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  • May 5, 2020

    in the gardens, early may 2020

in the gardens, early may 2020
May 5, 2020

It has been a long while since I managed any gardening posts. Last summer, we were traveling across Canada aboard our skoolie, Gladys the Bus, so I didn’t garden for the first time in 24 years. I was excited to hop back into it upon our return, but was slowed down by a broken ankle. Needless to say, this year I am eager to get my hands dirty and with a family of helpers due to Covid-19…well, things are looking good!

Big Garden, April 13. 2020
2 weeks later on April 26, 2020
garlic’s up
blueberry buds
chives
fresh greens coming up
nettle patch is beckoning
garlic is growing virtually in front of our eyes
cherry blossoms
pak choi, for my dad….he loves it!
hugel bed getting a makeover

We have had some typical moody spring days with rain, making the pastures green up and the cool weather crops thrive. I have had to spend a lot of time cleaning up the beds right now which is a reminder that I so prefer all that hard work in the autumn, allowing me to simply plant out in the spring. But, I am grateful for our farm sitters last summer and all the good work they did in keeping my flowers alive and the weeds mostly at bay.

Because we still have cool nights (a good frost a few days ago!), I am waiting to plant out some tender crops. But in the ground we have peas, broccoli, cabbage, and potatoes. We don’t eat a lot of carbs here on account of Type 1 Diabetes, but I found a low glycemic potato called Nicola. We will try it out as hashbrowns as eating a heavy carb load is easier to burn off at the beginning of the day rather than at the end with dinner. Crossing our fingers it isn’t a food that will spike Sunshine’s blood sugar. Oh, and I’ve also seeded greens greens greens oudoors, and radishes. Dahlia tubers are in pots in the greenhouse and ranunculus just went in the ground along with sunflowers. Things are happening!

So far, we have just been enjoying fresh spicy chives (they are always packed with a punch this early in the season), and heaps of nettles. We like them steamed slightly, with a dollup of butter and a splash of lemon juice, sometimes with some minced garlic or onions. I could eat a whole salad bowl of that in one sitting…so yummy! We have spied some early morels up at the top of our property, too….so we know we will be feasting soon. Also ready to eat is some fresh rhubarb, but I prefer it paired up with strawberries…we will have to wait a bit longer.

Around the house in vases, we have hyacinths, tulips, and forsythia.

Every morning I head out to do farm chores, letting the lambs and families out of the barn, getting the hay for the sheep, feeding the hens and broiler birds (after a year off we are back to raising 100 birds), and I am so grateful for this work, this life.

Wishing you all a good growing season….I’d love to see what you are up to!

xo Jules

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gardening  / type 1 diabetes


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  • a little crafty nest

    Jules Hello out there, I'm happy you stopped by! My name is Jules and I am grateful to share my family's homegrown adventures here...from homeschooling to homesteading. This space is my own reminder to savour the beauty amidst the chaos and messes of motherhood...to see the extraordinary in the everyday ordinary. Thank you for joining me.
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    mama :: wife :: yarn farmer :: wool spinner :: grower of veggies, flowers, and dreams :: skoolie co-captain on Gladys the Bus

    Jules :: Wool Maiden
    Our wee little pond sunk twelve feet because the w Our wee little pond sunk twelve feet because the water table dropped...as it does every winter.  If we had lined it with plastic this wouldn’t happen...but plastic isn’t an option for our family and so we deal with seasonal fluctuations in pond depth.  I say it is part of the charm and aren’t we lucky!  Meanwhile, the kids had one glorious day of ice skating on our wee little rink.  Oh, so very Canadian.  Now we will fill it up again to support the ice layer and hope for more perfectly bluebird rink days. (The kids put the branches across where the ice crackled fiercely...their own protective buffer).
    For a sweet friend who loves all the purples. In For a sweet friend who loves all the purples. 

