Author: cedarlili
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The House is Dead – Long live the Farm!
I spent three days with Dad putting shingles on the house last year, when we had no idea how little time it had left. It was a house. I have walked out of many doors without a second glance backward. It was my family’s home for more than two decades, an old farmhouse with more…
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Spring Harvest
I went out yesterday and gathered in some green harvest… The Pac Choi won’t last much longer, as temps in the greenhouse near 100 every day. Dad rolled up the sidewalls yesterday, but the lettuce and greens will bolt within a week, I’d guess. Frost-free date for NH is officially June 1, but we…
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Snowstorm
We’ve been asked how we are weathering all the snow, and we’re happy to say all is well. Starts are coming along nicely, the greenhouse is standing in spite of all the snow, and somewhere under the new snow, there are little green daffodil shoots!
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The Other Blog
It occurs to me that when I comment or otherwise chime in on other’s blogs these days, there may be some confusion when you check me out and find a farm blog (or these days, slice of life family blog). I also write, and that blog is here: http://cedarwrites.wordpress.com. My name really is Cedar, that’s not…
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Education and the Farm
Here on the Farm we have not been homeschooling the children in the new sense of the word. That is, not sending them to public schools, but teaching them wholly at home, as I was, and my sisters with me. We have, however, and will always, teach the children at home. We encourage them to…
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Bear Kicking
Bears have a curiosity bump. I went for a walk early one morning, and took the camera with me to take pictures of dewy cobwebs. All the way at the back of the pasture I found a patch of lovely ones, and was bent over taking pictures when I heard a rustling in the brush.…
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Childhood Memories
To begin with, I was a military brat from the tender age of four days. We rarely lived anywhere for a full year until the year I was ten, when Dad left the military, and we moved to Alaska. Added to that my parents’ preference for rural life and I don’t remember living in a…
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Night Creatures: Tracks, Spiders, and Bats
The following was written for a library program where the participants were ranging in age from babies to 4th grade. I wanted to present it here with some pictures I’ve taken over the years. Enjoy, and pass it on to kids you know… Perhaps they will take the time to read some morning stories of…
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Wildflowers in June
One of my favorite things to do is to take a walk in June, camera in hand and a child or two with me. I take pictures, they frolic, and we usually wind up at the brook dabbling our toes in the water. Yesterday was a perfect day for this. Bright blue sky overhead, green…
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The Wasp Apologia
In defense of the humble wasp, so hated and feared by most humans, I put forth the following argument: the wasp is better than the mosquito. Every spring our old farmhouse is invaded by gentle brown paper wasps. They hibernate in the walls and roof through the winter, and a few become confused and make…
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Re-Seasoning Cast Iron
A step-by-step for Anna, my cousin John’s lovely bride. Eat well and be happy! Clean First, you’ll want to clean them well with very hot water and soap, scouring out any dust and debris. This will be the last time you use soap on them. If there is lots of crusted gunk, you can put…
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Sticky Buns for Breakfast
Dad loves biscuits, and he’s been hinting at them for a couple of days, so this morning I mixed up a batch. When I asked him if he wanted them rolled out or drop, he said “Rolled out with sticky stuff in the middle!” Growing up, Mom cooked, we sisters cooked, but Dad rarely did.…