Chaos and Kittens run my life.

We lost 2 of the kittens we had been fostering, one went to a new home, one got spayed, and the other went to his appointment but didn’t make weight so I had to pick him up without getting neutered.

The kids were out of school for another week for Thanksgiving, and then conferences at their school the next week canceled school as well. They finally go back tomorrow, and boy am I excited.

Week 8

The birds decided that they didn’t need to they in the coop and run for the winter. I came out one morning, and they had taken advantage of the storm the night before, as it had knocked the net down in one corner, and they flew or climbed the net to get out. I still haven’t bothered to put them back, because they’ve been cleaning up the garden with the sheep and staying out of the front yard and my MIL’s space.

It got pretty frozen this week, and our aging (9.5y) German Shepherd normally sleeps outside and patrols the property, but my husband was very worried about him and brought him inside for the really cold nights. We lost 2 geese over the week, and I made the dog a nice warm bed in the barn so that he could snuggle up but also still hear things going on. The rest of the geese have been safe ever since.

I started reading “Rooted” and I am really enjoying it. Here are a few of my favorite passages so far.

“Rootedness is a way of being in concert with the wilderness and wildness that sustains humans and all of life” Page 20

Mary Oliver said: “Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” 21

“Truth and Fact are not synonyms” 24 <— THIS was SO strong and it is 6 words!

“Rooted ways embolden us to remember that with our complex minds we can feel-and live-more than one thing simultaneously. Anxiety, difficulty, fear, despair. Yes. Beauty, connectedness, possibility, love. Yes.” Pg 22

“Kith is intimacy with a place, its landmarks, its fragrance, the habits of its wildlings. Kithship enlivens kinship.” Pg 26

This book is, I think, hitting very similarly to Braiding Sweetgrass. I am taking my time reading it, but will be done before week 10, and will hopefully have a full report of quotes and feelings done.

Week 9

One “Rooted” quote this week:

“Hope is not a remedy or even a substitute for the despair and anxiety we face in the modern world, but a companion to these things. Mature hope involves a willingness to allow that brokenness and beauty sometimes intertwine.”

My life has kind of been in shambles recently. I really want everything to be perfect, always. When things are not going the way I envision, I shut down. I don’t do my best work, and I don’t give my best self to my relationship with my husband, kids, friends, or colleagues. I read this piece and it was really quite powerful for how my mental health has been. I’m working on letting the good and the bad intermingle, and not being so obsessed with perfection.

This week I did some reading, and I also got some of the first plantings for the 2024 scheduled. I’m still not sure on quantities, but I know that the 1st of January I will be planting Onions and Celery! Guess I better get a move on with getting the indoor space turned back into a plant nursery.

After I planted the garlic I figured that there was no way there was still time to plant the tulips, but places were still selling the bulbs, and no one could give me a reason not to plant them, so I ordered about 70 bulbs, and they will be going into the trench on Monday!

Next week, I will work on rewriting my paper on Iwigara, because I was in a really bad place when I wrote it, and couldn’t get out of the mechanical “get it done” style I fall into. I will also write on “Rooted” and get my 2024 CSA plan written up, and the flyer finished. I want to get the word out there early. I’m hoping to do a few more this next year!