Looking for community trying and trying to find home at home.

Over due for a post one of those times where I maybe have too many things to write about and it leads me to no writing at all. So here we go not sure what is going to come out. Hopefully it wont be drivel. The week before last first we went to Cambridge NY (one of my favorite towns) to see my favorite duo the Fabulous Beekman Boys at one of my favorite bookstores Battenkill Books. So it was a night of favorites it is always strange to visit a town you love that you are not from. Josh and Brent who were as charming as I knew they would be started talking about keeping small towns viable and made comparisons between Cambridge and their town Sharon Springs and it turns out one of the things they have in common is that they are one stop light towns. So this got me to thinking about towns and more importantly community and maybe that is why its taken me 10 days or so to write this. I don't really have a town I live in Northumberland which lies along the Hudson east of Saratoga and Wilton north of Schuylerville and south of Glens Falls and Fort Edward it encompasses a huge area and is comprised of tiny hamlets that must had some meaning in the past but are just signs now. Bacon Hill is my favorite one...Gansevoort I guess has the most trappings of a town we have a Stewarts (or course) a church and a few small businesses but no stop light. Yes not even a one stop light town. Will a railroad crossing pass? So I envy people who live in one stop light towns.

When I moved to upstate NY I am not sure what I was looking for I think I wanted to live close to Saratoga but in the country and maybe find some small kookie town to call our home but I wasn't really given a choice when I fell in love with the house that we eventually bought and I don't think I noticed that it didn't come with a town or for that matter a bathroom on the second floor. Oops. But who could pass up a house on the Hudson in the middle of dairy country the nearest house about 1/4 mile down the road and a historic house to boot with roots firmly planted  in american history? Not I that's for damn sure. But I do wish sometimes that I had more of a community something like Sharon Springs but then I realize that I am lucky where I am 20 minutes from Saratoga 15 from Glens Falls 25 minutes from Greenwich and 35 minutes from Cambridge so in a way I just happen to live in the middle of it all in the middle of wonderful upstate new york which I love living in everyday well almost everyday I really hate February nothing like getting in the car to go to a job you wish you didn't have to go to when its 25 below out now man that sucks.

When we first moved here 9 years ago we opened a tattoo studio and were immediately surrounded by new friends and  people who probably just wanted to be associated with the then very cool and hip local tattoo artist. When we closed the studio a few years later the friends we had made evaporated and apart from my parents and their very cool septuagenarian set we don't have many connections. Unfortunately to make matters worse I work about 40 miles to the south and the connections I have made there are wonderful and nice (I spend more time with my friends at work with just about anybody else and many of my co-workers are truly wonderful and amazing people) but the connections as strong as they are don't survive a 40 mile ride to hang out much. But things are looking up on the friend front since we have started farming in our small way we have started to make some friends and connections and hopefully these bonds will and can be strengthened over time. I hope so. Not that I need or want a huge circle of friends but it would be nice to find just a few like minded people to have over for dinner and enjoy a glass of two occasionally. So recruitment is open come on over.

Closing in on the end of the season.

After we got home from market today I watched the farmer take the corn down. I love watching the farmer farm I mean I love it. Give me a choice between tv and watching farming I will take farming hands down. I don't remember the corn coming done this early in the year but its always neat to watch it come down. Funny when the corn is high its like the farmer grew me a free green fence that surrounds my yard then it comes down and its all wide openness again. Not sure which one I like better both are pretty wonderful. 

before

after

Watching them take the corn down made me antsy to finish up the season. I cant wait to sleep in on Saturdays not come home at night from my day job and work like a field hand and of course not worry about what mother nature has in store for me. The rows I have planted for late summer/fall the beets the chard and the spinach look wonderful and I even have a row of beans and zucchini that are just coming in that I planted as a hail mary and fingers crossed it will make it to fruition. But the rest of it looks like a bloody nightmare waste high weeds going to seed things dead and decaying and I cant wait to mow it all down and start planning for next year. So many things went well this year but many more didn't quite go our way. But it was another year of learning and since I haven't been doing this that long I will give myself a break and say job well done. I know I have said this before but one of my favorite parts of farming is the lure of next year. It doesn't take too long into the growing season before you are taking notes and mumbling to yourself "this is a disaster not doing this this way next year" the challenge is to remember what you learned. Fingers crossed I am listening....Here are some more pics of the real farmers working. 

