A Gift From The Land

I'm sitting here today in total awe and gratitude for our Earth and the bountiful gifts that she provides! This week we started lesson 3 of our home school curriculum. I was so thrilled to see that the science lesson was all about observing deer. In our area, the mating season is in full swing. The deer are running and playing all over the hillsides, last year’s fawns are growing big. The bucks are displaying big beautiful sets of antlers. For months I have been praying for an antler. I knew that finding a naturally shed antler is very rare, but also incredibly special. When I came up on the lesson this week, I thought it would be amazing if we could paint on antlers. I have seen some really beautiful painted antlers before and have been waiting for the opportunity to create my own. My husband hunted a buck year before last and we have the antlers from that so I planned to give those to the kids to paint. I didn't have an antler for myself to paint... Until this morning. I got to our nature school early, as usual, to prepare for the arrival of the children and set up our tipi and the day’s activities. I needed to use the bathroom, so I went around the back of some trees to find a spot to squat. The branches of this huge coast live oak tree draped down and touched the ground, and I noticed a little opening in the branches that I could walk through to get underneath the canopy of the tree. I was so happy to find that the entire spot was clear of poison oak, so I assumed the position and did my business. As I looked down, right in front of me, I noticed a few pointy things poking up through the leaf litter. My heart raced as I realized what it was! I picked it up slowly, watching each inch of this amazing gift emerge from beneath the leaves, my pants still down around my ankles. An antler! And a big one! I held it in my hands and stood, feeling its medicine and immense gratitude. Finally, I thought it would be a good idea to dress myself, so I did, and ran back to the tipi to show my co-mentor at the school what I had found. We shared it with the children, and I shared the story of how I had found it. Now I sit here with it in my home and feel the power of its presence and the lesson it's taught me. 

Yesterday was a rough day. We had our first official home schooling "off" day and got nothing done. The kids were grumpy, hated Benjamin Bunny, wanted nothing to do with crayons, or the letter “C”, and we ended up playing a board game called Wild Craft where you learn about medicinal and edible herbs. This happening today has reminded me to look to the Earth and our community for our lessons. That it's OK to have an "off" day or even an "off" month. For the rest of the week we might just scrap the curriculum and focus on the beauty of the seasonal changes happening, even though here in CA it's all subtle. We might just make herbal medicines (hey, it is elderberry season, you know!), paint antlers, dig in the dirt and track the deer. And that's going to be enough, because that's what the Earth is handing to us in this moment.

Dear Nature Academy: Week 2

Dear Nature Academy,

Hi again!  Today was so fun!  Doran hit the nail on the head when he said that the flow of our day was awesome.  Projects combined with play...  I just think about everything that you accomplished today and I am so grateful!

Can I just say that you all rocked at milking the goat?  It amazes me how quickly you all picked it up.  It took me days to get to the point that all of you reached after a few squirts in the bucket.  You all were so gentle and empathetic towards Terra.  Milking an animal is an intimate thing, and you can't help but form relationships with them.  They can feel when they are being respected, loved and appreciated.  I could tell that Terra was very comfortable today, and although she was a little nervous here and there, over all she settled in very nicely to having so many different people handle her.  It was truly a reflection of all of your calmness and gentleness.

So during our milking lesson we talked a little bit about the difference between a sterile operation and a sanitary operation.  Some farms use harsh chemicals in an attempt to sterilize all of their equipment and the udders of their goats.  We however choose a more natural approach.  We first washed Terra down with a cloth dipped in hot water and peppermint castile soap.  We scrubbed all sides of her udder, especially around her teats, and also her belly to remove any loose hairs.  Next, we sprayed her teats and our hands with a sanitizing vinegar and essential oil solution.  Here is my recipe for that spray:

Home Made Disinfecting Teat Spray

You will need:

1 – 4oz dark colored glass spray bottle

8 drops – peppermint essential oil

8 drops – tea tree essential oil

6 drops – lavender oil

2 drops clove oil

Distilled white vinegar to fill bottle

Add each essential oil to the glass bottle and fill remainder of bottle with vinegar.  Shake before each use.  Use this teat spray after you wash her udder and before you milk, and allow to air dry to disinfect her udder and prevent germs from traveling into the milk.  Spray her teats again after you are done milking to protect her against pathogens infecting her udder.  This spray will not harm the milk or the kids in the least.  

