I'm back

Hello everyone! I've been missing you! So you might be wondering where I've been all this time? Some family members inquired about the lack of blog posts lately. I was talking to my sister Samantha on the phone the other day and she asked me too. So I told her that our camera broke and that I hadn't felt inspired to write blog posts without those pretty pictures to go along with them. She laughed, "you don't need pictures to write a blog post!" I laughed too and realized she was right. I've been holding myself back from writing all this time, waiting until we saved up money for a brand new camera. I've been visualizing the camera and all the beautiful pictures I'll take with it. So I guess I'll just have to get creative and write pictures with my words so I can still share my world with all of you.

Here are some of the pictures I wanted to share with you:
----Our harvest of winter squash from the garden this year. All the different colors and textures are so beautiful. We have them stored in the pantry now, adding bright color to our fall meals.
----The chickens free ranging all around the yard (yep, you heard me! The dogs and chickens made peace and now the chickens are happier and healthier than ever before, making the yard so nice and enjoying some good eatin'!)
----Our gorgeous new Toggenburg goat, Brandi. Things were going well in the goat yard with our little herd and then our neighbor told us about wanting to find a home for Brandi. We couldn't pass it up! We'd met her before and even milked her when our neighbor was on vacation. She gets into the perfect milking position for strangers and loves loves loves people. Three milkers is our ideal number so it's perfect!
----Clearing some brush out of our front yard and it completely opened up the view! Now you can see the mountain on the other side of the river, the view is breathtaking! Every morning when we walk down to milk the goats, I am in awe of the new view and the beauty around me.
----The house lit up at autumn twilight. When we walk up from tucking the goats in for the night, our house is aglow with lights from within and looks like a little cozy cottage tucked into the mountains. It looks more beautiful to me at this time than any other. The light it radiates look so golden and warm, I can't wait to get inside and tuck myself in!

That is some of the beauty I've wanted to share.

In the end of October/early November I flew back to Iowa to visit family. It was my favorite trip back yet. It felt good to connect with my midwest roots and I felt a deep appreciation for my loving family. I had a great time, treasuring every moment and feeling grateful to spend time with people I love so much.
Jeff had a full time job while I was gone- running this little farm, taking care of the animals, housework, hauling firewood and making artwork for our Holiday Market coming up (where we sell his art every year.)
When I got home, it felt so good to be back! Home had never felt so sweet! I had missed Jeff and the animals like crazy! The night of my return, November 4, we got a phone call from Jeff's mom saying that his father, Ritchie, had passed away. I was so grateful I had just gotten home when Jeff found out the news so I could be with him. Months before, Ritchie had sent Jeff a card saying that he felt his time was coming soon and he wanted to tell Jeff how much he loved him and how proud he was of him. This was a treasure to Jeff and made parting with his father a lot easier because he had some time to prepare. Now we are creating a garden memorial for Ritchie Henry Wilson in our front yard, by the beautiful pond Jeff built. Here we will honor him and remember him. I never had the pleasure of meeting Ritchie, but feel that I know him through all the stories Jeff has told me and the fondness in his voice when he speaks of his father's generous heart. Jeff has been dreaming of his dad constantly and he wakes up with a look of peace on his face.
Also, when I was on my trip, Jeff called with the news that our orange garden cat, Abu, passed away. We had raised him from a kitten. He was constantly by my side whenever I was in the garden, always reminding me to slow down, take a break, and give him more attention darnit! :) I loved Abu and will miss him immensely. But living on this little farm has taught me so much about life and has made it easier to deal with loved ones passing on. Here there is constantly new life and there is also death. The cycle continues, everything eventually moves on to make room for new life. There is a balance and beauty to everything, even when it can be hard to see.

I got sick after I returned from Iowa and then Jeff got what I had. So we've been taking care of each other and still getting ready for Holiday Market. In a funny way, being sick has allowed us with some regeneration time before our super busy holiday season (even though it's driving Jeff crazy because he wants to be in his workshop creating!) I find that we get over it faster when we surrender to it and allow ourselves to slow down. If we fight it, it only lasts longer. It can be hard to slow down around here when there is so much to do. The goats need to be milked, the animals fed, no matter if we're sick or not. But my inner rebel gets excited when I look at the pile of laundry and long to do list and just don't do it!
Find joy wherever we can!

