Advent Wreath

This weekend marked the beginning of Advent season. This is a winter festival of light celebrated at our Waldorf school, and the Advent wreath in the center of our table honoring the light found in stones, plants, animals and humankind is a tradition we began last year to brighten up our very dark, rainy Oregon winters. We go out in the woods and fashion a little wreath from spruce, Douglas-fir, and cedar boughs. In the center stand four beeswax candles held by apples as candle-holders. Each week, we honor one of the four kingdoms by  lighting a candle and saying a little verse before dinner. This week we honored the stones by decorating the wreath with crystals, seashells, and little bones we found on walks in the woods. Next week we will honor the plants by placing little dried flowers, seeds and pine cones around the wreath. The following week we will honor the animals by adding  little beeswax creatures the kids made. The week after we will honor humankind by adding a little felted wool child with sun beams radiating around their face. These little evening Advent ceremonies create a very contemplative, magical mood each of the four nights we light the candles, and carries a little brightness into the coming week.

The first light of Advent

Is the light of stones,

Stones that shine through seashells

Crystals and in bones.

The second light of Advent

Is the light of plants,

Plants that reach up to the sun

And in the breezes dance.

The third light of Advent

Is the light of beasts,

The light of hope that we may see

In greatest and in least.

The fourth light of Advent

Is the light of man,

The light of hope, of thoughts,

To give and understand.

Weaving starlight clear and bright

Into colors pure and light.

Fragrant flowers come to birth

And bring the starlight down to earth.

 

Here is a history of Advent wreaths and some musings on the season from an Advent packet the Kindergarten teachers hand out every year at our school. I like this passage because it presents this traditional light festival in a way that is accessible for a wider variety of spiritual beliefs than the commonly practiced Christian celebration of Advent :

The Advent Wreath

by Gertrude Mueller Nelson

"Ancient peoples who lived in the far north and who suffered the archetypal loss of life and light with the disappearance of the sun had a way of wooing back life and hope. These people did not separate the natural phenomenon from their religious or mystical yearning, so nature and mystery remained combined. As the days grew shorter and colder and the sun threatened to abandon the earth, these ancient people suffered the sort of guilt and separation anxiety which we also know. Their solution was to bring all ordinary action and daily routine to a halt. They gave in to the nature of winter, came away from their carts and wagons, festooned them with greens and lights, and brought them indoors as a sign of a different time, a time to stop and turn inward. They engaged the feelings of cold and fear and loss. Slowly, slowly the wooed the sun-god back. And light followed darkness. Morning came earlier. These festivals announced the return of hope and primal darkness.

This kind of success - hauling the very sun back: the recovery of hope- can only be accomplished when we have the courage to stop and wait and engage fully in the winter of our dark longing. Perhaps the symbolic energy of those wheels made sacred has escaped us and we wish to relegate our Advent wreaths to the realm of quaint custom or pretty decoration. Symbolism, however, has the power to put us directly in touch with a force or idea by means of an image or an object - a "thing" can do that for us. The symbolic action bridges the gulf between knowing and believing. It integrates mind and heart. As we go about the process of clipping our greens and winding them on a hoop, we use our hands, we smell the pungent smell that fills the room, we think about our action. Our imagination is stirred.

Imagine what would happen if we were to understand that ancient prescription for this season literally and remove -just one- say the right front tire from our automobiles and use this for our Advent wreath. Indeed, things would stop. Our daily routines would come to a halt and we would have the leisure to incubate. We could attend to our precarious pregnancy and look after ourselves. Having to stay put, we would lose the opportunity to escape or deny our feelings or becomings because our cars could not bring us away to the circus in town.

But to sacrifice our wheel means not so much "to do without" wheels as it means to "make holy" this stopped time. Sacre ficere means to make holy, and holy means hale, Healthy, whole. And it is not easy to make this time holy. We recognize that the search for holy is so urgent and real that we are vulnerable to the lure that the commercial world offers in its promise to fill in the gaps that we so painfully feel...

During Advent, we are invited to be vulnerable to our longings and open to our hope. Like the pregnant mother who counts the days till her labor and prepares little things for the child on the way, we count the days and increase the light as we light our candles and prepare our gifts...

