Why NOT a Happy New Year?!
December 27, 2021…… 3 inches of snow at barn level…no phone service…. internet down for awhile….electricity at half power…. San Hedrin and Impassable Rock enveloped! A gorgeous day!
I can’t say that this past year has been the favorite one of my 74 circumnavigations of the sun… but it certainly wasn’t all bad…. and, with the proper attitude, 2022 will be just fine. After all, we’re planning a COWBOY POETRY event mid-summer….. outdoors, day time, with an amazing group of musicians. The date is to be determined soon! AND, our friends, the St. Petersburg Men’s Ensemble from St. Petersburg, Russia, hope to be back on tour in California in May.
As well, we’ll welcome families again this summer…. still in pods as last year, so that cooking with people you know will be the accepted norm. We’re adding breakfasts daily (on the deck) for family campers… and pie and ice cream (on the lawn) one night each week. The plan is to have ample salad greens available….. and other veggies as they ripen.
In the mean time, we’re adding a “Farm Food Package” to folks who wish to come to the farm any time from January 1, to April 15, to stay in the Bunkhouse, the Schoolhouse and/or the Strawbale House. Here’s an opportunity to get out of the city and into the country….. to walk, hike, skip rocks, look for birds, sit around a campfire, look at the stars, play board games, watch the rain and/or snow fall, marvel at the roiling river, appreciate the myriad water falls and vernal pools that have been renewed….. help with any farm projects that might be going on, like the labyrinth we’re designing….. Book a weekend, and your food will be waiting for you in your own kitchen!
Thanksgiving, 2021: So nice during the day that we cooked burgers and ate outside on the deck! Created numerous Christmas wreaths….. then because frost and darkness came with the setting sun, we brought the Corn Hole Game into the Dining Room for the championship challenge…..
Supply chain worries have not eluded us….. We’re still waiting for more lids for our jam jars. They were supposed to be here by the middle of December, but we haven’t as yet seen them. We got lots of jam done this fall….. but not all. We still have lots of fruit left in the freezers, waiting to be made into that flavorful, luscious, sweet, spreadable topping.
A couple of trips up the mountain (one time in a freak rain storm early September), outside of Covelo, to Mare Basin, reaped loads of elderberries. We were behind Mt. San Hedrin and Impassable Rock, which tower above Emandal and the Eel River. So amazing to see the range reversed (It’s the farthest mountain range in the photo, behind the elderberries.)
When Linden and Magnolia visited this summer, Linden was adamant that he needed to catch a fish, clean it, cook it and eat it. His dad, Malanyon, helped him achieve his goal!
Wildlife is part of the landscape, not only here on the farm, but throughout our area! A murder or congress of crows, a conspiracy of ravens, a chattering or clattering of starlings, a covey of quail, a rafter or gobble of turkeys…. all commonplace. But this little pygmy owl was by him or herself on my porch one morning…. and that darned skunk was caught in the chicken house. Generally, bears seem to show up on their own…. but this summer, we’ve had ever so many breaking down our apple, pear and persimmon trees.
Craig’s List, Hooray!
Many a “deal” has been gleaned from perusing Craig’s List, and this summer we got a good one! High up on the mountain side, above Potter Valley, on the way to Lake Pillsbury, in amongst a treasure trove of intriguing vehicles, mis-matched memorabilia, fire suppressing equipment….. and even an elegant porta-potty, for really nice weddings…. Kashaya found an electric Club Car, designed, she’s sure, specifically for her needs as chief house-keeper for our camp cabins. New batteries, bad tires…. but with the body big enough and in decent shape. She tried talking the owner down, even offering him the non-working electric cart we have at the big building (to no avail)…. but he assured her it was a decent price already.
An adventure, for sure…. and the cart is now on the farm, perfect for those stealth trips up to camp to pick up the garbage and compost…….
The Peterson siblings, shown below, came to Emandal for years when they were kids…. during my mother-in-laws era. Their mom painted with Jessie while they were here. This past summer, they came back after a 50 year hiatus…. and re-enacted the very picture their mom had created when they were much younger. Same steps, same trees, same toy truck in hand?…. but alas, no dress!
And goats are good for what, besides being cute?
So here’s to a New Year filled with deals and adventures, forest bathing and hikes in the woods, friends and family, flowers by the bucket load, and a river rock lined labyrinth for all to walk….. Take care, be safe. Tam