Birthday GIVEAWAY!

Happy Birthday to me!

Dandelions pop up as the first blooms we see at Big Rock. Sometimes we will be walking in the dormant pastures on a spring-like February day and see a small, dull puff of yellow resting on the matt of dull yellow grass.

A little reminder that May flowers are on their way.

The time around May Day seems to be the time of dandelions. They bloom in the masses. By the end of May, even the white tuffs have mostly dissipated on the wind. Walking around and happening upon a dandelion after seeing them bright in the masses reminds me that even a ‘weed’ has a season of true glory.

During the dandelion season, our apple tree teases us. We see tightly rolled dark fuchsia buds. For days we think, “This is the day!”

Then all at once, every branch explodes with fragrant light pink blooms. After a week, the blooms fade to white and are even more brilliant, reflecting sunshine from every petal. But then the spring wind whips up and big flakes of blossom-snow fall in a warm summery blizzard through blue skies and across the green grass.

As suddenly as the tree rose to glory, it falls to just another shade of green, stark against a desert background.


Monty and “The Snow Queen”, borrowed from Anne of Green Gables, a fitting title for such a tree.

While we find ourselves intoxicated by the magic of a blossom-laden tree, we barely notice the swelling purple cones tipping lilac branches.

Watching lilac buds remind me of observing ewe and cow udders. Each day as we feed, casting an eye ‘back there’ to see if a bank of life-sustaining colostrum has started to accumulate to nourish the promise of new life.

The buds and the udders keep getting bigger. And bigger. But when will they just bloom already?

Finally, the buds open up and tons of small purple flowers erupt, making large cones wafting the most fragrant blooms of Spring!

By now we feel sad that the magic of snow-blossoms is over. The scent of sun-warmed lilac perks us right back up. As May ends we can rejoice over the beautiful Spring we’ve relished in!


Clancy learns to smell at 11-months. May 15, 2020

May’s grand finale is the surprise of irises bursting forth from waxy long stems and erect leaves. Pops of purple and yellow, each day more of them unfurl as others crumple.

Then the pasture clover blossoms come out to blanket the grass and give sweet treats to the cows. Summer daisies and coreopsis and edible nasturtiums see us through summer.

None of the flowers to follow quite compete with the first cascade of Spring blossoms.

Each having its moment to shine, each filling up our lungs and souls after a long white and brown winter.


Clancy comes home to irises in bloom. May 29, 2019

I’ve never paid so close attention to the cascade of flora that surrounds me. It is knowledge I feel unfortunate to not be an expert, or at least knowledgeable, of. It is difficult to learn because there isn’t a course on “Big Rock Ecology” that I can take.

No. It comes from quiet observation of the whole local ecosystem and committing them to memory to compare over years. Maybe someday I will be able to deduct deep knowledge of the flora we have here.

But in the meantime, it is a reminder to slow down, live with intention, and try to embrace observation in a world where I feel wired to consume and react.

Birthdays are the end of one year lived and the beginning of a new year. I am resetting intentions and they are to be more intentional, consume less, create more, and observe my local surroundings(not the surroundings that my phone connects me to).

As we approach the halfway mark through this year, I hope you take a moment of reflection and redirect yourself if need be so you are living how you want to.

Birthday LAMBS! Betty managed to squeak out two ewelambs by 10:30 pm on the 18th.

Ewes close to lamb sometimes waft hormones that get rams frisky, to keep peace and let Betty rest, we pulled her into the stall for lambing. Having the lambs in a small space has been nice, lambs basically hit the ground running, we can catch them and handle them in a smaller space, hopefully gentling them a bit!

Elk Tent outhouse is looking sharp after receiving a makeover! Nathaniel built a brand new door, this one with a latch and lock! The crescent moon is a traditional touch. Nathaniel’s dad did major cleanup all around and sanded the outhouse exterior. After a thorough stain and a washing station built on the Northside, the toiletry area is ready to move necessities in! A little progress each day so that we can welcome our first Hipcamp guests soon!

Did you know that the term ‘toilet’ use to refer to the area and act of attending to one’s appearance? Not just the porcelain throne!

Honing my green thumb. The first succession in the new garden is planted! Beets, arugula, kale, radish, carrot, onion, lettuces, and spinach seeds are all sprouting!

Potatoes and the summer crops have yet to go in. They will be put into the current crop, taking off as the first succession winds down.

Big Rock Garden gets efficient! My mom’s birthday present to me was an efficient and easy way to keep my garden well-watered(a pun, since this system is fed from our well water. Haha).

Thank you to our local birds who have been buying bags of greens and dozens of eggs! Connecting with you over good food is the BEST. We appreciate your support!

The time is nearing for you to make your very own gluten-free sourdough kitchen pet, like Cordelia! Workshop details are coming in JUNE for starting a GF Starter.

Other advanced courses will roll out too, including this 8-inch Gluten-free Sourdough Chocolate Cake!

Because it is my birthday…

I am doing a giveaway! I am giving away an embroidered tea towel.

If you are a newsletter member and reading this email, you are already entered into the giveaway, BUT please share this newsletter with another person that you think would enjoy following our little regenerative homesteading life.

Encourage your friend to subscribe, they can always unsubscribe at any time, and it is only 1-3 emails a month!

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The winner of the giveaway will be selected from the list of newsletter subscribers that read this email!

The winner will be announced in the next newsletter! So be sure to open your emails from us!

This is to thank you guys for taking the time to enjoy these newsletters. Each one takes me snippets of time over a week, sometimes more. They end up being hours of work. But I love to share what we have going on here and I so appreciate the feedback that I receive from these newsletters.

Thank you for subscribing AND reading the newsletter!