November 27, 2008 by Elaine.

My favorite holiday…no presents, just good food and good company.  Settling down for winter, leaves have left the trees, geese and ducks are well on their way south, the sheep are right in the thick of breeding season and Orion is high in the sky. An intimate thanksgiving tonight, just David and I, (and 8 dogs )and far more really wonderful food than two people should have.  It is so nice to just hang out with the person you really want to be with, sharing food wine and laughter…some of those deep philosophical thoughts and some very silly ideas… remembering old movies and those tv shows from , dare I say it, the 50’s!  We worry for our Icelandic friends, and the very precarious state much of the world finds itself in these days. We are thankful for the promise of new leadership and hope for more peace and prosperity for all. Sitting here feeling sated with this dinner, I realize once again, that I have never in my life been truly hungry with no prospect of food or enough food for myself and my family. Never in my life have I feared walking outside my house, worried that my loved ones might be killed by bombs or guns right in our own home, never have I had to put my children to sleep on the ground in the open with no shelter from sun or rain or cold, never have I been cold with no way to get warm. We have not braved fires and floods and tornadoes and earthquakes and tsunamis, we have not endured hatred because of our color or religion or whom we choose to love. Our blessings are boundless and my gratitude not expressed often enough. May you all have enough…and sometimes just a little more than you need, so that it may be shared with those less fortunate.  I am thankful….Be well, Elaine

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February 7, 2008 by Elaine.

Our 2 year old grandson, after staring into a puddle, announced,”Jack sees Jack!” His mom then revealed the magic of stirring that puddle only to have Jack reappear….those small wonders of the world.   The puppies have seen their reflections in the oven door and barked the image into submission.  The chickens tap on the window, not sure if they are seeing their reflections or just calling attention to the need for some scratch feed to be tossed out for them.

Snowy winter, so unlike last year.  It has been beautiful.  Last week we had thunder and lightening during a nighttime snow storm…so beautiful.

I have been spending many hours going back and forth to Vermont this winter, visiting my mother who is cooped up in Rehab healing bones.  As you may know, there are no good east / west routes in New England, the rivers and the money flow North /South.  So, while meandering back and forth, there is much time for pondering the state of the world, learning where one Public radio station gives way to another, finding where the cheapest gasoline is this week,(always in New Hampshire), deciding just how big this year’s garden should be, (really do need to plant leeks this year )and  planning for next Fall’s sheep breeding, …and marveling at just how fragile this gift of life is…

It is the first anniversary of my dear friend Stefania’s death.  My life is filled with constant reminders of her, what joy she brought to me, Icelandic sheep, Icelandic sheepdogs, spinning lessons, wonderful stories, great laughs. And somehow 3 years have slipped by since Jimmie Londagin’s death….these wonderful shepherds, true friends.  I find myself talking to them about this year’s coming lambs, feel them hanging out in the hay loft watching my flock.  My lucky lambing hats came from the knitting needles of these two…warming head and heart. How I miss those big hugs…   Be well, Elaine

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January 4, 2008 by Elaine.

Here we are, another new year, already! My father really was right, the time flies by faster every year.  I can barely hold on for the ride now.  It is really cold, everything has a sharp edge, crisp, clean.  The snow squeaks under my boots, breath falls to the ground as soon as it escapes, and the air is so clear your can see just by the light of the stars.

The puppies are starting to box with each other, making attempts at barking when we come in the door, now that their little eyes are open , startling themselves with the noise. Tomorrow they get their first  solid food, a rice cereal breakfast.  More on their feet than in their bellies..giving mom more cleaning to do.  She runs a tidy household, regular baths like it or not.

Sheep are settled in for the winter…girls in the barn, glad for the easy living.  Boys in two groups outside, the youngsters and the big boys; remembering the sweet days of breeding and the girls of their dreams. Extra hay today… stoke that furnace to keep them warm tonight.  They seem to be enjoying this clear calm cold night…resting and ruminating under the stars on a bed of snow.

I do wish you all the year of your dreams, filled with joy and peace and kindness.  Take good care of each other, life is short.  be well, Elaine

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December 23, 2007 by Elaine.

The longest night has passed for this year….ushering in the holiday season. We wish you peace and joy and health.

Fog has wrapped itself around us here….everything was white today, snow below and fog above. So quiet. Perfect snowman snow.

