Inscape

"I do not think that I have ever seen anything 

more beautiful than the bluebell ...

 I know the beauty of the Lord by it."

~ Gerard Manley Hopkins

Spring will depart in days, and I am looking ahead to summer. It's been a strange year, weather-wise and otherwise. We had the wettest winter on record, which is saying something for Oregon. February and March, when normally we are planning the garden and readying it for planting, were unsalvageable with snow and excessive amounts of rain. April was just as gross. Rosie and I managed to run out in between storms and get some peas planted, which are doing pretty poorly.

 I didn't even look through a seed catalog until April.  

With the constant cold and wet, I felt my zeal for homesteading draining out of me. In contrast, I was putting a lot of energy and attention toward activities that were less farmy in nature, but challenging to me in new and different ways. My favorite poet, Gerard Manley Hopkins, is best known for his concept of "inscape" - the notion that every living creature has a given essence, characteristics, an essential nature, that tell us about God and His character. I suppose I've used these past months to grow and refine my inscape. 

My best friend Emily and I started a classics bookclub, plus (nerd-alert) I'm reading along with a podcast bookclub; I began tutoring at our Classical Conversation co-op; I spoke at two different events; and I ran a Ragnar Trail relay in Zion National Park. So now I'm actually realizing that this lull in farm life was a gift for this season to allow me to pursue some different, but stretching and worthwhile activities. It's also given me time to really ponder what God has for me in the future and where He wants me to most focus my time and energy. 

   

There have now been a few sunny days and enough beauty to be found that I am again feeling the love and looking forward to the coming season of bounty. 

We have been busy making up for a lost spring. Here are a few snapshots of some Good Gifts: 

There were very few days during bloom that were hospitable to pollinators, so we are hoping our fruit trees will produce. Caleb is enough concerned that he has come around to the idea that we should probably have our own hives. (Woot woot!!!)

We have many new chicken faces (and stories) around here... I'll save those for another day.

Egg production has picked up and my egg business is still not paying the chicken-bills. Haha. 

My kids are wild and free.

We likely have a thriving fairy colony here at Good Gifts Farm.

No matter the weather or the difficulty or the unknowns, I know Him who holds my days in His hands.

 God's Grandeur

The world is charged with the grandeur of God. 

It will flame out, like shining from shook foil;

It gathers to a greatness, like the ooze of oil

Crushed. Why do men then now not reck his rod?

Generations have trod, have trod, have trod;

And all is seared with trade; bleared, smeared

with toil;

And wears man's smudge and shares man's 

smell: the soil

Is bare now, nor can foot feel, being shod.

And for all this, nature is never spent;

There lives the dearest freshness deep down

things;

And though the last lights off the black West went

Oh, morning, at the brown brink eastward,

springs---

Because the Holy Ghost over the bent

World broods with warm breast and with ah!

bright wings.

~ Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844-1889)

Spring Scenes: A Photojournal

Blows the thaw-wind pleasantly,

Drips the soaking rain,

By fits looks down the waking sun:

Young grass springs on the plain;

Young leaves clothe early hedgerow trees;

Seeds, and roots, and stones of fruits,

Swollen with sap put forth their shoots;

Curled-headed ferns sprout in the lane;

Birds sing and pair again.

~ Christina Rossetti, Spring

New hope

New paths

New growth

New potential

New life

New animals

New friends

New plans

New beauty

New vision

There is no time like Spring,

When life's alive in everything,

Before new nestlings sing,

Before cleft swallows speed their journey back

Along the trackless track--

God guides their wing,

He spreads their table that they nothing lack,--

Before the daisy grows a common flower,

Before the sun has power

To scorch the world up in his noontide hour.

~Christina Rossetti, Spring

Fullness

Be still and know that I am God. 

Psalm 46:10

Britton and Elisabeth enjoying the view and the stillness
and the breeze of a Spring afternoon from the barn roof.

Britton transporting my garden plants from car to garden

Holding Pattern
Spring is usually such a time of possibility - What new flowers do I want to try? What new animals do we want to raise? What new vegetables do I want to grow? But this year we have just been intent on daily survival amidst chaos and keeping all current animals alive. The above verse has been a good one for me. We did get fruit trees pruned and I did get my garden planted, though slightly smaller than last year. The repeat plantings from last year are tomatoes, tomatillos, peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce, kale, spinach, peas, green beans, watermelon, cantaloup, cucumbers, zucchini, yellow squash, butternut squash and pumpkins. The only new ventures are corn and onions. I am also trying carrot seeds again, which failed miserably last year. I've seen those pesky robins rooting around in my seed area, so I'm thinking that may have been what went wrong. Our raspberries are suffering from an unknown malady and our strawberry patch is about 50% smaller than last year. But the marionberries look to inundate us once again, and I still have a bunch in my freezer. (No complaints!) My pantry is still about half-full of last year's canning, so I'm feeling relieved that I can do less this coming summer and still have plenty of home-grown things to eat throughout the coming year.   

