Straining Curds and Straddling Canyons

Dear Friends,
My apologies for not posting in a long time.  Life here has hit a rhythm of sorts, and I would like to take the opportunity to share with you ten of the simpler pleasures I have discovered in my existence as of late:

• the delicious and rewarding experience of pulling and eating a fresh carrot -- truly, there is nothing in the world like it
• knowing you can distinguish between dewy, crisp, ready-to-pick spinach and wilty, limp, needs-to-be-cooled spinach
• watching goat milk warm with full knowledge that YOU will get to flavor it and make it your own within the next 48 hours

• balancing an arrow in a bow to aim at a target (there is a spare bow and arrow laying around the farm and it's been a source of great pleasure after work)
• striated clouds; the storms as of late have made the sky incredible
  

• listening to kittens purr

• capturing snow, mountain, sun, and desert in one camera shot

• digging your hands deep into moist soil and feeling it just cover your hands for a greater purpose
• holding a cup of scalding tea after a windy day's work
• playing in the snow in the desert

Yes, I would say that life is pretty good right now.  So many things have happened since I last posted, and to keep with the bullet points (why not), here goes!

• Adam, CJ, and Debbie are ridiculously close to buying a new farm! They currently work off of 1.5 acres of cultivated land, but the new farm has SEVENTY-FIVE. I've never seen the three of them so giddy, and the opportunities are endless.  They would host many more wwoofers, grow more, herd more goats, up their laying hen count almost tenfold, and so much more.  I am so excited for the future of Sleeping Frog! 
• Last week, the wwoofers (Nicole, Abby, Liv, Alison and I) hiked through Catalina State Park to the Romero Pools.  We purposely went after a week of heavy rain, and the pools were just gushing by the time we wound through the pass.  The sights were breathtaking in more ways than one.

• This week, a huge crew of us (Adam, Debbie, Ihler, Sal - Adam's dad, Nicole, Abby, Liv, Alison, CJ, Lauren - CJ's girlfriend, and I) drove up to Mount Lemmon and played in the snow.  We sledded and slipped and made snow cacti and had about ten snowball fights and sledded some more and came home wet and happy and tired.  

• Market this week was great, and it reminded me the world is a little small sometimes. I was wearing a Carolina hoodie and a woman walked up wearing a similarly-themed shirt.  We briefly discussed the merits and wonders of Chapel Hill before the man she was with explained that he loved UNC but went to South Carolina.  The conversation quickly revealed that he used to live in IRMO. Let's please talk about how ridiculous that is.
• BUT, while we were gone, Gosh, our favorite farm cat, broke his leg! We're not sure how it happened, but his femur is definitely fractured and he slowly drags himself along with a limp in his rear left leg.  He is the cutest and sweetest and smartest and goshdarnedest kitten of all the ones here, and his recovery has been one to bring all of us together.  He currently sleeps beside our bed and is slumping his way through an indoor recovery.  After a rough first night he is well on his way, although I think boredom from being inside (and not chasing birds all day) is the biggest battle so far. He is learning to use the litter box, and part of me cheers inside every time he poops.

That, my friends, may be about it for now. Soon I will introduce you to another one of the feline residents of the farm and tell you of his wonders. Much love!