Monday, August 24, 2009

mobile home, burned brownies, tackyness on a whole new level

So here is a brief attempt at an update. We're still in the process of moving. We acquired an old 1969 mobile home for only $300 and we just got it moved over to our new land last Thurs. With the help of our neighbor Dean, Billy and I got it leveled and up on block on Sat. morning, and all afternoon until it was too dark to see inside, we worked. We tore out a mountain of rat poo and dust laden ugly brown 70s carpet and uncovered a mostly solid plywood floor and some old vinyl floor that was still in okay shape. A lot of the ceilings need to be replaced and the roof needs to be patched at least and as soon as we can do it, replaced. After getting the carpet out, which was in every room, even the bathroom, and even on the floors inside all of the cabinets, we've started the bleaching and scrubbing the hell out of everything task. I spent all day Sun. scrubbing the living room and hallway top to bottom. The living room may be ready to paint in a few days. After the living room, we're going to focus on the kitchen, which still need a lot of deep cleaning and some cabinet removal or repair, and a new stove/oven, which we may be getting from our neighbor's appliance salvage yard. Now we just need to round up an affordable and functional propane fridge.

We're having lots of fun deciding on paint colors and room lay outs and stuff. Imagining the end product is what is sustaining me on these long stinky days of scrubbing, and there are sure to be many long days to come. Today we're taking a day off of the new house to let ourselves recover. My throat is feeling pretty rough. We used face masks for all of the obvious tasks, but you still breath in a lot of shit, and the smell and taste of rodent shit, dust, mold, old wood and simple green lingers long after.

Here's a list of all the fun things we've found in the trailer so far:
empty natural light case and cheap cheap liquor bottles,
dog food and rat bait crammed into a cup like light fixture, which has inspired a new flavor of trail mix,
bright bubblegum pink carpet in the bathroom... whoa,
a complete fondue set still in the box in plastic,
taped up brass knuckles hidden on top of the built in bookshelves near the ceiling, now that's something you don't find everyday,
an entire dead mouse family resting atop a bed of burned brownies, or so Billy described in between gagging and puking noises,
the wood paneled support beams across the ceiling in the living room are not actually support beams, they're decoratively nailed to the inside walls over the lovely cheap motel room floral wallpaper trim hmmm...,
multiple shades of pink brand new mini blinds to match the modeled brown shag carpet,
and solid wood in many places we expected to find particle board.

Pictures coming soon.

Friday, July 24, 2009

dancing, battle horn, people, new land


So I have not been keeping up with this, but we've been so busy and had many guests. I'm not sure where to start. Farmers markets have been going well, although folks aren't tearing into the chocolates as i had thought they would, but Shevy's jewelry is in demand. Every week he gets at least one new commission, so we've had the most profitable markets days ever, which is cool because then we can buy shit from all of our friends so they have good market days too. Last week, Shevy got me a battle horn which is a cleaned and polished buffalo horn. I am working on making it produce the perfect call, but it kind of tastes like ass when i play it. We've also been doing more ceilidh dancing, and i'm getting better at it, and its actually fun. I never thought organized dancing could be fun.
Our friends Rain and Sealu are visiting now, and my Mom is coming next Tues, so i am kind of overwhelmed with guests right now. Its fun though, i will miss these days come winter, but i think i'll be ready for the rest and calm of a landscape of snow. Until then though, the garden is doing ok, our lettice is going well, and cabbage and chard are getting big. Our burgundy beans are flowering and zucchini and pat-a-pans too. We've gotten a few radishes and one beet so far too.

