Beatrice's Birth Story

Many folks know that our beautiful little Beatrice was born at home 3 and a half years ago.  I've been meaning to share her birth story here as we prepare for our second homebirth.  You don't hear much about women giving birth at home anymore, but a few of us still do it. ( I suppose you don't hear much about people growing their own food anymore either.... but that is another topic.) I really need to share our story because I feel like the power of birth is like a secret that isn't shared, but should be every woman's birth right. Birthing is so intrinsic to our deepest nature and is one of the most powerful physical, emotional, mental, spiritual events in our lives. My birthing of Bea at home was a wholistic process. I felt safe, comfortable, supported, strong and loved throughout the entire labor.

Here is our story.  My labor began around 12:30 at night.  Dan and I had gone to bed around 10 or so.  My water breaking woke me up and I went to the bathroom to see if there was any more to come.  When I came back to bed I told Dan what had happened and we called our doula, Isa.  Her calm at  being called at 1 in the morning was amazing and she assured us she was on her way.  We tried to go back to sleep, but I don't think we slept very much at all.  The contractions came right away.  Honestly, I don't even remember what they felt like.  I did spend a lot of time on the toilet.  I later told my brother that giving birth was like trying to poop out a bowling ball, because it does feel like the baby is coming out your bottom. Hence, the toilet seemed like the most comfortable place to be.  By morning I had dilated almost all the way and we called the midwife, Joanne, and we all thought the baby would be coming soon.  We had the birth tub (a 150 gallon stock tank from Agway) set up, but didn't think we'd need it.  Joanne arrived and when the baby didn't come right away, I decided I would get into the tub. Meanwhile it had turned into a beautiful July Sunday. Once I was in the tub I couldn't imagine getting out again. The tub was amazing - the water was comforting and I found I could press off the sides of the tub with my legs, arms, back. I was pushing with every part of my body.  I started pushing when I got into the tub and ended up staying there for about 5 hours!  At one point the midwife asked if I wanted to get out and walk around, but I couldn't imagine leaving the comfort of the tub. Everyone was cool as a cucumber and I really had no idea that my situation was a little unusual. I was pretty much pushing continuously  and thought, wow I could really use a break and also that it was "hard work". (At the time George W. was using that phrase a lot and I couldn't believe I was thinking about our president during my labor)  Bea was crowning for what seemed to be a long time, but no matter how hard I pushed, she wouldn't budge. There were no signs of fetal distress, so I just kept plugging away.  Finally she started moving down more and it was a tremendous relief to push her all the way out.  Joanne put her right onto my chest and I fell in love with my daughter immediately.  

I got out of the tub to deliver the placenta while Dan sat beside me holding Bea. Soon we were all snuggled up in bed. I ate a good meal and Bea started nursing. I should have been exhausted but I was on such a high, my body coursing with hormones.  I was elated and in love and overwhelmed with being a new mother. 

Only in hindsight did I realize just how lucky I was to have been home.  If I had been at the hospital, chances are good that there would have been some kind of intervention - because my waters had been broken for over 12 hours or because I pushing for so long (5 hours). I thank God for the wisdom of my midwife and doula, for their experience, strength and belief in my ability to birth my baby.  Not to mention the chance for Dan, Bea and I to bond undisturbed in our own home. 

So that is my personal story. While yes I am a little atypical, some might say a crunchy organic farmer or whatever, but I am not flaky.  Nor am I naive. My own miscarriage and the loss of a good friend's full term baby have made me painfully aware  that things don't always go according to our expectations.  Nevertheless, the facts are plain and simple about the safety of midwifery care.  For more info please check out this recent piece from the LA Times by Jennifer Block, author of Pushed: The Painful Truth About Childbirth and Modern Maternity Care. 