We make the wreath and light the candles, and we will gain the courage to stop the wheeling and dealing of our outer life: to sacrifice the wheels that grind away at outward "progress" at the cost of peace and justice in this distraction. The sacrificed wheel of the Advent wreath encourages us to stop and wait. The symbolic life offers us a way to live those feelings which we might otherwise avoid or deny or rationalize away. The symbols speak directly to the heart."

This Little Light of Mine...

In the dark, quiet stillness of the winter, people all around the world are lighting candles, lamps, fires, and strands of shining lights to bring some brightness into their lives. Festivals of light are celebrated in many cultures and faiths, and carry on traditions both ancient and new. With winters here in Oregon being particularly dark and rainy, our family has enjoyed incorporating different light festivals into our home during the winter months. We are also fortunate to experience many light festivals at our children's Waldorf school, making this a cheery time of year, indeed.

Here are a few different festivals of light that I have come to know about over the years. If I have left any out, it is not for lack of wanting to include them, these are simply the ones I know.

In Jewish traditions, the Hanukkah Festival is celebrated for eight days with the lighting of the Menorah each night to commemorate a miracle that took place in Palestine over 2100 years ago. In the midst of the desolated city of Jerusalem, the jar of Judas Maccabeus was found in the ruins of a temple, and remained burning for eight days as the men repaired their holy place. This is a celebration and rededication of the Jewish people to the ideals of religious freedom.  The candles are lit beginning at the right using the "shammash", a candle which is lit first every night with recitation of a blessing, and then used to light the other candles, adding one each night. The candles symbolize faith, freedom, courage, love, charity, integrity, knowledge and peace.

In Pagan traditions, the Winter Solstice is celebrated by lighting candles on the longest night of the year in ceremonies to persuade the sun to return and bring light to the earth once again. The Solstice is a turning point in the wheel of the year, with the symbolic death of the sun, and its rebirth from the womb of the Goddess, Mother Earth. Plants die and their dormant seeds lie still in the earth. Many people stay up all night long keeping candles burning, singing, feasting and chanting to await the sunrise in the morning. In the the far north, ancient peoples worshiped the sun, and would burn great bonfires in the celebration of Yule, so that the sun may revive and return to sustain life. Greenery was brought indoors and lit with candles to remind people of the green, growing season and the Celts in Britain placed mistletoe on their altars. Some families today will light a special Solstice candle to keep burning all night long.

In the African-American tradition of Kwanzaa, candles are lit for seven nights to introduce and reinforce the Nguzo Saba (the Seven Principles): Umoja (Unity), Kujichagulia (Self-Determination), Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility), Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics), Nia (Purpose), Kuumba (Creativity), and Imani (Faith). This exerpt comes from Kwanzaa: A Celebration of Family, Community, and Culture by Maulana Karenga: "Kwanzaa is an African American and Pan-African holiday which celebrates family, community and culture. Celebrated from 26 December thru 1 January, its origins are in the first harvest celebrations of Africa from which it takes its name. The name Kwanzaa is derived from the phrase "matunda ya kwanza" which means "first fruits" in Swahili, a Pan-African language which is the most widely spoken African language. The first-fruits celebrations are recorded in African history as far back as ancient Egypt and Nubia and appear in ancient and modern times in other classical African civilizations such as Ashantiland and Yorubaland. These celebrations are also found in ancient and modern times among societies as large as empires (the Zulu or kingdoms (Swaziland) or smaller societies and groups like the Matabele, Thonga and Lovedu, all of southeastern Africa. Kwanzaa builds on the five fundamental activities of Continental African "first fruit" celebrations: ingathering; reverence; commemoration; recommitment; and celebration... Kwanzaa is a cultural holiday, not a religious one, thus available to and practiced by Africans of all religious faiths."

In Christian traditions, the birth of the Christ child is celebrated as the light of the world illuminating us in the darkness. Candles are lit, Christmas trees are brought indoors and lighted with cheery strands of lights, and people give one another gifts representing the gifts given to the baby Jesus. Celebrations like Advent celebrate the light in the four kingdoms of nature; stone, plant, animal and man, building up to Christmas with the celebration of mankind culminating at the nativity and birth of Christ. An advent wreath is created and a candle lit for each Sunday night of the Advent season up until Christmas.  Many churches hold a Christmas eve service with joyful music and radiant candle light. Some people create beautiful nativity scenes, or Creches all lit with candles, and I once read in a Tasha Tudor book about one created way out in the snowy woods at the end of a pathway lined with candles.  