Ok, so i've beaten around the bush enough so far, i have big news. We're moving to another property, still in Candy Kitchen, but we'll have a lot more room to grow and we'll be further away from the road, so more peace and quiet. Our neighbor and friend Jo, is giving us a chunk of her 30s acres and in exchange we'll live there, near by and help her take car of the land and her horses and goats. She's getting older and though her spirit is vibrant, her body body keeps telling her to slow down a little bit and i don't mind helping with the grunt work. Sheves and i have always wanted to take care of horses and goats. The goats are babies, so when they grow up i will learn all about milking and cheese making. I figure its a good idea to learn how to make my favorite food ever, since i already eat so much of it. Jo is going to Texas for three weeks, but after that we will start the move and hopefully be settled by winter. No more grid power though, but we're going to scrounge together some solar panels to have lights and maybe a stereo, but Jo has a good set up at her house for solar, so i may set up my beloved robotic bread slave over there so i can still make fresh bread all the time. I'm excited and nervous about this all, but i think its going to work out great. I'm not looking forward to having to break everything down and move it and reset up. Like the dog yard and the chickens, I hope its not a rough move on the animals. I already am planning to improve both dog and chicken areas though, and i think they'll like it over there. I'm being called to dinner so this is all for now.


Friday, July 3, 2009

2 poems

First one:

Now is not the time.
Tonight is not the night.
I draw up from the roots,
healing amber flow
from the mouth of the goat,
And clear water,
from the mouth of the stag,
To ice the fire in my eye,
To form my will,
from a single crystal,
and fall back to the earth,
in a summer storm,
seeping down to the well
from wense it came.
Tis only the beginning.


Second one:

A thousand years ago it was,
And we awake now,
With the old Gods in our blood,
The old ways in our thoughts and dreams,
The old tales in our songs and hearts.
We are the fruitful green,
which breaks free of the earth,
reaching skyward,
after the long storm.
The chariot rumbles home,
and we are inspired by a new song,
A glimpse of the iron hammer,
a flash,
And we awake stronger now.


Inspired by Uruz, Thurisaz, and Ansuz.

happy garden, sad eyeball, chainmail, no more Sparkle balls

It has been a while since my last update, and not to much has happened. The gardens are doing great due to even more unseasonable rains, although now it is time for the monsoon rains to come. Today its very humid but coolish and cloudy. We're harvesting lettuce now and more chard, and soon some cabbage. Shevy ate an unripe beet this morning, I guess for fun, and it upset his stomach, surprise surprise.

I haven't wanted to write for a while because my good eyeball has been in bad shape. Swollen and angry, and thus i could not look into the glowing computer screen of death. I have been playing more bass, studying and meditating on the runes and writing some poetry again after so many years of not doing o. I will post them later. We did very well at farmers market last week on jewelry and chocolates, and it was a wonderful day of trading and gift giving with our neighbors. We got fresh goat cheese and blue tortillas!

Shevy has spent much of the past week getting back into making chainmail and leather working. He made an awesome chainmail belt and now he's making one for Billy. Billy and I both have requested bracers too. He also made this amazing braided silver knot work ring that the guy he works with commissioned. Its totally brutal; if i wore rings i would want one.

Not too much else to report, same old country life chores, animals are all doing well. Aspen is still almost as evil as Squishy cat. Squishy has been sporting a new red and black sparkle bow around her neck. And little Sparki is going to have his balls lopped off next week. Fun fun fun.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

bugs of doom, Celtic music, chariot of lightning, tired

The bugs are here. I am now marked with their flaming wounds. Besides that, all is well. We are journeying into Albuquerque tomorrow to pick up Billy and Shevy really wants to go to this awesome rock store. Then we will dash towards home and go to ceilidh dancing in the evening, because it will be Wednesday. Speaking of ceilidh, yesterday Mike Francis cam over with his banjo and i got out my bass and we worked on some Celtic songs together. I learned the parting glass. A few days ago i also ordered the Celtic fake book, which has 400 Irish, Scottish and Welsh songs in it, including the Gaelic lyrics. I want to learn a ton of folk songs, they're really fun to play on bass, and challenging. It will make my fingers swift enough for really brutal metal in the future. There's another guy out here who plays metal drums, and Mike and I both are looking forward to playing with him as soon as all of our schedules can mesh. The drummer is also into Celtic music as well. I've been playing bass everyday lately, just like i did when i was younger, and it feels great.