Hello Baby... book, not peanut

No our little peanut hasn't arrived early, rather Hello Baby is the title of a wonderful book depicting a wintery homebirth. There couldn't be a more perfect way to introduce Bea to what actually could happen on the day peanut comes out into the world.  The mom takes a walk in the woods, the midwife arrives with her gear, the soon to be big brother helps his dad bring in fire wood for the cold wintery night.... even one of the big sisters is named Bea.  The illustrations are beautiful and convey so much love.  The mom walks around the house during labor with the dad holding her during contractions. The three older children get to see their little brother being born and even get to check out the placenta.  In the evening the whole family camps out in front of the fire.  I first read the book to Bea soon after it arrived in the mail. She was engrossed and I couldn't hold back my tears.  Later that evening Bea was showing Dan the book at the dinner table, he started reading and started crying.  He really hadn't expected to be so touched.  I think this was an "aha" moment for him when he was reminded of the emotions of  birth  and the reality that we are all going to be back at that special place soon. It was so funny. We were both crying, laughing and trying to explain to Bea the strange phenomenon of crying when you are happy.  On Bea's request we are now reading Hello Baby at least once a day.  

Bea is very excited to be a big sister and is becoming very interested about the birth.  "How is the baby going to come out of your vagina?"  If every thing goes according to plan, she will get to find out!  

Pregnancy & Chocolate

Ok, after a long hiatus, I'm back. What has torn me away from the computer for so long?  Not much, just the usual love/hate relationship with the computer world and lack of energy at the time of day when I would actually have the opportunity to sit here and type away.  Maybe I should blog at night around 2am, when I am usually wide awake, eating a bowl of cereal.

We've officially entered what we call "staycation".  This is the time of year when we are relatively free of the usual farm obligations. Instead of going away on a vacation we stay around home, leisurely milking the cow and taking trips up to Berkshire South Community Center, visiting friends, etc.  Some of my personal highlights of the last 2 months have been: making 2 little quilts with 30s reproduction fabrics for the silent auction at Bea's school, making her a waldorf  doll (a new baby of her own) for Christmas, seeing Coleman Barks read Rumi at Kripalu and simply having lots of family time with Dan and Bea. 

Chocolate, as well as an ever growing list of things I mean to mention here, has brought me back to the blog. (Also thanks Sarah M. for blog inspiration!)  Although this story isn't that recent - it was reported on last April - I recently heard about it on The Health Show on WAMC.  Reuters reported that a Yale study showed that women who ate 5 or more servings of dark chocolate a week in their last trimester were 40 % less likely to develop preeclampsia that women who ate only one serving.  

Preeclampsia can be a serious complication in pregnancy and is indicated by high blood pressure, protein in the urine and edema. Theobromine, found especailly in dark chocolate, has been shown to lower blood pressure and dilate blood vessels. Yahoo! as I sit here I'm enjoying a cup of hot cocoa a la Patches!  Here is the link to the health show story to hear more: Pregnant? Mangaire the Chocolate!

Family Day

Now that we have less going on a the farm we can spend more time as a family on the weekends.  Yesterday was a full day at the farm, beginning with chores in the morning.  It was only about 35 or so out so we all bundled up and Bea helped me milk while Dan fed the pigs & chickens. I wish I had our camera. While I was milking, Bea was standing next to me warming up her cheeks on Patches' tummy - rubbing her face back and forth through her fur.  It was very sweet. Patches is so soft and smells so good, like hay and sunshine. (Please don't believe that cows are dirty & smelly.) Bea is starting to get the feel for milking and every time does a little bit more.  We've just gotten a glimpse of the cold mornings that are coming. Soon it will be too cold to have her at the farm early in the morning.  

We fed our own kitties and the family of barn cats their milk and brought the cows out to pasture.  And then on to our big project for the day - collecting leaves for compost.  We've put out signs for a leaf drop, so we'll see if anyone else adds to our pile.  Bea and Dan had a great time jumping in the big leaf pile.  

At the end of the day we hung out watching the cows eat (waiting for them to eat until contented  - if we try to bring them back to the barn before they've had their fill they can be naughty).  They were in the corner of the field where our neighbor store's his round bales, so a great time was had playing hide and seek and climbing  and jumping off of them.

We also had our first fire of the season last night, so it really felt like a day of ushering in the cold weather.  It is so nice to sit with Bea in front of the fire with the lights out right before bed time. 