All My Love,
Taryn

Time to Simplify

There have been some changes happening in the goat yard. Pictured above is Bendi, the new addition to our family. We've been feeling it was time to simplify around here and find some loving homes for some of our goats. We struggled with this for awhile, as we love them all so much and didn't want to part with any, but knew we needed to. So we got Bendi so we would still have two milking mamas, and that way we could find homes for Sally Sue and her babies Maple & Flossy. Much to our delight, we found a great home for Sally, Maple & Flossy, where they could all stay together and we are so grateful! It was very important to us that all three of them went to one home. We were sad to say goodbye to them, but having four goats now is much more peaceful and blissfully quiet. We are happy to move away from noisy Nubians to quiet, smaller goats that are a better fit for us here. We are saving a lot of money on hay & feed also. All around it just feels a lot better. Now our goat herd is two mamas- Bree and Bendi, and Bree's two babies- Faun and Lucy. So with the fall season, things are quieting down and slowing down around here . Bree has established herself as the new queen of the herd and they are all getting used to each other. I'm enjoying their gentle presence, which is such a blessing in our life. Jeff & I are truly in love with goats (which is evident by all the pictures we take of them and how much we talk about them!) :)
In the house we've washed all the bedding, mopped the kitchen floors, rearranged rooms, organized, cleaned, gotten rid of things we no longer need..... whew! Fall is the perfect time to Simplify and it sure feels good!


Bree

Faun and Lucy, the sisters

The whole gang- Bendi, Lucy, Faun & Bree in the goat house

Daily Life

What is a typical day like around here?

Well, we get up in the morning and hear the sound of the rooster crowing.

-MILK THE GOATS
We grab the milking containers in the kitchen and head down to the goat house (me usually still in my pajamas), followed by the dogs that like to be with us wherever we go. The two cats that live in the goat house greet us and rub up against our ankles, wanting their breakfast and lots of attention. We feed the cats and put the goat food in the feeding containers on the milking stands. Then I let Sally and Bree into the milking room. They head straight for the milking stands and immerse their faces in their breakfast. Then I let the baby goats out of their goat fort (where they stay the night) and give them their breakfasts too. Jeff & I sit next to each other and talk while he milks Sally and I milk Bree. Jeff always finishes first (he's a fast milker.) Then he takes Sally out of the milking room (so she doesn't try to steal Bree's breakfast.) He heads back up to the house to drop the milk of in the kitchen. I finish milking Bree & put her back in her house where her babies happily greet her. Then I make sure their hay feeder is full, thank them for their milk and head back up to the house, milk in hand.

-MAKE KEFIR AND GOAT CHEESE
When I get to the kitchen, I strain the milk through a piece of silk (the best strainer we've found, it works great.) I use Bree's milk (typically one quart every morning) to make our daily batch of goat's milk kefir, which we use to make delicious smoothies. Then I strain Sally's milk (1-2 quarts every morning) and save it in the refrigerator until we have enough to make a batch of goat cheese or occasionally yogurt & buttermilk.

-FEED THE CHICKENS & GATHER THE EGGS
Then one of us feeds Abu the garden cat on the way down to the Chicken coop. All the Chickens greet us at the gate and we come in their yard and sprinkle their food around and bring them treats from the garden. Then we go to their nesting boxes and gather eggs, put some fresh straw in their nests, and head back up to the house holding eggs in the bottom of our shirt.

-MAKE A HEARTY BREAKFAST
Breakfast is an important meal around our house. We need a nourishing breakfast to give us lots of energy to work hard all day. Jeff usually makes breakfast, collecting ingredients in the garden and coming up with incredible creations. I get the milking containers clean, do all the dishes while he cooks, and feed the patiently awaiting dogs. Then we finally sit down and enjoy breakfast.

-WATER THE GARDEN & HARVEST
After breakfast, I head out to water the garden before it gets too hot outside. Jeff & I love to enjoy the early morning sun, getting our daily dose of Vitamin D. It takes awhile to water the garden and Abu, the garden cat, always keeps me company. I love the peacefulness of watering, it's the perfect morning meditation, just appreciating all the beauty around me and delighting in the daily changes. While I water, I notice all the things that we need to harvest that day. Then we harvest while everything is still morning fresh (and hasn't got too hot yet.)

