Forgive the late posting, but the weather was so blissful, we stayed out longer to enjoy it. After all, it is New England and you never know when the rain will come again!

Today was mercifully dry and warm. A perfect day for stripping the sod and beginning the process of digging the temporary vegetable garden which is situated on the north side of the house. Don’t worry, there’s plenty of good strong sun there, the house’s shadow doesn’t effect the garden at all. While I reviewed our talking points with the kids today - proper garden prep, organic gardening practices including alternatives to conventional fertilizers and pesticides - Brian laid out the approximately 40′x40′ patch.

Despite over a week of rain, the soil was very workable, with no clumping. We are fortunate to have a nice, well-draining soil. We have also just come out of a nasty drought, so the ground really needed the soaking. We showed the children how to strip the sod and weeds from the area, taking care to rake over and remove stray roots and green bits. These were hauled off to the side where they will be composted using black plastic and several weeks of patience.

New England is famous for its crops of stones. We make beautiful stones. They don’t do much in the garden, especially for root vegetables. Those larger than a baseball (and there were many!) were piled to one side and will be used elsewhere in the garden as trim for flower beds. The smaller ones were added to the compost pile, where they will likely be screened out later and added to the gravel drive.

After four-and-a-half hours of toil, stopping for a hearty luncheon, we recognize yet another blessing of large families. Many hands truly do make light work - comparatively speaking! Over the next two days, we’ll be continuing the clean-up process and the garden prep until both tasks are complete.

Saturday is chicken coop day! We’ll be installing a coop that should comfortably hold 2 dozen chickens and hopefully another that will house 10 geese. We hope you’ll join us, there’s plenty for all to do!

If you’d like resource sheets ($5/set, plus postage) for today’s class, email me at nissa.gadbois@navigo-online.com.

Last night was our town’s Annual Town Meeting. If you’re not from the Northeast, the concept is a bit of an oddity. We have a Board of Selectpersons, elected by the citizens, who recommend acceptance or rejection of each of dozens of articles presented before the assembly. These issues range from budgets (salaries, school budgets, capital expenditures like new police and fire vehicles), to changes in by-law phrasing, establishment of new town services like public sewage and recycling, to requests for zoning changes. It’s always a hoot to go to the Town Meeting. There are lots of characters among the crowd that act as gadflies - adding to the discussion whatever the article. Here’s how it runs:

The moderator brings the Meeting to Order, the list of articles is certified by the Town Clerk and accepted by the assemblage. Then one article is taken at a time. The Moderator reads out the article, a member of the Board recommends either acceptance or rejection of the article, then the floor is opened to discussion by the citizenry - this is where questions are asked, concerns are raised, objections voiced, support given, gadflies entertained. This can be QUITE a lengthy process depending upon how contentious the issue is. Finally the article is put to a vote - by voicing either yea or nay. When it’s too close to call, we take a hand count by raising colored tickets. Some articles require a simple majority while others require at least 2/3.

We heard 40 Articles last night, most of which were passed quickly. There was a great deal of debate over the proposed “Pay as you Throw” recycling program. It was soundly defeated and sent back for rewriting. Perhaps next year an improved porposal will pass…

Also on the agenda was an article to re-zone nearly 200 acres of agricultural land to R-40 (Low density residential). Charlton is one of the fastest growing towns in the Massachusetts. Until recently, it was not deemed necessary to create an extensive zoning plan since Charlton had been, since time out of mind, a farming town. Unfortunately, this lack of vision has resulted in a multitude of nasty subdivisions consuming what once was a beautiful dairy town with rolling hills and ponds. The growth has been astounding - the school and public services have been stretched beyond their limits. I had begun to dispair that we would become yet another sprawling suburb for lack of care by the citizenry. I was wrong. Last night we voted UNANIMOUSLY to save a 200 acre parcel of our heritage, setting a precident that I hope will serve to save the remaining farmland from development. In yet another Article, several acres of open space was committed to conservation in perpetuity…

HOORAY for DEMOCRACY!

The skip arrived this morning right at 8 o’clock, in the pouring rain. Will it ever stop?