New Info for Moms

I've come across a few things lately that I thought I would share. First there is a pretty interesting website & blog called Spinning Babies.  It is by a midwife in Minnesota about the importance of fetal positioning for an easier birth.  The blog has interesting entries about midwifery, doulas, etc. 

Whenever I see previews for films about birth I tend to get very emotional and even teary.  There is a new film coming out about fathers and their experiences in the birth process called The Other Side of the Glass.  Looks very eye opening, especially for first time dads.  The mission of this film is to empower fathers to be an involved participant and protector during the birth of their children. Check out the preview here.

 The Massachussettes Friends of Midwives has started monthly Birth Circles at the NOAH Center in Great Barrington.  The next is on November 2cnd at from 7 to 9.  Come to share info on prengancy, midwifery, parenting,  & hear positive birth stories in a supportive environment. 

For more info contact Sarah at www.berkshiredoulas.com.

Fall is off to a busy start. We're getting into a new rhythm with Bea now at nursery school 3 mornings a week. She is delighted with it and I am too. She's been spending chunks of time with Dan at the farm in the afternoon. It is so nice that fall is here. The weather is beautiful and the pace of the work at the farm allows for a calm, steady day. (compared to the frantic, scurried days of summer) Here she is watching Dan spread a load of compost.

We think that Patches is actually really pregnant now. Deborah came to breed her around Labor Day and so far, no heat signs. Coco has been frisky, though. So we'll have to keep an eye on her. And seriously think about whether we would want to milk 2 cows if we did breed her. On the other hand, we could just keep the calf with her. It looks like Dan is leaning towards baby beef next year. I have to say, we've been eating Moon in the Pond veal and it is tasty!

Our girls have been seriously spoiled lately. The quality of the pasture is not that great, but we do have great cover crops that have been really boosted with compost & minerals, so Dan has been bringing the cows out for the day with tethers. They eat to their hearts content and are usually more than happy to come right back to the barn. Yesterday, Patches decided to be naughty and snack on the broccoli on the way. The milk has been incredible and made this beautiful yellow butter.

Labor Day Pot Luck

My goodness, summer certainly is flying by. I've been estranged from my computer. And now I'm not quite sure where to start. So I'll throw out an invite to come to our farm for a "Labor" Day Pot Luck. Yes as a homebirth mom, I mean Labor in the birthing sense. I guess you could call this the first official event of the Motherhouse Homebirth Network. This is a gathering for moms
(current & expecting) & families in our area to meet each other, share birth stories, share resources, support, hang out and eat some good food while the kids run around the farm. While my hope is to raise awareness about homebirth, I could also easily say midwifery, natural birth, water birth, alternative birthing etc. My intention is not to exclusively promote homebirth, but to get together with other women who see birth as a inherently normal process.

As an off shoot, let me know if you are interested in a mom's group along the same ideas - including nursing, cloth diapering, attachment parenting, etc....

I suppose the time as come to mention that yes, I am pregnant again. Approaching the half way mark! I've been a little reluctant to make such a public announcement as here on the blog. This pregnancy seems more private somehow, but in light of the above events and considering that word is certainly getting around, it seems appropriate to write about it here. I'm sure I'll have much more to say on the subject as time goes on.

I could go on and on, but Dan has taken Bea to the farm so I will take advantage of a little solo time!

Homemade Ice Cream!

Oh Boy! Our first Patchy ice cream. (Milk around here is now known as Patchy milk.) Thanks to my friend Lisa, who let me borrow her ice cream maker, I just made our first batch of ice cream from our own cream! And ofcourse I had to make strawberry, as they are precious right now. Our strawberry patch has beeen picked and picked and now the volume is starting to dwindle. The impetous to start making our own ice cream is Bea's birthday on the 10th. We're having an early family party this weekend and thought it would be the perfect birthday treat. It is extra special because before tonight Bea hasn't had ice cream yet. (We're pretty careful about keeping tabs her sugar intake.) So glad homemade with our own cream, eggs & strawberries will be her first.
I already can't wait to make more. I think my next batch will be mint chocolate chip! Ah, summer!

