Those of you who are paying attention may have noticed that while the title of this post is "First Thanksgiving", in all actuality it is my second one here. But last year my mother and I were still just getting into the groove of things, and kept turning to each other and exclaiming "we've been out here for two months already?!?! Whoa..."
... and so this is my first real Thanksgiving. I've been here a full year. I know where things are (OK. Fine. I still need to find a place to get my car inspected. Haven't figured that one out yet). I'm building up a network of friends and family out here. The manfriend and the spawn have come into my life and my space, and the three of us are doing better than ever. I have my two healthy dogs (Zora's skin issues aside). I have 9 chickens, 6 of whom are hens that don't seem to get that their production levels should be slowing down for the winter (although I'm sure they will soon). My garden did OK this year, and I am highly hopeful for next year (I had to let some of the beds go this year due to a bad combination of a drought and a lack of a good irrigation system). I have a better idea of this land - how it feels, how it acts, and what it seems to want (goats, baby! GOATS!). And I have a better idea of me - how I feel, how I act, and what I seem to want (goats, baby! GOATS!). I have ideas for what I want to add to the mix next year - bees, irrigation, more chickens, possibly rabbits...., and I have hopes for next year...
And we had a beautiful day. A beautiful day. The spawn inexplicably decided to sleep in. The weather decided to be beautiful. I spent time doing all of my favorite things - snuggling with my boys, enjoying the sunshine, cooking the food I love as long as I want, hanging out with my animals, and visiting with my plants and trees.
I am amazingly grateful to my family near and far, my friends, my flora and fauna, and my boys. Thank you thank you thank you!
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| The Lake is filling back up. Woot! |
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| Cranberries. |
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| Marinade for rooster thighs. |
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| Mixing the Green Jello Salad. |
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| No Green Bean Casserole in this dojo. Roasted green beans wrapped in bacon, yo. |
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| My awesome Pumpkin Pudding. All over my clean dishes. Ooops. |
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| Rooster Thigh Sous Vide. (They came out SUPER tough as I overcooked the hell out of them. Better luck next time. |
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| The Gleeful Spawn. |
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| The Chocolate Chess Pie got the sour cream topping meant for the ill-fated pumpkin pudding. Perfect combo, by the way. |
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| No caption needed. |
4 comments:
Rabbits? Oh please tell me not food rabbits. :(
Knowing us, they'd all start out as 'meat' rabbits, and we'd end up with 2 or 3 favorite pets. So yes and no, I think. Our chickens lead happy lives. Our rabbits would, too. I know. Tough for some to take, but I don't have too many issues as long as they get a happy run while they're here.
And a Happy Thanksgiving to you, too! Is it too late to send you some rhubarb plants? (It may be too late to dig them up here pretty soon!!) In any case, you'll get them first thing in the spring if it doesn't work now....Love, Jen
Thanks Jenny! Not too late at all! My season is behind yours, so if you can still get them out of the ground, I can still get them in it. But it's busy this time of year, so if it doesn't get gotten to until the spring, no worries :)
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