Music & Friends

Over the past couple of weeks, we've had a generous share of time with friends. Last weekend Daughter and I traveled to Brooksville to attend the  Will Mclean Music Festival . We met with our friends Shirley and Wini. Shirley has been one my greatest musical influences since I started making music in Florida. She knows so much and so many people in the music community, and is always sharing beautiful albums and books with me. She's a very talented singer too. 

Before that weekend I received an invitation to a homesteading skills gathering, and since I had already made plans for the festival, I declined. Later however, and to my pleasant surprise, I realized the gathering was taking place not far from the festival grounds, so with happiness in my soul, got into full baking mode for the trade and swap at the homesteading shindig and also decided to try my hand at the cute little bunny buns that roamed the internet that week.  

This is the photo I saw online that inspired me to bake the bunny buns.

This is my fat pumpernickel cat.

Friday at the festival was beautiful. At times I felt a little guilty when Daughter was showing signs of boredom, but she kept herself entertained (books and a blanket are my best friends in these situations), and later that day I got my singing fix by signing up for the open mic session. That was fun!

I loved watching this woman dancing by herself in the dark.

Daughter caught my 15 minutes of fame at the open mic stage.

On Saturday we drove to the homesteading gathering. Tricia, the beautiful host and blogger put together an awesome line up of presentations, edible plant walks and workshops.  

Later we went back to the festival to listen to a few of my favorite folk bands. Wini and Shirley introduced me to Amy Carol Webb, and even though I tried not to be all star-struck, well... you know how that goes. I kind of stuttered, and... I don't know... I was star-struck all right. She has an incredibly light and strong  and beautiful energy around her. And of course, she's an awesome singer.

Daughter and I agreed that she'd try to enjoy the second day of the festival if we came back home that night. So we did. She doesn't like hotel rooms. Maybe we'll camp at the festival next year. 

Among this weekend's activities there were two events in St. Cloud. First, on Friday night, they had the downtown's Hipstoric 3rd. Friday, where the very talented ladies from the Karen & Donna Duo played their music at the New York Ave Stage. The gals and volunteers at Peghorn Nature Park put together a Homesteading Picnic and Community Garden Party, which included blacksmith and yarn spinning demonstrations, actors in period costume, plant sale, hikes through the nature trail, etc. My band got to play and I also had the opportunity to teach an introduction to Permaculture class. My friends Jenny Welch and Sandy Webb were there to represent our Audubon chapter and also gave presentations of their own. Kim Titterington, aka  Swamp Girl, was also there with her little swamp girls and some of their beautiful critters.  

The Karen & Donna Duo playing in St. Cloud's Hipstoric 3rd. Friday. We'll be sharing the stage with them next weekend in Apopka.

  

One of the gals at Peghorn is my dear friend Jacquie Dombovy. I'm always grateful for having crossed paths with her and her shiny and beautiful spirit. This is her garden.

For the past year we've been saving the plastic bags that the newspaper comes in for artist Sarah Beck, from Orlando, who uses them for her pieces and had her installation exhibited yesterday. It's amazing how people find ways to transform the ugliness of waste into an inspiring and beautiful piece of art. We had to miss the show because we had to come straight back home after the park, as we were gifted with a new addition for the backyard flock. They moved in yesterday and are still trying to work their way up the pecking order. They lived in a very confined space and don't seem to know what to do with themselves in this new space with garden beds and fruit trees. The mulberries seemed to be a novelty to them. Now that the egg pile in the kitchen is growing, making Mexican flan has returned to the menu planning, as our other hens hadn't been laying enough eggs to even entertain the idea.

New girls

"Look everybody! They have nest boxes!"

And since the Three & One Acoustic Band played all morning yesterday at the park, we decided to take Sunday off and not have practice today. 

Happiness in my soul. 

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Too much on my plate/brain/schedule/you name it, as usual. 

Not complaining... just sharing. 

Wait... I've just been summoned... Kombucha time. Be back in 10.

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All right, where were we?

oh, yes. Too much... again.

I can never remember what I blogged about the last time because I've neglected this project even more than I have neglected my dream of becoming a full time farmer. More about that later.

I'm sure I forgot to mention I got my permaculture design certification. (It'll be two years in May, but bear with me, I'm trying here). I truly honest don't know how much it matters to be certified, or to be presented as a permaculture designer. What matters to me is that in the process of the course my life changed. I found a long lost part of myself, one that the popular concept of suburbanism, preceded by 25 years of growing up in the largest city in the world had buried deep inside of me, and now has come out with passion, courage and most of all: love.

I've found new friends. I became the lead vocal of a band. I now serve as a board member on two of my favorite organizations. 

We pulled our children out of public school to become an unschooling family.

I had blogged about our chickens and our dog killing them. Don't remember if I blogged about our Easter rescuees; four ducklings that moved on to a happier life a year later, becoming part of the friendly flocks at two of our friends' farms.

We've also adopted a bunny. There were two originally, but lost one to Pasteurella. The survivor is the most spoiled bunny in the whole wide world I believe, and the most adorable.

We build our first beehive box and are planning on keeping backyard bees come spring.

I quit my job at the local pioneer village & museum. Money & Greed... the mix just ruins things, you know? 

Anyway. Lots to blog about and so little time. So I'll do my best to catch up. Mostly because I have this outlet to share what I learn and I don't have to go through my issue of not being able to speak in public. Writing good... picturing naked people... scary and weird...

Farming is one of my biggest dreams. In the past two years I've met great role models, both conventional and organic farmers. 