June

Finally, here I am in June.... As always June is a whirlwind. Too much to do, too little time. We often find ourselves saying we wish we could stop time and get an extra day in the week. I've also had a series of low level illness that aren't, thankfully, that debilitating, but just there to annoy me and slow me down. One after another. Ok, enough complaining about that. We're so swamped at the farm. It is the time of year that we do every possible that happens at the farm - starting seedlings, direct seeding, transplanting, plowing, weeding, harvesting, going to markets, organizing the CSA.... And as the official kick off of the summer we also find ourselves trying to get to social events. Sorry friends, but we are really only making it to the big time events. For example - Congratulations to Rachel Gall & Jay Wolf on their solstice wedding!!! They are such super people and also know so many great folks, I was happy to be able to make it there to celebrate with them, even if we couldn't go into the wee hours. (Or for that matter twilight hours!)

Not much new on the cow front. Patches was bred on Mother's Day weekend and so far, no signs of heat! So hopefully she's pregnant. Our apprentices have learned to milk and we had about 4 or 5 of us taking turns. Now that the crew and Dan are harvesting 3 days a week, I am milking those 3 days. I'm happy to have more time with Patches. Bea has been a champ, hanging out with me while I milk - at least for the first part. Thankfully when I am finishing Dan is back at the barn washing veg or Bea can hang out with Marion, Maya and Solana who are camping out at the farm and helping out. Maya is just about 5, Solana just 2 months younger than Bea, so she is really in 7th heaven having girls to play with at the farm most of the time. We love having John, Marion and the girls here. Although I'm already dreading Bea's reaction when they leave in a few weeks! (Mine, too!)

World Made By Hand

I guess it has only been about a month, so I don't know if that really qualifies for neglect. But I expected something like this to happen. As farm life gets busier I have less desire to elucidate on it. Rather, I have plenty ideas, happenings, etc I'd be happy to share... the problem is actually sitting down at the computer. By the time Bea is asleep or on her way there I usually just want to tune out. Finally here I am. Thought I would mention how I've been tuning out lately.

Ever wonder what will happen when we run out of gas (or can't get it here)? When there are no cars? No electricity? No centralized government? Well I've just finished World Made By Hand by James Howard Kunstler. HIs characters certainly suffer their share of hardships in the post-apocalyptic world, but it was refreshing to ponder the return of agrarian life, set up in Washington County, NY where we spent a winter across from the Battenkill River. So if you've ever found yourself wondering if we'll ever be in the situation where we start digging things out of our landfills because we could actually use the things we threw away, pick up this book. It is as much about how we live today as what the future could look like.

Family Time

What a week for the family! Last week we welcomed Bea's cousin Kaleb into the world and yesterday we celebrated her great-grandmother Irma's 100th birthday! My big brother Travis was here for the birthday festivities and Bea had lots of fun playing with her Uncle T. It is always a whirlwind of activity when Travis is home. Somehow his vists always coincide with particularly busy times at the farm. Travis and Dan went over to New York to pick up our seed potatoes. Yesterday there was a bit of a potato cutting party, with both our dads, Travis, and the apprentices Cheryl and Aliyah cutting up our spud seeds. Bea had a blast climbing on the hay in the barn, making trips up the mountain and spotting elephants!

The cows are eager to get out into the pasture, but we are waiting for there to be enough grass. The sheep got out yesterday and had a high time grazing around. Coco was not happy about staying behind in the least. Patches is much more mellow. Coco is the boss, chasing Lulu around and bellowing when she doesn't get her way. We missed Patches' heat one more time. We always think it is too early and wait for stronger signs, but then we end up missing our window of opportunity. Maybe next month....

Flood Waters Receeding?

Well, hopefully my quandry about the drive to the warm will be over soon. The flood has gone down a bit and now we are able to drive the truck through. I'm still waiting and looking forward to the first chance to pull on my tall wellies and walk down, not to mention pull out the bike and our "peapod" trailer for the season.

