Makes sense to me...

I just finished reading 'Real Food: What to Eat and Why' by Nina Planck, which our local library ordered due to my request (thank you!) I already knew the general gist of it before I ever picked it up and I wasn't reading it to be convinced of what it was saying. I just love finding people with a similar view on diet and nutrition as I have- which is to eat whole foods close to their natural state. If you haven't guessed already, I'm passionate about food! I love to produce food on our little farm- growing a garden, milking our goats, and gathering eggs from our chickens. I also love to go to local farms and harvest foods. I love to spend hours in the kitchen (when I have the time) to create delicious meals. And I love to read about real foods.... that's where this book comes in.
See, I'm interested in learning why foods are good for you- as an added affirmation of what my body likes (which is my eating guide, before my brain or what anyone else tells me). My body knows, that's enough for me. But sometimes it's fun to read about some of the reasons why my body likes these real foods so much or shys away from others. The thing I love about this book is that the foods it is endorsing are the ones that make my body feel good when I eat them. And that's all the proof I need right there...

Mossy Maple

Here's a bigger version of our Holiday picture, but it cuts off the right side...

Happy Holidays from The Wilsons 2009

Things we loved about 2009:

-Texturing & painting our bedroom & bathroom

-Building a new goat house & yard

-Starting our online ETSY store to sell our art: www.mysticorb.etsy.com

-Getting a bunch of fluffy chicks, watching them grow, and then getting eggs out of our own backyard

-Starting our online blogs : www.woolymossroots.blogspot.com, www.mysticorbtalismans.blogspot.com

-Baby goats born here for the first time

-A great Saturday Market season

-Celebrating our one year wedding anniversary

-Many family visitors this summer

-Growing an abundant garden, filled with delicious, nutritious food

-Milking our goats every day and making kefir & goat cheese

-Harvesting lots of food from local farms & filling the pantry with food for the winter

-Filling the woodshed with firewood

-Taryn going back to the Midwest in the Fall to visit family

-Having an awesome Holiday Market


Jeff is thankful for having the wonderful Father he did, he’s gone on now to the next big adventure..


Thanks to everyone that helped, in so many ways, to make our year so great!

               All Our Love, Jeff and Taryn Wilson

Eggs in January

During our cold snap, our hens stopped laying and boy did we miss our daily eggs! Jeff went down to the chicken coop and put a light on them for a few hours each day and we are back in the eggs, baby! (It's amazing what a little light can do!) Today I celebrated by making a crustless veggie quiche and having scrambled eggs for breakfast.

The chickens range around the yard even when it's raining. Underneath the trees they hardly get wet, and if they want a break from the rain they like to hang out in the straw filled shed in the garden out back. The ladies all go to the nesting boxes in the chicken coop to lay their eggs, even if they were out in the yard foraging. At night time they all go into their coop and Jeff or I goes down and shuts the door to their yard. Lately we've had a hen (one of the 'Three Sisters' as I like to call them) who doesn't want to go in at night. She'd rather stay the night in a huckleberry bush by the house, which we thought was pretty funny. Last night we heard a noise on the front porch (where the dogs live) and saw that she decided she wanted to stay the night with them. Wonder where she'll want to stay the night next? The living room? :)

Below is Jeff holding our ladie's multi colored eggs. Jeff & I found the perfect basket for collecting eggs, we love it! ahhh... the simple joys in life!  

Good Morning Goats!

Sunny Boy

Check out those curly bangs and beard!

Brandi

Faun

Faun (above)    and Bree (below)

