Tuesday, March 29, 2011

A New Life Emerging.... Yes!


Spring is coming.
We are still locked in the grips of a very cold March. Icy, little mud, not too much sunshine, and cold nights. The cold nights are good for maple sugaring but the cold days aren't helping the sap flow. Lots of people are having a good year though. My neighbor put these old school sap buckets on our trees. Yummy, sweet sap. I find it so amazing, the gifts given by these majestic trees. Drawing from the earth, sharing her sweetness. I love the sound of the sap dripping in the buckets, tip, tip, tip... I can hear it across the field.

We walked our land for hours yesterday. Look at all that snow. We found some lone moose tracks and followed them out onto the road. You can tell so much about an animal by following the tracks for a good distance. How fast they were walking, what they nibbled on, how many times they went this way or that. I wondered when the tracks were made? They weren't fresh and the snow has been melting a little every day. I think this beauty must be big, but I don't have a lot of experience with moose, so can't say for sure. The actual foot print was 7" plus around and the scat was big and there was a lot of it!







Tuesday, March 15, 2011

In which we expand our joy of homeschooling....


My lovely, patient, obliging, ever ready student loves, loves, loves to read.
As part of our Waldorf inspired homeschool journey he is reading through all of the volumes of The Library of Pioneering and Woodcraft by Ernest Thompson Seton. We just started Botany and he is so excited and teachable.

I wanted to share two of the goals from "Woodcraft is Lifecraft"...

4. The Great Central Fire.
Represented in our law, and in our ceremonies. Only the re-creation of the sacred fire has power to thrill us and strike chords of primitive remembrance. When people gather around a fire they shed all modern artifice and return to the essence of self, revealing the naked soul. Since time immemorial, humanity has seen in this blessed fire the means and emblem of light, warmth, protection, friendliness, and council. When people have met together in peace and shared the warmth of the welcoming fire, it forges a lasting bond of union overcoming wide divergence in attitudes and perspectives. This fire is the symbol at the center of Woodcraft. We shall not fail to use its magic powers.

8. An heroic ideal.
Woodcraft offers an heroic ideal, an image of a mature human being, physically strong, mentally alert, spiritually attuned, dedicated to community service. Anxious to learn, willing to teach, inspired by vision. Prepared to share with others, with courage, intelligence, power and wisdom. Cognizant of the past, unafraid of the future, profoundly aware that action is only possible in the present moment. Able to use this moment to the best advantage, equipped to listen, communicate and actively respond as needed. By presenting an heroic ideal Woodcraft gives each individual the inspiration to set and then strive towards personal goals. Woodcraft is dedicated to exploring knowledge, increasing tolerance through understanding, and improving global environmental conditions.

"Maturity, not scholarship is the first aim of education." Woodcrafters... 
~Ernest Thompson Seton

Tell me, what could be better than that????


from http://www.etsetoninstitute.org/the-woodcraft-way/

Monday, March 14, 2011

Spring is right around the corner...


Even if it snows again, that is o.k., the sun is back and it is getting stronger every day!
Still lovin' my vegan journey. I am so into food.
Made my old stand-by Yakisoba tonight, a la' my girlfriend Keiko.
Yum.

My herbal, strawberry patch spiral my husband made for me.
A view from last March.
I saw my new oncologist today. He is so nice, thorough, and attentive. I haven't seen an oncologist for two years so having a doctor that is following me feels so reassuring. Over the last two weeks I have had a complete blood panel, a chest x-ray, an abdominal CT-scan (yikes), a brain MRI, total MRI scan of my spine, and hips. No cancer!!!! I do have arthritis in my spine and neck and stenosis, but that is nothing compared to bone cancer.
Yes, I'll take that, thank you...
Yoga, physical therapy, massage, well that sounds lovely.
No proton beam radiation, I am such a lucky girl.

Seeds I saved from plants I grew. On this tray, radish and oats.
And a Butternut seed from my neighbor Henry's tree.

We miss you Henry....