Berry buzz and a bottle bush

Below are some photos of stuff we are growing.

Mystery squash. Simon probably knows what this is, but I do not.


Peach!


Zinnia


Baby Butternut Suash


Big Butternut


Big Spaghetti Squash


Another mystery something


Cantaloupe


Reishi mushrooms (is this homegrown superfood?)


underside


Big beautiful shiitake mushrooms!






We picked a whole lotta blueberries yesterday for the CSA bags this week at a nearby U Pick 'Em farm. I said to myself before we began, as I always do, to NOT overdo it on the berries while we were out there picking them. Sometimes this works, but since this was the first picking of the season, alas, I went home with a belly quite full of a blueberries and a good little sugar buzz. There was a beautiful country veggie/flower garden near the house where we picked the berries and I took a few photos to share.



They even had a bottle bush.

Full Circles

I harvested wheat the other day and it was incredibly fulfilling. To think that I will be able to grow wheatgrass from homegrown wheatberries is one of those "closing the circle" satisfactions that makes me feel good down to my toes.

Wheat, wheat, oh beautiful wheat!
What a treat, you make my heart sweet!

Wheat is a gift. It grows easily, not too many pest problems, I believe it can be used as a cover crop - enriching the soil, it will make chickens and ducks happy, AND it grows to waist level, so its easy on your back to hand harvest!!! My appreciation for whole cereal grains continues to grow.



Even though I love living on a farm and I feel really lucky to be here, there are some things I am having to get used to. Pulling ticks off of the dogs and pulling horn worm caterpillars off of the tomato plants are not my favorite things. Audry, be brave.


(ticks: yuck! I want to love the ticks, but its hard sometimes.)

I told Simon that I don't want to squish the caterpillars. He said that's ok. We can feed them to the chickens. Last summer, I would collect them in a cup and walk them down to the end of the road and relocate them. I never was sure what happened to them. I just figured it was better than squishing them. I am ok with giving them to the chickens because I know they are not starving to death and this way I feel that their life energy is not "wasted", for lack of a better way of putting it. It goes towards the greater good.

Here is an exoskeleton (I think thats right) that I found on a romaine leaf the other day:


Right now I am drinking lots of juice (1 - 2 quarts a day) and having some food, too. A modified juice feast, if you will. Its very comfortable. Actually its great because I have lots of energy to get work done and start new projects, much better than the miserable low energy I was feeling on 8 days of juice. And I don't have to do all the enemas. I want to see how this feels for a while and then decide if I'd like to try just juice again.



Here are some pictures of Bartlebee, she is a Sweetheart:




I watched one of the chickens die tonight. She was very sick. Maybe I don't have much to say about this. Just that I'm thinking of her tonight.

Getting Ready

OK, I am beginning my feast tomorrow. I'm nervous and excited. I'm afraid one of my biggest challenges will be going without tobacco. In December of 2007, I started smoking cigarettes again and have been smoking on just about a daily basis since then. I realize this is not very exemplary of me, however, I wanted to disclose this information for the sake of being honest about my experience. On June 1st I attempted a juice feast and went without cigarettes for the first four days or so. Then I weakened and started smoking again on Day 5, I think it was. Anyway, I was having really terrible issues with low energy and ended up having some food on June 9th, not because I was hungry for it, but because I felt miserable and wanted some energy. I enjoy tobacco and I don't enjoy it. In some ways it gives me much pleasure and in others, it doesn't. So friends, wish me luck because I intend to kiss these cigarettes goodbye. At least for the feast in order to give myself a chance here.

Today I had:
1 qt. apple/fennel/celery/cucumber (this was very refreshing)
3/4 qt. orange/celery/cucumber/beet greens (this had a lot of fruit sugar and made me feel sleepy afterwards)
1 qt. zucchini/garlic/rosemary/oregano/corn (this juice made me feel awesome - very energized)
2 cigarettes
1 long enema session
16 oz chocolate/decaf coffee/pumpkin seed milk
1 T flax oil

I had all liquids today and did the enema, but because I had the chocolate milk and cigarettes, I don't count today as my first feast day. I am 5'6 and 3/4''. I think I weigh around 130 lbs right now (give or take a few), but I can check on that tomorrow. My reasons for embarking on a juice feast are manifold. To name a few:

-I wear prescription glasses and would like to try and improve my vision. I understand this might not happen in three months, but I think a juice feast would help.
-I would like to be more connected and in tune with the world around me.
-I would like to strengthen my spirituality.
-I would like to increase my energy level.
-I would like to see what I am capable of when I am not distracting myself with food/cigarettes.
-I would like to feel happier.
-I would like to see more beauty.
-I would like to do a favor for my body.
-I would like to learn more about how this human body works and functions.
-And I would like to just make a solid attempt at helping myself because I think it is something good I can do for myself and therefore, for everyone/thing.

I am glad I wrote these out so that now I can refer to them when I find myself having a difficult moment.

That is all for tonight.