Fortunately or unfortunately (as my friend Duffy always used to say) Dan had a Judo injury last week. He was thrown close to the edge of the mat and his heel landed on the hard wood floor. We was pretty much out of commission for the week. I got to do all the milking and most of the other farm chores for the week and it was great for me. Ever since Bea was born I've been disconnected from the farm. It has been strange to not even know where certain crops are in the fields. So this week got me back in the swing of things. Dan was home with Bea; she was no longer my first priority while I was at the farm. Having a baby at the farm isn't that easy. I suppose there are lots of women who put their kids in the backpack and get to work, but for some reason that never really worked for me. Now that Bea is more independent (she has no fear or inhibitions about doing things at the farm - collecting eggs, feeding animals, etc. & chasing her beloved cats) and is totally comfortable at the farm I'm hoping that I'll be able to work more. Last week I could freely go about my work. It felt great. I think Dan enjoyed it too.

Quandry

Many of you, dear readers, know that our road is often (all winter at least and a good part of spring and fall) flooded between our house and the farm. This means that instead of the half mile walk/bike/drive to the farm we have to drive 3 miles to get to the there. Yes, a huge inconvenience and waste of gas. My most recent quandry concerning the flood is this: Since Dan has multiple tasks to do at the farm other than the milking and chores he most often ends up doing the milking. I'm torn because I do want to take on the milking, but does it make sense for me to drive to the farm to milk and drive home when Dan just has to turn around when I get there to go down to the farm to do his work.....? The clincher of course is Bea. Ideally we'd all load up in the morning and go to the farm for the whole am, but those with a 2 year old will know it's never that clear and simple. Dan made a good point this morning, that things don't always have to make sense... yet. Of course there will be that time in the season where every single thing we do should make sense. We have to be as efficient as possible when things get going, it's a survival mechanism.
We're not there yet, though. My looming concern is how to keep Bea occupied during the 25 minutes it takes me to milk. In the midst of the season things can get really crazy down there and I'm hoping that Bea and I can manage the milking on our own without having to pull Dan out of his work. Dan is getting faster, it only takes him 15. Hopefully by the time it rally matters, I'll be down to 15, too.
That being said, Bea loves the farm and I'm sure she can manage on her own for a few minutes. As we sat seeding in the greenhouse the other day we watched her go out to the chickens, into their trailer, come out with two eggs and announce she was on her way to feed them to the pigs. What a farm girl!

3.8.08

Ah, wallpaper.... Dan and Bea went up to New Hampshire to visit Ucnle Chris and Aunt Jen. A little escape before the greenhouse gets started up. I've been holding down the fort, feeding all the animals. It is also great timing for me to finally get around to the painting and wallpapering of Bea's room. We did a lead test a while ago and it didn't look so good. Thankfully, the paint wasn't peeling. I figured best to just cover it up, hence the wallpaper. My first time! My dad, CJ and I spent the day plugging away on it and were still talking at the end so I take that as a success. We didn't get to finish. Hopefully it won't take to long to wrap it up so Bea can have her room back. Better than ever. No, we never did do the whole painting the nursery thing before she was born.... Today the thought did cross my mind, why didn't we do this three years ago? (Probably because we co-slept and never really needed to have a special place for Bea to go to at night. And for those wondering, at 2 and a half yes she does love her big girl bed and room. Although we still love snuggling with her, too.)

Can't wait to get my hands into more spring projects... cleaning up the yard and ofcourse starting seeds. When Dan gets back we have 60 flats of onions to start as well as celery, celeriac & tomatoes!

Confused Maternity

It turns out that Coco and Patches may have fallen too hard for the sweet little lambers. When I went down to the farm yesterday morning Coco was guarding them from Lulu! The lambs were as content as could be, sleeping in the sun. Lulu was not so happy. I put Patches in her pen for milking and tied Coco up. Then I moved the sheep and lambs in with the chickens. Our main concern was that if cows weren't letting Lulu nurse the little ones, her milk supply would dry up. The lambs seemed to be getting enough food from Patches! She gave about a quart less when I milked her. This could have been a sign of heat, but her teats were sticky as if they had been sucked on.

