Unseasonably warm weather brings out Spring behavior. Chicken palace? Clean. Horses stalls? Clean. Goat enclosure? Picked up. Baryard? Clean.
Spring Clean for the January Queen
January 10, 2023
farm, horse cleanup, farm, Spring cleaning Leave a comment
Big Dog, Little Girl
January 10, 2023
dogs, farm, hiking, nature, trees iulie, moonshine Leave a comment
Look at that smile on Moonshine’s face.
Tree elf.
Chopsticks
Little creatures are exhausting.
Winter Solstice 2022: Warm Friends on a Cold Night
December 18, 2022
dogs, farm, fire, party, photography dogs, photography, solstice, solstice fire, solstice party, video, winter solstice, winter solstice 2022 3 Comments
It all started at 3pm for me (with the perfunctory “lighting of the barrel”). Just making sure there was a heat source for people who arrived before the big bonfire lighting.
The sky was gorgeous.
And soon there were solstice attendees and tiki torches.
We lit the fire shortly after 5pm when it finally got dark enough. There were LOTS of people here for the lighting. It was a good one.
The fire had a huge core (that is still burning late the next day).
Meanwhile up at the barn there was terrible Christmas music, lots of food, and a great sense of camaraderie.
The homemade eggnog (recipe here) made things a little blurry. Delicious.
The space between the barn and the bonfire is always magical. This year, the lasers were particularly remarkable.
And the highlight of the evening for me. Music with Clark and Gina. Yes please. This is how we turn the sun.
We wrapped things up around midnight with the last of the hearty attendees, leaving a large pack of 20 somethings to deal with the skunk!
Moonshine loved it.
And he says, now that everything is cleaned up, lets do it again!
Thanks to all who came. Magical.
Summer Solstice 2022
June 21, 2022
cooking, farm, flowers, party barns of rose hill, bonfire, chef michael, garden, gem, romey, solstice, solstice fire, solstice party, video Leave a comment
We’ll start in the middle, with a video of the lighting of the summer solstice bonfire of 2022. The weather was absolutely perfect and the crowd friendly and warm. Every year the size of the fire seems to come as a surprise.
This year the weather was so cool that a dip in the river was not in the cards.
Rewinding a day, Aubrey provided another great iteration of the smoked salmon Messerhead feast helping to set the FOOD stage. Speaking of FOOD, Chef Michael was down from Chicago with Astro. That means we were spoiled rotten on the food front for days on end.
Salmon feast table
Any solstice that starts with caviar is destined for greatness.
Before.
Prepping for late night tacos
It seems that Chef Michael can’t cook for less than 700. But that’s OK. We just need to make the solstice party seven times bigger. Pork shoulder in the firepit by the shrine.
We had a mid-day break to tour Eli’s fantastic art show at the Barns of Rose Hill. The show continues through July 2nd.
Then it was time for the pre-game Negroni.
And we were officially underway. Esther and Cora presided over the opening.
The sufferin bastard made an appearance
After an outstanding potluck feast, replete with fresh flowers, it was time for one quick song (thanks guitar week fellers) and FIRE.
By far the cutest thing at this solstice iteration was the jumping of the gun by Brantley the marshmallow boy. The fire was still a bit young. But that did not deter Brantley.
The fire burned for two days. In fact, it is still smoking as I write this.
Thank goodness for Alec, David, and Gina. We had a few hours of music by the bonfire.
Rumor has it that absinthe hour stretched from 3am-6am.
The next day happened fast.
Morning after breakfast
The chef outdid himself three times.
Party cleanup was a breeze with Aubrey in charge. The weather cooperated the entire weekend.
What is left of this fire?
Are there coals down there?
Fresh veggies from the Berryville farmer’s market (thanks to Chilly Hollow Farm)
While the
veggies roast, we hang by the fire.
Donkey Hodie says “sup homey?”
Astro has the best home
The garden
Roast veggies
OMG more food
Even moonshine is in a food coma.
What do you do with recd currants?
You make a fresh tart. Then mezcal straight from Mexico City?! Yup.
Morning never arrived for some of the mezcal participants.