Here are some excerpts on more festivals from a handout on Festivals of Light written by Shannon Foby,  from our Waldorf kindergarten teachers:

"Each November, Hindu India celebrates the Festival of Divali in honor of Lakshmi, the benevolent mother goddess who brings abundance and good fortune. The golden lotus is the symbol of her life-giving power and of the sun's creative energy. Divali commemorates the triumph of good over evil as the great Indian hero, Rama, defeats the ten-headed demon king Ravana. In the Sanskrit epic, the Ramayana, the people welcome Rama and his beloved wife, Sita, upon their return home by lighting lamps throughout the kingdom. Today, Hindu children make little pots of clay to fill with oil and wicks, and they place these in their window sills and around the edges of their roofs so that Lakshmi may see her way back to their homes, for she shuns dark places and may otherwise not find her way back to earth."

"The Chinese celebrate a light festival in January whose roots are in antiquity and thus are difficult to trace. Ancient festivals were performed on the Altar of Heaven in Peking on the sun god's birthday. A later festival still predating Confuscianism and Buddhism paid homage to Tsao Wang, god of fire, who punished those who broke heaven's law. The legendary Red Emperor taught the people how to use fire and reign was distinguished by peace and love which could only come from kindness. In the modern festival, Tsao Wang is said to observe the behavior of family members throughout the year until, on the 23rd day of the 12th month, he ascents into heaven to report to the Jade Emperor what he has seen. The family prays to the kindly god and his image is placed in a chariot or horse made of paper or straw, which is set on fire to transport him to heaven. He returns a week later with ceremony and his bright new image is enshrined in the kitchen for another year as a reminder to think good thoughts and o good deeds to vanquish the evil of the world."

"A Thai Festival of Buddhist and pre-Buddhist origin, a vestige of an early belief in the spirit of vegetation is known as Loy Krathong. The "Krathong" is traditionally made of scalloped cups or lotus blossoms into which a lit candle is placed. Everybody watches the cup float down the Chao Phraya river, for if the candle stays lit until the krathong disappears, your prayers and wishes will come true. Water is a vital force in Thai life, and the people ask the Mother of Waters to bless forgive the for having soiled and used the waters all year long. "


In honor of the beginning of these celebrations of light, here's a song by one of my favorite folk singers, May Erlewine,  "Shine On." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gWfOhhUJ2c

Let It Shine, Let it Shine, Let it Shine!

A Gathering of Pies

I would like to pay homage to the crowning glory of Thanksgiving feasts all across this country. Pies. Every November, families come together, friends come together, and all the pies come together. When else is there ever such a gathering of pies?

This Thursday, we met up with friends at a beach house and shared good times together and an epic feast including: turkey, a quarter ham from our Sweetbriar farms pig, gluten-free bacon oyster stuffing, spiced yams with plantain, green bean casserole, cranberry plum sauce, cranberry lavender sauce, salad, brussel sprouts with bacon, baked cauliflower with capers and parsley, rice/hazelnut/fig/chanterelle stuffing, gluten-free sausage/fennel/chanterelle/acorn stuffing, rabbit stew, sweet potato and pecan dish (we pretended it was not dessert), and of course, Waldorf Salad!

As if this meal was not enough of an epicurean event in and of itself, there were also all the pies. Even more amazing was that they were all gluten-free and mostly dairy free! We had triple berry cream with crumble topping, pumpkin, chai spiced pumpkin coconut, coconut/almond/peanut butter pie, pecan pie with bear lard crust, and two flourless chocolate cakes (one made with coconut oil and the other with butter and frosting).  I'm talking about Pie Heaven.

 

The coconut, almond, peanut butter pie.

No Thanksgiving will ever be complete again without chocolate cake. Possibly no ordinary day either.

Give thanks for pie.