The sheep seemed happy enough in their new home with the chickens. The chickens didn't even seem to notice. Coco was heart broken and bellowed all day about it. However the move was a bit of a short term solution. The sheep have shelter in the greenhouse, but eventually it will be too hot in there. Also it means managing seperate pastures for the sheep and cows, something we were going to try to avoid if possible. After several years raising sheep we had decided we were going to stop and then these little ones came along. If anyone is looking for a few nice pet sheep please let us know. Lulu is a sweetheart. We've had her for about 7 years. Blackie is her companion and actually has good wool, not that we have been using it. If you'd like the pair and the lambs, let's talk.

Tomorrow is Pig Day! Things are really starting to happen on the farm. It must be March!

Fertility?

We've been watching for signs of heat in Patches so we can have her bred again. We haven't seen anything really obvious except for her tail sticking up a little bit and maybe some wetness from her vulva. Other signs can include mounting other animals (even people), giving less milk and other friskiness. Since we don't have a bull, we've asked Debra Tyler to come do the deed (AI) when we're all in agreement that Patches is ready. The window for cows to concieve is pretty short - from about 10 to 18 hours. So you want to try to get the timing right. If we don't see a really strong heat, it looks like we might wait a few months to breed her so that she can calve in the spring instead of the dead of winter.

The lambs are doing really well. We've let them out of their pen and as we expected from Coco's gentle moos, the cows have taken a real shine to these babes. Both Coco and Patches follow them around, licking them. Boy, what a strong maternal instinct in cows! Dan has seen the lambs try to latch on to Patches. I guess we'll judge by the amount of milk we get tomorrow morning how successful they were. Hopefully they won't have an identity crisis and grow up thinking they are cows. So far Lulu doesn't seem to be too jealous.

News from Cyberspace. If you live in our area check out the new website, Rural Intelligence. It is loaded with just about everything you need to know if you live around here.

New Years, Take Two

Good news to come home to... Lulu had her lambs sometime early Monday morning. They were already there and thriving by the time Dan got there to milk. Lulu is such a good mama. We love those soft gentle bleats of a mama ewe. Even Coco would call out with her gentle moo when she would hear the lambers bleat. Here they are. Bea is smitten.

Well, coming back home from my little trip I feel like it is New Years all over again - ready to start fresh. Definitely ready for spring. We'll be starting up the greenhouse in about a week or so and I can't wait to start getting my hands dirty. As for my trip I should mention my two favorite places in Santa Fe - Ten Thousand Waves and Cloud Cliff Bakery & Cafe. For folks who've been to Japan and have serious onsen withdrawl, this is the place to go. Sitting outside in a hot soaking tub while snow is falling is amazingly peaceful. As for Cloud Cliff - amazing food and bakery using organic & local wheat.

At a Loss for Words

About 8 hours after I wrote my last post I noticed the signs of an impending miscarriage. Dan came down with the flu. Needless to say we had a terrible week. Yet, farm life goes on - animals need to be fed, the cow needs to be milked. While it is a kind of hell to be milking the cow with a fever in an ice storm, the farm actually offers a certain grounding. Through years of working with life and death on the farm - with the animals, plants and seasons- we can feel comforted that we are just a part of these cycles as well. It turns out that Patches was not bred and will not be giving birth this fall either. Yet, Lulu, who we did not intend to breed is about the lamb any day now. So you see life is full of little surprises. As we often say to ourselves... "Good luck, bad luck.... hard tellin'."

So now a week and a half later we are all recovered and doing well again. I'm off for a little R & R this weekend in one of our favorite places, Santa Fe. Yes, I do have the best husband ever. When I get back it will be like New Year's all over again. I'm looking forward to a fresh start and the new spring season.

Farm Family News

Big news for the family...Beatrice is going to be a big sister! In September. Most of our friends sarcastically say, "Oh, good timing!" But compared to Bea's birthday in July, September looks great. We will have a great crew of apprentices and workers who will be old timers with farm work by the time September rolls around. By some divine miracle, Patches was bred in late December. This means we'll dry her off (stop milking) in August so she gets a 2 month break before she calves in October. We couldn't ask for better timing. A break from milking before & after the baby comes will be like a little gift of time. We'll probably be suffering from dairy withdrawl but we'll have to deal with that when it comes.