And then a visit from Iulie.
Fin.
Ganesh Chaturti on the Shenandoah
October 29, 2021
farm, nature, river Allen Kitselman, bald eagles, bindi, ceremony, cheeto, consecration, food, ganesh, Ganesh Chaturti, gem, hinduism, immersion, indian food, karthik, nature, river, river run, romey, shenandoah, shenandoah river, skaggs, the shrine Leave a comment
Sometime last summer (during the height of the pandemic), “the shrine” on my property was designed by Allen Kitselman and implemented by Claudio and his brother. On 9/12 it was properly initiated with a Ganesh Chaturi ceremony led by Karthik.
Here’s how that went down.
First, Karthik shared the significance of Ganesh Chaturti, read some ancient text, and made an offering.
Ready for the ceremony
Karthik leads the reading
Incense
Ganesh at the shrine (and everywhere else in the universe too)
In the verdant woods of Virginia
A gift for the mantle
Then it was off to the river for part two of the ceremony, a small prayer with an earthen Ganesha moorti which Jackie immersed in the Shenandoah river in a traditional way (plus kayaks).
We kayaked several miles together. Had lunch. Saw eagles. Reveled in nature. There was a cheeto sighting.
When we were getting ready to depart, the truck failed to start. But we persevered (with some help from Skaggs and a trusty hammer).
And then some fabulous food and conversation.
All in all, an excellent day. The shrine is consecrated and new friendships blossom.
Bindi people
Today, the light
January 2, 2020
dogs, farm, hiking, mountain, photography blue ridge, dogs, gem, hiking, nature, photography, river, shenandoah, shenandoah river Leave a comment
Three views from the corner.
Trio one
Trio two
Trio three
The walk.
Mogli blends
Shenandoah
Light
Tree fire
Winter Solstice Solo 2019
December 22, 2019
farm, fire, party, photography bonfire, dogs, gem, solstice, solstice fire, solstice party, sophie, winter solstice, winter solstice 2019 Leave a comment
The solstice tradition continues in force. Thanks to all who came for the love, laughter, music, and joy.
Tiki lighting
Deck the bridge
Sophie prefers indoor parties, thanks.
The barn in party mode
Before
More before
Sundown on the solstice
The lighting was as spectacular as ever.
Turn sun turn!
Meanwhile in the barn…Sophie takes a party nap.
Do not party like Sophie.
Boilo
Solstice potluck disco center
Burn hot
Alec and the fiddle player
The solution to cold butts
2am coals
I know, lets do it again. See you at the summer solstice!
The Garden Winds Down
September 26, 2019
farm bounty, corn, dogs, fall, flower, garden, gem, gleaning, photography, sunflowers Leave a comment
The garden produced prolifically this year. It was a great year for watermellon and corn. Heck, even the squash lasted for several months before it was wiped out by the squash beetles.
Some of the last of the bounty is coming in now.
Pepper haul Sept
Cayenne
Jalapeño, habañero, hot banana, cayenne
Late September tomato
Pick a peck of peppers
The tomato plans and the peppers have lots more production to go before they peter out. Meanwhile, the corn and the sunflowers are done. So down they come.
Gleaned corn
Now you see it
Now you don’t
I will stand up the husks in a typical Fall display, probably tomorrow.
extra junk
Sunflowers down.
Beheadings galore
Now you see them
Now you don’t
Sunflower poles
Fall.
Winter is coming.
Shadow play
Garden Update: Mid-Summer Bounty Begins
July 11, 2019
farm, food garden, gem, harvest, photography, video Leave a comment
Rain and sun. Rain and sun. 90 degree days and massive afternoon thunderstorms. The garden is OK with all that.
First real harvest and a vegetarian dinner grown entirely on the property.
Watermellon? Watermellon.
First real harvest. Still waiting for tomatoes to get red.
Garden Pre-Beach
June 11, 2019
farm, flowers, plants garden, no weeds, vegetables, video Leave a comment
Here is update three on the garden. Most everything is up except the third corn plantation. The weed situation is entirely under control. My bet is after we return from two weeks at the beach, chaos will be happening. We shall see!
