Record Breaking.

Well, it is official. This is the snowiest winter in Madison's history (well, since the 1880's when they started tracking). And it is only mid-February!

Today we had more snow, which put us well over the previous record of 76.1 inches set in 1978-79 (we are at 79.2", with more snow coming tomorrow).

I love winter, but I think I'm a bit tired of shoveling!

(Oh, and the photo? That is the Utica-Nora SnowCat, a snowmobiling trail groomer. We see it in action most weeks when we pick up our eggs! They boys love watching it.)

Photos of the Day.

Putting together word puzzles.


Dancing to the Red Hot Chili Peppers.


Little brother saying to the big brother - "It says B-E-E, BEE!"

Community Supported Agriculture.

It is that time of year. Planning the garden, drooling over seed catalogs, reading gardening books, and sketching out options.


Every January or February I also start to look forward to CSA time. The fresh produce, visiting the farm to pick up our weekly box, having organic food freshly picked from healthy soil, grown by farmers who use sustainable practices and who care for the land.

Having the boys participate in what we can grow in our own small (tiny?) yard is wonderful, and they can help with the process from seed to seed. I also love that they can see where food comes from in the bigger picture with our CSA...hoophouses, fields and human hands. Not to mention the breadth of variety we can expect from our share each week.


Here are some resources - both local and national (and even international CSA search link) - for those of you who want to find out more about CSA's!

Community Supported Agriculture - Info & Find a Farm:

Wisconsin:

Madison Area Community Supported Agriculture Coalition

Wisconson Farm Fresh Atlas

National/International:

Local Harvest

Locate a CSA Farm (+international listings)


Books:


Sharing the harvest : a citizen's guide to Community Supported Agriculture - by Elizabeth Henderson



Holy Cows and Hog Heaven : the Food Buyer's Guide to Farm Friendly Food - by Joel Salatin



About Community Supported Agriculture:

What is a CSA?

What is Community Supported Agriculture and How Does It Work?



And if you are in my area, you might find some of these wonderful resources interesting - classes about sustainability, organic farming, gardening, and preserving the harvest (N IL/S WI):

Inn Serendipity || Angelic Organics Learning Center || Michael Fields Agriculture Institute || Driftless Folk School || Artha Sustainable Living Center ||

Red and Black.

My 3 year old has been particularly spunky the past few weeks, so I have only been working on sewing projects which can be done a little bit at a time. I found this beautiful red and black batik last fall and have been holding onto it, unsure what to use it for. The bright red color on my fabric pile kept attracting my eye in these white snowy weeks, so I had to use it. Napkins can be done in short spurts - and it seems we can't ever have too many of them - so we have another set of lovely bold cloth napkins!

Heated Rice Bag.

G modeling the rice bag

Over the past two days my 4 year old has been limping and hobbling around, complaining about a leg ache. This calls for a rice bag. Rice bags are sewn from any natural fabric*, and filled with uncooked rice. Depending upon the use, a few drops of essential oil can be added to the rice in the bag. To place on a congested chest, the rice might have a drop of eucalyptus & peppermint oil. For a headache, the rice might have a drop of lavender oil. And for this achy leg, I added peppermint oil to two bags, popped them in the microwave for about a minute, and placed them on his leg.


They are easy to make and easy to use, and while you need to be careful not to overheat the rice (give the bag a good squeeze and feel temp before placing on skin), they work great and do retain heat for a good amount of time. The boys love them, and will sit patiently with one on whatever spot is in need.

*If you make one, be sure to use natural fabrics, thread, and ribbon--some funky man made stuff might melt!