Give Thanks

I have learned over the years to recognize the vast importance of being thankful in day-to-day life. No matter how many things are not going well, acknowledging those things for which you are grateful, however small they may seem, can shift your focus, put you in a whole new place, and ultimately change your experience of your life. Sometimes this is easier said than done. Being thankful for what you have is something to work at, and remind yourself of from time to time. Let's face it, life is not always sunshine and roses. It can sometimes be rough, things will go awry, and crazy things may come at you out of nowhere. The fine line between having an awful time and an enjoyable one is all in our frame of mind and perspective.

Last November, I stitched these "Give Thanks" flags as a sort of affirmation. I made them to hang by the front door of our first home when we hosted a country Thanksgiving dinner for friends, and it got me thinking about the holiday and what it's all about.  At that time last year, my husband was laid off from work, but we still had a home of our own with a little piece of land, we had two wonderful children, we had a woodstove to keep us warm, we had a pantry stocked with food that I gathered and preserved, we had our health, we had our chickens, and we had good friends to come share the holiday with us. We remained thankful for all those good things, and it saw us through those particularly hard times.

In many ways, this blog is a sharing of all those good things in life for which I am most thankful. The hard-earned fruits of my labor, the homesteading dreams, the camping, the cooking, the adventures, the small things that catch my eye, and the simple pleasures of a simpler life...writing about these is a sort of thanks-giving. It is my hope that other folks will find some inspiration here to go on out and do the things that they love, or reflect on those things that bring them joy. It's a celebration of daily life, like an ongoing Thanksgiving without the turkey, dressing, and pecan pie.

This year we were not able to travel to Washington for the family gathering due to my husband having to work and all the responsibilities of establishing a small farm and working the land. That was hard, and I don't think they're very happy with us, but we are still grateful for my husband to have a job again, and grateful to have this land to work and call our own. All of our mulching and weeding and field preparations will produce wonderful things this summer. There is much to be thankful for.

Today I am thankful for my family, my home, good friends, a full pantry, wild outdoor places, all my wild outdoor adventures, the Waldorf School, my children's teacher, wool, all the customers who have supported my handcrafting business, the garden, chickens, our local organic farms, good folk music, and just to have arrived at a place in life where I am doing many of the things I love to do. (And I'm always thankful for pie. Expect to hear more about pie.)

So, always remember to ask yourself what you are thankful for, and give thanks.

Bob the Snowman

Bob the little snowman had a radish for a nose...

Molasses Snow Candy

Remember when they made snow candy in the Little House on the Prairie books? Growing up in an area where we just didn't get a whole lot of snow, I was always fascinated by this treat. I never quite got it to work out though. I ended up with gooey messes, teeth stuck together, and goop that just tasted like plain molasses. Last year I found The Little House Cookbook by Barbara M. Walker, and lo and behold, it had the recipe for molasses snow candy! Now we just needed some snow. This is not so easily done in this part of Oregon. My children have had even less snow days than I did.

Finally, this past week the weather reports called for snow. When we woke up this morning to white outside, the first thing my kids asked me was if we could make snow candy. Then they bundled up and ran outside to play in the snow. It was 5 in the morning, so we waited until closer to lunch time.

If you have snow in your part of the world, here's the recipe for you to try.

Molasses-On-Snow Candy

1 cup dark molasses

1/2 cup brown sugar

pans for snow

First, send your kids out to pack some pans full of snow. Be sure to remind them to look for spots with clean snow where no one's been walking (or peeing, or pooping...)

Boil the molasses and sugar in a large enough saucepan to leave room for it to boil up. Stir frequently for 5 minutes, and then test by pouring into water to see if it will form little balls that don't dissolve.

Quickly pour the hot syrup over the pans of snow in little squiggles. It might want to freeze up on you, so working fast is important.

Let the candy cool and eat it when it's nice and crunchy.

The Snowy Day

I woke up at 3 in the morning, just to peek out the window. Sure enough, the ground was white! Try as I might, I just could not go back to sleep. Finally, I got up at 5 when the kids went running downstairs whooping and hollering to put on their snow gear. They went straight out to play in the snow in the dark. Can you tell we don't get snow around here much? In all the years I've lived around here, we've only seen a few snowfalls, and none of them stayed on the ground very long. Snow here is a BIG DEAL. Such a big deal that this 1" of snow closed the schools here and in all the neighboring counties for the day. Looks like a snow day!