The sheep are settling down for the winter… contented pregnant ewes and  rams who really wish they would come back into heat. The farm will fall into winter routine now.  I am so grateful for the barn well filling again, no frozen hoses, no hauling water from the house. And soon , just a few groups with heated water tanks…we are so lucky.  Lots of snow on the ground for the rams, who seem to prefer it to the water I haul out to them when I feel guilty.

Be well shepherds, think of Christmas as you wash your socks by night. May you find joy and peace in your life, it is often in the most unexpected places.  Elaine

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December 16, 2007 by Elaine.

Ahhh, back from a long break in writing. Summer lingered longer than one could imagine and autumn, strongly under summer’s influence was far too warm for us October lovers. The garden was put to bed, the freezers filled, cider pressed and under David’s influence is somehow becoming vinegar, doing it’s magic in the barrel.  Cider vinegar for us and the sheep.

Breeding season for the sheep and goats is nearly over. The AI breeding, a whole other branch of magic, is done for this year. The stragglers are cozying up to the farm fellows and the last of the breeding will be done next week. Dreams of frolicking lambs dancing in my head.

Four new puppies are snuggled up with Embla….not even a week old yet, making little bird sounds and squeals of delight and frustration. Still with closed eyes and ears, they find their way to mom, fill their round little bellies, and pile into a contented sleep. Too cute…every new litter is a wonder. The rest of the pack checking in to see how the babes are doing in the special box; while Embla, beaming with motherly pride, gives a protective little growl and sighs, contented with her new brood.

Snowy day…some sleet and rain to round out the storm tonight. Looks like there will be enough snow to break out the snowshoes. Play day tomorrow. Wood crackling in the stove, time to close the day.  Be warm and well, Elaine

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July 6, 2007 by Elaine.

The solitude of solitary gardening…it’s so seductive.  Talking to myself, singing maybe…random thoughts coming and going, answers to unasked questions, questions with no answers at all. Pulling weeds, arranging the order of things.  Perfect contentment. It appears to the world that one is hard at work…but we solitary gardeners know, it is an escape from the world, secret play.  And, of late, the weeds have offered that chance for escape to the garden as often as I care to take the invitation.  We could use some rain…drought never seems to slow those weeds down, but certainly wilts the vegetables.  Threats or promises of showers for the next several days, humid thick air, fog hanging over us in the morning…but no real rain.

Our small pasture areas are getting brown, the grass grazed to it’s limit.  Hoping second crop hay is not too far off..is the hay getting rain?  The “hay man” is the one who has my attention…hay from Vermont this year.  The loft is looking nearly empty.  Planning the next round of rations for the moms and lambs….it’s like hamburger helper for hay.  I never like adding a grain to the rations, the sheep get so unruly and greedy…pushing and shoving,  yelling for more…Maybe today the rain will come and the grass will green up and the hay will be nearer to cutting…

The thistle wars are in full swing..someone went to seed last year, and the progeny are springing up like a Tolkien army.

Strawberry season is nearly over…our stash from  our friends’ farm is safely in the freezer, jam of the future. The taste of June all year long. Peanut butter and homemade jam on homemade bread…it can’t get better than that. Raspberry season is just around the corner, then our own blueberries…brings me back to that solitary gardening. Picking berries is just like pulling weeds, only sweeter.

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June 21, 2007 by Elaine.

These long days of summer solstice,the roosters are weary. Nagging the hens to the roost, it’s nearly nine o’clock, and then up at four! Oh and up they are, trying to out doodledoo each other. Not even two pillows over the ears can keep the crowing out of my dreams.

These days have been the days of childhood summer remembered; days of pure blue, green and white. The clear blue of summer skies, the fluff of a little cloud…and the green, everywhere. Fifty years of fading childhood memories, but the joy of those summer days comes back so clearly every year…the meadows, the butterflies against those deep blue skies,birdsong…a shadey secret place…

The squash and cucumber seeds have lifted themselves out of the ground and yawned and stretched…two big fat leaves standing to soak in that sun…the peas are still racing each other up the trellis, and the carrots are starting to nudge each other out of the way…looks like that crowd will need some thinning.  Salad has new meaning when the lettuce has leaped from the garden to the plates, pausing only for a cold shower…lettuce really does have flavor, it’s a secret gardeners  know.

The puppies are starting to open their eyes and peak at the world….they give new meaning to cute!

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June 14, 2007 by Elaine.

