A Sweater For Winter
The Winter Hearth.
The hearth of the home is a special place. Especially here. The whole house revolves around the hearth. That is simply the lay out. I enjoy sitting near the fire with a nice knitting project, or on occasion working the spinning wheel even if poorly. As they say, ubung macht den meister. Work makes the master. Or, as we say it here, “practice makes perfect.” I could use quite a bit. But I work on it gradually.
Eventually it will be a sweater. And why YES, I AM knitting cables.
When I was little I learned the core basics from a lefty. In high school, I sold the odd piece very infrequently. Then, one day I just stopped. For many years. Being located so near to Harvard Mass, with The Fiber Loft, have re-ignited the spark. I am trying to relearn what I only half remember. It’s a good time.
This winter sweater is made from bulkier yarn. It is a fairly quick knit. And, yes, I am knitting cables! It’s very relaxing to knit by the fire. when you smell cold damp outside and the sky is flashing a warning, flying thick, grey, low hanging clouds….. Safe and cozy, chilling inside with tea and my knitting, watching my goats through a back window….. What a perfect moment for a homesteading farm wife.
Wildflower Farm Hearth, the heart of the home is a creative one
I love moments like this. The dogs lay quiet around me napping, all of them snoring like aging truckers…..Warm and cozy….. I don’t wonder for a moment if I did the right thing when we dumped the city to live the homesteading , and farming life style. Moments like this, I know I did exactly right. I am where I am supposed to be doing what I am supposed to be doing. Once in a while, I miss the city convenience…. But oh, I wouldn’t trade twilight on the back patio, sitting with my knitting and watching the fire flies dancing with the trees at the edge of the woods….. Not for anything. Those slow moments, on a farm, so full of scope for the imagination and the creative mind…. Sitting, creating with my hands, watching as the fire flies weave all around the trees, and the slight breeze, allows the trees to beckon calling in a voice uniquely their own…… There is a quiet joy, knowing I created this perfect moment, that is the real craft here. You thought this was about a sweater?
Thank you for enjoying this perfect moment with me.
Amanda of Wildflower Farm
Tags: acreage, acres, agriculture, agro, airbnb, B&B, back yard chickens, bed and breakfast, bed and breakfast house, BnB, DIY, farm, farm blog, farm country, farm crafts, farm wife, farm wife blog, farmer, farming, farmstead, fiber arts, goats, guest house, handmade, homestead, homestead blog, homestead farm, homestead farm blog, homestead house wife, homestead wife, homestead wife blog, homesteader, homesteading, house wife, Hygge, inn keeper, inn keeper's blog, knit, knitting, lodging, new england, New England Hygge, old fashioned housewife, old fashioned living, wildflower farm, wildflower farm acres
Wildflower Farm, is a small New England homestead, B&B and AirBnB, in the Baystate. We came out here 7 years ago, when we returned from the better part of 10 years as peripatetic aristotelian nomads, for my husband's post docs. Upon our return, we had a plan. We had a lovely home. Everything was so clear. Then, I got sick. Things I used to eat all the time during our travels elsewhere in the world and even here before I left almost 10 years earlier made me ill. It took a couple trips to the ER and a trip to specialist... It became clear, something had changed in the way food is processed in this country since last I lived here. Some off label things was inevitably going to be my demise.
My husband and I looked around to see the clear path we were on, had exploded in front of us. We decided we had to create a new path for ourselves. We put children on hold. We found a small piece of land with a house we loved in a rural suburb in a right to farm area. I began researching how to do it ourselves. Grow it ourselves, make it ourselves, survive on our own as much as possible. We bought the property, and began plotting a new course. One that didn't involve off label chemicals. Closer to nature, with a lot more DIY, gardens, and animals for the products they provide. We created a life we loved though it hasn't always been easy and has of course come with compromise with each other, and even with ourselves.
Our family thought we had lost our minds. What were we doing leaving the city? We had no idea how hard this would be. They thought we would be back in 6 months. That was over 7 years ago, now. We have been making it work. They were not wrong, it isn't easy. But has anything worth doing ever been easy? And for us, avoiding as much store bought food as possible was simply necessary so I could live given how sick I was getting.
Then Covid hit.... We were lucky to have this place. It has allowed us a lot less need for public use territories which has kept us a lot safer and spared us much of the risk others face daily. This place, has given us a privilege through this of great meaning to us. To be of use in a difficult time. We have been able to help friends family and even strangers in need when things couldn't be found on store shelves. Or money was tight due to not working, rent being due and a child at home, or some other draining situation. We are so very grateful to have been able to not be helpless like so much of society through this miserable time. Our families, got used to it some time ago, us being out here. They made peace with it the day there was no bread and they had to ask me for some. Or when fresh vegies were rotten due to supply chain issues but they could find plenty in my garden.
Wildflower Farm, was a place I dreamed of. One of those sweet pastoral dreams a city dweller grows up knowing will never come true, that became unavoidable when I became ill. I never expected to get to do this. I never thought I had what it takes to make this work. I have learned pacing myself is important, compromise is critical, hard work never ends, burn out is real so breaks are just a necessary evil.
We are not fully self sufficient, but we work hard in that direction as we create a new path through life for ourselves, always reaching to do even more ourselves and to get closer to the ideal we envision. We are however far more self sufficient than many in this world. 7 years in, we continue to learn and grow in this homesteading lifestyle. We welcome comments and advice and ideas and questions.
We welcome visitors from all over to our home with strict covid policies in place. We spend our time learning to live all over again in a more environmental and sustainable way though even there we are far from perfect always learning and growing doing better as we know better.
This little homestead farm is a magical place named for the New England wildflowers that grow all around. A place where a physicist, watches the night sky on clear nights with the aide of mirror and glass, and a woman, works endlessly in the gardens, the kitchen, and a variety of projects to create and to keep a very unique life style running and functioning. Wildflower Farm, has become so much more than simply a piece of land we can grow a few vegetables on. The longer I spend here, the more alive the land seems, the more I learn about it's function and the more meaning it has. My place in the universe and the next steps on our new path become ever more clear.
We welcome you on this journey with us.
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