First Ameraucana egg!

We found our first egg on Aug. 22 -- Jonas' third birthday. There's been one a day since then, until today, when there were three (!) including the first blue-green beauty from one of our Ameraucana chickens. 

September 1st

Summertime late afternoon rainstorm approaching from the west, lacking the thunder and theatrics of earlier summer efforts.

First fall leaves flying. Got the stroller in just in time.

Soon, a return to hot tea and baking. Soon, a return to sweaters and socks.

Right now, plans and anticipation.  The promise of autumn without the threat of winter.

Hot

Wake up, stale air, consider opening windows, step outside, hot and humid and 80 degrees already, leave house closed, air running, try to entertain kids inside yet again, try to go somewhere, hot car, air running, hot parking lot, everyone thirsty and sweaty, back home, air running, make something for dinner that won't heat up the house, dance in the livingroom to tire out children, air running, lukewarm bath, kid bedtime, work, run outside at dusk to water and patrol for bugs, eaten by mosquitos, soaked in sweat, work, air running, Netflix, time for bed, read, air running, asleep. Repeat.

I've been trying to remember lately what my impression of summer in Charlottesville was before we had kids. I remember thinking it was 95 degrees for the second half of July and the first half of August, that other than that it was pretty bearable. But then again, I work up, went to work, came home in the evening, walked the dog and hung out all night. I didn't have the mirror of children to show me the kind of deprivation borne out of being inside all day, every day.

Last summer was horrid; it was 90 degrees and hotter all of May, June, July and August. This year has certainly been better. We had a couple heat waves lasting a few days, but the current HOT didn't set in until mid-July. We're in the third week of it now. If it wraps up in mid-August, I guess we'll be back to what I remember thinking was the norm.

That's my only beef with Charlottesville: a bit too hot for too long in the summer, and not quite enough snow in the winter. Yet, I need only think for a moment to remember to drudgery of the six-month winters in New England, which drug me down far lower than a month of hot summer.

It seems that's the way it is. You get long winters, long summers, no winter, no summer, constant grey, no rain - it's always something. No place is perfect.

Right?

Intention

"We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children." 

- Native American proverb

A metamorphosis of sorts is happening around here. In the course of a few weeks this spring, two long-term projects began to blossom: The Homestead and The Business.

First, the business: After years of dreaming, talking and planning, we set up our own company, Borrowed Earth LLC. Initially, it will be the vehicle through which we'll run the writing & editing business, Fine Lines Editing. I've been fortunate to have quite a bit of editing work come my way this year, especially given that I have done no advertising or promotion as yet. It became obvious early in the year that we'd need to get some kind of structure set up to handle the income from this venture, and thus Borrowed Earth was finally born.

Years ago now, we settled upon Borrowed Earth as the phrase that encapsulates our life view in its current incarnation: Living simply, teaching our children about love and kindness and hard work, being connected to as much of the physical world as we can, and maximizing the time we spend together. It is that last reason that inspired us to name our company Borrowed Earth LLC. Perhaps someday it can be our sustaining financial force, allowing us to have a home-based life.

Speaking of, our little homestead has really started to manifest itself. It took a lot of set-up work over many years, but with the addition of a boundary-line fence on the south side of our backyard, garden fencing, some new garden beds and the chickens, we have the early stages of the homestead we ultimately envision. More on all of that, as well as pictures, coming soon.

A couple close friends have urged me recently to do more with this blog, in response to my own self-chiding about the lack of personal writing in my life. I thought perhaps if I made a written commitment of sorts, it would help compel me to visiting this space more often and share the life of our family in our little corner of the world. So here I am. And there you are. Welcome, welcome. I intend to be back soon.

Unearthed

Every time we spend the morning in the backyard, we discover some new artifact. Today's find was a blue '55 T-bird matchbox car. Which, in Jonas' opinion, was a much better score than the 1970s-era sports sock and Pepsi can unearthed last week.

Better

The cure to the afternoon malaise seems to have involved an apple for Jonas and Jonas for Silas.

GOATS!

I checked in on a Facebook page tonight for CLUCK: Charlottesville League of Urban Chicken Keepers. I joined this group a few months ago after stumbling on it and, being both a believer in urban chicken keeping and a hopeful future urban chicken keeper, I became a fan.

So there I am, looking through recent wall postings when I see someone posting a link to a blog devoted to petitioning the Charlottesville city council to allow residents to keep goats.

Now, those close to me know: I love goats. Possibly my proudest moment to date as a mother is hearing my then 20-month-old son shout this very phrase during his first encounter with said creatures earlier this year. And yes, he was more repeating what he'd heard his mother say on multiple occasions than actually expressing his own opinion. (Though he has come to truly love goats and, ever since our recent visit to a nearby county fair when he spent an hour and a half in the petting farm, one of his favorite statements is, "A baby goat! We did see a baby goat! We did! We did!")

To further illustrate my goat obsession, I offer this other brief anecdote: In 2007, on our first trip together to Lithuania, Egidijus asked his parents' next-door neighbor if we could come over and visit with her goats. And she was like, "O-kaaaay," because to her it is just a goat. But to me? A little horned friend.

So, I see this link to this goat petition and I click on it because I will sign any petition in favor of goats. And what do I see at the very top of the page?

"Tuesday, September 7, 2010

SUCCESS TONIGHT!

Charlottesville City Council voted unanimously to allow the keeping of up to 3 miniature goats per household here in the city."

I didn't even know there was a plan afoot to legalize in-town goat keeping and lo and behold, THIS VERY NIGHT it was approved. Talk about instant gratification.

The joy I felt at reading this was. . . ridiculous, really. I jumped up and down. Repeatedly. While pointing at the computer screen. And yelling, "Goats, goats, goats! I can have goats!" Egidijus and Silas just sort of watched me with bemused (maybe slightly frightened?) looks on their faces.

We had already been talking seriously about keeping chickens here starting next spring. And with my goat friends (having just one would be cruel, no? Two at least!) we'll have a regular backyard barnyard starting up.

Let the name brainstorming begin...