Too Many Cows 

Goggles, a beautiful boy

In the winter pastures go dormant and grass does not grow. (Think about how you don't need to mow your grass between November and March, even though it is still green.) So all winter we fed our Mama cows, Stripe and Splotch, hay and more hay and more hay. We grossly underestimated the amount of hay we would need and bought bale after bale from those wonderful neighbors I always mention. Yet the Mamas got skinnier and skinnier. By March we called our neighbors and asked what they thought was going on. They said that nursing the Boys was probably taking its toll and that we needed to wean them. They were 9 months old after all. It was time. We came up with a plan where the Mamas would go down to our neighbors for a couple of weeks until the Boys were weaned and the Mamas dried up. Our neighbors cautioned us to pen the Boys up in the pasture farthest away from their property because they had done this process before with the previous owner and the cows went straight through the fence to reunite.

Mask and Elinor playing peak-a-boo

For two days we (and the rest of our neighbors) endured the piteous crying of four miserable cows calling back and forth to each other. It really was one of the most pathetic things I've witnessed. Finally our neighbor called and said that the plan wasn't working. The Mamas were too distressed to eat and were just pacing back and forth along the fence line. He suggested we bring the Mamas back, but keep them in a pasture next to the Boys, so they could be near each other but not nurse. This did the trick. The Mamas licked their Boys through the fence, which was a very sweet sight, but after a week or so everyone seemed over it.  

An Irish Dexter

Because of the amount of hay required to feed two nursing moms through the winter, Caleb decided that maybe we should sell the Mamas. He did some research and discovered the Irish Dexter Cow. They are considered the perfect homestead cow because they are half the size of our Herefords, standing only 36" tall, and requiring half the feed. Of course, you get half the amount of meat, but we would still have plenty for ourselves and some to sell. When we attended the Oregon Poultry Swap in February, a local farmer who raises Irish Dexters was there and we had the opportunity to pick her brain. She said when an Irish Dexter is in milk, even after nursing her calf, you can milk once a day and get 1-2 gallons, whereas a true dairy breed gives 5-9 gallons a day - way too much for the average family. We decided this is the direction we wanted to go and so formulated a new plan: We would sell the two Mamas to our neighbors (who had become very attached to them when they cow-sat last summer for two months and had offered to buy them), butcher the Boys in November or December when they are 18 months old, and buy two Irish Dexter Heifers, preferably already bred, in January. We have completed step one of that plan: Stripe and Splotch now live across the street.   

cRaZy Times
I haven't had a kitchen in 10 weeks. And not only no kitchen, but no family room, dining room, or basement either. We have been living in the Living Room. Is it possible to fit any more life into one room?

The room is hosting the piano, TV, computer, dining room table, microwave, toaster and coffee maker, training potty, (I abandoned this effort after one day. I just don't have it in me right now.), the coat tree and shoe basket (our entry foyer is off limits also), four kids, two dogs, one cat and the fish tank. On the back deck is the refrigerator and camp stove. The toaster oven is set up in the garage. I use the sink in the laundry room (when I can get to it). 

Mama cooking on the camp stove.

People keep asking me what we're eating. Here's the pretty complete rundown: cereal, pre-packaged snacks, tuna sandwiches, hot dogs, crockpot stew, quesadillas, and taco salad. You know, life just goes on and we've adjusted. The kids are doing school in extremely tight quarters with a lot of construction noise around them, but life goes on. We figure out what to eat because we're hungry, and life goes on. I am mindful that much of the world would be very thankful to have a propane stove and clean running water so that helps give me perspective. (Though I'm not denying it has been hard. I am SO ready to be done with the chaos and excited to have a new kitchen!)

For the past two days (and for the next seven) we have been completely out of the living room as well. We are only allowed in the bedrooms. Thankfully we have a random sliding door in the bedroom hallway that we've always laughed at, but allows us to actually leave our house during this time. Elisabeth said, "We have to live in our bedrooms?? This just keeps getting worse!!" It's definitely getting worse before it gets better. But after these nine days... completion. And then five days later, on to much bigger and better things....

CHINA BOUND

We leave in twelve days for China. Paperwork is complete, tickets are bought, itineraries are settled, and a little boy waits for his family. People keep asking me if I'm excited. I definitely am, but it's not a pure excitement. It is twinged with some anxiety about the unknowns and a greater understanding than we had the first time around of the woundedness that our son will bring home with him. It is impossible that two years in an orphanage won't leave their mark. BUT, we are thankful that we know the One who heals and pray He will use our love and our home as vessels of healing for Graham Jeffrey. We welcome him into our family with open arms and the excitement lies in watching Graham's story unfold and merge into ours, for our God is also the Master Storyteller. 

I can't believe I will be pinching these cheeks in just a couple of weeks! Pray for us, Friends. Pray for the logistics of our trip and for our hearts to be open and loving. Pray for Graham as his world is about to be rocked completely. And please pray for the kiddos and grandparents back home, especially Rosie who struggles with being away from us. 