We have puppies.. 11 of them. Up to our eyeballs in dogs! This will be a summer to remember. Goa, my old favorite, has her last litter. and Silfra has her first litter.  I see the moms check on each others pups.  Silfra, getting tips on puppy rearing and Goa, the old pro, making sure things are going according to her rules…she rules!  The old lady is in charge.  I will miss her beautiful litters, this old girl of mine is a great mother. Silfra is as proud as can be…5 beauties surrounding her, as she is off to a great start on this motherhood adventure. Both of the old girls,Goa and Embla, will retire this year. It was nearly 10 years ago that my dear friend gave us Boti, our first Iceland dog. Her legacy lives on here is so many ways. Boti and Goa, a wonderful pair… they have made some lovely puppies. He was about a year old when little Goa, just a pup, flew over from Iceland. I remember her tiny little self, snuggled up on my lap as I drove home from Logan.  She came just in time to help save save our beloved Jumiemoon that spring. The little lamb spent many days sharing the kennel with her own private sheepdog puppy. What a pair!

And the potatoes…how I love potatoes. Must be those Lithuanian genes! All tucked into their little bed in the garden, Caribe, Rose Gold, Carola, Cranberry Red, Red Dale…can’t you just see them. Yellow, purple, red, pink…they will be there, ready and waiting for butter or sour cream…or just salt and pepper…I love potatoes.

Hay came from Vermont…just in time to refill the loft.  A nice cool morning to work in, and there were many hands to help…unexpected and most welcome.  This will hold us over until new hay is cut later in the summer..it is easier to sleep when the loft is full.

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June 1, 2007 by Elaine.

We have a new addition to the family..a most beautiful (of course) grandbaby girl.  Kate was due on this blue moon…but she couldn’t wait.   It has been a few days now since Miss Kate left the NICU to join her family.  This sweet little package has turned that world upside down…Big (well 20 month old) brother Jack is not quite sure who or even what this is…she does move when you poke her, wears diapers, can really wail, and sure takes up lots of mommy’s time.  Daddy is home from work, Yeah! but he is a bit bleary-eyed and doesn’t want to play as much. For Jack it seem., the best part of this whole thing is Grammy’s truck.

It seems like just yesterday that I was bringing her dad home…the years do fly by.  She has his feet!

David is holding down the fort…farm, back in Maine.  50 lambs, lots of sheep, 5 new kids, 7 goats, 9 dogs, (2 pregnant ones due soon), cats, chickens, baby chicks and my goldfish! God bless this man. One lamb is sick..maybe pneumonia, and he is right on top of everything.  If only we could make New York closer to Maine.

The list of lambs for sale was due to be up on the website today …baby Kate had other plans for me it seems, making a dramatic debut 10 days before her scheduled appearance. How fortunate I am to be able to spend this time with my family. The list will be posted , the laundry done , the floors swept…all in good time. There are babies to rock, lullabies to sing and stories to be read.  Life is good.

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May 26, 2007 by Elaine.

Got the tomatoes planted today…finished just as dusk was settling in. Ahhhh, tomoatoes.  What a sign of faith and hope; there in lies the promise of sauces and salsa, salads and sliced tomato sandwiches…ummmm.  Don’t you just love tomato sandwiches.  When my children were young , one of the lies I told them was that the tomatoes in the grocery store were not real, that they were plastic tomatoes that came from a factory and that was why they tasted so terrible..maybe it is the truth?  could be, they really are terrible. A few groups of marigolds nearby the tomatoes..didn’t I read somewhere that tomatoes love marigolds?    Basil in with the tomatoes..sounds like sauce to me…and some cilantro and peppers for that salsa.
The sheep are out in the back pasture tonight..went out yesterday..it was so hot, over 90, so out they went to munch down the salad bar and hang out on “hemlock hill” … a densely shady hill with cool dirt to bed down in and always a breeze if there is any wind stirring. The old girls know right where to go to get the coolest spots…dig a little hole and settle down to ruminate on the change in the weather.  The lambs are off on great adventures…then suddenly realize that they can’t see mom and send up the “hey, where are you” cry.  As evening comes ,you can hear them finding each other and snuggling in for the night.

The pond has burst into an amphibian choral society amphitheater…trilling toads and “gallumping” bullfrogs.  Each one bent on out-singing his neighbor. How does a girl decide who is the best singer?  On into the night the courting rituals go…

I think hear the buzz of a mosquito… summer must be just around the corner.

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