Snowy Solstice

We celebrated the Winter Solstice, the return of the sun after the darkening of the days through the autumn, on both Friday and Saturday. Friday, we had a dinner made of 100% local foods, most of which we grew on the farm- squash soup (okay, cinnamon in the soup wasn't local- that's the exception!), beets, kale, green beans and organic bread made by Bill! Dinner was followed by a bonfire to pay tribute to the returning sun, and to combust attachments no longer needed coming into the new year. Saturday night we hosted our community Solstice potluck and were joined by about 35 friends and neighbors to share delicous food, music, and another- this one a LARGE- bonfire. A good time was had by all.

It is also snowball season here in the Pemi-Baker Valley, and we have done our best this week to honor the Snow Gods by sending our own frozen projectiles through the air. At our solstice potluck, we had kids of all ages join in a good hearted, but pretty intense, snowball fight over, around, and through the bonfire. We seemingly have an ongoing friendly snowball fight that happens here at the farm, so be sure to be on your toes from now until spring thaw! Bill and I ambushed Louie (after he had tricked each of us, on seperate occasions, by knocking on the greenhouse door...we answered only to be pelted by a snowball!)...Louie threw 5 gallon bucketfulls of snow in retaliation to our incoming snowballs...a truce was called for the day when I put Louie into the snow half-nelson style after he buried my mittens! Nothing like good old fashioned family fun in the snow.

All of us here at D Acres hope that you and your loved ones are enjoying the true spirit of the season- a time of reflection, relaxation, and love for one another. May you joyfully look to the new year and coming season with an eye for transformation and new beginnings!

Peaceful blessings!

Lauren

2:30 Moon

Some would say that winter begins on Decmber 21. This is something that I question. Not the law of nature and seasonal changes, but the idea that different regions would not have different dates to observe the changes in seasons. Some areas may have a 6 month beginning in November winter and others a 2 month winter beginning in January. While this regional seasonal diversity might not be observed to its full extent, the Winter Solstice is something that has been celebrated during this time for thousands of years. Each year, the Earth reaches the farthest point in its orbit around the sun, and daylengths are at their shortest. Then the Earth begins its return to the Sun. This turning point has been happening since the planet was formed, and is observed as the Winter Solstice. The celebration is for the return of the sun, its warmth and light during the darkest time of the year. So gather with friends, share food and music, light fires, and appreciate this point in the cycle. We are having a Potluck here at D Acres on December 22 to celebrate. We invite you all to attend. BE

Snowy Nights and Open Mics

We had our first Open Mic a week ago, and I'd say that it went pretty well. We're always looking to improve upon it, and one such way is the potential for recording an event like that, or perhaps even videotaping it. Many incredible artists came by to share their talents with everyone, and the late night crowd was around playing music until almost 1:30 AM. Many thanks to everyone who came by to make it an awesome night, and many thanks to Dan, for bringing the PA system!

Jim Merkel gave an excellent presentation this past Wednesday on sustainability. I thought the crowd was very receptive and everyone thoroughly enjoyed the talk. Reducing our footprints seems to be a key factor in approaching sustainability, and we're all striving to reach that!

Woodshop shenanigans continue.

J Blye./

whew! Last night I decided to move my sleeping bags and blankets from my treehouse to the "G-Animal" greenhouse, where there were 2 wood burning stoves already heating the place up. It was pretty nice except when my roommates started roosting at 4:30 in the morning - still better than waking up to an obnoxious alarm though.

So yeah, when I walked outside this morning there was about 6 inches of snow on the ground and throughout the day we got about a foot. Fun times. Gotta keep an eye out for snow balls around here...

-Joe