Sheep, chickens, ducks and such in the Waitsfield, Mad River Valley, Vermont
Always watching, thinking, dreaming and creating on Stowell Farm
After two days of rain, the sun was out strong today. Lovely blue sky—and tough wind. I decided to take Prudence (Pru), our black lab, for a walk down the Common Road. Met up with neighbors and took photos along the way. Walked to the Von Trapp farm. I love their barn. Bottom shot is one of my favorites (below). Always taken by the windows and fans.
And...not to be forgotten...amazing morning baking with flour from Butterworks Farm Granary, Westfield, Vt. Found at Mehuron's. Also, my discovery of canned goods from last year we HAVE to eat up.
Don't miss out on Elmore Roots Jam!
Winters are a hard time to clean. The sheep, chickens and ducks do pretty well in the warmer months—when I muck a lot. The winter is different. The ice builds up. Things freeze. All is very heavy and much harder to move around. It took us about 4 hours to bring new energy to the dirty spaces.
The ladies (here Clover, Fro, Cecilia, Grey and Mary) with Momma, Lamb and Charlie in the snow outside.
Seth removed interior dividers and such so we could use the tractor.
I mucked the coop and such. Love our barn. Here sweeping up after.
The chickens were super eager to come back in. Ducks less so, but happy too.
Seth is out most Wednesday nights with our good (great!) friend Ed. So, these nights often become, for me, a time to work, organize/clean/create, reflect. Last night I got a chance to do all of these. First was finishing up some layouts and concepts for Urban Moonshine—and sending off to Jovial. Second was about burning candles in old tincturing jars (wild things, like nettles, leave such a cast on the containers). Third was about journaling a bit by these lovely candle containers and light reflectors.
Small candles in the jars I'd tinctured nettles and lemon balm in
My "new," 8x8, spiral-bound journal. At the end of their (the journal's) lives, the binding is bent out and maxed. Always full of clippings, memories and stuff...
Same lovely jars in today's morning light.
Today was a long and beautiful day. I woke early—it was cold and the wind was harsh. Even the ducks took a second look before wandering down to their mini winter pond. We still got a bunch of eggs though—the ducks are hearty that way. A few chicken eggs too.
I came in, got into stuff—and was eager to do a ton. Started with figuring out some recipes with Yvette Van Boven—who's simple and quick bread recipe (with flour, water, yeast, salt and a 1/2 cup of beer) is simple and yummy. I added a little cornmeal.
I'd bought some pasta and cheeses yesterday—and knew I have a full day—so grabbed an old copy of The New Basics Cookbook and whipped up some fresh mac and cheese (with fresh Von Trapp milk) and added a little leftover ham and peas. I left one side of the pan veggie only. Wished I'd had smoked paprika, but settle for flavoring with salt, pepper and simple paprika.
A quick read through Rosemary Gladstar's first book, Herbal Recipes, resolved a few questions—and got me into unpacking amber bottles order from Mountain Rose Herbs for tincturing, and I spent a good hour+ in our home apothecary. We've got a good stash. More burdock, gentian, wormwood and angelica on the way.
New blends on the way. Happily, also worked in the studio—and finished a CD cover, worked on two web sites, tweaked a packaging project, spent a couple of hours with a client and submitted a "No Love Logo" to Summit Awards for review.
Welcome to Stowell Farm. This site tells and shows a bit about the many things we do on this amazing property on the East Warren Road in the Mad River Valley.
The Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont is a nonprofit association of farmers, gardeners, and consumers working to promote an economically viable and ecologically sound Vermont food system for the benefit of current and future generations.
www.nofavt.org
The Vermont Sheep Breeders’ Association is a non-profit agricultural membership organization and has been in existence for over 100 years. We are incorporated in the State of Vermont, have a Board of Directors and a written set of by-laws. In addition to soliciting our membership on an annual basis for dues to sustain our administrative services and publications, we write for grants to support our programs.
As a volunteer organization, we could do nothing without the good will, ideas and help of our membership.
The Vermont Farm Bureau is a grassroots organization with policies and priorities set at the County level by individual farmer members in a democratic process that dates back to our beginning.
Helping the public make responsible choices about herbal medicine and healthcare. The Council provides education using science-based and traditional information to promote responsible use of herbal medicine — serving the public, researchers, educators, healthcare professionals, industry and media.
The Safe Seed Pledge was created in 1999 when High Mowing Organic Seeds guided a coalition of 9 other seed companies in drafting a statement about the signers' stance on genetic engineering. Over 70 companies have signed the pledge, ranging from large seed companies to family-owned businesses such as ours.
United Plant Savers' mission is to protect native medicinal plants of the United States and Canada and their native habitat while ensuring an abundant renewable supply of medicinal plants for generations to come.
http://www.unitedplantsavers.org
A non-profit organization dedicated to providing healthcare resources grounded in Nature. Our work brings clinical herbalism to community practice through the weaving of science, spirit and grassroots activism. We provide one of the nation’s most extensive clinical training opportunities in herbal medicine, rooted in deep connection with the plants and place.
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