We can change the world...

...by living simply; by sharing what we have with those who have not. I am encouraged to write this post to share with you about a book I've checked out from the library. It's called "Living Simply With Children". I came across it while walking Kaya around the first time we visited the library in Eureka Springs, AR. I recommend it to anybody who wants to learn how to downshift as the author, Marie Sherlock, would say and simplify their lives. The title makes you think it's all about raising your kids with a simplistic lifestyle, but it really applies to anyone. The reason I'm recommending the book is because it awakened in me a compassion for the rest of the world that I haven't felt since I was maybe nine or ten years old. Do you remember when you wanted to save the world and make it a better place? I do but I have long since become more focused on myself and my wants and needs. Anyway, I'll leave it to you to decide whether you're interested in reading it because I have other news which requires mention.

We're going to leave Arkansas for various reasons in search of new farms to volunteer on or even just tour. This farm is successful and has lots to teach us but we were expecting a certain philosophy that is not here. We were under the impression this farm was following Masanobu Fukuoka's methods of spreading seed pellets and not tilling the soil like what we read about in "One Straw Revolution". Fukuoka's methods are as nature-aligned as we've heard about, but the farm we're at now only uses parts of Fukuoka's practices. However, this doesn't mean we're done with our adventure. We may not be able to find a farm that is 100% Fukuoka-style so we might just have to start that up on our own and learn as we go. We also realized that we might not want to sell vegetables at farmers' markets after all because the amount of labor and resources that are used to produce them doesn't seem worth the return we would get. Instead, we're thinking of having a homestead where we have chickens, goats and bees. We would raise the chickens, sell their eggs, breed them for selling meat, and harvest honey from the bees. We're really interested in bees to begin with and we have some experience with chickens and goats already. The goats would mostly be for our own benefit to have access to dairy. Also, for our own benefit we would like to keep a garden with fruits and veggies farmed Fukuoka-style.

We're headed out of Arkansas and into Missouri to visit relatives starting next Saturday (the 18th). Shortly after that, Kaya turns one!!! We plan to head in the direction of Tucson by car for a family get-together in late June. There's a farm nearby Tucson that we're considering touring in the meantime. Well that's all for now, folks!

Ps - "Living Simply With Children" has its flaws - the author, who is American, judges Americans quite harshly. However, I do believe every country should seriously take a hard look at what it stands for once in a while. ;)

Week 1

We've been in Arkansas for less than a week but it feels like longer. The first night we arrived, it rained and the "summer cabin" that the farmer saved for us proved to be more of a shack than a cabin. It consists of a frame covered with wood boards halfway up from the ground and the rest is covered with tarp or clear plastic. There is, however, a roof made of tin that is water-tight. It was a very cold night and I was very thankful for having packed my zero degree sleeping bag. Kaya had to sleep in the bag with me (Kareena). By the way, I am currently unable to sign into my gmail because my dinky phone is on the fritz and would not receive the text message that I needed to sign in verifying it is actually me logging in). The cabin has two twin size beds in it raised on platforms made of crates.  The beds are nailed to the walls/frames so we can't push them together.  I am more concerned with the fact that Kaya could roll off the bed if she weren't in the sleeping bag, so at the moment, Matt and I are considering opting for our tent instead of the cabin.  Also, the cabin smells of a porta-potty. To paint a prettier picture for everyone, our dear friend the tick, is prominent where we are as well. It may be important to say at this time that we are not miserable. We hardly spend time in the cabin and enjoy the freedom of our schedule.  We work (or Matt works and I take care of Kaya when she needs a nap) Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 8a-12p.  We have Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday for doing whatever we want, although we can go to the farmer's markets on three of those days. We have access to all the farm vegetables and some staples so we've been eating LOTS of swiss chard, spinach, onion, rice, beans, tomato and pasta. There is a store about 4 miles away that we can get a lift to for other food we're interested in.  Needless to say, we've already been to the store for a little more variety.  We purchased some fruit for Kaya as well as oatmeal.  Funny side note - Matt and I woke up one morning (before we bought oatmeal) and cooked up what we thought was steel-cut oats. It turned out to be raw buckwheat and left me wanting for a warm bowl of oatmeal instead.

I have much more to say but my ride back to town has joined us at the library.  We're thinking of getting a cheap car to get to the city from the farm and for our upcoming trips across the states again for visits with family and friends. We'll keep you posted, but know that we're having quite a good time learning about no-till farming and meeting new people. We'll just have to keep peeling the ticks off for now. ARGH! Love to all.  Pics next time!

Off we go!

Left Sacramento yesterday morning at around 8:30am.  Had a snafu renting the vehicle so we got a bit later of a start than we would have liked.  However, we managed to get into Salem, OR by 6:30pm. We were instantly greeted with homemade spaghetti, which my mom had prepared with love. ;) It was a nice comfort food after a long day on the road with an 11 month old kid. Kaya was quite happy most of the way to Salem, but the last three or so hours of our trip dragged on and on and on and on and.... well you get the point.

