Rain, beautiful rain. It came in gently and has lingered for weeks, sometimes with winds and thunder, sometimes constant and with a promise to give that long deep drenching the earth needs.
The garden is out now, except for a green pepper plant which had so many flowers on it I just couldn't bring myself to pull it. Today's yield will become part of the chile verde sauce simmering on the stove.
Audrey the artichoke has been trimmed back and will eventually join her offspring that are doing well under the olives. We have plans to build a shelter with sunscreen fabric for the searing summer sun. A mister system is in the works as well. It is an experiment to see if we can make our area hospitable for the tender, cool weather plants. Meanwhile, fall has come, and winter. We were given a 26 lb Cinderella (baking) pumpkin and it was my first go at making homemade pumpkin puree. It was so good we were eating slivers from the raw pumpkin as it was cut apart. We ended up with 19 cups of pumpkin puree to freeze for soups, cookies, pies and breads.
The electric temporary fence is up all around and we are anxiously awaiting the arrival of the sheep for the neighbor's alfalfa fields. It has been a wonderful winter so far. The leaves litter the drive and we let them. The road down the way has a dip that floods, but otherwise we've had nothing more serious than muddy paws. Christmas is nearly here, and the tree is trimmed with vintage style dog-proof ornaments and anchored with bricks. This is Lily's first tree up close and she pulls out the tree skirt every day and sticks her head in the branches to look around. She's turned on and off the tree a couple of times - that dog always seems to delight us. Sammy and she sleep together curled up like Yin and Yang.
We missed the olive harvest by a month with it coming early and me not paying attention to the seasonal changes because of the drought. But our neighbor's tree was loaded and he didn't have any plans for them, so we will have more in the brine for summertime. This is Resolution Season. There are plenty of things left on the chores list, and the temptation is to focus and resolve to whittle them down. But this year we aren't wasting our resolution on that.
Twenty-Fifteen will be the year of Real Time visits. Of taking care of ourselves.
No more leaning solely on technology to keep in touch, and taking the lazy way out. We will be ~
Entertaining moreSavoring our visits more
Traveling more for fun
We're not concerned about the work / life balance. We're concerned about engaging better to life outside the farm. So this year count on putting an actual date on the calendar, instead of saying we really should get together more and forgetting to do it. Know we'll be planning a meal, sending a map, washing the dogs and spending quality time in person. That's a promise.
And thanks again, Santa, for bringing me my wish for everyday rain. It surely hits the spot.