So there is a real possibility that i may be getting a golf cart to serve as my chariot soon. Dean found another one on Craig's list and he's going to pick it up in a few days and then we will see what kind of shape its in. If it works out, i will paint it black with lightning bolts and it will be my thundering cloud rider. Although golf carts don't really thunder, they're pretty quiet, but whatever, it will totally rule!It must have some skulls too, and a rack to hold swords and spears, or tools and small water jugs.

We were fairly busy today. Well cleaned out the chicken house, brought a dozen eggs over to Dean's to be hatched, mulched the apple trees more adequately, planted irises, did dishes, cleaned the kitchen, made covers for the booth cushions, and made bread. We still have to water tonight, but its getting cloudy again, but rain doesn't look likely. Tonight may be a chill and watch a movie night.

Saturday, June 13, 2009

first farmers market, hail, power outage

All afternoon it has been alternating between spitting cold fat raindrops and being sunny and clear. I was just playing bass in the garden and it threatened rain again so i took cover in computer land. Shevy is off to a Shakespearean monologue audition thing and i stayed to water plants when the sun drops low enough. The spitting rain isn't enough to water everything, just enough to keep you from working on anything outside.

Farmers market was this morning, and we stayed up until midnight getting chocolates made and packaged. We only made fifteen bucks, but it was a slow day. Its early in the summer, the tourists will pick up later. There were lots of new people selling stuff this year, i expect the economy is to blame for that. There was even someone selling organic grass-feed beef, but we didn't have the cash to get any this time, but maybe things will go better next week. We need to work on our chocolate display. We didn't have time this week to plan because we didn't know when the cocoa shipment was coming and it finally came around 5 in the evening on Friday, so we were scrambling to the have the chocolates ready for early Sat morning. We still sold a few and one pair of earrings, to our new neighbors up the hill that we also met this morning. They seem cool, they're into rocks and jewelry too. They can hear our rooster. Since they're from Chicago, they think its cool. We also met some other new Candy Kitchen residents this morning that are around our age, and they seem cool too. Its pretty neat, we're finally not the new folks in the area anymore, and we know all the locals at market. I really like the feeling of our little community here in the mountains, where Mormons and bikers and Pagans and hippie-queers all sell fresh farm veggies and crafts together in the summer. My heathen heart is at home.

Lovely, now its pouring rain and hailing and thundering while still sunny.

...And then the power went out for several hours, so i post this now late into the evening. My gardens were watered enough by the rain for today. Thank you Thor, although the hail was a bit much.

Friday, June 12, 2009

great horned death



The night felt strange and still. We awoke in the night to ominous hooting and Hansi barking his aggressive guard bark. Shevy ran out to see and encountered the beast that has been devouring our kitties. He walked towards it, it was by our driveway, and it left before too long. Sqishy came running out to Sheves and she then came willingly into the house for the first time since we got Aspen. All cats spent the rest of the night inside, with only minimal growling and hissing from Squishy. I knew it was a large bird of prey that got Ivan and Ursula, but we hadn't seen him here yet, until now. I didn't think it was the coyotes or stray dogs because they don't normally come that close to our dogs. Shevy said he told the owl, before it flew off, to go and eat the rabbits that have been feasting on Dean and Mike's wheat field. Some of our friends recently lost six cats in one week to this great horned owl, or one of his friends or relatives. We've also heard of them killing puppies up to 25lbs. There isn't really much we can do about it, except hope they eat their fill on jacks and our kitties get lucky or start staying inside at night, which isn't likely for that is their hunting time. Squishy has been eating lots of mice lately, and her fur looks extra shiny.

Yesterday, i cleaned stuff, Shevy changed the oil in the truck and made jewelry, i played my bass for a long time and we read about etins. We also planted radishes. The rain really made the garden happy and now mullion is popping up that we planted last year. Also more calendula and zucchini. We also planted a bunch of a native plant last week that's basically a purple spinach called orich. I hope some of it pops soon. Well, tomorrow is the first farmers market and i don't think we're going to have chocolates ready. We're still waiting on our next shipment of cocoa powder to come in. If it comes today, we may be able to pull it off. Oh, and we got paid to feed cute horses this morning. One was a pinto and she was really sweet and let me pet her, until the hay was tossed in and she started pigging out. I've decided that i want to have horses someday. They're pretty awesome creatures.

