friday 5

friday 5 at the farm, random animal stories

December 17, 2021

Friends, hello, hi! I have less than 38 minutes to type a blog post before it’s time to get ready for a double date. So here we go. And there will be errors. There Will Be Errors. (If you repeat that to yourself dramatically it sounds like a movie title.)

Story Number One: Remember the brassica garden that was eaten voraciously by the chickens in, maybe September? Well the plants there have bounced back. They have bounced back so hard, you guys, and in fact now have cabbages and cauliflower growing enormously. Nature is amazing! I posted more about this on Instagram a few days ago. I am so happy. That particular garden healing has brought me lots of hope for spiritual battles.

Story Number Two: Today while refreshing nesting box hay and refilling waters in the chicken coop, a brick-red rooster strutted up to me, blinked sideways in that skeptical, sneering (but lovable) poultry way, and proceeded to sip fresh cold water straight from the garden hose. From the hose, you guys, like a little kid! Klaus saw this and gently snooted the rooster away to enjoy his own slurp, as this is his domain, thank you very much, along with the rest of the farm and all fun activities.

Story Number Three: I have dropped the ball on decorating one animal every day for Advent, but we are giving them all as much Christmas cheer as is farmishly possible, and we are definitely celebrating Advent ourselves in sweet little ways every day. Anyway. Ever since the day that Dusty got his fancy mane bows, Chanta has been hinting that it is, in fact his turn. He is sweetly aggressive about it, so I predict a braiding session this weekend.

Story Number Four: Another chicken coop story, but about the ducks. While I was in there cleaning up, the interior door fell open too far. We have the ducks separated for safety, and the chickens and roosters are free to pass back and fort, over the half wall. Mike Meyers Lemon followed me to the goose-occupied half of the coop yard and started freaking out because he was to far from Rick Astlee. He was too upset to allow me to just pick him up, so I walked a wide, slow circle behind him to give him a chance to see the open door. Meanwhile, Rick, from the other side of the pallet wall divider, started quacking in a higher and higher tone and more and more rapidly, just exactly the way Mike used to call for him last summer, when Rick would occasionally be lost at sunset. Who remembers that story? GAH! These ducks. They love each other. They are bros! Duck Bros! Rick’s quacking lured Mike with loving precision through the open door, and Klaus followed behind with much chuffing and a big, toothy grin.

Story Number Five: My husband outdid himself with Christmas lights and inflatables this year, and that’s saying a lot because he does a great job every year. We wake up to colorful cheerfulness early every morning, and we see it before bed too, thanks to the magic of programmable timers. Yesterday Klaus and I played fetch well after sunset, in the dark, with confetti lights and lasers flying all over him and the lawn. I loved it so much, and I loved it all over again today when I saw a bit of the action of security footage ha! More modern conveniences bringing us joy.

Ok that’s it! Time to scrape the chicken, umm, debris from my earlobes, find a clean tank top, and spritz some Febreze on my jeans. It’s Friday night in the big town! (Locals, name the meteorologist who used to say that)

How many errors did you find? Please check in soon for a whole post about JOY!!

ALL IS MERRY AND BRIGHT
XOXOXOXO

friday 5 at the farm: bouts of optimism

August 7, 2020

What a week! What a luscious, productive, happy week. And we still have the entire weekend to enjoy and maximize.

Our weather here in Oklahoma has been unseasonably mild, so I was able to dive headlong into gardening tasks without once stopping to say, “Whew, hot enough fer ya?” Maybe it has been the weather, in fact, that spawned a pleasant wash of optimism. Here are five ways this optimism has manifested:

ONE: After wrestling all spring and summer with a muscle imbalance and some shifting tendon pain and joint stiffness, I am feeling pretty good again, almost fully normal. This week I have found myself thinking more about long term running goals, and this particular optimism is thrilling. In my situation, having the 2020 race calendar wiped clean is not a big deal. My heart goes out to my friends, many of whom are pretty devastated and also out lots of money for travel accomodations on top of race fees, but my goals will keep. I am in no hurry, and the joy I get from running is actually sweeter when I extract it in privacy.