Good morning from the goat yard! There has been lot happening in the goat yard these last few days, ever since Sunny Boy arrived. (I LOVE how furry he is and I'm hoping we'll get some furry babies this Spring!) I went and picked up Sunny from our friend/neighbor's house, The O'Ryans, that live down the road from us. They named him Sunny because he has a sun burst on his nose. We get to borrow him for a few weeks. Jeff and I had everything all ready for his arrival. Bree, Bendi and Brandi were hanging out in the goat house, while Faun and Lucy (Bree's babies) were staying in the milking room. Faun and Lucy weren't used to being away from their mom so we thought having them in the room next to her would be a good idea. We brought Sunny in the back door. He immediately went over to the ladies and they started flirting. Good start, I thought. After our recent experience with a gay buck who wasn't interested in the ladies at all, we were happy to have a buck doing his job right away so we could get our does bred. The longer we waited to get them bred, the longer we would have to wait for milk in the Spring, so I was happy to get things going. I was being very entertained watching Sunny follow them around, until he started urinating on his own face (to turn the ladies on, of course) which is hilaious, but nonetheless I wanted to leave the premises immediately. (Surprisingly, I enjoy the smell of buck goats- weird, I know; but had to draw the line when there was a possibility of getting goat urine on me.) We decided that was our cue to head inside and give them some privacy. The next morning we came down and checked for signs of any action happening. I keep good records so I know when the babies are due. Jeff headed up to make breakfast and I decided to stay down there a little longer to observe their behavior, wondering if any of the girls were in heat yet. Soon my question was answered about Brandi. Brandi and Sunny were having a grand ole time. Brandi, check. Okay, I'll write that down on the calendar, I thought. 5 months gestation period, that meant May babies! I was watching from the milking room where Faun and Lucy started going wild, tails flagging.... definitely in heat. Okay, well two more were responding to Sunny. He came to touch noses with them through a pallet. Oh no you don't, I thought. I just hoped he wouldn't find a way to break into the milking room and get them pregnant, Bucks can be very persistent when there is a doe in heat nearby. We kept Sunny away from Lucy and Faun because we didn't want them to get pregnant yet, we wanted to wait till next fall when they were older. I let Bree in the milking room to nurse Lucy and Faun; they drank thirstily. My stomach started rumbling so I decided enough "old fashioned country entertainment" as I like to call it, or "goat porn" as my dad likes to call it, for one day- time to head up for breakfast. I opened the door a crack to let Bree back in the goat house and little Faun squeezed through and went darting out before I could catch her. I went chasing after her, she had one thing on her mind. Sunny had one thing on his mind. The only thing on my mind was separating them as quickly as possible, their very strong wills against mine. In a matter of seconds, Sunny was already on her, business done, case closed. "@#*%!!!" Yes, I cussed. Anyone who knows me is aware of what a rare event that is and would probably have been giggling with glee if they heard me. I still continued to try to get Faun back in the milking room, but she wasn't interested in food that I tried to lure her with.... oh no, she was only interested in Sunny. After glaring at Faun and Sunny, and then at Bree- clicking my tongue and saying "how could you stand by and let your daughter do that?!"; I realized that I was expending a lot of energy trying to fight against nature. The truth is, if Faun was in the wild, she would have been pregnant a long time ago. Goats get pregnant young. Their natural instincts take over and they do exactly what they were born to do. There's nothing wrong with it, it's just the way it is. I let out a sigh and realized there was nothing I could do about it at that point so I might as well stop moping around the goat yard while all the goats are having the time of their life.... talk about a party pooper! I knew I couldn't leave Lucy in the milking room alone so I let her out too. And I learned a lesson- if I have does that I don't want to get pregant, I need to put them on the other side of the property!! Far, far away from the buck. Okay, maybe next time I'll be a little more prepared. Phew, felt like I'd been chasing a couple of hormone-ridden teenagers around, trying to get them to behave. We've still been watching for signs every day and the hilarious part is, the ladies have actually worn Sunny out. He's exhausted. But after a rest, he'll probably be all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed and ready for another round.

Sending you lots of laughter and a Happy New Year from all of us here at the farm!

Mossy Morning

Fairy Lights are Shining...

Our tree is up! Now it officially feels like the Holiday Season in our home. I felt like we were getting it up late this year, but then realized that we were putting it up on Solstice and that felt special and perfect just the way it was. The house is filled with the sweet smell of pine and it makes everything feel so cheery. Fairy lights, presents, a warm fire... I love this time of year!

Happy Solstice everyone!

Hiking in the woods...

Sweetie, my big fluffy teddy bear

Ode to Jeff

On Sunday, I was in our Holiday Market booth when a woman came in and started exclaiming over Jeff's artwork. Her jaw dropped, then began working again as it poured out compliments. I appreciated her kind words and I told her my husband, Jeff, was the artist. "Wow, you are so lucky to be married to someone who can do this...." she motioned around the booth.
Yes, I do feel so grateful that Jeff is sharing his beautiful, artistic gift with the world; but it barely scratches the surface of why I love him so much. He has the most loving, caring heart of anyone I have ever known and he just "gets" me without me even trying to explain. I feel completely free to be myself around him and all my insecurities and worries float away in his presence. Everything in my life is so much more fun when I'm doing it with him. Just driving 15 minutes away to run errands, I miss him like crazy the whole time and make a mental list of every tiny thing I want to tell him...but when I get home I just look in his eyes and then I don't feel the need for so many words anymore. He has helped bring my Spirit out full force, when I used to hide it in the shadows, afraid of judgement. He is a bright, bright light in my life that brings me so much joy and laughter. I have learned so much from him and have learned so much by being with him, my gratitude runs deep for this. I'm also grateful for everything he does every day- everything he does around here and for working for hours and hours in his shop creating artwork so that we can make a living and live our dream life in the country.
This blog post is dedicated to him and his awesomeness.
I want to share some pictures of his art with you:

Unity Transformation Pendant

Scrimshaw tree scene around Tiger Eye stone

Celtic Blue Necklace

Inlaid Turquoise Goddess in a beach stone

Interwoven Balance Talisman

Tribal Sun Portal Necklace

Celtic Light Journal

Carved sign in Cedar wood (one of our favorite messages!)

Treasure Keeper Box

For all of you in the Eugene area, we have 5 days of Holiday Market left (Sat, Sun, Tues, Weds, Thurs) so come on by and visit us! Jeff is creating a lot of new items for the final days!

You can find most of the items pictured above in our Etsy Shop .

Thank You so much Jeff for everything you do, not only so that we can live our beautiful life together, but so that you can bless so many people with the soulful things you create.

I appreciate you and everything you do, every day!

As my Grandma Jensen would say, "Bless Your Heart!"

Rainy, mossy day...

The rain is back. Everything is warming up. Don't need to bring warm water to all the animals anymore. Everything in the surrounding forest is glowing green, the rain makes the moss come alive...

My Favorite Cookies

Okay, how can I write all about eating my favorite cookies without sharing the recipe with you all? So I'm going to share the cookie recipe that I was raving about last night (yes, Jeff & I's favorite cookies!) I've done a lot of experimenting with alternative cookie recipes, due to the fact that Jeff and I don't eat wheat gluten and that I love to make desserts that are healthy (which can be tough to find recipes for.) I want to satisfy my sweet tooth, but I want my tummy to feel good afterwards. Tastebuds are happy, body is happy; that's my constant goal when I'm preparing foods.
This recipe comes from my favorite cookbook, 'Nourishing Traditions' by Sally Fallon. This cookbook is based on the research of Weston A. Price, who was a dentist in the 1930's. He noticed that the dental health of his patients was deteriorating and he knew it was due to poor diet. So he said 'okay, I know what we shouldn't eat, but what should we eat?' Then he began travelling around the world, finding the healthiest people with the healthiest teeth (a good indicator of good health) and studying what they ate. What did they eat? They ate local, nutrient dense foods in their most natural state. This cookbook is based on that. When I came across this cookbook at the library, I felt like an angel had dropped it into my lap to answer so many questions I was having. It deeply resonated with me, I bought the cookbook for myself for Christmas last year, and I've been constantly trying new recipes out of it ever since.
My intention is not to be pushy about diet opinions here folks, I just want to share with you what works for me in case it might help you too. I truly believe that each of our bodies have individual needs and that it's so important to listen to our bodies and pay attention to how they feel after we eat something. To me, it is more important to follow what my body tells me it needs than to let my brain decide.
................................................................
So here's the recipe:
(I've adapted it, as I do with all recipes. Page 528, from the Revised Second Edition version of the cookbook.)
(You will need a food processor for this recipe.)

***CAROB ALMOND COOKIES***

Ingredients:

-1 & 1/2 cups crispy almonds**
-1/2 plus 1/8 cup butter or coconut oil (softened)
-1 cup arrowroot
-1/2 cup sweetener (I use molasses)
-1/2 teaspoon sea salt or himalayan crystal salt
-1 teaspoon vanilla extract
-1/2 cup roasted carob powder

Directions: Place almonds in food processor and process to a fine meal. Add remaining ingredients and process until well blended. Form dough into walnut sized balls and place on buttered cookie sheets. Bake at 300 degrees for about 20 minutes. After 5 minutes in the oven, press down lightly with a fork. Let cool completely before moving to an airtight container. Store in refrigerator.