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

rain; the end is near, or something else really weird

We are currently getting a good moderate soaking rain. I am thankful, but its just so strange for June. I keep having this sick feeling that the end is near. Will we have no rainy season now? I don't know. Its a cold rain and i hope it doesn't freeze tonight. One thing is for sure, we will have a huge crop of pinions this fall because the trees are already loaded with the future nuts.

We made flax seed bread today and it is quite good.

This morning our neighbors Dean and Mike showed up in their new junkyard rescued and rewired golf cart. They're planning on mounting solar panels to the top of it so it will charge itself while driving or parked. They let me test drive it and around noon Dean showed up again and let me drive to the mailboxes and we got our mail. It was totally fun, although a bit scarey on the downhill run back home. They said they would keep an eye out for another one for me, then i could drive all around Candy Kitchen! Although they and Shevy all agreed that i should have the cart brightly colored with a big flag of an eyeball with one of those red circles with a line through it, so other cars would know i'm a blind driver. I think im a pretty good driver, considering that i haven't had much practice. Mike says i drive better than Dean does and i have to agree.

The rain is still falling and i am stuck indoors, but its much better than being stuck inside to get away from the no see 'ems. Maybe Shevy will feel like reading some after he slides home from work in a few hours. The roads may be interesting to come in on. woo hoo mud!

Monday, June 8, 2009

another totally brutal cat picture

Aspen and big brother Thorn

Aspen is still nursing on Sparki every night, but a picture of that would just be wrong.

bread machine, elves, dream of runes, clouds

My little wayward bread machine found its way home today. FedEx couldn't figure out our rural address on Fri., so it didn't come until this morning. So we made our first loaf and it took about 4 hours. It wasn't perfect yet because we have to experiment with the high altitude adaptations to the recipe, but it was still an awesome loaf. So we had roast beef sandwiches for dinner and alas i must admit defeat to the bread. I couldn't finish my sandwich, it was so huge and hearty and packed with wheaty fiber. I normally always finish everything on my plate, because that way i win, not the food, but this time it was all different. I had to just walk away and the dogs got the left over bites that i just couldn't finish.

So we started reading Elves, Wights, and Trolls today, and wow, i'm kind of at an overload of new information right now. I had some prior knowledge of land wights etc. before but i think this book is what i need to make it all connect in my brain. Its very good so far. I think the most practical thing i have learned so far to better my interactions with our local wights/elves/trolls is that i should be warning them when relieving myself outside, so as not to disrespect any spirits. I have so much more to learn. Speaking of learning, i have been trying to learn the very basics of the runes, but last Dec. Shevy met some other heathen folks at an art show, and they actually don't live too far away from us, just a bit south of here, but also in the middle of no where. Anyway one of them has been studying the runes for a long time and he had told Shevy that if we ever had any questions about anything to ask away. Back in April i had another intense dream involving Odin this time. He showed me two runes, and i got the distinct impression that he wants me to learn them and all other associated info. and wisdom. A daunting task, but one i know i must do now. So we just wrote a letter to our new friends and i have a feeling, but i'm not sure yet, that i may have a teacher to aid me.

It is cloudy or more like hazey today, and cool and windy. Not like June should be. Something still feels odd about it. No more rain though, but the gardens are doing well.

Saturday, June 6, 2009

by the light of the northern star

Behold!: art from the newest album from Tyr, by the light of the northern star. We just got it in the mail today and i am so impressed. They never disappoint. I think I'm going to be singing "Hold the heathen hammer high" for many days to come. Here is a link to an article about the new album and the band's career in general from Napalm Records, its good.

chocolate, yucca


We've been making chocolates everyday for the past several days trying to get the recipe just right. Well, Sheves has the dark chocolate down and we did milk chocolate today and they're currently setting up in the fridge. Yum, massive amounts of sugar. Next weekend is the first real farmers market of the year in Ramah, and I think we'll be ready for it.