The chickens just didn't know what to make of it. They kind of huddled around in one spot and headed back inside the coop by the heat lamp.

Most of the plants were still holding onto their leaves from the warm, late autumn, and the branches all drooped heavy with snow.

The garden was a snowy white scene, just covered with a blanket of leaf mulch for the winter, and now with an extra blanket of snow.

The last stubborn flowers peeked out under a white dusting.

Snow on the apple tree.

Snow on the last artichoke.

A wild winter morning sky.

And our snug, warm farmhouse stayed toasty with a roaring fire in the woodstove and a beeswax candle burning in the kitchen window. Snow days are wonderful!

A Full Farm Pantry

Winter is here, my farm pantry is full, and I am appreciating all the hard work of the growing season and harvest. I spend a lot of time popping in and out of my pantry for this and that throughout the day, and I always take a minute to stand there and revel in the baskets of onions, the braids of garlic, the rows of canning jars holding bright treasures of fruit and vegetables....It's really my favorite room in the house. Some folks aspire to own a fancy boat, some folks want a closet full of designer shoes, and me, I always wanted a pantry. When I stand in there and look around, I finally feel like I've made it in the world.

The floor is lined with basket and bins of all sorts of storage crops. Pie pumpkins from our field and winter squash from a local farm should keep for months, as will the cedar baskets of potatoes and garlic. The apples from Farmer John's didn't keep as long as I had hoped with the warm weather we had, so I went and picked more a couple of weeks ago at another farm to get us through until at least January. Boxes of chanterelles keep about one to two weeks, and we manage to go out on short picking jaunts in the hills behind our house to keep those boxes well stocked. They are perched above two boxes filled with the hard cider we pressed, fermented, and bottled this year. Jerusalem artichokes from our garden kept a little while in their basket before turning all mushy. I'm still trying to figure out where I went wrong there. The chickens loved them, though.

I braided our garlic and hung it from the shelves where I put up all my canned goods. Applesauce, pickled dilly beans, bread and butter pickles, corn relish, peaches, spiced pears, concord grapes in juice, apple cider, barbecue sauce, gooseberry jam, and raspberry lavender jam line the shelves in a bright bountiful rainbow. Beside them are jars of dried herbs and tea makings like nettles and Douglas-fir tips. 

Then there are the dried fruits. I dehydrated strawberries and plums from farms, tomatoes from our garden, and pears and apples that I gleaned from trees around town. Then I stared dehydrating chanterelles and ended up with gallons of them to throw in soups, rice, and stuffings. I have also found them to make an excellent bartering medium.

A big basket of the last tomatoes we brought inside sits atop the wondrous berry freezer. Inside are quarts and quarts of frozen strawberries, blueberries, huckleberries, blackberries, elderberries, peaches, and cherries. We try really hard to make them last all year, but it takes A LOT of willpower. Berries are just so tasty. Especially with fresh raw cream poured on them...

Next to this freezer is the upright freezer. This freezer mostly contains meat, including the half-pig from Sweetbriar Farm, the elk from my dad's hunt in Idaho, the chickens we butchered this summer, the ground grass-fed biodynamic beef from Wintergreen Farm, the assorted pasture-fed meats from our Deck Farms CSA box, and a few bags of beef and lamb bones for bone broth. There are also a couple of jars of frozen lard I rendered this fall, some gallon bags of frozen pole beans from our garden, frozen grapes, 24 jars of frozen salsa we made, about that many jars of homemade strawberry jam, baby food jars full of vegan pesto, and a couple weeks worth of frozen bread from a local gluten-free bakery and my free day-old bread source. It's one full freezer!

 

Then there is the bountiful basket of winter squash. The local Food For Lane County Youth Farm offers organically grown storage crops every fall at a very reasonable price, and I always try to stock up. We ate the last of our squash from them in April last year. It was still delicious.

