Strawberry Picking at Greig Farm

 One of the wonderful things about living in the Hudson Valley is all the local farms, some of which offer seasonal "pick your own" days when fruits and vegetables are ripe.  This weekend we headed out to Greig Farm in Red Hook, New York to pick strawberries and asparagus. Warm sun, no humidity, and a spring breeze made perfect conditions in the late afternoon for some family fun.  Thanks to my ambitious daughter, we picked $30 worth of produce.  We ate strawberries until our bellies ached and our fingers were stained, and then froze the rest.  The asparagus will make a yummy side dish sauteed with some fresh chicken tonight.  Perhaps we will pick some spinach from our own garden to make a salad too.

Breaking Ground: Planting a (tiny) Farm

So I had these grandiose ideas about a lush garden with a hundred different vegetables grown from seed in boxes I made myself from salvaged wood.  Meanwhile, I wasn't able to start planting until a few days ago (it's June....). It went something like this: 
Day 1: Hack at the clay-laden ground for hours with probably the wrong tool to loosen the roots of the grass growing in my landlord-approved 10'x10' garden plot while my 3 year old daughter clings to my legs in fear for her life from bugs that will undoubtedly "get her".
Day 2: Repeat events of Day 1 in 90 degree heat + humidity. Drag the hose out to the garden and soak it. Call ASPCA hotline and "donate" $65 to find out what to do when a black snake bites my dog. Try to convince my daughter that bugs are a necessary part of the beautiful environment we live in and that gnats will not do her in. 
Day 3: Forget the notion of "double digging"--there is no way to get past all the rocks and clay down to the depth of 24".  I scatter some store bought organic compost (my homemade stuff won't be ready until later in the season), settle for raised beds that look more like mole hills and get a few plants in the ground.Yell at my dog to back away from another snake. The dog, by the way, who likes to dig in all the wrong places was no help whatsoever in digging the garden.
Day 4:  Quit and take some muscle relaxers. 
Day 5: Put a few more plants and seeds in the ground before it starts to pour rain. Sit on the porch in the rocking chair and watch the thunderstorm.  Ahhhhh....

I managed to plant tomatoes, red peppers, green peppers, zucchini, broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, swiss chard, basil, cilantro, parsley, chives, echinacea, calendula, tri-color beans, and sugar snap peas (to be grown on hopefully what will become a bean tipi).  I used bamboo poles lashed together to form the tipi and a bunch more as stakes for the tomatoes.  They are ridiculously tall for tomato stakes, but I'll save sawing them down to a reasonable size for another day.  The rocks I removed from the soil form a nice edge for the plot since I haven't decided on what type of fencing I will need yet. I used pine bark pieces on top of newspaper to form a T shaped path through the center and along the one edge. Not quite the vision I had for my first garden in this new home, but I am happy to have just gotten started. 

Farewell to New York City

As the days drew nearer to our departure date, something strange started to happen.  I felt sentimental about the city.   Our daughter was conceived there and spent the first 3 1/2 years of her life as a city child.  All that is familiar to her is no longer "home". This transition back to the Hudson Valley will be a more significant adjustment for her than for me.  Although there are so many new things that we will do together as a family, she will be mourning the loss of city life as much as I mourned the loss of country life when we moved to New York City five years ago.

There was so much I didn't like about living in Manhattan, but yet I found a few special places that I will (and I say this while cringing) miss.  I could not have survived living in so much chaos and sensory stimulation if it weren't for the oasis of city parks. Certain museums and creative shops offered a similar haven. I am glad I had the opportunity to learn from Julia Cameron at The Open Center and take art workshops that helped me to feel not so alone.  I enjoyed the beauty the old buildings and downtown neighborhoods that brought to life the words of Anais Nin's diaries and I could see Henry Miller's ghost sitting on a bar stool in a smokey room. And thank goodness for all the farmer's markets! True, our time in Gotham was not the bohemian adventure I had envisioned when we made the decision to move from up north, but it had its moments.

I am grateful to all the people that became friends.  I am proud of my husband for following his heart and completing his master's degree.  And I am excited to begin this next chapter of our lives together.  Goodbye for now New York City...