Crazy chicken lady and thinking about long genes.

Its my 44th Birthday tomorrow (I think? getting to that age where it gets blurry). I am not upset about my age in fact I always love my bday still get excited and look forward to it. My stance is that hey I didn't ask to be born and I can't stop the passage of time so why be upset getting older it isn't a character fault its just is.  I was just thanking my Grandmother Esther on facebook for sending me a gift it was a t-shirt that said "crazy chicken lady" and I love it who's lucky enough at my age to still get a gift from their grandmother? I also came across this picture of her. By the way I think she was 95 years old when this was taken and she is still going strong at I think 96. She is my mom's mom but dad's mom has her beat Grandma Dot is 102. Long genes in my family long genes.

I remember once when my mom was maybe in her fifties or maybe early sixty's and she told her brother Tim that she was now middle aged he laughed (that side of the family has a wicked sense of humor don't ever go to a funeral with them you are bound to get the inappropriate giggles) and he said you are only middle aged if you plan on living till you are 120. Well that's possible I'm my family but certainly nothing you want to plan or count on. I figure with my luck I will be the first one to mess it up and will die early for some silly avoidable reason. But who knows age is a funny thing we don't want to think about dying and we don't like to deal with the fact that we are all actively dying every second of the day but then again do you want to live so long everyone you know is dead? I don't know I think we all want to be over achievers in the longevity game but are we prepared for it? I guess all I really want is not to upset people too much by dying and of course to die in my sleep after having a few glasses of wine with a good book clenched in my hand. Who knows maybe I will get lucky. 

Introducing some of the animals of 3 Dogs Barking Farms and yes we actually only have two dogs

This is Fat Albert and no he isn't fat in fact he is quite trim. I love this cat. He likes to help me in the garden my laying on anything I am trying to work on. He loves to run and purr up against me and demand attention and sometimes he even brings me a present in the form of a rodent and no they aren't usually dead. Hes a good cat and a great hunter.

This is Clive the Rooster I had originally wanted to name him Nigel but forgot and for some reason started calling him Clive instead. Not sure what Clive's story is. One day a few weeks back I came home from work on a Friday night to more chickens then I had left with having that morning. Not sure if someone rooster bombed me but its okay although I never planned on having a rooster I have become quite enamored of this guy. He had string wrapped around his feet and they are slightly deformed so I am thinking that Clive's present situation with us is much better than where ever he was before. We are happy to welcome him to our family. Not sure what Clive makes of me but he seems fascinated sometimes I will be out weeding and I turn around and here is is watching me or if I am doing something he doesn't understand he will walk up to me look try and figure it out and then disappear only minutes later to bring the hens over so they all can confer on what the crazy human is doing. To be fair I must have looked a bit strange at the time because I was washing green beans for market in my pool float. So there intrigue is completely understandable.

this is Clive starting at me while I was reading my book and drinking a glass of wine.

This is my angel Lulu she is my heart and joy. She is a champion frog hunter and well as a champion napper. Lulu likes to take naps and she likes her treats too. She would do anything for one of her cookies I often wonder if there is a 12 step program for dogs. I am lulu and I am addicted to treats. But I love her like mad.

This is our new pup Booker Tickle Washington. He is part dachshund and part lab mix but he is pretty much pure dachshund and quite a handful. And he is lucky he is so damn cute. We are still trying to get him trained and not be such a crazy maniac and we are making small steps. I love his front legs he has ankles that he will use to hold on to you and his front feet are larger than back feet. And yes he does like to dig holes there is one in the side yard that I hoping to glimpse China any moment now.

This is Ziggy and one of the most mellow cats around. He is one cool cat for damn sure. Tonight I was weeding and he came up behind me and climbed up my back on sat on my shoulder so he could head butt me. He like Fat Albert likes to help me in the field while I am working. He is not always helpful but its always nice to take a break and have a cuddle with a cat.

These are a few of the hens Zelda and Lily. The are tough women and dont take any shit from anybody. Clive is still growing back some of his tale feathers from when he first came and tried to assimilate.

This is not the full crew but a nice representation. They make living and working here a real joy.