TWO: Speaking of running, yesterday it seemed like a very good idea to take Klaus for a four or five mile run. We had such fun! He was all sparkly eyes and and high legs, exploring one of my favorite run spots in Choctaw. But we called it good after one mile and went home, ha! I finished on the treadmill while he slept like a sweet fluffy bear in winter hibernation.

THREE: With roughly 93 days still to grow food before our first frost, I planted lots of new seeds like small pumpkins and more winter squash. Also several new leafy greens and radishes. I also ordered even more seeds for the late summer push, many of which need almost 100 days to grow to food-fruition, ha! It feels good, though. It’s fine. I have a positive sense about them all.

FOUR: This week I have allowed myself to daydream more and more about travel, as unlikely as it seems right now. My imagination has included a tropical getaway with my husband, a fun New Orleans week, a hiking excursion in Colorado with Jocelyn and Jessica, a Mexico trip with Gen to run the Copper Canyon mountains, and even a trip to Europe. I would love, at some point, to visit Germany with Jessica (see the convent she once considered) and Spain with everyone to see Joey & Halee & their boys while they are deployed there, and Italy with Handsome. I was lucky enough to travel Italy at age 13 or 14, with our church choir. How amazing would it be to see it all again, as an adult.

FIVE: I woke up this morning to a husband who was ribs-deep in design plans for a sweat lodge. Or maybe a yurt. Ok like a spacious teepee, but not exactly. I personally want it to have a combination of Native American and Tibetan aesthetics. The functions will be various, for all kinds of health and wellness practices. More to come, friends; we are very, very, very excited. Something he and I have in common is a gnawing hunger to make plans, to build things, and to advance the farm constantly along its path to being a full bodied human retreat and community epicenter.

As I finish typing this, our overnight rain and thunder are edging eastward past the farm, and the sky is brightening up. Our forecast is less mild now, more summery from here on out, but we love that too. Having made good use of this past week of easy temps and low humidity, I am excited to sweat hard and luxuriate poolside again.

What has you feeling optimistic today? And is there anything on your heart, in your life, to which I can lend some of my optimism? I wish you something better than you expect. A long ribbon of magic that absolutely takes your breath away!

Believe it, give thanks for it all, ahead of time.
XOXOXOXO

friday fun

July 24, 2020

The frozen treats were a fun success! Below you can see the South Flock carefully investigating their bundt shaped, icy vitamins and minerals. Jess and I revisited the scene an hour or so later, and the smooth top was choppy and melting, the herbs and veggies exposed. The most intrested party seems to have been that good looking rooster there on the right.

A few special memories from today, so we can enjoy them later:

ONE: Bean has a penchant for jumping in to “rescue” his momma when she disappears underwater. And he is getting really good at jumping really far from the ladder!

TWO: Klaus and Bean are excellent teammates when it comes to warding off Amazon drivers, etc. But they are a little competitive when it comes to plush animal toys. And fetching softballs.

THREE: Garden veggies make the best Italian marinara ingredients, and Jessica has the touch! She chopped, sauteed, simmered, seasoned, tasted, seasoned again, and stirred her heart out until, two hours later, we had the most delicious sauce for pasta and meatballs.

FOUR: She also has the touch for soft cinnamon rolls! Wow. If we all sleep well tonight, we should be so filled with energy tomorrow, ha!

FIVE: Today we proved again that open, fearless conversation about hard things is fruitful, refreshing, and healing.

Sweet sleep, friends! I watched a TED talk this morning about mindfulness and neuroplasticity, and I have a book to discuss with you, but it will all have to wait. Our bellies are full of pasta and soft cinnamon roll goodness, and our comfy bed beckons.