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory...

Ephesians 3:20-21 

Goodbye, Winter

Winter is officially over. Happy Spring! We have spent the past two months enjoying a REAL snow, pruning our eight fruit trees, grapes and berry patch, weeding the garden for spring planting, wondering if we're feeding our cows enough and if they are really pregnant, caring for twelve baby chicks and building the coop for them to move into in a few weeks, basking in the glorious warmth of Arizona, celebrating and reflecting on one year with Rosalie, and ringing in Elisabeth's sixth year.

Snow

"I wonder if the snow loves the trees and fields, 
that it kisses them so gently? 
And then it covers them up snug, 
you know, with a white quilt? 
and perhaps it says 'Go to sleep darlings, 
till the summer comes again.' "
~ Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass 

Poor Rosalie with her little size 2 nubs for feet…
they don't make snow boots that size, 
so she was not able to partake in the snow fun.

Caleb was in Chicago for three days and it dumped snow the entire time he was away. We had over a foot by the time he returned to us. It was spectacularly beautiful and we closed off one of the pastures  for sledding. Britton and I had to feed and water the cows twice a day (their water froze very quickly) and for the first time, we let them sleep in the barn. (Actually, we were feeding them from one of the stalls and they pushed their way in and wouldn't leave.) The pipes in the barn burst and water gushed for 24 hours. Caleb tried to explain (from Chicago) where to turn it off, but the amount of knobs and pipes in this place is astounding. I was in the attic of the shop turning knobs like mad when actually the correct knob was in the basement of our house. These things are beyond me.  Times like this are when I solemnly tell Caleb, "Don't ever die." And I mean that for many, many reasons, but life's logistics are certainly one of them.

The perfect sledding hill right on
our own property

Cows
We have received a lot of conflicting information about our cows, and since we are ignorant on the subject, we are often confused. For example, the plan set up for us by the previous owners was that we should allow our cows to give birth, wean their calves after six months and then slaughter the moms and raise the babies. Sounds good, that's what we'll do. But then a "cow" person recently told us that the moms will be too old (nearly three) and not good for anything but hamburger. I don't want 2000 pounds of hamburger. Hmmm… what should we do? Also, the previous owner said he rarely supplemented their grazing and that if you give them hay then that is all they want because they are lazy and being hand-fed hay is much easier than grazing. So we were occasionally giving them hay, but for the most part were just letting them graze. However, they were constantly yelling at us. Let me tell you, it is unsettling to be yelled at by a cow. They would even stalk me, standing outside the kitchen window and yelling at me as I did dishes. It did cause us to wonder if they were getting enough to eat. Thankfully, a kind neighbor (who we've never met) called to tell us that, pardon the intrusion, but he thinks our cows are too skinny. We were so thankful! Now we are feeding them more. (And they still yell at us some, but I think they're mostly just being greedy.)

The Girls… pregnant or not???

The other source of confusion lies in if the cows are really pregnant. Everyone made it sound like if the bull spends time with them, it is a done deal… of course they're pregnant! I know in the human world that is not necessarily the case but apparently with cows matters are much more certain. So we proceeded on that assumption. Now six months later, we are left wondering. I have a strange glitch in my brain where I cannot tell if people have gained weight. Honestly, if you are my friend and you are packing it on, I will be oblivious. I will tell you you look great and I will mean it. This extends even to myself. I am clueless until I see an unfortunate picture of myself (this happened recently and we had a treadmill delivered yesterday - I'm on it!). It is the same with the cows - I can't tell if they're bigger. I've resorted to holding older pictures up to them in an attempt to distinguish any difference. So how do we find out definitively if they are pregnant?  I've googled it and the answer lies in a rubber glove and an arm disappearing up to the elbow. I think we'll just wait and see...

March 4, 2014, Rosalie's One-Year Forever Family Day

I began this blog to chronicle our adoption of Rosalie. Now the adoption is no longer "the" story but an interwoven part of the grander tapestry that is The Williams' Story. She is one of us now and ours is one story. 

A lady working at Home Depot recently said with a laugh,"She looks like she's full of it!" I said, "How did you know???" And she totally is. This girl is spunky, strong-willed, observant, intelligent, and hilarious. I truly believe that her spunk enabled her to survive all that she went through in China. And now, one year later, at least twice a day I look at Rosalie in amazement and thank God that she is ours. I don't do that with my other children,(though of course I love them and am so thankful for them). They came to us in such a normal and natural way that it doesn't regularly inspire awe. But when I look at that sweet face, I see a miracle. I see the very Hand of God moving through time and space and circumstances to bring us together. I see Redemption and Grace and the way He cares for the individual. I see a Divine Plan for a life that once appeared bleak, Hope for a future that once appeared grim. I cannot wait to see how God is going to use her spunk for His glory.