 So since Terra kicked our bucket a few times, we fed her milk to the pig rather than keeping it to drink ourselves.  When pasteurization isn't in the equation, we always have to be prepared to discard milk that has been contaminated, even if it's only a possibility that it's been contaminated.  

I am so thankful for the delicious picnic you all brought for us!  Everything was so good, and filled my belly up!  Nom, nom, nom... : )  

After lunch we moved right along to making some herbal medicines.  First was the Immunity Tincture!  This preparation is full of herbs that are going to fight both bacterial and viral infections (colds and flues), build your immune system, as well as tonify and cleanse your liver and blood.  Here is the recipe we followed:




(All of the herbs listed from this point forward are linked to more information about that herb.  Just click on the herb name.)

Immunity Tincture

You will need:
1/2 pint mason jar
1 tbsp elder berries
1 tbsp echinacea root
1 tbsp nettle leaf
1 inch piece of astragalus root (torn into small pieces)
Raw apple cider vinegar

Add all herbs into your jar, and then top the jar off with the apple cider vinegar, leaving 1/2" of head space. Shake and set in a cool dark place for at least 4 weeks.  Shake daily (if you remember...).

Here are some things we discussed about tinctures:

• Traditionally, tinctures are made with a strong alcohol as a base.  However, alcohol free tinctures are an important option to have for people that react negatively to alcohol based preparations, would prefer to avoid alcohol or for when the medicine is being made for children.  Raw apple cider vinegar (from a trusted, ethical, and/or organic source) is a very effective and high quality alternative to alcohol, however, it does not extract the properties of the herbs as efficiently as the alcohol, so it is important to leave the tincture to steep for an entire lunar month.
• Speaking of lunar months...  I like to prepare all herbal medicines on the new moon, and leave them to infuse until the following new moon.  The new moon has fantastic energy for starting new projects, creation and setting intentions.  Leaving the medicine to steep through the entire moon cycle allows it to take full advantage of all the drawing properties of the moon cycle as it goes from new, to waxing, to full, to waning.  
• You can make a tincture with whatever ingredients you want in whatever size jar you want!  The general rule of thumb is to fill your jar 1/5 of the way with dried herbs, and then fill the rest of it with the apple cider vinegar.  Kale and I spoke about headaches a little.  Here's a recipe that could help with that:  Migraine Relief Tincture
• We talked about why using dried herbs is preferable to using fresh herbs in tinctures.  The vinegar will draw out the juices from the fresh herbs and become diluted.  This will diminish the effectiveness of the vinegar pulling the vital components out of the herbs.  The above migraine recipe gives the option of using fresh or dried herbs.  I would definitely use dried!  

We also made some herbal oils, in preparation for making salves in a few weeks.  The process for making herbal oils if very similar to making tinctures.  We infuse herbs into oil for entire lunar month, however we filled our jars 1/3 to 1/2 of the way full with the dried and/or fresh herbs.  In an herbal oil it is great to use fresh herbs!  Herbal oils get made into topical applications, and in most cases the juices from the herbs are what brings relief to wounds, rashes, sores, etc.  I had an array of herbs available for you all to include in your oils and each of you came up with your own mix!  I loved seeing all the variations.  I know Meg and Keenan went outside to pick some chickweed to add to their oils.  Did anyone else?

Here are the herbs that I had out:

• Calendula
• Lavender
• Comfrey root
• Marshmallow root
• Chamomile
• Thyme
• Echinacea root
•  Chickweed

Once our jars were filled with our special blends of chosen herbs, we then topped off the jars with organic olive oil, and put them up on the shelf with our finished tinctures.  I'll am shaking the jars once a day to make sure no air bubbles collect around the herbs (which would interfere with the extraction taking place), and in 4 weeks we'll harvest our medicines, and use the oils to makes salves!

