She skipped out our arched doorway on her way to school today, pom-pom bouncing on hatted head, radiant smile almost still visible from behind, eager to share with her second grade classmates. My feeling of fullness was as vivid as her, she with this palpable joy from having spent yesterday’s blizzard day (and evening, and […]
The move from little fabric yurt into big wooden yurt was far more of a transition than I expected. I thought it’d be quite straightforward after 6 years of move planning, 4 years of living on the land, more than 2 years of watching that wooden yurt rise and imagining living within it. But imagining […]
A final floor… Awaiting sanding, staining. A working heat source… Can you see the chimney pipe peeking around the corner? All windows made and in… A shop… I picked up a lovely flower arrangement in a yogurt cup there for 10 cents – how convenient… An unanticipated trench to correct for what we didn’t know […]
The four fabric yurt windows were awninged wide open to the winds and light for months, the wooden front door neglected in place of the full screen door. Then, quite suddenly it seemed, it was time the windows must be shut and white insulation panels drawn over them to retain what heat we could through the […]
When the clock turns 1:11, 2:22, 3:33, etc., a boy wishes for a puppy, a girl wishes for a bunny, and maybe sometimes a momma secretly wishes for nigerian dwarf goats AND a cat. It’s been tempting, especially with a 10-year-old birthday on the horizon of July. Thankfully they also recently asked for their own sourdough […]
All I could think to do was give a nod to my daughter’s pensive announcement: When I grow up, I’m going to live where nobody owns the land, where everyone can live wherever they want. There were many things I could (should?) say, but didn’t. Still, I’ve thought of it many times. Like earlier this […]
Soon we will journey to Bill Coperthwaite’s former homestead in Machiasport, Maine, for a gathering of the Dickinsons Reach Community. I’m not finding words to describe how I feel anticipating this, so I’ll share some words written and images taken when we gathered last year, and perhaps you will know…. ********************************* A Dickinsons Reach Community […]
Shortly after Josh finished sanding the third level of the wooden yurt, we climbed the recently created permanent ladder to follow through on a boy’s wish to spend the night up there, plastic in some windows and all. A first night. That slightly glazed wake up might have something to do with the middle of the […]
A midwinter walk through the forest revealed a confused fat bullfrog, his defrosted winter abode inspiring a topside check for spring. We reached for lighter (or no) coats. We ditched snow boots for rain boots that were quickly cast in coats of thick mud, squelching with every step. No need for wool pants. Friends reached […]
I don’t believe I will ever get used to wind storms in a fabric yurt. The sudden shaking of the walls that sends spice bottles flying. The distinct sound of the path the wind travels, closer, hitting, and then whirling away. Thinking it is over, only to have another round hit so unexpectedly that we […]
Circle In 