What pantry would be complete without potatoes? Some of these we grew in straw in our garden and some are from the Youth Farm. We eat a lot of potatoes around here, and it's nice to just go out and grab a few whenever we need them without always going to buy a bag at the store. These are kept in some handcrafted cedar baskets from a Jamestown Sklallam Tribe woodcarver near where I grew up. My parents won them at the local Streamfest one year, and I have been keeping veggies in them ever since. Cedar has some incredible bug-resistant qualities, and makes an excellent storage container for food.

So, there it all is, the fruits of my labor packed into one little storage room with very thick walls.  I don't think I'm leaving anything out. The very best thing about it all is that I gathered, harvested, gleaned, and preserved it myself. Some of it came from local farmers, but it feels very different than food from the store because I went out to their farms and met them. I picked from their trees, I petted their animals, I helped support their efforts directly to pay their bills and put food on their family tables. I can honestly say I have an entirely different relationship with my food and sustenance than when I started out in life. It's a good feeling.

Let the snow come a'flying. I've got a full pantry.

November Yurt Camping

Could I ever say enough about winter camping in yurts? We are so fortunate to have these simple, economical camping shelters at our Oregon coast state parks. They are warm and snug, they are round, they are fun, and they really get us out there in the winter time. It's quite the experience to lie in bed and look up through the skylight in a rainstorm or on a clear night at the stars.

If you have not had the good fortune of spending time in one of these shelters yet, here is a good description from the Pacific Yurts website, "What is a Yurt?: 

 The Pacific Yurt is a modern adaptation of the ancient shelter used by Central Asian nomads for centuries. The compact shape of the yurt and combination of lightweight members in tension and compression mean that the structure is highly efficient in maximizing strength while minimizing the use of materials.

The Pacific Yurt is a lightweight, low-cost, state-of-the-art version that retains the sense of wholeness of the ancient form while delivering the structural integrity, longevity and low maintenance demanded by modern users.

Though generally classified as a tent, the yurt is much stronger and weathertight. The Pacific Yurt is a circular structure that consists of a durable fabric cover, tension band and a wood frame that includes a lattice wall, radial rafters, central compression ring and a framed door. "

I highly recommend stopping by Pacific Yurt's website at: http://www.yurts.com/. I find that I can't help lingering in their yurt showrooms along highway 99 outside of Cottage Grove every time I'm down that way. I like to pretend I live in them.

 

If the Oregon Coast isn't too much of a haul for you, you can reserve these camping yurts at the Oregon State Parks website, and scroll down to the bottom to see the campgrounds that have them. There are a couple of campgrounds in the Bend area that have them as well. It's nice to know that come rain, wind, snow, or sleet, you can still go out camping and have a place to stay warm and dry.

Happy Winter Camping!

That's Some Gall!

Have you ever noticed these strange round balls while your feet crunch along through the oak leaves in the fall? When I first moved here I had no idea what they were. Perhaps some strange fruit produced by oak trees? My kids thought they were fascinating. Maybe they were some sort of little fairy balls? I soon learned that these were oak galls. What, you might wonder, is an oak gall? Well, dear readers, I will tell you.

Our native oak trees, Quercus garryana, or Oregon White Oak hosts an abnormal growth called a gall, formed by the Oregon Oak Gall Wasp (Besbicus mirabilis). These little wasps actually change the hormonal make-up and growth of the plant, causing it to create a nice little home for their larvae to grow up in until they're ready to make their way out into the world.  

I found some more detailed info on one website called Paul and Bernice Noll's Window on the World:

"Galls are modified plant tissue. This tissue is often highly elaborate, species-distinctive and host-specific. Most galls form when the invading organism causes hormonal changes in the plant, which stimulates rapid abnormal plant growth. These abnormal growths divert food away from normal tissues, weakening the plant. Moreover, the fast rate of growth may also crush normal tissues, cutting off sap flow or otherwise interfering with plant function. Galls serve as both a food source and shelters for these organisms. The galls found on our oak trees are cause by a cynipid wasp. Female cynipids lay their eggs in into actively growing meristematic tissue. The wasp larva uses the gall as shelter and feeds on the gall tissue. It pupates within the gall, and then the adult chews an exit hole to emerge. These galls do not cause major damage to the tree. The best way to gain control of this problem is to prune out the affected areas and destroy the galls."