In closing, I want to send out a HUGE THANK YOU to you all for moving my terribly heavy bath tubs into the garden for me!  What a chore!!!  It'll be great to plant medicinal herbs in them and have a "farmacy" right outside the door!  You guys rock ; )
 

Dear Nature Academy: Week 1

Dear Nature Academy,

I must admit that today I was a little nervous...  I knew you all were special.  I've heard all the amazing stories about your infectious and deep characters, your strong spirits, intelligence and maturity.  I saw many of you at Jon Young's talk at the Monge Family home a few months back, I heard your stories about your Sespie adventure, and I've interacted with most of your parents.  I have greatly admired each of you before having met you, and I wanted to make sure that I was worthy of your work and efforts on my land.  I wanted you to feel welcomed and free.

And then you all got here!  Miles on his bike and everyone else caravanning up my driveway!  Excitement!  And then I was greeted with your amazing smiles.  I instantly felt normal again and at ease.  How great you all are.  So full of youth and life, and bursting with energy and will.  I said it at our closing circle and I meant it with all my heart.  The homestead felt fully alive today.  Thank you for bringing that energy to this place.

So our day begun!  I was able to greet you with the exciting news that our Mama Cat had given birth in the wee hours of the morning, and so we went on a kitten hunt!  There was no fruit from our labors other than the deduction that Mama Cat had her brood stashed deep beneath my house.  But still so fun!

Following that was goat introductions!  You all got to meet Miko, Terra, Lady, Ivy, and the babies, Honor, Opal, Timber and Darryl.  I loved seeing that you all had gravitated to the spot where our beloved Daisy was buried.  It was so sweet to sit around her little tree that her babies have relentlessly nibbled, and talk about all the benefits and beauty of raw goats milk.  She is the one that taught it all to me, so it was a perfect spot to pass on some of that knowledge.  I know she loved it.  : )  We talked about holistic approaches to raising these amazing creatures, about different types of cheeses and how they are made. 

And then we dined!  It was such a pleasure to prepare food for you all!  I hope that through my food, you felt my deep appreciation for each of your lives and for your presence here with me.  I made you two flavors of fresh goat cheese: rosemary with garlic and honey with sea salt.  I also made a couple loaves of french bread, and a frittata.  Here is the frittata recipe if anyone is curious:

2 sweet potatoes (cut into 1/2" cubes)
1 leek (sliced white part only!)
1 cup cooked black beans
3 stalks of asparagus (chopped into small slices)
10 eggs (beaten with a splash of milk)
coconut oil

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Melt the oil in an oven safe pan.  Add the sweet potatoes and fry until tender.  Add in the leek and cook for a minute.  Add in beans and asparagus and cook for 2-3 minutes.  At this point season the dish as you would like.  I added nutmeg, oregano, sea salt, just a little garlic powder and black pepper.  Stir to mix spices in then add in the egg mixture.  Cook in the pan for a minute to set the outer edges of the egg and then put into the oven for 10-12 minutes.  Don't let it brown too much on the top or else it will be dry.  You want to be just done.  Enjoy!

I loved that Doran reminded me to discuss hazards!  The most important of those was to be mindful of nails or screws that may be on the ground in the project zones, and to keep your eyes out for snakes! 

Then you guys said something amazing...  You wanted to do my chores... Whoa...  lol!  So I showed you all our grain mix recipe that gets fed to the goats and pig, and several of you participated in mixing the grains for me.  Made me so happy!  Here is the recipe we followed:

16% protein ration:
Ingredient	Amount
Whole Peas	3#
Whole Barley	3#
Whole Oats	2#
Black Oil Sunflower Seeds	1#

In the blink of an eye our day was at it's end.  We said our goodbye's, looking forward to next week's milking lessons, herbal medicine making and getting started on the bathtub herb garden project you guys wanted to work on.  I sent a link to a fun goat video for you all to watch in preparation for next week.  Here it is:

Blessings friends!

In gratitude,
Shayna