a fun night with the boys.

This is a little arched back compared to how much he bent sometimes.

This month's 4H meeting was a trip to a local hunting supply store/archery range.  All the kids got to shoot and have a fun social time for an hour. Beaver has had lesson a few years ago so he did fine, Mouse was kind of funny as he danced around and arched his back way back to pull the string.  The both enjoyed themselves. 

I also wanted to talk about a program I watched on tv this weekend.  The Big Waste.  It featured four tv chefs challenged to make a fancy dinner for 100 people out of nothing but food that would go to waste - garbage and unsellable products.  They talked to a bunch of vendors  - stores, butchering facilities, bakeries, fish market, farmer's market, pick your own produce facilities etc.  The amount of food, good perfect food, that was wasted was shocking.  You could tell they were shocked too.  A farmer at a pick own farm talked about people, cutting a plant then seeing a better one and just dropping the first, one of his corn fields had wind damage from the hurricane it was bent but continued to grow, no one coming to the farm would pick it assuming something was wrong with it, they picked bushels and it was all fine.  A butcher gave them 60 chickens, they showed the facilities, the chickens were all healthy looking and only one or two to a cage, the place was really clean, the de-feathering machine apparently breaks the skin or a wing sometimes and then they can not get the bird to sell.  The one chef talked about thinking about her own standards for food and how ridiculous they were and the impact they must be having.  They of course produced a lovely meal and the dinners - mostly food critics and chefs agreed that the food was certainly not garbage. 

I have often thought about how canning recipes talk about preserving only perfect fruit.  I disbelieve my ancestors only stored perfect food, I disbelieve that my grandparents did.  My grandpa grew up in the depression in Chicago.  He tells a story of the first day in the air force (he joined at 14) being in the mess hall and seeing all the food they put on his plate and a whole pint of milk to drink, he asked a sgt who he was supposed to be sharing with.  The Sgt told him that it was all for him and if he wanted more milk to be sure to get more.  Grandpa describes it as going to heaven.  We waste so much.  I want to work on the amount of food I waste and appreciate the food we have more.   I think about how fussy my kids are about food, and how wasteful, and how my grandfather would get upset if he offered someone ice cream and they asked what kind.  It was a treat, you wanted some or not you didn't get to pick.  I want to plan out my garden to make the best and most realistic use of my land and talents.  It also means planting things I know they like. Maybe this is stash busting in my brain. 

Walk with me.

Taking a walk in the garden(or farm) with Farmama.  You can join us, just post pictures of your garden or farm and a link at Farmama.

Plant us, please.  A blueberry and Raspberry.

The view from my back porch.

Chive blossoms

Horseradish Blossoms.  Anyone know if they are tasty?

Onions - red and yellow.

One of the poor sad grape vines that I planted then two days later it frosted.  Don't know if they will make it.

Badger's Garden - she has sooooo much planted I keep catching her digging in piles of seeds to get more.

Butterfly's Garden - I think those are radishes?

Rose trees - non a perspective issue they are taller than the house.

How does your garden grow? - Julia

Heartsore, weary, and wary

Herb garden outside the Tavern

Percheron foal.

 I am feeling all three and it has put me off of writing for a while.  I am involved with a wonderful organization but the longer I am associated the more I wonder if that is the best thing.  I see so many careless (or worse) errors standing in the way of their mission and can not help but wonder if it is a lack of caring or just a lack of organization at the heart of it.  Some of these problems are large and some very minor, but I feel like if this were my full-time gift to the world and the generations that follow which many of those active feel it is, I would be horrified - I am - at all my efforts wasted in such a way.  I am active but live far away so my day involvement is not full-time. Maybe I should not complain, maybe they are just not seeing the problems, maybe if I point them out they would be horrified and correct them or maybe it is easier to allow them to continue.  None of the problems endanger anyone's life or safety, some of them are picky and easily solved. 

I am being vague as I do not feel it is fair of me to be openly critical of them.  I have been muttering under my breath about this all week.  Should I being the problems and my criticisms to their attention?  Should I let it go and enjoy the place as best as I can? or Should I just walk away? 

Momma

 I am disillusioned again.  I view myself as cynical and jaded but keep finding out I have a much more pollyanna outlook and it hurts me to have these illusions taken from me.  I want everyone to want to do their best at their chosen field, and love it enough to do it without pay or recompense.  I want science for science's sake and history to be accurate. 

Here are some animal photos from our weekend to lift us up after my distressing post.  

Rare breed sheep.

Bunny butts

My adventure.

I loaded up the Mouse and got him to kindergarten this morning then Team Girl went on an adventure!  To Wisconsin Spin In.  I could not take a class there (girls and wheel not working so well) but figured I could buy some fiber, look, touch and dream.  I was a little worried too taking the girls with but we talked about not touching or running.  The first couple of people did not seem pleased to have the littles, but the yarn and roving were so beautiful!

