  Because that is what boys do.

As for the animals the ducks have been dangerously exploring the road.  There isn't much traffic on our street but since it is paved people really fly down it - I've given strict instructions to all the kids that if a chicken or duck is in the street do NOT go out and get them.  These two ladies have been hiding their eggs but Maryanna was the lucky one who found their stash in an empty horse stall, 

Meanwhile the lambs are growing so much that aside from the thick coat of wool it is hard to tell who is the mother and who is the lamb.  I have scheduled shearing for May 1st and giddy about the pile of wool there will be to be processed.  But not so exciting is the fateful plans for Buckbeak, I am very open with the kids about our plans for the little ram to get processed himself. They have all threatened to become a vegetarian and I respect that, I have considered that myself at a point.  I also explained that being a vegetarian means no more trips with Nanny and Poppy for burgers, it is their choice and I promised no one would be forced to eat something that made them feel uncomfortable.

The goat kids are growing quickly also.  They are just a few weeks away from weaning and I'm not sure how to smoothly facilitate that.  Milk production dropped a bit last week so we are now playing music in the milking room and I believe they respond well to yogi music from Snatam Kaur. 

Paul's been busy with work, spending long hours on calls and on the computer inside his office while we are outside enjoying spring.  He did get a few hours out last week to collect some wood but somewhere along the way he picked up poison ivy and is still itching after several days.  We have plans for hooking up the tractor to turn the garden soil this weekend but since Paul has no experience with that specific piece of equipment he's reading the manual.  I love the way the way Paul is taking to the demands of farm living but love even more the way kids catch us off guard with a camera.
    

Here's a toad Maryanna caught today, she is getting good with that net she got for Easter.  She usually catches at least one a day and William is quick to demand freedom on behalf of the captured animal.  She is not afraid to get dirty out here, running her fingers through some freshly weeded soil she said "oh this is so soft I wish I could sleep in it".  She convinced me that I may enjoy weeding more if I took my gloves off because then I could feel the soil for real.

No mention or picture of James because he was inside reading a book on the couch.  It was just last week while digging up some big weeds that he expressed his fear that time in the garden was going to be getting in the way of his education. I assured him it would only enhance it and promised I wouldn't hold it against him if he didn't agree with that response for several years.  The truth I shared with him was I felt the same way about farm work at his age, I loved it but was just not ready to admit it.

William on the other hand has traded most his books for careful observation. He is learning to identify the different calls of each chicken and responds quickly to a call of distress (a chicken locked in the sheep pen or tack room).  William helped me milk the goats by false light when we lost power on Monday and with no lights or running water he said he felt like he stepped back in time.  

Here are two more great photos from our day, I'm not sure who snapped them because my camera was being passed around.  Looks like George is pointing for his turn with the camera........   

.............and looks like I'm actually really enjoying myself.  So if that is all that comes of my garden effort so be it, I am successfully cultivating joy and that is certainly something you can't just pick up at the grocery store.

Field Tripping Again

I finally made it out on our first field trip since having the baby.  My sister Mary and her kids treated us to a visit to our old favorite museum The Henry Ford,.  It was fun to get out but I admit it was not as easy as I remember field trips being.  Mary was smart to bring along a couple bags of treats from Trader Joe's and I was lucky to have her assistance in counting heads.

We split up into two groups, she took the girls on the Rosa Parks bus while I accompanied the boys through the paper airplane tunnel and along the timeline of cars.  These boys recently participated in the Pinewood Derby and discussed plans and designs for future cars.  James who has out grown the Pinewood Derby had his thoughts on a car he'd like to be driving in the not too far future.

Then we all went through the special Titanic exhibit together.  We got to walk through a replica of the lavish cabins and see original artifacts including coins, jewelry, dishes and suitcases.  It reminded me of the worthlessness of material goods amid real life crisis.

As you continue through the exhibit the lights dim and it gets cold, there was a flashing red light and an alarm that made some of the kids nervous. Since it was the first week of the exhibit so it was also very crowded (people were unusually pushy), so as Mary and I struggled to keep our group of 10 children together we both noted that we got a tiny taste of the panic.

We felt this tragedy on a more personal level when we were each handed a boarding pass with the names and stories of individual passengers who were actually aboard.  Some of the names we held as we walked through were Mr. Francis Davis Millet, Mr. Austin Partner, Mrs. Edward Candee (Helen Churchill Hungerford), Mr. Edwin Nelson Kimball Jr., Mr. Engelhart Cornelius Ostby, and Mr. Edgar Joseph Meyer. Some of these individuals survived, some of them didn't.

The exhibit was worth seeing but Mary and I both admitted it may have been more enjoyable as a double date with our spouses.  But we survived it and the kids are still talking about it so now that's its over I'm glad we went.

Celebrating Easter

Trying to balance the fun of a holiday with the truth of it is always hard for me.  I haven't tried too hard to keep the Easter bunny alive around here so whatever surprise is pulled together for the morning is usually done with the assistance of a few of the children.  This year the family was presented with a basket full of bug nets, fairy wings, garden gloves and seeds.

No one missed the candy, they were too busy digging through seed packs trying to decide which crop would be theres.  I had to warn the younger two that the produce of their choice was not actually in the packet and not to eat the seeds.

We passed on egg dying this year because we already collect a colorful assortment.  In fact everyday is like an Easter egg hunt as they bring in eggs from the coop and where ever else the hens and ducks may be laying.

My favorite Easter tradition of making dresses for the girl didn't happen this year.  I still have the design in my head though and the fabric is washed and ready for me to draft the pattern, cut out and sew........maybe next spring.  This year we made due with one hand me down dress and $7 one from the resale shop, with the addition of new cardigans they looked adorable and it cost me very little sleep.

We are lucky to live close enough to celebrate holidays with family.  Here is Poppy taking care of Charles so I could enjoy Nanny's delicious ham dinner.
 

The kids dashed around with cousins looking for candy filled eggs in their backyard.  

Nanny apologized for the amount of candy they were bringing home but I told her that as much as I don't like to fill my children with sugar, just like trick or treating, it is hard to pass up on the fun of an egg hunt.  But we've had enough sugar melt downs that the candy bags were almost immediately put way out of reach, and the funny thing is I found an old bag of halloween candy when I put them up there.

After dinner at Nanny and Poppy's we gathered with a few of my siblings and their families at my sister Julie's grave.  It was just a few days before Easter 12 years ago that she passed away.  I remember our home being filled with flowers from friends and neighbors that weekend and more than anything the overwhelming scent of the Easter lilies.  To this day whenever the scent of that flower fills my surroundings I am reminded of the beautiful peace I felt at her passing.  My heart still aches for her at times but am comforted again and again at her grave site.  On her head stone is in scripted the verse:

Psalms 35:9

"My soul shall be joyful in the Lord, it shall rejoice in his salvation."   

 

And so my soul was once more reminded on this beautiful Easter Sunday of the perfect life and mission of Jesus Christ and his purpose in the eternal life of each and every one of us.  Happy Easter!