Here is our broadleaf yuccas in bloom. This is the first time we've seen them bloom in the two years that we've lived here.

Thursday, June 4, 2009

bread, cat poop, stress, red or green

The past few days have just slipped by me. The rains have stopped so we're back to hauling water every other day for the gardens. No sign of the no see 'ems coming out in force yet. It has started warming into the upper 70s near 80, but tomorrow he have some winds coming and it will cool off a bit. Whooville, which is an artist collective with lots of lovely gardens about a mile down the road from us has reported frosts in the last week, but we haven't had any here. Our baby squash an peppers and stuff are fine. June in known for having trickster weather and late frosts. Its actually possible to have a frost any day of the year here, but our average last frost is June 6th. I've heard that several years ago though, there were a late July 3rd frost that killed a lot of folks gardens. We're harvesting spinach, chard and kale everyday now and the lettuce, cabbage, beans, beets, turnips and squash are coming up.

In other news, Sparki got sick the other day from eating litter box treats. The kitten is totally evil and wild, but we're hoping he'll grow out of it and be sweet like Ivan was.

My bread machine is coming in the mail tomorrow! I can't wait, its going to be so awesome. Mmmmmmm..... bread with honey butter, sandwiches, toast; the possibilities are endless. I was also able to order a few new books for summer reading material. A copy of the Prose Edda, two books by Kveldulf Gundarsson, Elves, Wights and Trolls, and Teutonic Magic, and one that Shevy wanted that i can't remember right now, but it was another heathen related book.

Also I just found out yesterday that my Dad and brother are coming to visit for a weekend later this month. So for the next 16 days we're going o try to kick some ass in getting our shed in shape are ready for a shower. I don't know if it'll all get done in time but we're going to try. We have to build an insulated box around our big water tank and order a pump and plumb in the hot water heater and the places where the shower and washer will someday go. Oh and wire the whole shed and insulate the walls and get some circuits or something for our big power box on the pole. It all is pretty mind boggling right now, but we'll figure it out. I'm a bit stressed out though.

The dryness is making my nose bloody once more. I've discovered that in New Mexico, your snot is just like the chillies, red or green.

Saturday, May 30, 2009

brave Thorn returns for tea and metal

So Thorn did make it home this morning and we had tea and listened to metal most of the day. Well, i didn't have tea ALL day, i washed dishes and fended off attacks from the kitten too. But all is well. We got a bit more rain today. Here are some cute dogs.




Friday, May 29, 2009

Thorn-pants come home

We've gotten good rains the past two days, and its been cool. I still get a bad feeling from this unseasonable moisture, but the garden is happy and the wild flowers are bursting forth. We did laundry today and both got headaches from the obvious propane leak at the laundry mat. After i put away the clothes we took a nap while it was raining. It felt like there was an ice pick stabbing my forehead. I hate icepicks. We also showered this evening and have not eaten supper. I haven't seen Thorn all day, and i am concerned that he was eaten by something. Sad. I hope he comes home soon. We've already lost two cats in the last year to wild hungry things. Nothing will eat Squishy, she's too evil. I desire food and thus must go in search of sustenance.

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Hail! the Thunderer rides again












desert prim rose gone wild

This is but a small cluster of the wild prim roses that are populating our land. They're on all sides of the garden now like we planted them there on purpose. This is what the unusual rain has made. I can't wait to see how many crop up next year with these guys all going to seed.

kittens and chocolate and mead oh my...



Today already feels busy and its only begun. First i must report on Aspen's integration into our horde of furry family members. He bonded with his half-brother Thorn yesterday and Thorn allowed him to play with his paws and ears, but when Aspen chomped down on his tail, Thorn swiftly sandwiched the kitten between his paws and hissed and stared him down , hissed again and let him go. Aspen then just curled up next to Thorn and passed out. Squishy is currently on a hunger strike, boycotting the house and ignoring us over the existence of a new kitten. Sparki loves Aspen, and i awoke this morning to Sparkles laying in between me and Shevy and Aspen nuzzled up to Sparki. He's so gentle with the kitten its kind of sick. And he's not even six months yet, i figured that he might be too rough with a baby kitty since he's still a baby too, and may not know his own size or strength, but i was totally wrong.