Over the course of the next year, besides pregnancy, I'll probably also be mentionning homebirth quite a bit. We had a really wonderful homebirth with Bea with a midwife and doula. We had a water birth and it was a blessing to be able to labor in the tub. (Not in our bath tub. We used a new stock tank from Agway - the kind for watering cows & horses or in our case washing vegetables.) After I got in I couldn't imagine getting out. I won't launch into her birth story now but I will say it confirmed by belief that home was the best place for me to have my baby. And so we're getting ready for our next one! We've already met with our midwife Elayne and are really excited.

If you are interested in homebirth there are some great resources out there. Mothering Magazine and their website is a great place to start (see sidebar link). Ina May Gaskin the great & inspiring midwife has written several books including Spritual Midwifery and Ina May's Guide to Childbirth.
Also there is a new film out called The Business of Being Born. It will be showing at the Triplex in Great Barrington this month on Sunday February 24th at 11 am. This is sure to be a powerful film about the medicalization of birth in this country and the alternatives. Check out the trailer on their website! Just the trailer is moving!

Where to Get Raw Milk

Milking Patches with Bea watching.

With a two year old around I often find myself cutting my posts short. Last time I meant to mention where you can get raw milk locally. In Connecticut you can get raw milk from Stonewall Farm in Cornwall. You can go directly to the farm or find it at several area stores. I know they carry it at LaBonnes in Lakeville and Health Food Junction in Canaan. If you are in the Great Barrington area you can join the Twin Oaks Farm milk co-op. The laws about selling raw milk are a little different in MA so they've set up a co-op with a pick up at the Berkshire Co-op Market.

Raw Milk

Yes, we drink our milk straight from the cow - not pasteurized. We know she's healthy, eating good quality feed and that our milking system is clean. There is a lot to say concerning raw milk and I don't have a personal mission to convert all milk drinkers to raw, unhomogenized milk. Some people seem to think that as organic farmers it is our role to educate consumers about everything from organic growing methods to the health benefits of organic food and perhaps especially about the faults of modern conventional food production. I don't see that as my role. We're busy enough running our farm and raising our family. We feel that when people see our farm & produce and taste our food they will start to understand. A bite of a real tomato has a much greater effect than a lecture of you shoulds and you shouldn'ts. So if you want to know more about raw milk check out the links on the sidebar.

Winter Visits

Yes, the new pictures on the slideshow are of our farm. And of course the beautiful girl is our Beatrice. Our winter is cruising along with morning animal chores and random wintery tasks. This week we met with another farmer to talk shop a little bit -Jonathan, hired a part-time summer worker-Jonas, had a drop in visit with our other summer part-timer Rachel and had a visit with ex-apprentice Alissa and her friend Megan. Winter is a good time to catch up with fellow farmers. During the season we don't have much time to shoot the breeze. Usually when we are in touch it is about a crop issue or a quick touching base to make sure everyone's surviving ok.

Woops!

I've been working on getting some pictures and a slideshow up, but haven't worked out all the kinks. Apologies to those who saw some unsightly pics here. Please be assured, they weren't mine! I imagine I'll have real pics of our real farm shortly....

Yogurt & Butter.

As expected Patches has settled down nicely and is getting used to her new routine. I've been milking by myself and since I am a little more focused, I think that helped her to settle in.

We are making our first batch of yogurt as we speak. It is really easy and the only special equipment that we use is a thermometer. We eat up the milk to about 150 degrees. We've heated to lower temps but the yogurt seems thicker when we go up to 150. Then wait for it to cool to about 115, add some yogurt and stir it up. We use about a cup of yogurt to a gallon of milk. You don't need any special yogurt culture, just the kind you usually eat - plain, no sweetners etc. Then we wrap up our pot in a towel and put it in a pie basket by our woodstove for about 5 hours. If you don't have a woodstove you could use the warmer of your Aga. Unfortunately here in New England there aren't too many Agas around.... I could get on a huge tanget about the wonderful Aga cookers but I'll spare you all for now. Anyhow if you don't have woodstove you might want to invest in a yogurt maker. I'll get some links together about yogurt makers and post them when I get a chance.

