Happy Autumn!

I let all of the animals into the garden this week. Clean up and fertilize. The geese pose in the bed of garlic.

We have started to put the garden to bed. First a heavy layer of already composted manure mix and then leaves, lots of lovely leaves... Since we were gone for almost two weeks we are way behind and winter feels like it has arrived today... cold, dark and rainy...

I love to put ginger in our green drink and since we are trying to grow everything that is in our green drink I thought I would try my hand at ginger too. I planted the root in late July and it is taking off. The leaves are very soft and smell like ginger. It is such a wonderful plant to grow in the house. I plan on planting lots more and once our greenhouse is up there will be plenty of green drink to go around.

We have been talking and reading When French Women Cook, I love reading Madeleine Kamman's book. It is a story of life, of women, of delicious food with wonderful recipes from the women in her life. That has been the source of my inspiration in life lately,

The Women In My Life...

no wonder I am attracted to this book.

See the sprouts? Just put the root into good soil, lots of sun and a bit of water. I picked a very plump, buddy looking root. I have the pot in a pan of rocks and water too, for humidity. It seems to be working, and the smell, lovely.

My girlfriend gave me this recipe for a raw green drink that is a meal...

A bit of garlic, a bit of ginger, a few apple pieces, a carrot, a bit of celery, any greens and lots of them, a splash of apple juice, a dash of cayenne pepper blended in a good blender, strained and voile' dinner, with some almonds for crunch on the side.

Well, I am off to clean my studio. I hope you have a happy Halloween! Boo!

Remembrance of Things Past

A view from my friend's window. She shared her home with us for ten days... ten lovely days.

Birds in the rain...

Bunny on a plane....

Our roommate, Monet.

Amazing!

"The more I think about it,

the more I realize, there is nothing

more artistic than to love others".

Vincent van Gogh

Thank you to all of my San Diego family of friends for a lovely birthday and wonderful holiday I will never forget your beauty and generosity...

Love.

A new season...

A self-portrait from four years ago when my little boy was only 6!

I had a big medical scare at the end of September. My life was once again clearly brought into focus. My love, my energy, my fear, my joie de vivre. Every breath is such a wonderful gift... It is all just a heart beat away, moment to moment. I definitely have MS, new lesions, but no loss of neurological function, this time, thankfully. The cancer is still stable, no new growth according to our expert Dr. Liebsch. The radiologist here thought differently but we trust our guy. Exhale, deep sigh, I have been sleeping through the night these last few days....

It is so funny how just last week I looked at my reflection in the mirror and felt so much compassion. Compassion for the girl that still had so much life that she wanted to lead. I am not clinging, I am not suffering but I am a mother of a young boy.

I wasn't terrified, I was sad. I was so capable of being present in my stress this time, watching it manifest itself in my body, feeling it arise and take hold of me. Because I was able to witness this amazing response to the news that IT might be back I was able to calm myself, comfort myself, embrace myself. I was very present in my thoughts, very connected to my body. I felt strong and accepting and then...

Dr. Liebsch called, he felt the radiologist was wrong about the cancer but I do have two new lesions. The thought of neurological demise and deterioration is not a happy thought but it so much easier to breathe through now that I have gone through this journey. I feel in control. My life is what I want to lead, not my fear. I am so busy living and being that I don't want to cling to the "what if's" any longer. Peace is my quest.

I awaken happy, grateful and thinking about my day's work, not the alternative, not now.

The garden after a light frost, October 3rd.

The fall colors were a bit muted and quick this year. We had an extremely dry summer. The plants suffered, the trees struggled...

Lots of good nutrients for the garden, I just have to rake them all up and put them in the garden soil. So if you see bags of raked leaves that people leave out on the curb for the trash man, pick them up, free food for your garden, no work for you!

A "Mammoth" Sunflower from Seed Savers.

Four big heads filled two large jars! Not all of them ripened in time, oh well, we have enough for eating and next year's seeds. The rest are for the birds and the mice.

Happy Days! I hope yours are too...

Peace.

The first hard frost....

Not so long ago....

Just a few of the many...

Autumn is here, the air is cold, the days are short, the coyotes are back. We have a large pack in the forest behind our house, we can hear them howling, like wolves, in the darkness. The chickens are all locked up, tight.

Tonight we are expecting our first hard frost of the season...

Old jars from my neighbor...

Chocolate.... from 1911.

Hinx Jinx

The old witch stinks

The fat begins to fry.

There's nobody home

But Jumpin' Joan

And mother and father and I.