So we hav
e a lot of little things to do today, including running into Ramah to mail a book we just sold on amazon. I hope the bread machine Sheves got me comes in soon, i can't wait to start making fresh bread everyday. Oh Shevy made his first attempt at chocolates with his new recipe from cocoa powder last night. It seems to be hard to get the mixture hot enough at this altitude to get to hard candy bar like stage, but he definitely learned from it. I think they're kind of like caramels consistency right now, but he'll try again . They taste amazing! Organic cocoa powder is the way to go, it almost tastes like coffee. Speaking of homemade stuff, i am still on a quest to find a good cherry mead recipe. Some of our neighbors brought us a huge box of fresh cherries and said make us some mead and beer. So now i have 15lbs. of frozen pitted cherries, but i can't find a good cherry to honey to water ratio. Also I'm kind of nervous about it because my neighbor Dreamy, who has made more mead than i have, has used cherries before and found them to be quite volatile, and i don't want to blow all my bottles and lose all the yummy mead. I may have to make another appeal to the gods for help on this one. Frey has helped me out with two recipes so far, and they were my best batches to date. I want to try something like a cherry ginger mead, and a cherry lime beer. The beer i know how to do, but the mead is the troublesome one.

It is cloudy again and we have another day of high chance of rain. Its nice but just odd and it makes me feel uneasy. I'm worried that the monsoon rains are coming early which might mean we will have a dry July and August, which is bad for the gardens and trees. This is supposed to be the hottest and driest time of year right now and instead it cool and humid (humid being 40 to 50 %). I think my hope and wish for climate change to kill off the no see'ems might b
e coming true. We'll see though, after June comes and goes.


Tuesday, May 26, 2009

dude, seriously, Spoken Lore

So what more could a blind dude ask for!? This podcast is awesome and so are the folks who had the idea to do it in the first place. I've been spending a lot of my spare time listening to the sagas, especially when i was sick last week. Also the same folks do another podcast called Ravencast which is quite good too. I like their series that they're doing talking about specific gods.

http://spokenlore.podbean.com

http://ravencast.podbean.com

Monday, May 25, 2009

Aspen's new world


We knew he was coming home, but we didn't know when until now. Aspen is our new baby kitten. He's from the same mama cat as our cat Thorn, who was born last spring, and poor sweet but exceptionally dumb Ursula who was eaten by a large bird of prey in March. Aspen has a similar look to Ursula, but he's gray and white instead of brown and white. Thorn has reacted well so far to his new baby brother, but evil auntie Squishy hasn't seen him yet. I bet she'll warm up to him in her own way. Besides, ever since Ursula went to kitty Valhalla, she hasn't had anything to focus her intense hatred on. Anyway, Aspen is Shevy's cat. I'm still all baby animaled out from being attached to Sparkles at the hip for three months. It was awesome as far as puppy bonding and training goes, but i never got to leave the land except to go over to Whooville since their dog Boo Boo gets along with Sparki. It was fun, but it was like having a kid that keeps wanting to eat your shoes and poop on the floor. Sparki was the most well behaved and clever puppy I've ever known though, and still is. He's almost six months now, and is Hansi's best friend, although he's ripped out all of Hansi's tail fur. Ogi plays with him too, but has really turned into a snotty, crabby 3 year old. Ok, enough gushing about the dogs.