Yogurt making is a little bit like making bread. The milk has to be warm, but not too hot or you will kill the cultures. If the milk is too cold, it won't get going. Also, there is a wide range of variables that may make the yogurt thicker or thinner or more sour. Through trial and error we've come up with a routine we like.


We also made our first butter yesterday. My dad, Corey, was here and I skimmed some milk for him. What a great opportunity to make a little butter! I poured the cream in a jar and we shook it up for about 10-15 minutes and viola! Unfortunately I didn't have any cheese cloth on hand to really squeeze out all the extra liquid but it was fine. Bea drank up all the buttermilk with her supper. Eventually I hope to make some real quantities of butter. I hear you can use your cuisinart with the dough blade so I'll try that.

Welcome Patches & Coco Rose

Yesterday our new cows Patches & Coco Rose came to our farm. Patches is a sweet little Jersey who we are going to milk and Coco Rose is her geriactric companion. She's an old girl at 10, but a real lovey of a cow. I think they may have some home sickness for Debra & Local Farm but I imagine they'll settle in soon. Lulu, our ewe, seems a little miffed. I'm sure she'll soon realize the cows are nothing to be afraid of.

This morning was our first milking and I was pretty excited. Unfortunately it didn't go as smoothly as I expected. Whenever I milked Patches at Debra's it was always a breeze. She was pretty unsettled this morning and put her foot in the bucket twice! Ack! Then it seemed like she stopped letting her milk down although it seemed she still had milk. I asked Dan to see if he could strip her out, being paranoid of not getting all the milk- and causing mastitis. She seemed to let down a little more milk for Dan at the end. We took home a little more than a quart. Which means we spilled about a gallon when she kicked the bucket over.

I'm sure tomorrow will be much better. I can't blame Patches for needing some time to adjust. Bea was champ and sat for a long time across from Patches and watched patiently.

It is such a big change to have cows at the farm. For us, it is a huge lifestyle change. Especially for me - it is really grounding - connecting me to the farm in a way I haven't been before. (The veggies are really Dan's realm.) But I don't mean just the chores and the milking. Each animal has a different energy. I'll write more on this later... It is almost supper time! We are so happy to have these lovely creatures with us. I can't wait until tomorrow morning!

What is Farmwifery?

I'm often asked what my role is on the farm or for that matter in life. Folks can look at Dan, my husband, out in the field and say to themselves "farmer". He's the guy that grows our vegetables. Usually folks don't see me at the farm, or it is in passing as I am chasing our 2 year old Bea around, trying to pick up some food for dinner, or touch base with Dan about the day's events. So maybe they don't see me and say, "farmer" which would definitely be accurate. So what is it that I do? After asking myself this question often, especially after becoming a new mom I've realized that "farmer's wife" is the answer. "Farmwifery" is the art of being a farmer's wife.

Don't get me wrong, this is not just stand by your man. I kind of see the farm as a part of our family. Farming is not just a job, it is really a lifestyle. We grow vegetables for about 175 families and sell at 2 farmers' markets. This blog will be a little bit about growing the veg, but mostly about all the other things that are going on behind the scenes - CSA membership, running a business, nutrition, eating locally, our farming community, our 2 year old Bea's adventures, my adventures in mothering, attachment parenting, keeping a family cow, making cheese & yogurt, what to cook for supper, preserving food for the winter. And some other fun stuff like family, friends, quilting, books...etc. And generally what life on the farm is like.

Why blog?

I know a bunch of other women who do this same work and so little of it goes unnoticed. The blog is a way to support those other women and shed light on what happens behind the scenes. I was happy to come across Joann Grohman's website and enjoyed reading here diary. Not only to gleen information about her experience with keeping a family cow, but simply to hear another woman's stories about living this lifestyle. I found it really grounding. http://www.real-food.com/
So hopefully I will find the time somehow to keep this going and share lots of info about farm life and other resources. Looking forward to a great new year and lots of new adventures!