-HANG LAUNDRY ON THE LINE
After I water the garden, I hang the laundry out to dry in the sunshine. I usually wash the load the night before or early in the morning, before we do the milking. Then I take the dry clothes down and fold them in the basket. I love having the clothes soak up all the sunshine and fresh air and I love drying our clothes for free! I enjoy hanging the clothes up outside and it's good for the earth too. So many benefits all the way around.

Sometimes I take the dogs for a hike up the mountain while it's still fairly early. Jeff is usually busy carving and creating in his magical shop to make more things for our booth at Saturday Market & our online store. We do a lot of indoor work during the heat of the day. I do a lot of house cleaning, sweeping, putting laundry away, and food preparation. I start soaking & culturing grains and beans, take things out to thaw, and put away garden produce. I love making homemade pickles and fermented drinks and vegetables. Typically, we eat lunch together at home (we usually don't go to town very often.) Sometimes I go to nearby farms and spend the day harvesting food and sometimes Jeff comes too. Sometimes I run errands in town by myself so Jeff can stay home and keep creating, sometimes we both go. I focus a lot of energy on our home and land, doing what needs to be done. Jeff has to balance working from home to make a living, with everything that needs to be done around here. It can be easy to be distracted when there is so much to do around here (which there always is), but he amazes me with how well he does. Good thing he has so much energy! And I love the huge smile he gets on his face when he focuses on creating for long periods of time and emerges from his shop with inspired creations. We work together as a team and that's how we are able to accomplish so much. We are both doing what we love and that makes all the difference in life.
At the end of the day, we eat dinner, feed the goats and put the babies in their fort to sleep, get everybody tucked in for the night, feed the dogs, and enjoy the world quieting down.
Every day has it's own flow and it's own energy, but this gives you an idea of what life is like around here for us, a little peek into our day to day world. We work hard every day and we enjoy & appreciate the benefits of that work. We savor the good things in life and create them every way we can.

May we all notice and enjoy the many blessings that emerge in our lives each and every day!

Early September Garden

Here are some recent garden pictures. Above is Jeff next to the tallest Sunflower we've ever grown in our garden, which we've been pretty excited about! At first it had one Sunflower at the top and now it is covered in tons of Sunflowers.

Some Cayenne Peppers turning red. This is the first year I've ever grown Cayenne, gotta love that Spice in life!

Here are a bunch of Purple Plums from a local farm that we are drying in the greenhouse. My mouth waters just thinking about them...

Some Winter Squash that looks like a little pumpkin

This Pumpkin plant came up on it's own and surprised us. It looked like some kind of squash and we like surprises, so we let it keep growing. We recently discovered that it was a Pumpkin! How exciting! Must have been from the Pumpkins we carved last fall and eventually put in the compost pile...

More beautiful Winter Squash. We have so many different kinds this year, I love seeing all the different colors, shapes and textures. And I can't wait to try them!

Another variety of Winter Squash

I've been admiring this Spider web for days in the garden. The spider built it's web on a heavily loaded blackberry branch. Jeff taught me to appreciate the beauty of Spider webs. Before I met him, I guess I never really gave them much thought, besides being terrified that a spider might be near. :) But now I am amazed at the beauty of their webs and all of the work they put into them. I love to see webs shining in the sunlight and webs covered in droplets of water. Below is another view.

Our September garden is giving us lots of cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, cayennes, jalepenos, and some summer squash- zucchini, patty pan and yellow crookneck.

The Winter Squash is looking beautiful, not yet ready for harvest. We've enjoyed eating some delicious, crunchy carrots (they're still small right now, but needed to be tasted early.)

All of our garden beds have been transformed- many things have been pulled up now, squash vines and cucumber vines are drying up- putting all their energy into fruiting, many things are going to seed. We've harvested lots of chives and basil, drying them for winter.

There's apples, purple plums and white peaches still ripening on our trees, not quite ready.

Fall is coming and the pace of the garden is beginning to slow.

The Sunflowers soak up the end of summer light and I follow their example.

Have a Clay Day!