The coming pointless feast of flesh

Once upon a time there was an evil swarm of highly aggressive, microscopic, flying chigger-like insects whose bites burned like blazing, blood boiling grease fires. These flesh hungry beings normally sleep peacefully underground in our magical mountains, but every June they arise to feast on the living for several weeks, until their blood thirst is quenched, or the rainy season begins. The locals call them the "no see 'ems" however for me this describes most bugs, so to me they are "the bane of my existence!" or "the bitey bugs." I have heard that they're part of the mosquito family, but i would gladly ask mosquitoes in for tea and lovely conversation, and find them to be quite pleasant before even remotely considering tolerating the existence of the bitey bugs. If Billy were here, this is where he would start telling me how they're actually very intelligent creatures and an integral part of our local ecosystem. I don't care, i hope climate change hastens their demise. As our neighbor Sunshine says, "If there was only a button to make all no see 'ems go extinct instantly" he would not hesitate for a moment before mashing it with all of his might. And i would gladly do the same. Oh, and did i mention that they are repelled by nothing, and unlike chiggers, who are content to only bite along your sock and underwear lines, these wretched bitey bugs will bite anywhere. We're talking legs, arms, torso, eyelids, the inner parts of the outer ear, underarms, genitals, no parts are sacred, and mere clothing will not shield you from their wrath. There are a few local ladies who make homemade herbal ointments that supposedly repel them, but i have tried them and one seems to ease the flaming itch pretty well, but nothing stops their need to chew. I have also hear that taking tons of B vitamins with beep their teeth at bay, so i am trying this now, and will report back later after their reign of carnage has waned. So now there is nothing to do but count the days of relative peace while the dark cloud slowly begins its assent over our beloved wooded mountains. Soon we and the dogs will be huddled inside around our swamp cooler waiting for the danger to pass and the great rains to come once more.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

Sunburst; Sunset



So the day started off peacful enough. Last night we had a bit of a hail storm, but only one kale plant was damaged badly. We spent the morning visiting our nearest neighbors, Dean and Mike, and Shevy aquired an old double boiler for making chocolate candies for farmers market this summer. We needed something new to sell, besides Shevy's jewelry, that's low cost and eatible and the market for most other baked goods is already cornered by others. We just ordered some chocolate molds in various shapes including, but not limited to, vegetables, farm animals, unicorns, and dragons. I'm just thrilled that we'll have soy free chocolate that i can have since all things soy are now my nemisis.

Anyway, last fall Mike had made a nice carved wooden sign for our road. Since our little Sunburst lane is only inhabited by 3 families, it has no sign, until now. We scrounged up a post and installed it on our corner this afternoon. We're going to get more rocks to go around it as well as a carved dwarf holding an axe that Mike also made last year. After that i hippie bleached out our water tanks and we went to fetch water ahead of a looming storm that ended up blowing over with no rain. When the water was put away, i strolled down the hill to chickenland to check eggs as i do most every day. To my shock and confusion, i saw a chicken blob that was not the shape it should have been for a sleeping or nesting chicken. No, actually if i were not blind i would've seen one of our Delawares hanging by the waddle, dead in front of the nesting boxes. This was later confirmed by Shevs. We suspect, after checking her all out, that she must have had that thing where their egg gets stuck somehow and kills them. I don't remember what its called, but it has a name. We took her out into the woods behind our property and lightly burried her, knowing the cayoties won't waste much time in finding her. We offered her up for whoever took her in this way. I think the most brutal part is that it seems like one of the other hens must have shoved her dead body out of the nest box because when i found her, both of the nest boxes were occupied. So they were sitting there watching their dead friend hanging off of a branch nub on the roost all day, since i haden't checked it since last evening. I thik chickens are much closer to dinosaurs than we think. So, we decided today to save some eggs to hatch some new baby chicks, since now only two of our hens are young ones. Five of our now nine are six years plus. We'll need to add an expansion onto chickenland for the new babies, but it shouldn't be hard.

The sun has now set for the life of one lone chicken, and literally in the land of Wyrmwood, our home. The darkening sky is still splotched with gray and white, and the evening chill brings the hope for a bit more rain before the hot, dry, bug infested hell of June decendes upon us.

