We've been consciously slowing our lives down for years. It all started when I was ping-ponging coast to coast for work. Living in the city frayed my every edge (and I had a lot of edges back then). Saturday mornings, I'd eagerly seek sustenance at the farmers' market, and I came to realize I wasn't just after the fiddlehead ferns or the apple-blossom branches or the Jersey tomatoes or the pumpkins or the Christmas trees. I longed to participate in the growing season. It wasn't enough to live off the fruits of the land, I wanted the land and the sky and the rain falling down and the plants growing up, up, up.
And here we are years and years later with a home on a piece of land where we grow some of our food and gather eggs from our own chickens and put up pickles for the winter. It feels like the whole world is right here where we live and yet, by necessity, we still do the work of the world-at-large. And there's where the grind comes. I rarely look at the clock, but even as I'm picking the first Sun Golds (hurray!) and stirring the jam or feeding the sourdough starter, I'm beholden to three or four different projects on my computer. And Birch started a new business this year. Even with the homeschooling, the girls have been taking on more and more responsibility in their studies. Sometimes it feels that we spin as fast in our slow lives as we ever did in our quick-quick version.
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| Always a blur of snuggle and spin |
"Get off the car!"
"Get out of the car!"
"Don't head-butt the cat!"
"Oh, no, not the roses..."
"Don't chase the chickens!"
"Goat in the house!"
"Oh, no, not the bok choi!"
"Two goats in the house!"
"Don't drink out of the toilet!"
You get the picture? Wild.
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| Those two cinnamon streaks ahead of the girls? The goats. |
Fast as they are, the goats have finally, finally, finally taught us about slowing down. I've always loved that Gandhi quote about being the change you want to see in the world. Getting the goats has made us become the change we professed to want in our lives. The goats made us truly become slow.
This summer, learning to tend goats has led us to trim back our expectations of ourselves. Fern and Blossom looked forward to turning eleven so they could take the Red Cross babysitting course and become official for the work they love. Instead, they're babysitting goats. They are also reading for hours and picking blackberries and baking and playing in the river while the goats scamper along the rocky ledges.
It is the best summer we've ever had, slow and full: a growing season.
We're linking up with other families who are all striving for the good life with Simple Lives Thursday. Prepare to be inspired.
12 comments:
I don't know which are cuter..the girls or the goats..just kidding - the girls of course...but the goats come in a close 2nd! You need to write a book..complete with your beautiful photos..and sell it - thereby making money and making me happy..Oh wait..making a LOT of people happy. Happy happy happy!
I love how your summer is progressing. Chasing after goats makes a statement about how really slow humans can be. :>) Not in the way you intended but funny still.
You're living the summer of your dreams. That's so cool.
Oh, Colleen: You are too kind. We aim to keep you happy any way we can. You make us laugh and remember how important laughter is...always. Laughter, for instance, is the only answer to goats drinking from the toilet.
Conny: Some days it feels like the summer of my nightmares. But then I shake myself and watch the goats spin like tops and...happy again. Slow is so good.
This is beautiful. I am really enjoying borrowing goats. It makes me want to leave the city more and more. Every time I think I'm ok with my little 1/5 acre urban farm I go and see the goats. So glad you found your sense of place! And thanks for linking up to Simple Lives Thursday!
The goats are adorable. What type of goats are they?
Goats are just busy, aren't they? Looks like you're having a blast with them!
So beautiful! When I shared your post on Facebook yesterday, someone commented that your goats looked like forest creatures.
It was fun to read of someone else having goats with few boundaries, though I can't say our goats have been in the house! :-)
Thanks for adding your post to Simple Lives Thursday.
Sustainable: I think your goat-sharing is inspired! It is great to see you being creative to achieve sustainability even on 1/5 acre. And thanks for letting us share in Simple Lives Thursday.
Meems: They are Nigerian dwarf goats, a milking breed. Let's hope we survive to the milking stage, ahem.
Jen: They are busy. And they keep us busy. It's wonderful.
Wardeh: That's so funny. We think they look very fawnlike. They seem so at home along the river and in the woods. And they would be at home with us -- if they could. They got into the house through the cat's door. Did we mention that they are smart?
Love your blog and love Simple Lives Thursday!
your goats are adorable! what a lovely post. we have been lucky this summer garden wise, haven't we.
It's true, June. You can get just as wound up in simple-living as you can in any techno-trade. It's all a matter of priorities. And priorities, like goats, need to be brought into line now and then else they run helter skelter through the best laid plans. LOL Love the pics. My friend had milk goats. You think you are have some fun things come out of your mouths now. Just wait till you start milking...! ;-D
What a lovely post! Your quotes had me laughing out loud. I can only imagine....:-)
Allison: We have been lucky, gardening wise. Well, except for the blight nipping at the tomatoes.
Kris: Oh, no. I can hardly imagine that things will spin more wildly than now. Sigh. Sunday morning, we looked out the window and saw a goat wandering around by the garden: Escaped. Now they are escape artists too.
Knitty: I laugh now, too, though not when the words were coming out of my mouth. Laughter is good for us!
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