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As I look back on more than a year of writings, my unconscious trend is to begin with weather. It is a defining feature of our lives, both conscious and unconscious. For a business owner for whom daily tasks and annual income depend on the weather, this feature is particularly conscious. Yet, the epitome ofContinue reading “Winter Planning”

We had some of our coldest weather this week, with our lowest morning temperature at -12F. The worst of it was the winds. I remember as a kid hearing weather reports growing up in Boston of the temperatures on Mt Washington, and they would always say the temperature (some cold number like -20F) and thenContinue reading “Survey and Cold”

The weather has not been gentle during our first full week back in the rhythm of being home on the farm. We’ve had a mix of beautiful sun, gloomy clouds and gentle snowfalls. Temperatures have oscillated from the slushy 30s to morning temperatures that have twice gone as low as 2 degrees. Lewis and LovettContinue reading “Settling In”

On Wednesday of this week we packed up our bags for the last time, loaded them into our car and started the last leg of our trip to our “Essex Home.” We’ve had a few different places we called home in the last six weeks of living away from the farm. For Lewis and LovettContinue reading “New Year’s Home”

On Saturday evening the farm lost power due to a wind storm. Our farm is located in an area of New York State that is not very densely populated and so we often loose power and it can take longer than expected to get electricity back. But like so many things, it is difficult toContinue reading “Generator Dance”

I mentioned last week that we had some prime rib roasts available for this holiday season, but I needed to confirm the size of the roasts. After some long distance sleuthing by Holly and Gwen, I have listed the Prime Rib Roasts on the website. They are each 4 rib roasts, which means that theyContinue reading “Prime Rib Dinners”

We celebrated a different holiday this week here in Bangui. December 1st is the national holiday. We went down to the river with the kids for an afternoon of long waiting and fanfare leading up to the Pirogue (large canoes) races. In an incredible feat of strength, endurance and coordination, canoes filled with what mustContinue reading “Holiday Menu”

Happy Thanksgiving. We all ventured out to the US ambassador’s home here in Bangui for a Thanksgiving meal. The highlight of the meal for me was an elaborate cake, with a pink and white color theme and beautiful cursive letters that proclaimed: “Happy Birthday Thanksgiving”. I make an effort on the farm to carry myContinue reading “Happy Birthday Thanksgiving”

Thunder rolls in from the east, and I can smell the lightning as it crashes through the clouds. The afternoon heat swirls and mixes with the cool air riding the weather front. The casual power of the daily rain storms is still exciting and strange to me and I am thankful we have a metalContinue reading “Apples and Papayas”

Sometimes we need to smash things to pieces. This week we prepare for a big journey as a family, including getting our broken toilet off of our front stoop and breaking it down into the trash dumpster. I realized as I sat down to write this note, that I have not mentioned our family plans.Continue reading “Travel”