Normalish

Things are starting to feel a little more normal around here.  Three of us are fully vaccinated, with Harris joining the group next week.  When I think upon the past year, I really can't believe how things changed and how hard it's been for children and young people.  We live in a state where our government was fairly restrictive from the start and Grace chose to go to school in a country where they were far more restrictive than even our most restrictive spot in the U.S. so, yeah,  it's been an interesting ride.  

*Harris went to school in person every other week for the majority of the year.  On his off weeks, he did online school though he was almost always done by 11am.  With after school activities mostly cancelled, that made for some long days.  He went back full time just this week!

*Baseball starting up at school has been a Godsend.  Of course, he missed out on baseball season last year so it's been almost 2 years since he played.  It's made a huge difference for him to be a part of a team, have a place to go every single day, and to be active.  

*I ate inside a restaurant last week for the first time in over a year.

*This has been particularly hard on Grace.  While she did get to go to Scotland, almost from the start, things became evermore restrictive.  As an introvert and a rule follower (mostly) she didn't make good and dear friends in her 3 months there.  That's made it incredibly difficult to figure out roommates next year (she still currently does not have a place to live next year!) and to connect to the school.  All of her classes and lectures have been online and therefore she feels disconnected to the academics as well.  Honestly, I think she just feels like everything about University has been hard.  Typically, I think that's expected with the decision to go overseas for college but normally, there is a payoff that helps to balance out the difficulties.  So far, she hasn't had that payoff.  She has decided that she can't give up on the school yet, so she plans to go back next year.  

*She's working at the cafe again and will continue to do so for the summer.  It's been such a nice job for her... she's been there since she was 16!

*I've gained almost 10 pounds.

*I've struggled a bit with keeping it all in prospective.  Clearly, we are incredibly fortunate to have our health and the resources to be able to weather this pandemic.  I've been so thankful for this farm and its many distractions, everyday beauty and space.  So much space when others had so little.  Every time I get frustrated about Harris' online experience, I remember that there are children with no internet who are completely missing out on school.  When I'm sad that my 19 year old is sitting in her room instead of out with friends in Scotland, I try to focus on the fact that she's in a beautiful room with her beloved cat and family close by.  I've felt jealous of my friends in other states where life seemed to have mostly gone on as normal!  

P.S.  Pictures are from a couple of weeks ago when we ventured out to a cider garden not too far from us.  

Sourdough

I was almost a whole year late to the Covid Sourdough phase, but once I finally joined the trend I was totally hooked.  It all started when my friend, Barbara, dropped off a loaf that she made.  We had some slices that evening with our dinner and were blown away by how good it was.  Harris said it was the best bread he had ever had!  Of course, I knew right away that I had to try my hand at it.  Barb was kind enough to share her starter and all of her tips with me, I must have called her a dozen times with questions!  By the time I got the starter, it was over a year old as it had been started during lockdown at the start of Covid.  Apparently, the starter has made its way around our town, which I think is so fun!

I'm still learning and while the whole process is actually very simple, I still find that I have lots of questions and am not always happy with my starter activity.  I'm currently considering starting my own starter, just for fun.  I've checked out half a dozen books at the library on Sourdough and will continue to learn and improve, I hope.  I currently make about a loaf a week and keep the starter in the fridge the rest of the time.  Even when I don't do something exactly right, the bread is always still delicious.  I find it incredibly rewarding.  I would like to get to the point that I can give loafs away too!  

P.S.  Bryce gave me the sweet bread board for my birthday, I just love it!

An Orchard

 The entire area behind the garden (and the actual garden before we cleared it) was an overgrown, hot mess when we first moved here.  In fact, it was several years before we realized that there were some crabapples in amongst the vines and invasives.  Over the course of the past several years we've worked to clear the area out to plant a small orchard.  

Of course, I forgot to take pictures of it beforehand (or I just can't find them amongst the bazillions of pictures I have) but the pictures below, well into the clearing out, can give you an idea of what it was like.

We kept the crabapples because not only are they lovely when they bloom but they also can help as a cross pollinator for apple trees.  We've planted five different varieties of apple trees (all started as whips) and I have visions of one day being able to make cider! 

The crabapples are all a bit wonky from years of vines pulling them over but the blooms make it worth it. 

I really love the flow of this area.  It starts with the garden, then the orchard, and finally the meadow before you round the curve to get to the barn.  When we first bought the farm, it would have never occurred to me that we would end up focusing on this spot as much as we have.  I love how it's coming together over time!