Sean is out right now burying Jane’s two year-old filly. She fell down the big rocks in the stream and broke her neck. This week, Rosie, our sweet pitbull who made herself family the second she jumped in front of the car as I passed by the orchard–disappeared.

Last year, when… Read full post »

Last season was both painful and frustrating. A beloved goat was lost to poor management, 6 out of 7 kids were bucks destined for auction, and we were terminally behind with the vegetable crop. In the mornings, I lay in bed paralyzed by everything I couldn’t seem to get right. The… Read full post »

I have nothing against a field of dirt. Especially when it contains more dirt than rocks. This is the season to get into the soil. The farm garden is vast compared to the fire escape containers of my Brooklyn life. But it’s not so big that I don’t have a connection…

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I love birds. I hate birds. I’ve made strong bird proclamations: “birds are disgusting, evil creatures†and “birds are reptiles with smelly feathersâ€.  And yet I’ll wax poetic about the return of the kestrel to the pasture or the hummingbird that hovers outside my office window and zoom…

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Here on the top of our hill in Upstate New York the landscape remains a wash of winter grays and browns. Actually, there are a sad few yellow leaves on the little forsythia bush we planted last year. If I hadn’t accidentally dug up the daffodil bulbs there’d be a few…

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The more time I spend with animals, the more animal-like people become. The more I see animal in me. My dad would stop me here, pointing out that I am in fact an animal. And I think we all need reminding every now and then. If only that lady standing at…

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The high point of the day was when I walked out to the barn and there was Suzanne the goat standing there with two magically appeared kids laying at her feet. The two tied-for-low points of the day were when: 1) I went chasing Bonnie, another goat, round her pen with…

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Superstitious as I am, I can’t exactly make sense of the post I wrote yesterday entitled, “Could’ve Been Better.” Clearly, a personal plea for things to get worse. What the hell. Today gets the low point first. It was a moment of full awareness in an awful situation. Standing there with…

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Jessie is a big, beautiful 12-month old puppy that I found free on Craigslist. She lived with a fantastically large male Great Pyrenees that protected the food, so she’s very skinny (they were fed on dinner scraps). Actually, that dog’s name was Jesse and her name was Dixie. I couldn’t abide…

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I remember when rain meant you should bring an umbrella. Those flower or skull print rubber boots as a wardrobe essential were after my time. I usually just got my feet wet.  Sometimes it rained for a few days at a time and that was annoying. But that was Brooklyn. Here…

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Two and a half weeks ago when big as a house Bonnie dropped just one kid I decided Caroline might not even be bred. But in these last few days she grew and grew and her udder bagged right up so I knew something was coming. Yesterday I found her pushing…

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It all starts with a seed. And it can’t be just any old seed. It must produce a plant. A plant that is a delicious thing to eat, resistant to pests, blights and other mean things that want to kill it, and beautiful so that people will buy it. And if…

Read full post »

I remember when rain meant you should bring an umbrella. Those flower or skull print rubber boots as a wardrobe essential were after my time. I usually just got my feet wet.  Sometimes it rained for a few days at a time and that was annoying. But that was Brooklyn. Here…

Read full post »

I remember when rain meant you should bring an umbrella. Those flower or skull print rubber boots as a wardrobe essential were after my time. I usually just got my feet wet.  Sometimes it rained for a few days at a time and that was annoying. But that was Brooklyn. Here,… Read full post »

Two and a half weeks ago when big as a house Bonnie dropped just one kid I decided Caroline might not even be bred. But in these last few days she grew and grew and her udder bagged right up so I knew something was coming. Yesterday I found her pushing…

Read full post »

Two and a half weeks ago when big as a house Bonnie dropped just one kid I decided Caroline might not even be bred. But in these last few days she grew and grew and her udder bagged right up so I knew something was coming.

Yesterday I found her pushing… Read full post »

Jessie is a big, beautiful 12-month old puppy that I found free on Craigslist. She lived with a fantastically large male Great Pyrenees that protected the food, so she’s very skinny (they were fed on dinner scraps). Actually, that dog’s name was Jesse and her name was Dixie. I couldn’t abide…

Read full post »

Superstitious as I am, I can’t exactly make sense of the post I wrote yesterday entitled, “Could’ve Been Better.” Clearly, a personal plea for things to get worse. What the hell. Today gets the low point first. It was a moment of full awareness in an awful situation. Standing there with…

Read full post »

The high point of the day was when I walked out to the barn and there was Suzanne the goat standing there with two magically appeared kids laying at her feet. The two tied-for-low points of the day were when: 1) I went chasing Bonnie, another goat, round her pen with…

Read full post »

The high point of the day was when I walked out to the barn and there was Suzanne the goat standing there with two magically appeared kids laying at her feet. The two tied-for-low points of the day were when: 1) I went chasing Bonnie, another goat, round her pen with… Read full post »

The more time I spend with animals, the more animal-like people become. The more I see animal in me. My dad would stop me here, pointing out that I am in fact an animal. And I think we all need reminding every now and then. If only that lady standing at…

Read full post »

I love birds. I hate birds. I’ve made strong bird proclamations: “birds are disgusting, evil creatures†and “birds are reptiles with smelly feathersâ€.  And yet I’ll wax poetic about the return of the kestrel to the pasture or the hummingbird that hovers outside my office window and zoom… Read full post »

It all starts with a seed. And it can’t be just any old seed. It must produce a plant. A plant that is a delicious thing to eat, resistant to pests, blights and other mean things that want to kill it, and beautiful so that people will buy it. And if… Read full post »

I love birds. I hate birds. I’ve made strong bird proclamations: “birds are disgusting, evil creatures” and “birds are reptiles with smelly feathers”.  And yet I’ll wax poetic about the return of the kestrel to the pasture or the hummingbird that hovers outsid… Read full post »

Here on the top of our hill in Upstate New York the landscape remains a wash of winter grays and browns. Actually, there are a sad few yellow leaves on the little forsythia bush we planted last year. If I hadn’t accidentally dug up the daffodil bulbs there’d be a few… Read full post »