Jeff always has the best ideas. He has a gift for making life fun and being around him means a lot of laughter and adventures are sure to come. So once when he asked if I'd like to have a clay day, I said sure! We had a lot of fun, but hadn't had a clay day since, and it's been a long time. So lately, feeling the nights getting colder and the days getting shorter, I've been reminded of how precious this sunlight and end of summer is! I knew it was time for another clay day before the summer was over.

We grabbed some clay, water and headed out to the garden on a Sunday Morning. We always say we are going to take Sundays off, but there's always goats to milk, gardens to water, animals to feed, food to make, basically just busy life happening all the time. We love doing all of those things, but today I wanted to have a rare relaxing treat and do something we'd normally hardly ever do- take time out to play with clay!

We used Azomite clay that we get from the garden store, the same clay we put in the garden, in our drinking water, and feed to the animals. It has A-Z of all the minerals and it comes from an ancient seabed in Utah. We mixed it with water and became gooey clay creatures! We were like kids again, playing in the mud and having a great time! Our imaginations ran wild, soon we were aboriginees and our garden transformed into a lush jungle! We were laughing while the clay dried up and cracked off every time we smiled. The blooming Sunflowers towered over us and the sky opened up.

We soaked up the sunshine (you can be out in the heat of the day if you have clay on because it's a natural sunscreen) and relaxed every muscle in pure summertime bliss. The body soaks up the minerals from the clay through the skin while the clay sucks toxins out of the body and exfoliates the skin. No wonder indegineous people have been covering themselves in clay for so long, since it's so good for you and because it feels so good! In fact, it feels incredible, like every cell in your body is being regenerated. We drank lots of water because it can be a little drying to the body and it's important to stay really hydrated. Afterwards, your skin has never felt so soft! Your pores have never been so clean! You feel so energized you could dance! And by all means, you should!

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So what's the moral of all this?

Be a kid again! Play! Have fun! Let your imagination go wild! Be silly! Be goofy! Enjoy each moment and the joys of each season while they're here! Take time out, even during your busiest time of year, because this is when your Spirit needs to be fed & your Body needs to regenerate the most. When you are putting so much energy out, you need to remember to do things to replenish that energy. Some of the best ways to do that are to have fun, be in nature, do what you love, relax, appreciate the beauty around you, take good care of your body, be loving of your Spirit and what it needs, and do silly things like have a clay day! :)

It puts the sparkle back in your eye, the smile back on your face and the skip back in your step! It fills you up with inspiration so you can keep sharing your gifts with the world, which is so important.

Sending you lots of Sunshine, Joy and All My Love!

Taryn

Horseback Riding at the Ocean

Have you ever seen the movie 'The Bucket List'? Well, my sister and I saw it and decided to write our own bucket lists, basically a list of things we want to do in our life. Yesterday, I did something on my list and it felt great! I had wanted to go horseback riding at the ocean for a long time and yesterday my dream came true!
My friends, Neila and Lauren, and I headed out in the morning. On the drive there, Neila gave me some tips because I hadn't been on a horse in a long time. She grew up riding horses and has horses on her farm down the road from us, so she gave me a good refresher. We'd been passing C & M Stables at the coast every time we went to the beach and always dreamed of going. We were excited to finally be doing it!!
When we got to the stables, we signed up for the beach trail. They had people from our group come in one at a time and chose a horse for us. I hoped for a gentle horse and I lucked out with Woody. He was a very good fit for me. Lauren got a horse named Buddy and Neila got a horse named Kimosabi.
At first I felt nervous, I hadn't been on a horse in a really long time. I knew it was a good lesson in confidence and it certainly was. We headed out on the trail and pretty soon I was getting the hang of it again and having a lot of fun. We took a trail through lush forests, up the sandy dunes and finally down to the beautiful blue ocean. I leaned forward when Woody was going up and leaned back when he was going down, getting in tune with all of his movements. Soon we reached the water. Woody didn't like to get wet, but he loved to walk right along the edge and then gently move away when the water flowed in. He just went with the tide. I loved the ocean air, the sun shining on the water, and the new perspective from higher up.
I was soaking it all in when I heard some noise behind me and suddenly a horse was racing past us with no rider..... all of the horses had a rider when we left....
Later I found out the story. One of the horses got spooked when a wave came up and reared up on their hind legs and the lady fell off. Luckily, we were at the beach, so she landed in the sand and wasn't hurt. She was brave and got back up on the horse after one of the guides brought it back. I was glad I had a helmet on.
I could have hung out with Woody on the beach forever, but we finally rode together back through the woods. It was the perfect beach day and I was so grateful for the incredible weather.
When we got back to the stables, and I got down, my legs weren't used to walking. I'd been riding for over two hours and boy, was I sore! I still have to sit down tenderly the next day! :)

I felt rejuvented and happy to have yet another adventure! And I look forward to many, many more!

