Crimson and Clover

"If youre brave enough to say goodbye, 

life will reward you with a new hello."

-Paulo Coelho

After a monstrously busy week, Friday evening was coming to a close.  The sun had just set, time to go down the hill to retrieve the goats to their nightly residence in the barn.  As I approach their corral, there is Bella, lying on the hillside in the dirt, her large body contracting up and down.  I steady myself knowing this is the moment Ive been waiting for, except...Im home alone with just my younger son.  So I quickly rush the other goats up the hill and into their stalls, run inside, gather a big basket and fill it with some essentials (blankets, towels, peroxide/iodine, latex gloves, some baling twine, lubricant, my cell phone).  I holler to my boy to get some warm clothes on, "Bellas having her baby!"  He decides to make her a treat of a mixture of grains with molasses just in case.  He also makes her some molasses water.  I put on my trusty headlamp and head down the hill only to find....  

can you see the face?

her sac protruding, not quite as much at first as you see in the picture, just a bit of it with a hint of a hoof showing.  Even though I thought I had well versed myself on the ins and outs of goat birth, I immediately freak out.  You see, Ive never participated in birthing an animal before.  The only births Ive been present at are my own and those of my two children, where I was a key player.  

So I call my wonderful midwife neighbor who graciously rushes over and we call a helpful friend who has experience birthing her own goats.  Together the three of us make a great team.  (Thank you ladies!!)  The whole charade lasted about three hours, with a little intervention on our part in the beginning.  

And of course my son was the best eight year old doula ever!  What an amazing experience for us all.  

Bella has turned out to be a terrific mom to her twin boys.  Yes, twin boys..and what will we do with two boys?  Well, we will love them and enjoy them while they are here.  They sure are the cutest little guys.   Welcome Crimson and Clover! 

Once again, we are humbled and overflowing with gratitude for these enriching life experiences.  Three more ladies are due in the next few weeks so it will be a genuine nursery around here.  Hope your spring is filled with abundance!

Read More..

Wildcrafting Nettles

Yesterday I escaped with a friend for a much needed excursion to our favorite spot to pick stinging nettles.  A nice gentle hike meandering along the creek was healing and long overdue.  The nettles were not very high but flourishing and plentiful with their leaves unfolding in the sunshine.  The thing I love most about nettles is how they sing.  If you are present, you can feel their vibration as you sit with them, they sing all around you.  Before we began filling our bags we hiked further down the trail to the ocean...what a magnificent day!

When we harvest nettles we try to take only the leafy tops, especially this early in the season.  The plants will continue to grow and if we like, we can go back every few weeks for more throughout the spring. For better or worse, my hands have become so tough from all the farm chores, the nettles barely stung me.  The plants at this time of year are particularly potent as the energy is concentrated in the newly emerging leaves.  Nettles has a variety of uses you can read more about here.  

Once back home the nettles were rinsed and dried in the dehydrator for later use as tea.  I did have plans to add some fresh nettles to my sauerkraut today.  So after clipping all the leaves from the stems and giving them a good wash, I used the mortar and pestle to smash the leaves just enough so they would release their juice and not sting while I mixed the kraut by hand.  

My experiments resulted in two different versions...purple cabbage kraut with fresh nettles and some organic nettle leaf powder for an extra kick...

...and sea kraut with green cabbage, fresh nettle, grated ginger, kombu, and dulse flakes.  I still have a big bag left which may end up as either an invigorating green pesto or a nice stimulating nettle, red clover glycerite.  Spring is almost here, its all about cleansing, blood building, nourishing, and rejuvenating.  Out with the old and in with the new!

Read More..