CHOOSE JOY.
Stay on the path of peace.
XOXOXOXO

friday 5 at the farm, cold & happy

February 8, 2019

What a week! Another one! Solid, satisfying hard work, mostly top-loaded onto Monday through Wednesday for me (pretty nonstop for Handsome) and prayers answered left and right. Deep hopes and big requests, both for us and for our nearest people, are being met with generosity and Love. I’m stunned by a lot of it. Thankful, to say the least. And humbled by how so many people are carrying heavy burdens. More than they show.

Okay.

It’s time for a Friday 5 at the Farm post, some snapshots of really happy moments this week:

001 Klaus and I have been redeeming as many hours as possible, moving dirt and compost all over the place, daydreaming the whole time about growing season and all the parties we’ll have soon. This particular corner of the farm especially has captured my imagination. It’s over on the south edge of the lawn area, a curvy little spot with a half-buried rock patio. There’s a miniature fire pit adjacent to it on one side (where my spade is stuck in the photo), plus our hot tub on the other. My first task was removing glorious dirt and ash from that bonfire pit and replacing it to a nearby raised bed.
Then that ocean of dry oak leaves got raked off, though it’s hardly a permanent solution. #wind This morning at 4:43 a.m., I woke up with a jolt, having realized that this will be the Moon Garden, something I have wanted for about 20 years. Stay tuned.

002 Our frigid cold weather has, inexplicably, not dissuaded my appetite for post-run protein smoothies. One day I doused the blender magic with frozen blueberries, to match my blue lips and swollen blue hands. It’s a theme, and a delicious one.

003 Wildflower seeds! A friend of ours recently suggested I browse this company’s stock, and I am so glad she did. Shipping is cheap ($7 flat) and pricing, growing instructions and everything else is straight forward. Now I just need to narrow down my wishes a little bit. The biggest use for wildflowers at the farm will be the front field meadow and the Curves & Edges meadow, there along the driveway to the north. Very exciting!! The sand is all filled in now with prairie grass, just begging for some native color.

004 Speaking of seeds, these are growing!! Broccoli sprouts are getting fluffy and reach for the run all day long. I love rearranging and misting them, and soon they’ll need thinning. Most of the sugar snap peas have germinated, too. Snapdragons and parsley are further behind, but it’s early.

005 Last one. My hens. Ahhh I love them. You might like to know that at present, the Lazy W boasts exactly 9 chickens, including 2 roosters. We have had much larger flocks in the past, free range then too, but what’s special about this group is that all of them were hatched here (and they are kept safe lately, from hawks and owls and random German Shepherds). Even in this bitter cold weather, the girls have been offering us three to fours fresh, heavy eggs every day. I love it! And Mama Goose is still with us, old as she is, though mostly blind now and accompanied at all times by Johnny Cash the faithful gander. He guides her until she finds water, and then she is independent and joyful. We are thankful every time we hear her honking and sqwaking.

Okay, that’s it for today! Thanks so much for checking in at the Digital W. I have loved every note and comment from recent updates, too. We are lucky to be surrounded by so much Love.

Happy Weekend to you and yours!!
XOXOXOXO

friday 5 x 5 at the farm

January 25, 2019

Farm life has been pretty great this week. All things considered, including some frigid January weather and long days of complex work for Handsome, things are clicking right along. We have landed at another weekend satisfied and happy. And definitely ready for some R & R.

For this Friday, I offer you five lists of five items each: Photos I missed, excellent meals enjoyed, scriptures that have lit my heart right up, links to other articles and podcasts, and some personal wishes I have been feeling. Let’s go.