Then we were greeted by two wonderful alpaca farmers, who were loom knitting hats.  They invited us into their small stall and told us to touch everything!  These men where awesome.  I explained I wanted to look at everything before buying anything, and off we went.  The next stall had a woman spinning out front wearing an apron made out of blue bandannas, she greeted the girls first and we chatted about my wheel.  They repair wheels but their store is about a 2-3 drive from here!  She was supper nice.  We wandered around, and Butterfly, who wants to be a musician, was fascinated with the man playing music and surprised her momma in knowing that he was playing a banjo.   I really have to figure out some music lessons for her.

After we had look around we went back to the lady with the cool apron and asked if tell would be able to take a look at my wheel here.  The convention is through tomorrow  too, so I was hopeful.  When she found out it was in the car she told me to grab it and watched the girls while I went so I wasn't trying to push a stroller with one hand carry the wheel with the other.  Her husband come out and laughed at my drive band!  Then looked further,  the orifice is not in-line with the hooks, putting tension on the flyer - causing my draft problem and the drive wheel was spinning a bit on the axle.  He has to take those pieces home with him and will mail them back to me.  He figured it would only be like $15-20 and he is sending me a proper drive band as well.

We also went back to the alpaca farmers and are now the proud, excited owners a 21oz of unwashed alpaca fleece, from a soft light brown gal named Reba who lives about an hour and a half from us.  

Camel it is a darker brown than is showing up.

We met a nice lady selling Camel that was picked by women and children in Afghanistan, hand de-haired by them and sold often as their only means of support.  1 oz was eight dollars most of which goes back to the people who actually collected the fiber.  We got an oz, no clue what we will do with it, but it is really soft and I feel good about the purchase.  Badger insisted on carrying the little bag. 

Hope your adventures bring you joy and excitement! - Julia

My digging journey

A bit of background about me as a student and an archaeologist. When I first got to college I intended to be an artist and run an B&B, I was certain I knew everything and did not need college.  I chose the school based on it being close, cheap(compared to where I dreamed of going) and because friends where going there too.  I met a lot of wonderful people and had some great experiences but did not a thing towards helping my education or advancing my dreams.  I left school and got a beautiful apartment and a job.  I entered into a relationship that was a mistake and found myself scared and pregnant.  My family rescued me and my son inspired me.

Siting up late at night before he was born and after in those months that babies never seem to sleep I realized, that I wanted him to be proud of me and I wanted to be proud of myself and to feel fulfilled.  I thought about my art and acknowledged that I loved creating but did not feel the driving cutting need to paint or sculpt my artist friends, who I respected and whose work touched me, talked about.  I wanted to make beautiful, comforting things that soothed people and that people cherished but I did not NEED to do it as they did.  I enjoyed it and I wanted others to enjoy it too.  I also noticed, prompted a bit by my Mother who sat up some of those nights with me, that left to myself to chose the tv channel I always picked archaeology and history documentaries.  Even in my fun apartment days I did a lot of reading of ancient Egypt, racking up an unspeakable library fine!

Resique's Tavern  - shell buttons and other interesting bits.

So I went back to the university and ended up in an introductory Anthropology course.  Zoom.  That was 12 years ago.  Some might think I would have a degree by now, I certainly do! I've made some mistakes over the years and re-met(we originally met when I was 13, but that is another story) the wonderful man who is my husband! Had 3 more lovely babies who I have had the joy of watching and cuddling as they grow, staying home with them has been worth any length of time it takes me to get this degree done!  My littlest will start kindergarten in three years, I would like to be in graduate school by then.  In reality, I only have a few courses left,  but I am only taking a class or two at a time.  I have worked (for pay and not) on several digs now and am currently working on artifact processing for a two week from last June.  I am working on a poster presentation for the university system symposium and a professional paper with my professor.

So that is the back story but I thought I would add this, it is an excerpt from the field journal from the field school I did and the first dig I was apart of.

6/12/00 - I sat up last night worried, anxious, frightened.  Am I making a mistake? Am I really cut out for this? Will this be fun and interesting or backbreaking-ly dull work? I am going to work from 5-8am and then digging from 8:30 to 3, then playing with my son til 8 and getting everything else done before dropping into bed to wake long before the sun.  (later that day)   So we met today and two minutes into talking all my fears had faded away.  

Summer session dig at Garfield Farm Museum

Grainary/Archaeological station built in 1891

1846 brick tavern made by Timothy Powers Garfield and family.

Excavation unit at Garfield.

Tallow candle making demonstration in period costuming

I had found my dream and my NEED to do that.  I found it further working a dig in a neighboring state this summer at Garfield Farm Museum.  Bringing all my interests together in one venture, history, Archaeology, farming, heritage breeds, spinning, quilting, soap and candle making, hearth cooking, experimentally Archaeology,  and education. 





I hope you have found your way, I hope you live your dreams and know your passions, I hope you find the message in each experience - good and bad, I hope life leads you to were you need to be when you need to be there, I hope you are the person you are meant to be. - Julia