Wanted to buy MULCHER

Wanted to buy: MULCHER

Good evening y’all. I come to you contented after a successful week having accomplished my goal of acquiring a mulcher. After weeks of Matt’s help in searching the classifieds, ebay and visits to the local mower shops, I put an ad in the local papers, “Wanted to buy: Mulcher 5-10hp  Petrol motor Handles branches 65mm+ Good working order. Call 6568 1986.”  I must first marvel at the fact that in this town, population 7,000, there are 3 mower shops right down town. Given the prices and how big people’s lawns are here, it’s a big business here! I received 3 calls, 2 with little motors and high prices, and one older model with no price, he wanted an offer. Thus, Keith packed Jess and I up in the truck with his trailer and off we went. 2 Hours later, we’re home with a BIG mulcher, a little poorer, and I now officially own my first piece of machinery! My garden will be oohing and ahhing with contentment by next week.

Matt had his last week of training at the bank, and worked at the window. Jacinta and I visited a few times to say hello and meet his co-workers. Jacinta marveled at her dressed up “daddy,” poor guy has to wear a tie every day and touch more money that any of us could ever dream of. She was a bit thrown off by the glass preventing her from crawling over to him, but it has turned into a novelty. Matt has regular workdays scheduled for the next few weeks and is happy to be done training. One of his highlights at work was almost sticking his foot in his mouth in front of a customer who has just literally driven into the nearby hardware store’s window.

This week was full of rain, once again. I could tell you that the water tank is full, but it was full last week. I spoke of the beautiful pond at the base of the land, full of purple water lilies and lily pads. Well, the pond is now fuller than it has been in over 3 years and the plant life within is struggling to grow up and reach the surface once again. The night before one of the big storms we had been walking around the pond at sunset, close to the water’s edge, picking up branches here and there to edge the gardens. After the storm, our footsteps were covered with water, and perhaps 4 more feet beyond our steps were inundated. I’m contemplating growing rice here. A few more trees fell down during the storms……mulch!! I am grateful that the hail did not affect any of the plants. The corn is now as tall as Jacinta. A few plants are being munched off at the base, and some of the bean vines have been chopped down by some hungry caterpillar. I have to smile at the two large unidentified weeds in the house garden which have been munched to death while most of the other edible plants thrive.

Jacinta is a content little girl. I love watching her play in the water at the beach. She loves the mucky sloppy sand, covering her toes with it and digging for tiny seashells. Outings this week included swimming a few times this week, a picnic with friends, playing at the park, 2 drives to Coff’s Harbor (the nearest town big enough to have a big mall, industry, and beaches) to bid on, and then pick up items from a silent auction, feeding 50+ seagulls french fries while hiding out from a storm behind the bathrooms at the beach, a bike ride to town, and today, a Walk against Global Warming near the beach. Jess and I got lost and missed the first half and when we found the group, we ran into my friend Michelle and her son, walking very slowly with Jess and Rory who is 3 and wanted to push the stroller. We then missed the music and dance at the end, and skipped the indoor speeches for the kids’ sake and went swimming. Jacinta is becoming affectionate with little Rory as she sees him at least once a week now. She stands near him smiling, expectantly waiting for a hug, but she doesn’t know how to give one, just to accept. It’s very sweet, especially the smile that sweeps across her face after playing alone, amidst a crowd of unfamiliar kids or adults, when Rory shows up somewhere. So I guess, our first demonstration experience here was quite pleasant but I’ll work on truly joining in next time!

Jess has made it through a few days with no nap at all, and this leads to a good night sleep. She seems to play better on her own at some points in the day, it’s like a pseudo-nap. Today she stayed at home with Grandma and Pop while Matt and I saw the Harry Potter movie with some friends. As Mary, “Grandma” marveled at how much fun she was, “She didn’t winge at all!” They put up Christmas decorations, read books, walked around outside, and had a good time. This was a good lead up to Jess’ first whole weekend without mom, I’ll be going on a women’s camping retreat next weekend. Matt’s not looking forward to the middle of the night, but the rest will be great, we think.

So on the animal front, the chickens are not laying right now. We think it’s the storms, the intimidating carpet snake who has gotten mysteriously fat this week perching above one of the nesting boxes in the chicken coop, and perhaps strange faces visiting. One of the bigger chooks keeps sitting on her egg and breaking it, perhaps a lack of grit in her diet. And…well, Jess while excitedly awaiting the results as I reach under Mrs.Red, turned the basket upside-down and dropped the one big egg that was laid. Oh well, no quiche this week. I put together a little hatchery for one of the small Bantam chickens to sit on her fertilized eggs and eventually hatch a few little chicks, while protected from the snake and other predators. Stringing chicken wire around a metal shelving unit with twine, it was a lengthy process including a few reopened chicken wire wounds, but I did it myself with no help required, well, except for the door, Keith will do that part. I am taking on the job of bringing up new little chickens in the hopes of more little eggs that Jacinta can eat (she loves the little eggs) and anyway, who can resist baby animals???

I love cooking for people, especially nice people, so this was another highlight of the week. We had our new friends, the organic farmers and their kids over for dinner while Keith and Mary were at a Christmas party. They are so much fun, what a lucky meeting through the biodynamic food co-op. We have so much in common, it’s amazing that we’d meet anyone like this out here in the semi-boonies. They are into the Nourishing Traditions cooking and soak their grains, sprout everything, and eat really well. Melina laughs in shock that she has actually met someone who’s heard of Nourishing Traditions and Sally Fallon. I’ve just never had the determination to put the time into doing this type of cooking, but it does truly promote great health with through an excellent digestive system. Perhaps I’ll find the time, this family and their sense of joy, peace, and satisfaction, their lack of fear and will to play and work hard, it’s all very inspiring. The kids treat Jacinta like a doll, playing, dressing, pushing her around in the stroller,  until the board games come out, then she’s like an annoying little sister.

December is here, Jacinta is now exactly 1 ½ years old, Christmas is on the way, and the heat is on its way. Following the movie, Matt and Keith installed the mulcher into its new home, next to the compost heap under a tarp. After they pulled it apart to fix a minor issue, they taught me how to use it. It’s a mean machine, very powerful. We threw some sticks and barna grass in and marveled at the beautiful mulch. While Jess and I mowed the inside of her little teepee with scissors (???), Matt dug out a bit more dirt for his future workshop. He then rototilled a strip in the teepee garden where I’ve been wanting to plant some greens specifically to be mulched. Work is slow, little by little, but the possibilities are endless. I finished off the night by candlelight chatting over a cup of coffee with Keith and Mary knitting, with the millions of frogs singing in the dam, looking at the bright stars.  And now, having shared this all with you, the week is done. I look forward to chatting with you all here someday, listening to the frogs, under the stars. But for now, Good night.