The draft of our backyard food forest has been finished and gradually the trees have been planted and a few herbs and perennials have moved into the garden. The first section was the chicken coop, where we're growing moringa, mulberries, Chickasaw plums, pomegranates, Suriname cherries, Okinawan spinach, guava, collards, rosselle, and much more. I presented the design at one of our local harvest festivals as part of the homesteading programs and this inspired me to write a book about the design process, with the goal of inspiring people to keep backyard chickens, even in small urban and suburban settings. Second part is the bunny yard, which is what I'm currently working on.

I'd also like to bring our harvest to sell at the local farmers market. That's my goal for this year. 

The band. So yeah, I sing in a band. My band mates are so very talented though I think I'm the luckiest one of the bunch. 

My non-profit work kept me so very busy last year, I got nothing done in my garden. I wouldn't trade anything for the joy of seeing a kid playing in the dirt for the first time, or seeing an ear of corn, or even hold a seed for the first time. This year, however, I do feel the need of working in my own garden. My children are home with me full time and the example we've set by digging a garden bed, sowing the seeds, harvesting the greens for a salad, have paid off. They're now taking the initiative to salvage the rejects from the kitchen to save seeds of radishes, potatoes, celery, etc., and check on the hens regularly to make sure they're healthy and happy. Daughter is very involved in the harvesting process. She knows where to find the healthiest freshest snacks among the weeds and the fruit trees. So I won't rest on my laurels. She's now talking about growing food for our neighborhood. Perfect timing. We've been learning about Time Banks, Neighborhood Food Sharing, labor parties, etc. We want to pull our neighborhood together and make great things happen.

Son has been working hard prepping and painting the house. He's also had lots of time to grow his awesome drawing skills. I can't wait to see his work at an art show. He's perfected his signature 10-10-10-10 baked potatoes (that's the name of his recipe), and we get to enjoy them once a week. He also makes the best chocolate cake. who knew having a teenager in the house could be so good. (wink wink). He'll be taking his first introduction to permaculture class this year. Excitment!

Daughter took unschooling by storm. After reading Jean Craighead George's "My Side of the Mountain" all she talks about is living off the grid, foraging, hunting, fishing and wild crafting  She's learned to weave with a loom and to sew. Funny thing, now that she has the time, she's not into woodworking as much as she was before.

Both of them take care of the bunny, who earned the name Totchtli Chocolatl after our recent trip to Mexico. They are crazy about Nahuatl language now, and I'm the happiest just sharing the few words I know, but very excited that the books we brought home from previous trips are finally going to be enjoyed and appreciated.

Wow... I have to confess I was a little disappointing in myself for coming yet once again to the blog after months of abandonment, but right now I've been reminded of how great our life is. 

I hope I will find more little bits of time like today's to come back and share our beautiful moments, and maybe some pictures as well. 

Favorite quote of the week: "Acknowledging the good that you already have in your life is the foundation for all abundance".  ~ Eckhart Tolle ~

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Teach In Day 2010

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Every year the schools in the county host a Teach In Day. I guess it's like a career day, or bring your adult to school day kind of thing. I signed up to bring the bug exhibit from the Native Plant and Audubon societies to encourage the kids to play and explore outdoors. It was a little bittersweet, many kids had never been so close to a bug in their lives. Some thought the bugs were fake. I talked about bird watching and creating backyard habitats, safety around bugs, etc.

Among the "Teachers for a day" there was a pilot, a nurse, and lots of storytellers.

Every year after nesting season I scout the yard for mockingbird nests. The decoy ones, the ones that  never get used. It always amazes me how they are so sturdy on the tree and as soon as they get pulled out they fall apart.

I begin with a bug trivia. My friend Jenny puts these posters together with her own beautiful photographs.

My friend Loret has a beautiful wildlife friendly garden, and she facilitates the stars of our bug show. This time she had given me a Green Lynx Spider with an egg sack. The morning of the event the kids got to see newborn spiders. Very exciting, at least for the kids. They started jumping and cheering when they saw the little spiders crawling on my hand as I was showing them. They were so tiny they crawled right through the netting.   

Daughter joined me for lunch. Very special occasion... a picnic in the schoolyard, just she and I. At the end of the day she came out early to help me with the last of the groups. She's a great presenter. 

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Found photos from 2010 - Thanksgiving at School

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This was a very special day, because we got to share our garden harvest with Daughter's kindergarten class. I baked the rolls and cooked the green beans. Papa baked a pumpkin pie and whipped the cream.

At that time Daughter was into ballerinas. She was taking ballet lessons, so everything was pink tutus. 

Papa took some pictures with his phone while the kids waited for their turn to perform.

Papa is 6ft. 3in. tall.
Need I say more?

I loved the colors all over the classroom. 

My dad used to have one of these attached to a shelf in his closet. This would make a beautiful and very appreciated gift (wink wink). 

Daughter was asked to bring a picture of her family to hang on the "Family mural". Here we are with our "friends of a feather" from the Audubon Society.

I've made book bags for both kids, but seeing this one in the cubby made me smile. I had never seen the home made bags in action. 

Another one of my favorite childhood things. Oh... flashbacks.

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Found photos from 2010 - Thanksgiving Beach Day

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One by one, I'm determined to post all my albums. This one is from 2010!

We went to visit Grandma D. It was too cold to go in the water, for us anyway. There was a sand sculpture competition going on, we got to talk to one of the sculptors. His toolbox looked like a fun assortment of tinkering toys.  

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