This morning we discussed Recycling 101 including the ‘how-to’ and ‘why’. We talked about landfills and other final resting places of refuse that is not recycled or recyclable. We talk about ways to reduce and re-use resources and decided that although we have always recycled, or re-used materials, there is still much we can do. It’s amazing what you realize about the way in which your family consumes - how much impact one family truly has on its environment. Sharing with other families what we have learned - and will learn - is an important part of what we are doing to make our impact softer.

Brian and the boys gamely braved the cold and rain filling the skip with items from the basement and yard. Their fortitude will be rewarded by a hearty meal of roast beef, potatoes and all the trimmings. We are taking care of construction materials that were left behind by the previous owner - PVC plumbing, a bedframe, tires. Tires will be saved and used as nests for our future geese. Yard waste like branches and twigs have been picked up and sorted. They will be reused and made into useful objects in the garden such as pea and flower trellis, hurdle fencing, and perhaps a garden chair!
The cleanup part of our project is making way for classrooms/workspace in our basement and will set the stage for clearing the back acre, where permanent vegetable and herb gardens, a livestock area, and orchard will go.

If you missed today’s session, we hope you will register to join us for the rest of the project. If you’d like to order today’s resource materials ($5 per set, plus postage), please drop me line at nissa.gadbois@navigo-online.com.

Wednesday’s class will see the beginning of preparing the temporary vegetable garden with sod stripping and digging. We’ll have information on organic preparation practices, layout of a vegetable garden, crop rotation and choosing vegetable plants. The forecast is for sunny spring weather, so we hope we’ll see you there. Remember, you need to contact us AT LEAST 24 hours beforehand so that we can prepare sufficient materials for participants.

36 jars of sticky sweetness. I’m beat! We’ve got Dandelion - which has been dubbed “Golden Sunshine Jelly” by the children in case dandelion might scare people away- strawberry preserves, paradise jelly and apple jelly. All in two days time. We’ve had a great time making and tasting. The colors are so beautiful. I doubt we fully appreciate the colors of our foods as much s when the final product has been the work of our own hands. There’s another benefit to doing it yourself. We appreciate everything so much more when we truly understand the love and time involved. What a blessing!

My Nana would be pleased.

Wouldn’t it be glorious to have a beautifully manicured, weed-free lawn?

NOT A CHANCE! Give me a pretty lawn sprinkled with johnny jump-ups and English daisies anyday. Of course, we don’t have English daisies here in Massachusetts. At least, we haven’t got wild ones, you need to plant them on purpose. We have dandelions, and LOTS of them. They’re practically the same as English daisies in form and proliferation, but a lovely shade of golden yellow - which just happens to be my favorite color.

Have you ever smelled a dandelion? It’s beautiful. Rich and warm. Dandelions are wonderful to have around. They are used as a liver tonic in tea, the greens can be eaten in salad or cooked like spinach, it’s made into wine and… into jelly. Yes jelly. Some say it tastes like honey. What a wonderfully exotic gift to give a friend - perhaps with some homemade muffins or bisquits. Here’s how:

4 cups dandelion blossoms, packed (yellow only - be careful to separate them from any green, which is quite bitter)
3 cups water
4.5 cups sugar (I like natural sugar - it has a lovely golden color and richer flavor)
2 T. lemon juice
1 pkg. pectin.

Bring the water to a boil and add the dandelion blossoms. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Strain blossoms through cheesecloth and squeeze as much liquid as possible from the blossoms. Add more water to equal 3 cups. Return to pot and add lemon juice, sugar and pectin. Bring to a boil stirring constantly, stirring sugar down from the sides. When sugar is completely dissolved, boild hard for one minute. At this point, you can add a bit of yellow coloring, or yellow and orange. Pour jelly into hot jars within 1/8 in. and seal.

Mmmmm.

It was one of those moments when everything comes together. All is quiet and you feel compelled to look around you.

I was sitting at the sewing machine, Brian was seated at the computer working with his assistant (our 11mo daughter, Sophie) in his lap. They were chattering happily with each other. Andrew and Caroline were sitting in the living room quietly finishing what was left of their lessons. William was sitting at another computer making bears sing and spell, and Catherine sat opposite me completely engrossed in the chain of rosary beads she was making.

There was so much import in that moment. I treasure times like I experienced today. They remind me so poignantly why we chose this lifestyle - and I am filled with joy at the thought of bringing one more child into it.