Well, I keep meaning to sit down and write but the days keep passing by and besides, I’m not sure what to say and everything is so noisy and I don’t want to add to the noise when humanity is already giving this thing so much mental and emotional bandwidth. I’m not sure these are exceptionally crazy times. I’m thankful I wasn’t alive during WWI or WWII or the great depression. I’m glad I wasn’t a kid during the dust bowl which seems like it was such a hungry time void of hope and joy. I start thinking about my ancestors and the trials and tribulations they went through in their lifetimes and this virus stops seeming extraordinary. It just seems like one more thing in the span of time that humans must figure out and survive. We’re living quietly in the middle of nowhere here and we’re taking care of ourselves, our livestock, our neighbors and our community as best as we can and we are thankful that the nature of our life here is isolated, independent and self-sufficient so that while we watch what is going on in the world, our days seem to continue unhindered (except I ran out of fresh ginger root today which feels dismal).
The days here continue to begin with the sunrise and spring is doing all the things it usually does, like clockwork. The grass is turning green, the horses are shedding their winter fuzz, the red-tailed hawks are nesting in the dead trees above the hayfield, the almond row just began to bloom yesterday and the fruit trees are enticing our honey bees. Our garlic rows are already standing five or six inches tall and I planted my first rows of lettuce and radish a couple of weeks ago. The chicks have left the brooder and have entered our larger
A really lovely and calming post…
Good. I want to care for you guys but I don’t know how…so I just keep working and sharing and photographing and keeping things slow and quiet and true. Take care, Vicki.
Even in the city, solitude is possible. At least for me. I live quietly and alone and the stillness and peace of it works well for me – but I have to pray for those who don’t know how to quiet their spirits. Out my back door are songbirds and a wide stretch of space (relatively speaking) and here in the lower Midwest, sunshine and warming temperatures. The trees are budding and the daffodils are already gone. Everyday has it’s own blessings. Everyday is a day for gratitude and prayers alike.
Stay safe. Many prayers for you both – especially when Robert returns to his season of work.
Ahh…Elizabeth…I feel your peace from here. Take care and thank you for thinking of Robbie and I on the delayed cusp of this fire season. Every single day I am so thankful he has not left for work.
Oh, Amen sister and sisters. So good you are where you are, safe, hopefully. From the Methow Valley. It’s here. 3.
We’re ok.
Glad you guys are doing ok up there! I hope the grocery stores are keeping up with the needs of the valley…it’s such an isolated spot. It’s a good thing the growing season is arriving. Fresh veggies and fruit are on the way!
XX
I keep a huge pice of ginger in the freezer. When I need some, I microplane what I need. Tastes like fresh. Lasts forever. You don’t need to peel, the pind naturally falls away.
You are SMART!!! I have never thought of doing that with ginger. It’s funny…it’s just ginger, but it’s a tiny part of my daily routine that I really miss any time I run out of ginger! I like to steep it in hot water and sip it all day long. It’s not easy to find when you’re living in the middle of nowhere and I usually buy it fresh in bulk when I am in the city. I am looking forward to putting in a greenhouse here, for the love of ginger I’m going to try to grow my own, along with turmeric. Stay well, Chris!
Grocery stores in the Methow are doing a phenomenal job. I’ve written a letter to the paper, saying everyone, start digging a garden! Starting the garden earlier this year and will just cover the cooler weather crops. It seems warm now, during the days, fooling us into believing this will be how it’s going to be. Then along comes May…anything can happen.
I had an odd feeling today, with the way the wind was blowing, asking will it be a bad fire season here? We’ve weathered fire before but not with this virus on top of it. Hopefully or hopefree…
4 now.
The fire season is coming and it’s interesting to listen to Robbie’s tele-conference calls with his smokejumper base right now. At this point it sounds like the forest service/BLM is going to try to avoid use burns (which is when they allow wilderness fires to burn in areas that NEED to burn for the health of forests) and big complex fires with huge fire camps…opting instead for a very aggressive initial attack suppression of fire this summer which means they’ll be using smokejumpers A LOT (as well as rappel crews, but getting firefighters to wilderness fires via airplane will always be the fastest way to get manpower on remote fires). Basically, they’re going to try to operate as small scale as possible this summer.
Very interesting to watch them come up with a plan for the season.