What's on your list?
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Neila, Lauren and I with big smiles

Random Acts of Kindess

Has anyone ever created something for you that blew you away with their generosity and thoughtfulness?
This happened to us last Saturday at Saturday Market in Eugene. A few weekends ago we were waiting in line for our name to be called so we could pick our booth spot for the day. A women came up to Jeff and said "Do you mind if I make a doll of you?"
Well, that's not a question you're asked every day! Jeff said "Sure."
We found out the women was a doll maker at the market and thought that Jeff would make a great doll.
After that, every Saturday when we saw her, she would give us updates on how Jeff's doll was coming along... working on the overalls one week, the glasses.... but wait! She just had to have an elf hat to make it complete! (Jeff always wears his elf hat!) He purchased his hat from some artists at the market (Trust Hemp is the name of their company) so Linda, the devoted dollmaker, hunted them down and requested a tiny replica of Jeff's hat for the doll! Last weekend she gave us the update that the hat was almost finished.....
We were so excited! What was a tiny version of Jeff going to look like?
Later in the day she came to our booth and handed the tiny doll to Jeff....... and gave it to him as a gift!!!
A stranger had taken so much time and spent so much energy on this tiny doll of Jeff.....sewn tiny overalls just like Jeff, handcrafted tiny glasses just like he wears, had a perfect replica of his elf hat made, white hair and a little tiny beard, she even put his hands resting on his overall straps like Jeff does when he's waiting in line.....
She payed attention to the tiniest detail to make this doll truly emanate Jeff and then gave it to him as a gift! We were truly blown away and so grateful for her incredible generosity! We gave her one of Jeff's carved Cedar signs that said 'Faery Folk Welcome' which will be right at home in her booth of enchanted little creatures!
Thank You so much Linda for this sweetest little doll that we will cherish forever! Know that every time we see little Jeff it brings a huge smile to our face!
And Thank You to Trust Hemp for making the tiny replica of Jeff's hat that was truly the icing on the cake!
You can see Linda's incredible dolls for sale at her booth, Whimziefolk, at Eugene Saturday Market.
Jeff and mini-Jeff

Best Buds Forever =)

When you experience Random Acts of Kindness in our world, you know that deep down we all have incredibly loving and generous hearts that love to bring joy to others......

What's Growing in the Garden?

Here are some pictures from this week and last week in the garden. Pictured above is Winter Squash!

We've been harvesting Zucchini, Yellow Crookneck Squash, Patty Pan Squash, Broccoli, Kale, Lettuce, Jalepeno Peppers, Basil, Cilantro and Chives. Loving all this yummy fresh food!

Jeff has been harvesting Calendula flowers from the garden for making healing salves & oils.

Lavender filling the garden with it's delicious scent!

This Red Lettuce is one of our favorites because the slugs leave it alone (hip-hip-horray!!) We've been having fresh salads every day and loving it!

We love to put Nasturtium flowers on our salads

Beautiful Broccoli

Kale, rich in vitamins!

Winter Squash growing up the fence

A sea of Winter Squash

Last week we made this trellis above for the cucumbers and made cages for the tomatoes that were starting to get huge and fall over. We like to have trellises for our cucumbers because we can grow a lot more when we grow them up and it's a lot easier to harvest when they are growing up (easier to spot). Looking at this picture, I can see how much the cucumbers have grown since last week! =)

I am loving the garden right now. I water early every morning, it's such a peaceful way to start the day. I love seeing all the bees and seeing all the growth from day to day (which has been incredible with all this heat!) I love being able to go in the backyard when I'm hungry and harvest for our next meal. I love to see the rich greens and bright colors all around. I love the silence of the garden and the way the leaves are illuminated with light. I love Abu the garden cat following me as I water and playing with the hose. I love hearing the rooster crow and the hens clucking nearby. I love the dogs laying lazily in the shade and watching me through the fence.