Saturday, May 23, 2009

to start off


All of this season's planting is almost done and we have had some lovely rain for the past several days. The moisture this time of year is pretty strange, but i'm not complaining and neither are all of the new sprouts in the garden. Its still cool and cloudy today and i've been feeling crappy as in I've had some kind of flu-like bug that is just now starting to die off. All of the fruit trees we planted this spring are doing well though, and the dogs seem extra playful today. They all got worm removal liquid and new raw hide bones this morning. Shevy is planting more stuff today, a forest of giant black dye sunflowers, morning glories, a ton of calendula and some buttercup winter squash. We're already able to harvest some spinach and baby kale.
Important lesson :
Don't name your chickens after ancient warlords, it makes them cranky and mean. Gangis looks like hell and Attila the Hen never shuts up and is always starting shit. They're both still laying well thou
gh.

Thor and a dream i had

I originally wrote this back in April and had it posted to my paganspace blog, but its easier to keep track of one blog so i stuck it here.

I have been drawn to Thor and the northern tradition in general, in many small ways all through my life, but until about six months ago i had not yet embraced my spiritual path. Since last Oct. my partner and i have been intensely studying the norse gods and the lore and anything else related that we can get our hands on. From the start of our recent knowledge consumption, i knew Thor was my patron and i do all i can to honor him in the things i say and the way i live. Well, i try to honor all the gods really, but Thor feels special to me and i can't really explain the feeling. When i meditate sometimes and when i am thinking of him i am filled with warmth and a feeling of great peace and jolliness, like playing music and drinking beer with my brothers and close friends that i haven't seen in a long time. To me, Thor seems to have the energy of an awesome older brother who's looking out for me, and all that i love and care for and protect.

So a few weeks ago, just before my birthday i had this dream that has very clearly stuck with me since. I should start by saying the afternoon before the night i had this dream my hands and arms kept feeling numb and tingly, like they were falling asleep, but i wasn't doing anything out of the ordinary, and the feeling wouldn't go away no matter what i did to try to stop it. The first part of the dream wasn't that exciting, i was wandering through the streets of my home town with my 3 month old puppy sparki following me (like he does in my waking life right now). I don't remember heading for anywhere in particular or looking for anything or anyone. I came upon my old high school and briefly walked through the halls. I didn't recognize anyone there, and it looked different than my memories of it, as if i was seeing it now in 2009 instead of 1998 when i was last there. I went through a side door and out to a covered sidewalk that lead to the band and choir halls where i spent a lot of time in the past. After only walking a little ways down this sidewalk i noticed the wind was cold and the sky was dark with the energy of a coming storm. A voice from a figure that i didn't see further down the sidewalk was calling out for everyone to get indoors because of a tornado warning. I paused at hearing this and started to consider going back inside, but then a flash of white, i saw the bolt come from the sky and it was heading horizontally towards me and i stood still because i knew it was meant to hit me. It struck my chest andcame out through my right arm and the palm of my hand. It knocked me to the ground, but i was unhurt except for some blackness on my hand where it left me. I looked around me as i was now on the ground and somehow there were wooden runes scattered around me as if i had been carrying them and dropped them when the lightning struck. I didn't notice any specific ones, but i started picking them up. (I'm nearly blind in waking life and also in my dreams, so that's why i didn't see which ones had scattered at a glance) I don't carry runes around with me and i am only just starting to learn about them. In the last part of the dream, i was getting up from the ground and looking to see if my puppy was alright and he was fine. I woke up then and was so overwhelmed with different feelings that i woke up my partner and told him about it. I then noticed that the tingly feeling in my hands and arms was gone and it was still there when i had fallen asleep. He informed me that people say right before they get struck by lightning or if it strikes really near by, they report feeling tingly.
I'm still pondering over the exact meaning of the dream. My partner thinks i was marked by Thor in some way. I can't really argue with that. Since the dream i have overall been more energetic and i feel intensely driven to do the thing i set out to do, such as working on new projects on our land, my gardens, and my spiritual path. I've been thinking a lot on Thor and all that he stands for and in the past week or so i have been focusing on sacrifice and thinking on Freyr as well. I still am not sure what the runes in he dream stand for. It still seems odd that they scattered when i fell, but they are important somehow, it just hasn't been revealed to me yet. I feel that my confidence and faith in the gods is stronger now, as well as my connection to Thor.