Wool's Worth

 Our hostess, Rhonda Jaacks introduced us to her flock of Finn Sheep, at her Harlequin Farm in Limerock, CT. Finns are rapidly growing in popularity because of their hardiness and tendency to throw healthy twins, triplets, and quadruplets. For sheep, they make plenty of milk so their offspring grow rapidly, producing a lot of meat. Their fiber is long and very soft making it ideal for spinning. Because Rhonda handles her lambs frequently, they are all very friendly. She showed us how to pick them up and hold them, scooping one arm under their back end and reaching around their neck just above their front legs. Rhonda's twin daughters Gabby and Sarah were also on hand to show us how.

 We saw several shed arrangements for housing sheep including some built with "prefab" frames of metal tubing with plywood siding. The shed in the next photo has an electric light at the back so Rhonda can leave the light on all night when her ewes are due to lamb and can easily check on them from her kitchen window.

Rhonda also keeps a few miniature horses that chase away coyotes.

Margaret was delighted to visit her old friend Irish who (with Rhonda's help) taught her to ride 14 years ago.

We saw several different types of fencing. Rhonda prefers "pagewire" fencing with an electric fence wire running along the top and near the bottom of of the woven wire fencing. She sells her sheep for $3-400 a piece. Other take-home highlights, included the name of Harvest Moon timber-framer Jim Davenport of Morris, CT and our own drop spindles.

(we thank Lauren Hermele for sharing these photos)

10 yrs a 501(c)(3)!

On May 4, 2013, 40 + individuals gathered at Local Farm to celebrate Motherhouse's tenth year as a non-profit. We made ice cream, watched the red tent wave in the wind, shared in a pot-luck feast, visited the animals, swapped baby clothes and household goods, looked through our scrapbooks, honored our past, and envisioned our future.

(Thanks to Tim Prentice for catching these scenes from the scene)

In Knead of Dough...

Have you fed your sourdough this week? To keep your dough multiplying, feed it regularly: 1 cup water+2 cups flour to 1 cup starter. At the Motherhouse Old Style Life-Skills workshop Serious Dough, we made basic yeast bread, Irish soda bread, and sourdough pretzels.

Watch our slide show to see us grinding wheat into flour, mixing & kneading bread dough, buttering loaf pans, forming loaves, learning about sourdough, shaping pretzels, doing cat's cradle, feasting... and then admire the loaf we finished baking at home.
Thanks to Amy Jean and Tal for theses great photos.

Women's Wisdom; Sacred Agriculture

Sights from our May 16 celebration...

From the parking lot, we followed the "cowpath" to the dining room entrance. There we gathered round the fireplace for a "Hearth Kindling" ceremony.  Sister Carol Bernice had fresh fair-trade organic coffee, tea, breads and spreads available for munching. Forming a circle for a women's seed ritual we blessed seed peas and offered hopes for the women of the future. Then we sorted, innoculated and planted peas in Bluestone Farm's Biodynamic garden beds.

After a fabulous pot-luck lunch, Sr Helena Marie led us in a drumming circle. Passing a seed-filled womb-shaped gourd, Sr Carol Bernice started us sharing our own "seed" stories in The Way of The Council. We closed with an animated seed swap and a visit with the cows.

Ready and Waiting...

for our Women's Wisdom; Sacred Agriculture gathering on March 16.
A very special THANKS to the men behind-the-scenes; Bill, Jodi, Matthew, Scot, and Kevin who have given so generously of their time and talents for this women's-only day. Our next will be open to all!

An Udder Motherhouse Connection

       

Looking forward to our March 16, 2013 Women's Wisdom; Sacred Agriculture celebration of Farming and the Feminine, I can't help marveling at the way this is unfolding...  Several years ago, Phil and Tom became regulars at our Old Style Life-Skills Series workshops

They recognized that many of the skills we teach will be an essential help in meeting the challenges of living in the postmodern, post-petroleum age...
 

 

and invited me, as Motherhouse director, to bring a modified version of our Family Cow workshop to a Peak-Oil symposium in NYC.


There, in the audience was Sister Carol Bernice of the Episcopal Community of the Holy Spirit in Brewster NY. The Sisters were just beginning to convert the grounds of the Melrose School into farm and gardens with hopes of modeling sustainable agriculture as a Center of Living Arts.

Sister Carol Bernice was dreaming of having cows in their vision and cherished the words of W.D. Hoard; The cow is the foster mother of the human race. After 6 years of research and planning and pleading, she and Sister Emmanuel attended our 2012 Family Cow Forum. We introduced them to Stonewall Dairy's Jiffy and soon after...

the emerging Bluestone Farm and Living Arts Center had their first cow. Through this connection, I was invited to participate in NYC Episcopal Bishop Mark Sisk's Round Table Discussion on Farming Food and Faith. Sisters Helena Marie and Catherine Grace offered transportation and hospitality at their city convent (or motherhouse).


There we hatched a plan for a follow-up gathering celebrating Farming, Food, Faith, and the Feminine! It's almost time!

 Our hostesses will be: 

Sister Emmanuel and 

Bluestone Farm's Dairy Queen Sister Carol Bernice....

 Sister Helena Marie

Sister Catherine Grace...

Hope to see you there!

Behind Scenes

Bluestone Farm neighbors help ready the space for our Farming and the Feminine gathering. Here, Scott is wiring a bookshelf so we can set a lamp there.

Kevin (with Jade the Wonderdog) is putting the hanging wires on some quilts they loaned us for this event. 
   Other than the kitchen-turned-milkroom, the former Melrose School has sat empty since last May (2012). With the help from our friends, the lonely space is enlivened into a welcoming gathering place. Take a look at these before-shots and be prepared for a delightful surprise on March 16!