In the winter, my own homegrown fibre stash dwindles while I await more yarn from the mill.  So I often purchase some luxury yarn and play with colour.  Sunshine called this colour Bubbalicious and I think it is quite accurate.
    Bottle drives in small communities are like having Bottle drives in small communities are like having a great big fan club show up to encourage you. ❤️ We spent the better part of 2 full days collecting empties for Sunshine’s Pony Club.  These two did an especially good job but our little corner of the Valley was exceptional in supporting our girl.  Thanks, friends.
    Two days ago I couldn’t bear to post this. But Two days ago I couldn’t bear to post this.  But it is important to me as it has been a milestone that was marked for us, by all the educated professionals who meant well as they cheered us on at the beginning telling us a cure was a mere few years away.

We just passed our ten year diaversary ...ten years since Sunshine was diagnosed.  Ten years.  Of challenges and tears and worry and fears.  It has been ten years since life was easy.  Since she could eat anything without care.  Since needles and mathematical equations didn’t rule our lives.  Since I slept more than three hours at a time.

Let me tell you, I am grateful for these ten years.  I held her as she was dying, little did we know, sobbing for water as her body was slack in my arms as it began to shut down...as we rode an hour to the nearest hospital, her little two years old body strapped to my chest.

Life changed that day...I was humbled.  I was lucky.  The T1D beast didn’t steal my child away that day, but we are ever vigilant.  I was told to be grateful.  For hourly blood draws and sleepless nights and worry worry worry.  Constant dread.  For people to tell us it shouldn’t be such a big deal because their friend’s kid is just fine.

To all you mamas out there with children whose invisible illness is so very real...I offer hugs and compassion.  For all you do to shrug off the insensitivities while you keep your child alive, I see you.  This is hard...the alternative is worse.  Thank goodness for Fred Banting and insulin and Children’s Hospital and friends who make the food that works for your child...that is the best gift and I will remember your efforts my whole life.

Here’s to T1D during the teenage years...it is about to get Real around here.  Oh, and ten years of surviving and thriving.  Sunshine is my hero.
    I am joining the worldwide sigh of relief as the d I am joining the worldwide sigh of relief as the door closes on 2020.  It has been an awful, horrible, no-good year even beyond global pandemics and our own financial insecurity.  2020 was a year I tried to mend a broken ankle when my physiotherapist was shut down, a year I was in a car crash that totaled my vehicle, and a year I lost both my parents ~ my dad to cancer and my mom to dementia...while she is still here in the physical sense, she is a mere shadow of herself.

So honestly, I am struggling to make sense of the world and my life in it with no parents...and truthfully, despair is on my doorstep, some days it barges in, most unwelcome.  I am searching for my North Star so I can re-orient myself and it comes with a lot of fumbling emotions.  Ahhh, Life is unpredictable and messy sometimes.

And by reflecting on the year behind me I am able to look forward.  For there were moments of light that shone through the darkness of 2020.  My children ~ always.  They stand by me and show me patience and pure love and forgiveness through all that fumbling.  They are my greatest guides and cheer leaders.  In 2020, we managed a family camping trip on our skoolie, my husband was home lots working on our homestead and doing fun things with the kids, I took a long wished for photography workshop, and we had heaps of cuddly lambs.

There is always something to appreciate during hard times, and I reminded myself of this often over the past 12 months.  A big, heartfelt thank you to all of you for sharing a bit of yourselves here, in whatever form.  Thank you for reaching out with kindness and support and validation...it has meant so much to me.

Xoxo Jules

PS.  These are My Favourite Nine of 2020...because pretty bathroom shots might attract a lot of likes (thank you!) but these are shots of what I wish to remember.
    Tucking little treasures for future holiday celebr Tucking little treasures for future holiday celebrations beneath the boughs.  I tried to keep up my tree ornament collection this year, after missing making one in 2019.  I make 4 of them, one for each of my kids and one for my mom.  Handmade crafts are the best keepsakes.

(In the background are ornaments made by Sunshine at age 8 (heart) and age 4(snowman)).
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