**To make Crispy Almonds (Page 515)
--Soak raw almonds in filtered water with 1 tablespoon sea salt (per 4 cups almonds) for at least 7 hours or overnight. Drain in a colander. Dry in oven or food dehydrator (no more than 150 degrees) for 12-24 hours, until dry and crisp. Store in airtight container.
(I like to soak extra almonds when I'm getting ready to make a batch of cookies and I use the rest for making trail mix with home dried fruit we store in the summer.)

Why soak nuts?
Here's a short explanation from 'Nourishing Traditions' page 512:
"Nuts are an extremely nutritious food if properly prepared. Once again, the habits of traditional peoples should serve as a guide. They understood instinctively that nuts are best soaked or partially sprouted before eaten. This is because nuts contain numerous enzyme inhibitors that can put a real strain on the digestive mechanism if consumed in excess. Nuts are easier to digest, and their enzymes more readily available, if they are first soaked in salt water overnight, then dried in a warm oven/dehydrator. This method imitates the Aztec practice of soaking pumpkin or squash seeds in brine and then letting them dry in the sun before eating them whole or grinding them into meal. Salt in soaking water activates enzymes that neutralize enzyme inhibitors."

What is arrowroot?
"Arrowroot flour, the only starch with a calcium ash, is a nutritious food, obtained from the fleshy root stock of a tropical American plant. It is an easily digested food well fitted for infants and the convalescent. It resembles cornstarch in being white, fine and powdery. When heated in water in certain portions, it thickens to form a jelly, an excellent thickening agent."
"It is the only starch product with a calcium ash. In this regard, the calcium chloride, in the form of calcium found in arrowroot starch, is very important for the maintenance of proper acid and alkali balances in the human body. Arrowroot only thrives on tidal flats where the sea minerals are available. Its known health-building properties may be due to trace minerals from the sea, as well as from the calcium it gets from the sea water. "
"Arrowroot as it comes to you is not a refined product; it is simply the dried and powdered root."
('Nourishing Tradtions' page 528.)

(When you see arrowroot at the grocery store it is super expensive. Jeff & I found a great source where you can buy it inexpensively at http://www.radiantlifecatalog.com/)




Okay, so there you have it- My favorite cookie recipe! The great thing about this recipe is that it's healthy and delicious! It's gluten-free and can be dairy-free if you use coconut oil in place of butter. (My experience with using the coconut oil in these cookies is that they are a little more crumbly, haven't quite perfected the coconut oil version.) You can get creative with this recipe too. I love to add freshly grated ginger sometimes because I am such a ginger fanatic.

Sending you all the sweetness life has to offer! Enjoy!

Cozy Night

Tonight is the ultimate cozy night- the gentle sound of the rain outside, a warm fire glowing in the woodstove, being in pajamas and my favorite wooly slippers.... ahhh, feels good! I baske in the quiet of night. I love kicking back and relaxing after a productive day, feeling satisfied. Jeff and I sat slurping our dinner, listening to the fire crackle, holding our homemade soup in gigantically-sized mugs. I made a chicken bone broth soup with a free range chicken we bought from a local farm. I love bone broth soup, it is so nourishing and so rich in calcium. I added some kale, beets, carrots, yams, garlic, and some dried basil from the garden. Soups fit in perfectly with a cozy night. I felt so grateful to be eating such delicious, nutritious food.
Then for dessert I had made some carob almond cookies.... Jeff and I both took our first bite and looked at each other with wide eyes- we both agreed- this was the best batch of cookies I've ever made- make that the best cookies we've ever had! Making the best cookies we've ever had, that alone makes for a good day!

Now I am going to curl up and delve into a good book, my favorite way to end the day!

Goodnight, Sleep Tight, Don't Let the Bed Bugs Bite,..... and Sweet Dreams!

White Floors in a Country Kitchen

Yesterday I was mopping the kitchen floors and I thought "Who ever thought to put white floors in a country kitchen?!" I don't know the answer to that question, but I sure like the kitchen floors a lot more after they've been washed.... :)

Soaking up some Vitamin D

Princess Buttercup (above) and I spent a few moments together today in the sunshine. One thing I love about these cold days is that they are so clear, bright, sunny, and beautiful. It's such a treat to close my eyes, put my face towards the sun, feel the warmth seep into my cheeks, breathe in the fresh air and get a little daily dose of Vitamin D!

Guardian of the Goats

Our barn cat, Reiki, is the guardian of the goats. It is a very rare occasion to see her without the goats nearby. She is constantly watching over them with an aura of protection and adoration.
She is such a regal, graceful cat; so gentle and affectionate. I feel honored whenever I'm in her wise presence. As if by magic, every time I pet her, a deep calm washes over me.
Reiki is a medicine cat indeed and I feel blessed to have her living here.