And I love, love, love eating everything that grows in the garden!

Today's Blueberry Harvest

mmm... mmm.. mmm! So delicious and so good for you!

Filling up the bucket

This is Patches the friendly llama at Santanna's blueberry farm

Patches looking noble

This morning we headed out to the blueberry farm at 8 o' clock. We had milked the goats, fed the chickens, cats & dogs, decided to water the garden in the afternoon and brought breakfast with us in the car...... we were on our way!

As usual, the drive through the mountains was incredibly beautiful with the river shining in the morning sun. I love seeing all the animals and gardens on the farms we pass. When we got there a little before 8:30, we saw that the bushes were filled with a lot more ripe berries than the last time we had come. They've been ripening up like crazy in all this hot weather!

We grabbed our buckets and headed out into the field. There were already two carloads of people out picking and there was lots of merry chatter.

After about an hour of picking, we started getting really hot. The early morning sun was hotter than usual, we were glad we came early. We've been having record heat here and like to do all we can in the mornings. We decided to head over to the small part of the blueberry field that was still in the shade. Ahhh... it felt so cool & refreshing there! We picked for another half hour and then headed up to get weighed and saw that they had eggs for sale. We've been getting one egg a day from our girls now (one just started to lay), so we were happy to find some farm fresh eggs we could buy!

Then I took a few pictures of Patches the llama before we left. He is the most friendly llama I've ever met. He lives with two pygmy goats and a sheep and protects them, they are such a sweet and funny family together. Patches is very watchful of all the pickers in the field. He raises his head above the fence and watches you wherever you go. It was nice being around a friendly llama that I could come up to and take a picture without worrying about them spitting on me. :)

Jeff & I picked two flats of blueberries this morning! I took this picture of the harvest when we got home and Abu wanted to be in the picture too! :)

Now we are leaving our blueberries out overnight (something my dad told me that he learned from a blueberry farmer, said it's good to let them ripen overnight after you pick them, before preserving them.)

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Oh how I love blueberry season!

Basket Weaving Class

Sheila the master basket weaver, teaching how to make handles

This is the start of my basket

My friend Neila with her basket in progress

My completed basket & very first basket I've ever made!

Proud basket weavers lining up for a picture

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Yesterday I went to a basket weaving class at Hendrick's Park in Eugene with some friends. The teacher was our friend Sheila, who also has a booth at the Saturday Market. Sheila and her friends have a booth filled with beautiful hand woven baskets made out of all different kinds of natural materials. Jeff & I have been long time admirers of their beautiful baskets! I have been very fascinated watching them weave baskets and always wanted to learn.

Last week I checked my e-mail and saw that Sheila was teaching a free workshop with Rewild Eugene on how to weave baskets out of english ivy. The workshop was a great opportunity to learn basket weaving and help clear ivy (an invasive species here) out of the park.

We harvested the ivy (harvest the ivy that covers the ground rather than the ivy that is growing up because the ivy growing up trees etc. is too brittle for weaving.) Then we took off the leaves and grabbed eight pieces about a yard in length each, and one longer piece. We layed four pieces going up and four going across, the longer piece was the one we wove with. Sheila taught us how to start the baskets and how to weave.

Then we sat in the shade of some big beautiful trees (we were so grateful for the cool shade because it was really hot in Eugene yesterday) and happily wove our first baskets. What I noticed is that weaving came very naturally and was so relaxing and meditative! I just went with the flow and the basket seemed to create itself with the work of my hands, without any thought from me. I loved it and felt that I could just sit in that park and keep weaving forever.

I was amazed to see how different & unique everyone's baskets were and they were all so beautiful! There was so much creativity being expressed there- hats, magic wands, ping pong paddles... the possibilities of weaving are endless! :)

I could tell Sheila was a natural teacher, she was so patient with everyone and was very good at explaining things, even when she had many people to teach. I had such a great time and am so grateful to have learned such a fun art and useful skill! Thanks Sheila!!

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Our land is covered in english ivy, now I have a good use for it,

and my fingers long to weave...