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poppy jr.

There's a new member of the Donohue/Chill household!  Meet Watson, Poppy Johnson's 1.5-week-old kitten.  Poppy gave birth in the middle of the night- it was a total surprise!  You can imagine the excitement.  I am in love.

Name explanation: our other adult cat is named Sherlock.  It was just too good.

bye-bye new england

Probably the last time I'll post here for a bit.  Tomorrow morning (4AM to be exact), I'm driving to JFK with my mama, Camille, Claire and Grace.  Then Claire and I are hopping on a big flying machine and spending 12 hours whizzing southwest and eventually landing on Maui.

This is a picture of Camille and me from tonight.  I am going to miss her dearly.

See you in a month, New England.

Love and thanks -
Mada

last days in CT

There have/has been a snowstorm or two, a semi-surprise birthday party, day-trips, restless late-night drives to cafes or to wander around stores looking at body jewelry, a one-time job serving drinks on the 12fth floor, sushi, a baby born, sleep, 60-degree weather, 20-degree weather, meltdowns, appointments, groceries, dehydration, Gollum impersonations, logistics, packages arriving in the mail.  We've talked about everything we can.  We've thought about everything we can't.  We've cried about half of all that.  Time has been spent sitting in parked cars.  Lots of time.  There has been kindness, thank you.  The world is 3D at last.  Today, I made my first deposit into my checking account without a hitch.  Wonder of wonders.  We went to the farm and were briefed on Korean Natural Farming.  We came home with a bushel of winter greens.  There have been more salad wraps than you would believe.  There have been preparations.  In five days, Claire and I fly to Hawaii to spend a month backpacking.  I'm starting to pack tonight.  Decisions, decisions.  I will miss my family.  I will miss them all.  I am very happy.  My face is flushed from this computer screen.  How many rolls of film can I fit in my pack? 

With love, sentimentally,
Mada

new world

Last day of the growing/working season yesterday.  Today, we had a big solstice celebration at the farm.  Lots of delicious food, conversation, kids and indoor traffic jams.  Bryan and Anita, my bosses, slaughtered five roosters yesterday.  Anita roasted up the biggest one, an eight-pounder, for the party.  Bryan and the gaggle of kids got a bonfire going outside, and we sat around it.  Not going to lie, I spent a lot of the time coughing and choking when the (rather wild) wind blew smoke my way.  My hair still smells like woodsmoke.  It was a good night. 

On January 23rd, Claire and I leave for a month of backpacking around Maui and Kauai.  I can't think about it too much or I vibrate with excitement.

I'm gearing up for some major holiday cookery.  As usual, we're planning to have about a million people over for Christmas.  Should be a blast!  I've got lots of yummy ideas... 

After the holidays, I'm pretty much a free bird.  I want to spend January reading, skiing, catching some time with my busy and widespread family, writing and SLEEPING.  Definitely lots of sleeping.  No more early farm mornings for me!  The other day I slept in until 10:45AM.  It has honestly been years since I slept that late.  My battery is in dire need of recharging, and now is the time.  

I'm also 18 years old now!  18 and still groovy, like my sister said.  Life as an adult has so far been fairly similar to life as a minor, except for that I can now legally drive between the hours of 11pm and 5am.  I considered buying a pack of cigarettes just for kicks, but I decided it was too young & reckless for me.  I'm a senior citizen at heart.

No snow here yet, but I've got my fingers crossed.  Above is a picture I took after last year's October blizzard.  I'm using it to help me *visualize.*  

Happy Solstice, all-

Mada

late fall limbo

Happy December, all.  Tomorrow I turn eighteen years old.  Life is happy and sad and full of the good stuff.  The farm season is wrapping up.  Claire and I are working on travel plans.  I slept in until 9:45 this morning for the first time in nine months; must be December!

Love -
Mada



Pictured:

1. Camille and me in Burlington, VT for Thanksgiving.
2. The mini-est of snowmen, sculpted by Deidre.
3. Sunset over Claire's dashboard.
4. Fun in the snow with Deidre.
5. Claire curled up in my new bedroom.
6. The mini-est of Christmas trees, discovered by Deidre.  (Are you sensing a pattern?)
7. Declan, Deidre and me with a lethal weapon bow saw.
8. Took a little hike up Wolf Rock with Claire.
9. Happy.
10. Very happy.

september on the farm

The golden month.

1. clara, owen, chasey the chicken and bryan at lunch.  owen's last day.
2. owen and chasey.
3. claire, owen and lud in the flatbed on the drive to the other field.
4. me, clara.
5. claire, me, clara, lud and the vegetable haul.
6. praying mantis, dirty hand.
7. lud face.
8. claire in the truck.
9. clara.
10. the official farm picture- lud, clara, bryan, owen, chasey the chicken, claire, me, anita and amy.  (clockwise from bottom left)

summer food adventures

Claire's birthday dinner table.

This summer (and spring), I tried lots of foods for the first time.  Here is a fairly comprehensive list:

• Duck
• Lobster
• Sushi 
• Kohlrabi
• Lamb
• Ghee
• Dragonfruit
• Mussels
• Squid seviche
• Venison
• Rambutan
• Sheep's milk cheese
• Smoked bluefish
• Breadfruit
• Passionfruit
• Guava
• Grilled calamari
• Mung bean pasta

And more, I'm sure, that I'm not remembering.  This has been an expansive year for me, food-wise and beyond.  Before July, I had been a strict vegetarian for 5 years.  Clearly times have changed!  Here are some recent food pictures:

Lobster.

My pizza - buckwheat/coconut crust, sauteed onions and leeks, steamed summer squash, black olives and goat chevre.

Claire's pizza - the same except +steamed beets and -black olives.

The king of fruit!  Durian leftovers headed for the compost.