Eager Anticipation: Moving Home from the BiG CiTy

Twelve more days until we leave Manhattan. I feel like a kid waiting for Christmas to come, counting down the days until the magical moments of receiving wonderful gifts.  A loving husband, a beautiful daughter, a little homestead in the Hudson Valley...So why am I so nervous?  I guess part of me fears that it won't be all I've dreamed it would be.  Part of me thinks maybe I don't deserve it all.  These thoughts are the classic beginnings of self-sabotage, something I am much more comfortable doing than receiving gifts. Recently I asked a friend at work, "What do you do when you get all you've ever asked for?"  Her answer was simple and unwavering.  "Ask for more."  !?!?!?!?!? You can do that?! That had never occurred to me.  Huh....

image via Pinterest.com, photographer unknown

But somehow, that is exactly what needs to be done.  "Ok universe, you've given me tools and support.  What do I do next?" The reply: "Live the creative life you've imagined and then offer it to the world like a cool drink of water for thirsty souls."  So there it is, my life's mission.  Stick with me, dear readers.  I can't do this alone. 

Coming Home

I did it!  I found our homestead!  I took a page out of Jenna Woginrich's story (Made From Scratch) and decided that renting a farm was the best idea for us right now.  True, the 25 acres are not our own, but we also don't have to plow, mow, pay property taxes, or fix anything that might go wrong.  I am extremely excited and eternally grateful for this blessing.
My magpie instincts are already imagining what this nest will become.  Winter daydreams lend their way to garden plantings. And my Etsy shop will reopen this summer along with a Bohemian Farmgirl traveling roadshow at local venues.
I can't wait to post photos of the transformation and I will keep you up to date with our homesteading progress!

Stitch Dictionary Embroidery Class with Jessica Marquez at Purl Soho

Note: This post contains affiliate links. 

I just finished an awesome 2 week embroidery workshop at my favorite little fiber shop in the city, Purl Soho (www.purlsoho.com).  Our instructor was Jessica Marquez, author of Stitched Gifts (www.MiniatureRhino.blogspot.com). Jessica taught us how to create a dozen beautiful common stitches that can be utilized in any hand embroidery project.  Her casual no-stress style translated into a fun learning environment where even experts like herself make mistakes and pull out tangled stitches.  I appreciated her encouragement of experimentation and courage to try new things.  Thanks Jessica!

Catch Jessica at more workshops at Purl Soho or on Craftsy.com.  She has an upcoming photography class on Craftsy.com that I intend to sign up for asap!

Birthing Pains: Making Dreams a Reality

Exactly three years ago from this moment I was in labor.  I had been having contractions every 7 minutes for 19 hours and had already been to the birthing center once, only to be sent home.  "Call us back when the contractions are 5 minutes apart."  Feeling somewhat foolish (this was my first experience with labor and all its glory), I waited until I had been having contractions every 5 minutes for a good 2 hours before calling the midwife again.  When we got back to the birthing center, I was only 1 centimeter dilated.  The midwife was going to send me back home again, but I begged her not to.  We lived 2 hours away for goodness sake! After another 12 hours and 2 shift changes, the midwife broke my water.  My daughter was born another 7 hours later.

Photo by winterriot via Pinterest

That's kind of how this homesteading dream has been going too.  I've been pregnant with it for a long time and I'm finally in labor.  I'm having contractions, I'm nervous and excited and scared all at once.  And it's time to break my water. In June when our student housing lease is up and we move out of New York City, I plan to be moving into our farmhouse.   Do you hear that universe??? Boil some water! Start tearing sheets! (Although I never understood why they tore sheets when someone was having a baby on TV in the 70s....). Anyway, just get to work manifesting!

One of the wisest things I learned from Julia Cameron (The Artist's Way) is about making things happen in partnership with God.  She said something to the effect of: if you are running late for work, say a prayer that you will make it there on time, and then run to catch the bus.  Well, I see the bus coming and I've got my running shoes on (okay, farm boots). I've been warming up with my little urban homestead and now I'm ready for the last sprint.

The biggest obstacle to getting there (sticking with the bus metaphor) is that I don't have enough quarters for the bus.  But I have lots of ways of getting some.  I'll share them all with you in future posts so that you can get on the bus too.  Got your running shoes on?