Photos I Missed

While cleaning out a raised bed and turning over the soil with my spade, I unearthed (quite literally) a tangle of baby snakes. They were average, harmless garden snakes, but it spiked my heart rate anyway. No photo.
Every sunrise here is gorgeous, but Thursday’s was exceptional. I was outside early, doing morning chores without my phone and missed documenting moment after moment of the kaleidoscope color show. Everywhere I walked on the farm, the eastern sky, and even the western basin that caught its glow, stopped me in my tracks. Just dazzling! The sky maintained its splendor for so long that eventually I sprinted back to the house to text my husband, “I love you so much, please find an east facing window as soon as possible.” He did, and he quickly replied with a photo he took, daybreak over the Oklahoma Capitol complex. It was a particularly heavy day of Commishing for him, so I was really happy he took that brief moment to enjoy some beauty. When nature shows off like that it’s so easy to see that God is in control of everything.
Klaus continues to be the wold’s leader in both jumping hay bales and collecting unwilling black cats, though I have no photos this week to prove it.
This might have happened last week, but it would have made a great photo had my phone been in my pocket: I was entering the brick chicken coop and caught sight of something in my vertical peripheral. Barbie Chicken was sitting on the door frame directly above me, inside the building, looking upside down at me with that very specific poultry sneer. We made eye contact and she blinked several times before I could look away. It was awkward. I still think something else was going on at that moment. But we will never know.
I had a few really great runs this week, and while a post-run selfie is not out of the question in my life, none have happened in a while. Just know that day after day, I come home from a workout in a much better mood than when I left. And how amazing it is to be able to work up a good sweat in sub-freezing temps! Photographic evidence or not, running is occasionally pretty magical.

Great Meals

I ate a phenomenal Gyro salad at an OKC restaurant. I mean SO GOOD. I was stuffed and happy. Delicious.
Lunchtime wraps with some kind of deli meat, a pile of spinach, and a little cheese, pan-grilled dry in either a Lavash or St. Joseph’s pita bread.
Savory, veggie-heavy, eggy oats for the win. Forever and always.
Soup! I keep making myself small batches of protein-heavy, veggie-loaded soups, and my belly has been very happy about that. The more celery and mushrooms the better, and yes to turkey-black bean chili over a big green salad.
Protein smoothies with a little “PB Fit” spooned into them at the end, instead of actual nuts. It’s pretty good. I saw this idea on Instagram and was skeptical at first, but it hits that craving without the avalanche of chopped walnuts or sugary trail mix, ha.

Scriptures in Synchronocity

II Corinthians 3:17 liberty in the spirit of God
Romans 12: 2 transformed by the renewing of our minds
John 16:33 be of good cheer, God has overcome the world
Psalm 51: 12 joy of salvation and a free spirit
Romans 8: 31 spirit of God has set us free

Input!! So nourishing!

Oprah’s interview with Larry Dossey, author of The Power of Prayer and the Practice of Medicine. Thanks for this nudge, Brittany!
Run4PR podcast, especially the interview with Coach Meghan, who talks about ups and downs and the importance of not just hard work but also passion. Loved it so much. Her advice applies to runners at every skill level.
My friend Dee wrote all about her garden dreams. Ahh so lovely!
There is a Netflix series called The Paleo Way which is pretty great. The host interviews one special farmer over and over, and if I every write down that farmer’s name I think my whole life might change for the better. Find it! Help me out!
Hungry Runner Girl wrote about eating disorders and a healthy body image while raising daughters. Man. Lots of wisdom coming from a young mom.

Personal Wishes

To realize some running goals. Even if they are long term.
To create and maintain more space in my life, from my body to our home and calendar. And then to put that space to really exceptional use. I keep forgetting to tell you about the paintbrush metaphor!!
For the growing season to start!! Springtime countdown will start soon!
For renewed closeness with Joc. I miss her a lot and have been dreaming heavily again.
For some private breakthroughs in the hearts and circumstances of a few men in my life.

What is a highlight from your week? I would love to hear. And I wish you the most restful, most restorative, happiest weekend possible. Handsome and I get to spend our next few days with a mix between extended family, just each other, and a small group that has become our “church,” sort of. Life is beautiful, and I am so thankful.

“No one is eating anyone else.”
~Dee Nash
XOXOXO

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