Posted March 2nd.

I am writing this from an exhausted state. My feet are too sore to stand, my eyes are dry, the skin around my knuckles is cracked, and despite being inside for over an hour I am still chilled. Our Sunday was centered around tapping our maple trees. We have not tapped our trees since the first winter we lived here in 2019. We had no official set up and no experience. I am not sure if we even had spiles? I remember being armed with a drill, mason jars, and a ball of string. The jars caught the sap as it flowed down the tree and were intricately tied around trunks and branches. We had no pot to boil in outside and I still worked out of the home at the time so I wasn’t able to keep an eye on a fire anyways. It was a mess but made some delicious maple candies my family remembers fondly. This year we had buckets, spiles, tubes, and an enormous stock pot. Much to our delight we had enough sap the next day to sample. Sap water contains electrolytes and antioxidants. In my humble opinion it tastes like marshmallows. 

This month brought much relief in finally finding out what has been so severely effecting my health. I have Hashimoto’s Disease. While there is a great sense of disappointment with autoimmune diseases in that there’s no cure, there is so much relief in having a name, a framework to operate from. There is the bad news that I am highly likely to develop another autoimmune disease now but fortunately dietary changes (like saying goodbye to my greatest love: white flour) has started to help. After switching to a new medication that made me have crippling dizzy spells my doctor recommended I try and get some electrolytes in while I wait out the transition. It seems that every time I need something it shows up right in my backyard. Instead of buying Gatorade or even coconut water I’ve got electrolytes flowing through my yard for free. So many times every year I am reminded the plants are listening and that I just need to listen to them before I buy a supplement or medicine. I am so grateful for having access to health insurance, over the counter medicine, and doctors for the things nature cannot replace. I am also grateful for access to land that allows me to fill in the gaps and get a large portion of my needs met. 

Winter used to fill me with such dread but as an adult with a few years of homesteading under my belt I now cherish all the seasons. January and February are really the only two months of the year where I have nothing to answer to outside of my own curiosity. These deep winter months allow me to spend each day wandering in the woods, sleeping in, and hardly ever needing to leave home. The last two weeks of February gently pull me back in to homesteading. I have to water the seeds in the basement, I have to start prepping the raised beds, and now the sap buckets will need to be checked regularly and eventually boiled. I am excited about spring projects but will miss the six weeks where I belong to no one but the cold and snow. I am relieved we are able to spend the majority of our day outside again. It’s so hard to get ourselves all bundled up just to return soaking wet with frozen toes an hour later. There is no longer piles of mittens, hats and boots strewn about the hearth attempting to dry before their owner puts them on for dress up. Some days weren’t warm enough to safely go out at all and turned into Little Bear marathons with three hour naps. I am so happy to not rely on any TV until late in the day after three or more hours spent outdoors. 

Jadzia helped me start seeds this year. I used to get overly excited and start almost all my seeds in February only to have some very cramped Tomatoes weeks before the last frost date. This week we started green onions, spinach, chard, and red russian kale. Once we assemble our deck planters they will hang out in there covered up and ready to be picked for the kitchen. Gardening with children is really hard and not always a respectful use of anyone’s time. It would be so unfair to be asked to be part of a project and then just constantly told “no” and “don’t touch that.” When people think of gardening with children there’s images of little sun kissed five year olds in sun hats holding a ripe red tomato. Most of gardening, even as an adult, is not centered around harvest crops. Most of gardening is a constant, sometimes agonizing, meticulous care while you patiently wait for signs of life. This could also be applied to the process of parenting. There should be much more emphasis on the mundane tasks that are not only crucial to the overall process but in the respectful involvement of children. What child doesn’t love scooping and sorting dirt? I also included Jadzia in using dryer lint to line the seed trays which keeps dirt from falling out and also retains moisture. She was also included in the actual sowing part which of course was messy and probably not a super ideal growing environment but life finds a way. Another important step in sowing seeds with kids is to do the little seeds (chamomile, oregano, etc) on your own and let the kids do the big seeds. It is not only easier for them to handle but also see once they’re plopped in the dirt. Swiss Chard is a great example of a kid-friendly seed as it is not only large but textured as well. 

We’ve been spending lots of time getting to know our yard from the knee level down. Matt set up trail cameras so we could watch some old fox dens that have been recycled by new critters. One was occupied by a skunk who is neighbors with a very rotund possum and a very active mouse who set off the trail camera dozens of times. Jadzia is now able to successfully identify deer and rabbit scat. It is so nice to be young and not bored by common animals yet. I use bunny fur to observe where a fox or coyote had a kill and Jadzia is just excited to see bunny fur because she loves a good bunny. She is really interested in deer now and daily requests to watch “deer” (Bambi). I’ve seen Bambi more this month than maybe in my entire life and have seen the sequel (never again!) Jadzia also loves The Fox and the Hound. She seems to be unaware her two favorite movies are also the two saddest Disney movies ever made. It makes so much sense to me, though, as these movies are all in a North American forest setting. She knows almost all the animals and many of them are right in her backyard. I wish media for kids included more accessible animals instead of constantly showing them ones they will only see in zoos. 

I have found so many bones at the very back tree line of our land. I made earrings from a squirrel jaw I found at the base of a tree. They were very old and brittle and the teeth are small and hard to glue back in so I didn’t have high hopes. They still turned out beautiful despite losing a few teeth in the process. I think the next time I make another pair of bone earrings I will use something more durable such a deer teeth. This month I found three piles of coyote poop and one fox poop. The winter snow melt left me a gift in the mud with a very defined partial carnivore track. I looked down and saw a tiny disc of mud dried in the afternoon sun with two claws and two toe pads cast into it. I excitedly brought it home and Matt asked me if that was mud or poop. I told him I really didn’t know but look how awesome it is! Unfortunately I was not able to measure it before it broke outside on our porch railing but it was most certainly coyote or fox. 

Jadzia has been totally enamored with moss. She points it out everywhere and gently pet it, which has been surprising to see as with her and most toddlers their first instinct is to rip something out. Yesterday afternoon she laid down on the forest floor to quietly examine moss and acorns next to some very small baby juniper trees. I felt envious that I am no longer able to crawl on my knees through the woods. I think about this quote on a daily basis but felt strongly reminded of it watching my child be so close to the earth:

“You can’t see anything from a car; you’ve got to get out of the goddamn contraption and walk, better yet crawl, on hands and knees, over the sandstone and through the thornbrush and cactus. When traces of blood begin to mark your trail, you’ll see something, maybe.” 

-Edward Abbey, Desert Solitaire