Since we arrived here, we've been eating well, chillin' with good company, jammin' on guitar, and resting up for tomorrow's plane trip to Fayetteville, AR. Can't wait to see what we're in for once we get there!

Until the next post.... (when things should be a li'l more interesting). Thanks for reading!  

Off to Arkansas April 27th!

Alright, so here's the deal.  If you've followed our blog, you know by now how much Matt and I crave to live a "down-to-earth" lifestyle.  For the last year or so, we've been trying to get into WWOOFing. WWOOF stands for Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms and it is an organization that connects farmers who need/want help to people who are interested in learning about farming.  All the while, the majority of host farms provide food and shelter to the volunteer interns.

So Matt and I have been looking and looking within the USA on the WWOOF website, and finally got in touch with a farmer in Arkansas who puts to practice Masanobu Fukuoka's philosophy of farming.  Fukuoka does not believe in tilling the soil at any point in the farming process.  He also avoids use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides.  Needless to say, Foundation Farm in Arkansas is the perfect match for us in that it follows all of these principles.  In addition the farmer, Patrice, is connected with two farmer's markets nearby and has a farm school with the intention of training people like Matt and myself who want to own a small-scale farm of their own in the near future. Patrice runs an organic vegetable farm which consists of approximately 60 rows.

You might be curious as to why we want this so much.  Matt has already given notice with his job at Aerojet as manufacturing engineer and everybody in his workplace has been surprised to say the least at our decision to up and leave.  At the same time, many people seem inspired.  We hear a lot of comments like "It takes a lot of guts to do what you're doing. So you're selling all your stuff?!  Why do you want to leave a stable job and be a farmer?"  It's not easy to put into words why we like the idea of farming.  I know that there is a lot to learn about the outdoors and I've always been one to explore.  Matt is, indeed, an explorer as well and we all know at Kaya's age she is quite interested in finding out what's around the corner. I don't mean to offend when I say I find the white-collar lifestyle we live now to be stagnant and dull. I feel privileged but not in a good way. I feel spoiled. I look at other countries and see the differences in their lifestyles and ours and become - to put it bluntly - disgusted with myself.  I instantly think "how is it that I have so much excess when there are people everywhere around me who actually need?"

In leaving for Arkansas, we are cleansing ourselves of all our needless belongings.  I must say, however, that we are storing a few items at my mom's house because they are items we find extremely hard to part with.  For example, we're not keeping our Wii or most of our clothes, but we're keeping pictures we have yet to digitize of our childhood and our parents' childhood. There are items we are emotionally tied to and it actually brings us to tears to think of not having them anymore.  Anyway, we're not taking much to Arkansas with us because we want to be free of things.  We want to travel light and only seek comfort in the companionship of each other and those around us.  We want to comfort ourselves by witnessing firsthand what it means to give without wanting in return.

Well that's all I'm up for writing right now.  Please comment on our post if you have questions or concerns.  We look forward to sharing adventurous stories with you VERY soon!

Things I hope I never forget

Kaya:

your baby laugh
your toothless and your two-toothed grin
your warm tiny hands

how my thumb fits into the palm of your hand
how you hold my thumb with your hand
how you cuddle into my side to fall asleep at night and sometimes for naps

how you reach over to me when you aren't asleep at my side to get closer
how you cry in protest when you see me leaving after you've just about drifted off to sleep
how you fall asleep while I'm holding you

how you brush the inside of my arm gently with the back and front of your hand as you nurse
the way you put your hands together when I clap and say "yay!" to you
how you try to put leaves in your mouth
how you "fake" laugh before a bit of root vegetables is spooned into your mouth

how you smile at Winnie the Pooh when I sing the "Winnie the Pooh" song
how you laugh when daddy holds you and lightly bounces with you in his arms
how you stare at me as you try to fall asleep

how sometimes when you're staring at me and you notice me smiling, you slowly crack a smile
how when you saw Misha you would kick your legs and breathe fast in excitement
how you kiss me with your mouth open wide
how when I'm holding you, your head sometimes clunks into my chest tiredly

These are the things I hope I never forget because they are things that bring me peace and happiness!
Love you, Kaya!

the life of a mom

I am thinking these days of what it means to be a mom.  A bit of reflection has brought me to the conclusion that I have a hard time being anything BUT a mom.  I no longer sing in the choir that I enjoy so much, I no longer run with my hands free (literally and I guess I could say metaphorically as well), and every "break" I take from watching my girl I think about how she's doing and wonder if she's okay.  I have, however, recently agreed to join a soccer team which is a huge step towards finding a long lost part of me.  Before having a child, soccer and music were what defined me.  Now, with little interaction in either hobby, I am left with living for somebody else and finding ways to define myself through other actions.