Just a little somthing to make you laugh!!

Brandi mid-snack.... I can't stop laughing when I look at this picture!

Guardian Angels

Whenever I see a white feather I know my Guardian Angel is saying hello!...

Blessings this week

This has been a productive week. Above you can see all the activities that center around the woodstove: cooking beans, making goat cheese (on the ground near the heat to keep it warm), and drying laundry, to name a few. I have a nightly tradition inspired by one of my favorite authors, Sonia Choquette. Every night before I go to bed I get out my journal and write down ten things that I'm grateful for from that day. I highly recommend it! Writing down what we're grateful for gets us to notice the hidden gifts that are in our lives each and every day and to pay attention for more.

Here are some things I've felt grateful for this week:

--Getting grounded- getting lots of cleaning, laundry and cooking done; love the feeling of a clean house!

--Lots of sunshine! It feels so refreshing outside with the crisp air and bright sun; and I love the way the house looks with warm light pouring in the windows.

--Our neighbor (who has sheep) asking us if we want to do a trade (of course!) and delivering huge bags of gorgeous, clean fluffy wool in beautiful natural colors! I didn't know whether to sing, dance, or roll around in it (which was soooo tempting!) Now I have lots of wool for needle felting!

--Our other neighbor letting us borrow their buck for a little while so we can breed our does and have some baby goats next spring, yay!

--Seeing all the gorgeous things Jeff is making for Holiday Market this weekend (tons of leaf earrings, inlays in wood, scrimshaws, tree carvings... yes, I've been drooling!)

--Getting a bulk order of Organic Black Beans from our local co-op that were grown a short drive from our house! How cool is that?!

--Requesting a book from the library that I've been really wanting to read and having them order it!! I picked it up from the library today- hooray!

--Immensely enjoying the crystal clear pictures and incredible close-ups our new camera is taking! I've been able to get wonderful pictures of Jeff's art for our Etsy Shop

--Feeling inspired to write blog posts, which feed my spirit so much and leave me feeling satisfied!

--Appreciating the eggs and milk our ladies are still producing; and glad we worked so hard growing & harvesting this summer so we can still be enjoying winter squash, berries, and all the delicious foods we love to much.

Have you been remembering to count your blessings?.....

A Day in December

We woke up this morning and brrrr! It was cold outside. Luckily, we still had coals burning in the woodstove so it wasn't too bad in the house. It was the first day I had to break a little ice off the goat's water. Yowzers! It really is December now I guess! Regardless of the cold, I was happy about the sunshine and decided to go outside to take some pictures of Jeff's new creations for our etsy store. Since I was already out there, I figured I'd let the goats out to graze too. So I had my basket of items to photograph and found a perfect place- a large maple tree's roots covered in moss. That would make a great background! So I got to work... sort of. The chickens came over and started pecking at everything I was taking pictures of...... Then our goat Brandi came over and started trying to eat a necklace.... Then the dogs wanted to give me kisses on my face (eww!) while I was trying to capture the beautiful grain on Jeff's new wooden boxes. The animals were being so funny and cute that I ended up getting distracted taking pictures of them! (Plus I haven't had a camera for so long I was going a little picture crazy on a beautiful day like today!) Then I finally put the goats back in their yard and found a fenced in area (away from the dogs) where I could take some pictures in peace. But I couldn't help sharing a few of these pictures with you before I got busy loading new items on etsy. Pictured above is our new Toggenburg goat named Brandi (right after she tried to eat our necklace.)

Guess what? Chickens like to eat moss! I've been watching them do it the past few days.

Here are the goats grazing in the front yard. There's a rooster i the background. Lucy is on the left, Faun in the middle and their mama Bree on the right.

Faun (left) and her mama Bree. Look how big Faun is getting! And Bree is so proud... :)

Bendi kisses in the sunshine!

Beautiful Bendi

Faun.. up close!

Can you tell the goats like the camera?

Hope you're all enjoying your December days!

Henny Penny says hello!

Hello everyone, from Henny Penny and the rest of the gang!
I am celebrating the glorious news that we saved up for a new camera, with this picture of Henny Penny! The chickens are on garden clean up duty and are doing a lovely job getting the garden all ready for next year.
Happy Chickens make Happy People, just by watching them!