There are so many different little homes all around us in nature. It's really kind of wild when you think about it. So, the next time you notice these oak galls lying around on the ground, stop and check one out. If you have kids, let them bring one home to study, or just to decorate your fall nature table.  They really are quite beautiful with their shiny reddish brown spots and almost perfect roundness. It's amazing what a tiny little bug can do.

Lantern Walk

We arrived at our children's Waldorf school in the evening and walked down the dark hallway to their classroom where a soft glow was spilling out of the door. Inside sat their teacher playing softly on a small harp and singing a lantern walk song. All of the candle lanterns they had made from jars covered in tissue paper and dried leaves were sitting on their desks with cheerful little flames flickering inside. They sat in a circle singing their lantern walk song and then we made a procession outside along a path lit by tin can luminaries down to the lower field. There we joined the first grade, second grade, and kindergarten students for some storytelling and performances lit by more tin can lanterns hanging from the tree branches above. All the children held lanterns of all sorts. One class had folded paper origami lanterns, one had round watercolor paper lanterns with soft colors and shapes cut out. One class had thin round tissue paper-mache balls with leaves inside that appeared to be formed over balloons like a pinata. These were hanging from the end of a stick on a string, swinging merrily in front of the kids as they walked. After the performances we gathered for hot cider and treats around a campfire. It was a truly magical evening.

This is the celebration of Martinmas. It is a Waldorf tradition for families to carry lanterns under starry November skies in celebration of Saint Martin of Tours, who is known for his good deeds, including sharing his cloak on a cold night with a humble beggar. As we move toward the winter months, and the days grow shorter, festivals of light are celebrated all around the world to remind us to keep our inner light shining through the darkness.

Here is our class lantern walk song:

WILD GEESE

High and blue the sky
trees are very tall

wild geese flying seem so small

see on silent wings in flocks they go

never parting from a single row

we go through the land

like a wild gees band

brothers in one flight are we

clear and dark the night

star are very bright

lantern shining seems so small

see in single file we walk along

singing joyfully our lantern song

we go through the land

like a wild gees band

sisters in one light are we

She's Gone Nuts!

When I moved to Oregon, one of the first things I noticed were all the nuts...hazelnuts that is. They're everywhere! While I had never really paid them any mind before, I soon realized what a tasty local food resource was available here. After all those hazelnuts fall to the ground in the hazelnut orchards, the farmers come through with their tractors and scoop up as much as they can for harvesting, but there are still quite a few left behind. This makes for an excellent gleaning opportunity.

A couple of weeks ago I went out to Dorris Ranch, a local living history hazelnut farm and park. They had just finished the harvest in time for the Haunted Hayride, and the roads were lined with hundreds of jack-o-lanterns in preparation for the event. It was just as stunning to see all those bright orange pumpkins lining the road in the daylight as it is at night when they're all aglow. It definitely added some cheer to my rainy morning harvesting.

A couple of hours spent gathering the nuts in the rain yielded a couple of good sized baskets full. I took them home and washed them really well since they were muddy and this orchard isn't managed using organic methods. Ideally, I would like to find an organic hazelnut farm to glean from with the farmer's permission, but I'm still working on that.

I will be spending many cold, rainy days cracking hazelnuts by the warm, toasty woodstove this winter. The really lovely thing about them is I can just let them sit as long as I need to until I have time to get to them.

Nuts are not demanding, and that's why I love them so.

Autumn in the Country: A Tour in Photographs

In the rolling hills, and fields, and farmlands Autumn has covered everything like a warm colorful quilt in preparation for the winter. Gardens are harvested, pantries are full, flocks of geese are departing overhead and cheerful wisps of smoke curl out of chimneys. This fall has been magnificent with the late warm weather and sunny days. My wish to have my favorite season go on and on seems to be coming true. There are so many beautiful things to see this time of year out in Oregon's countryside, I thought I'd share a few here. 

Morning Mist Over the Fields

Fallen Oak Leaves

Rose Hips

Just One of the Pumpkins

Spider's Lace

Golden Orb Spider's Egg Sac in the Wheat

Chickens Eating Wind-fall Apples

Vine Maple (Acer Circinatum)

Golden Leaves Make Their Way Indoors

Afternoons Spent Under the Mulberry Tree