I don't mean for this post to sound as if I don't appreciate my life as a mom, but I believe all moms realize sooner or later they have a hard time being anything outside of a mom. I love Kaya more than words can say and at the same time I love the freedom I felt without the responsibility of watching out for my baby.  My point is, I've cast aside all other things that defined me since becoming a mom and I am scared to know that I will probably have to find more to be than a mom when Kaya is all grown up.  How will I do that?  After many years of having dedicated my heart and soul to her, how will I be able to be anything other than a mom?

Another thing, I do not discredit what it means to be a mom.  I don't mean to say "other than a mom" as an insult or to sound as if I mean "just a mom".  Being a mom means the world to me and I have never felt more like a woman than I do now, protecting my young and showing her how to live freely and peacefully.  I'm undoubtedly honored.  Even so, there is still a lingering anguish, knowing I have been other things in the past and that I loved being those things.  And I lament over having lost those parts of me, at least for the time being.  I want so badly to balance my past self with my current self and feel it is impossible.

One of the most intriguing parts of being a mom I have discovered is that sometimes I feel more alone than I have ever felt before.  Odd, because we have new life around!  But, friends I think or thought I had lose touch, people who I used to understand, I don't understand anymore and similarly, people I didn't understand before, I understand better now.  But in all the day-to-day of raising Kaya, I somehow never see anybody, let alone talk to anybody.  There are days I feel like I might as well have not even said a word.  The world we live in can be so strange.  We spend all of our time getting through the day so we can hurry up and get to the next.  I am upset that I don't get to be a family with Matt.  He works more than 40 hours a week and misses a lot of the things that Kaya and I do together.  I'm afraid he may miss hearing her first word, or seeing her really crawl for the first time, or walk even. I don't understand how we (as a people) have allowed ourselves to let life pass us by.  Why do we live in a system where we are stuck doing the same thing every day? Aren't we meant to be travelers? If we were travelers, we would find a way to eat and make shelter because our lives depended on it yet we do the same thing now as stationary workers.  Our lives depend on how much work we put out, but we're bored and we never spend time with the people we care about.  Since becoming a mom, I don't want to settle for less.  I want to be a family who travels and works together to make ends meet.  Anyway, I have much more on my mind and plenty more to say, but I don't know how to say it anymore and it feels all jumbly.  If you've made it this far in my post, thanks for reading and I hope I haven't disturbed your peace.  Every once in a while, I need to write my frustrations down so I can figure out what to do next.  So, that is all.

Until next time, everybody!

Seed choice

The garden is doing pretty well this year. I have about 200 lbs. of veggies. I spent about $40 for supplies this year. That puts the cost per pound at $0.20. Not too bad. I still have a  lot to pick. I have a volunteer pumpkin that is slowly taking over the yard! With the addition of Kaya, I've been too busy to be putzing outside much.

Also some good news: the chickens are laying eggs. Well, one chicken lays eggs, one has yet to produce. But 9 chickens, 4 years, and 2 states later we had an egg! Per cost on that first egg would be astronomical, maybe around $150. But each eggs brings that number down. We are up to 12 eggs. We also found out we had a rooster and two hens.

We released the rooster in a rooster-friendly part of town. It was pretty entertaining to watch all the roosters intimidate the new guy.

What do I want to eat next year? I plan on using all seeds for cost reasons. I also want to use natural, organic, and non-genetically modified seed. Based on this year's crop and what time of year we will move into the new house, I want to grow the following:

• Tomatoes - no cherry tomatoes, I've saved some seed from two big mutants this year. One was doing something like a Fibonacci helix.
• bell peppers - not much came from these this year so I'll try to have more next year.
• hot peppers - jalapeno, serrano, poblano
• summer squash - zuch, crookneck maybe - I lost track of these this year and too many got BIG
• cucumber - pickling kind - I made 1 jar of good pickles this year
• beans - string,  black, or pinto beans 
• melon - water, and maybe a John Bidwell Casaba that my great great grandfather developed!
• basil - hard to have too much basil
• rosemary
• oregano
• mint
• corn - I saved the only three ears I got and plan on replanting those
• rice - my family has a rice farm outside of town. I'd like to try doing the Fukuoka method where you don't have standing water.
• strawberries

And depending on space:

• apple
• blueberry
• peach
• apricot
• plum
• onion
• potato

Baker Creek Heirloom Seed has a seed variety pack with many of these seeds in there.

That should cover summer pretty well.

Things I've learned from gardening this year:

• Move the garden and chickens as close to the kitchen as possible
• Soaker hoses are not perfect.
• Chickens need a better watering system that the trough-resevoir bucket
• Chickens need a more reliable feeder than me
• Check to see where the sewer access is before planting
• Use more mulch
• Roosters are ornery 
• Chicken poop is great
• Chickens are great fun to watch and be around but they are (comically) stupid and messy