Out of the City

When we have visitors, especially those not too familiar with New England, we like to show off the other side of Boston. So we took our family to the farm, the pond, and the town of Concord today to get the last glimpse of the fall foliage before the more subdued winter scene sets in.



We have them for just one more day before they go back to the wine country they call home. The cousins will miss each other and the adults will remember fondly of the visit that I am sure we will talk about for a long time.

Cousins

Cousin Anders and Aunt Terry are visiting from California this weekend. Though it had been five months since we last said goodbye to them at the San Francisco airport, when we are with them, it feels like just yesterday. The only difference is that Anders is just that much taller now!


We took them on the subway train into Boston. We showed them the Boston Garden and the Make Way for Ducklings. We also had lunch at a delicious pizza parlor that is a rarity in California. How hard is it to make good pizza? Somehow the Eastcoasters just do it better!

We were lucky with such a beautiful fall day. The forecast is for some rain this weekend, but we are not worried. They city is full of indoor activities to discover, and we will make good use of them.

Published!

I am happy to share with you that my first article was published today in the Lincoln Journal! Many of you who have been following my many blogs on Blue Heron Organic Farm know how passionate I am about it. Working there, being with the children there, reconnecting with an old friend, made our transition from California to Massachusetts an easier endeavor than it would have been otherwise. I am grateful that I was able to translate some of this passion and experience into writing, for the farm, for my friend, and for myself. This may not be the only written piece of work from me. I will keep you posted!

Market

The Davis Square Farmer's Market was busy today despite being the last week for some vendors. Because I was working on the farm, and receiving some produce as trades for several months, there was no need for me to go the markets. What can be better than picking my own vegetables and bringing them straight home?


Now that winter is approaching, I have to start storing some local produce that will keep for a while: squashes, onions, apples, potatoes. I was introduced to TAZA chocolate today, a locally made stone ground dark chocolate. They share their stall and production facilities with Fiore di Nonno, a handmade mozzerella cheesemaker. Fresh cheese, and dark chocolate. Even if you can't really eat them together, the stall became my instant favorite! Now I just need to find out how I can come visit them while they are making these delicious treats! No really, stay tuned!

Happy Halloween

This is as good as it gets in our family! And they are perfectly happy with it ( I hope).

Wellesley Fun

Wellesley and Fun were two words never used together during my days at the college, unfortunately.


I was too young and naive to know to not take college too seriously. I learned, I studied, I tried to achieve. I did it because it felt like everyone else around me was doing it, too. Ten years later, I wish I had done some of the serious stuff half of the time, and had some fun the other half.

I did manage to run or walk around Waban Pond a few times as a student. It is a pretty place as it is, but in the fall, it becomes magical with all shades of fall colors illuminating the trees. My friends Meliti and Megan were there today with me the children. For the youngsters, fortunately, it was all fun. And I hope that life, Wellesley College or not (well, not for Momo at least), will always be fun and exciting for them for a long long time.

I am lucky to be able to re-live a little of my life through my children. I will definitely teach them, when it's time to go to college, to remember to have fun, at least half of the time!

Fall at Codman Farm

It was a crisp, cool day. Fall is finally here to stay.

We were pleasantly surprised to find baby animals at Codman Farm today: piglets, and calves. There were also plenty of chickens, ducks, geese, sheep, cows, bunnies, and even wild turkeys roaming about.


The kids enjoyed playing with a toy tractor in the big barn, and observing the piglets being mischevious (crawling under the fence, and pushing each other around). It must be somewhat comforting, at least interesting, for them to see that other animals misbehave, too!

Check here for more photos from our time there.

Fall images

The other day

Who knows when the boys can play shirtless again. It was a bit scary, however, to have it be late October, fall leaves all around, and be so warm that the children wanted nothing to do with their clothes. We will all look longingly back to these photos!

Late Afternoon

The sun is setting much earlier now. Pretty soon, it will be dark in the middle of the afternoon, and it will be too cold to frolic outside.


















There is a little green space near our house that we call "The Circle Park", only because the patch of grass in the middle is circular. We sometimes ride the trikes there, and sometimes just walk over to see what we can discover. We have chased squirrels there, picked fallen apples, made nests with twigs and eaten popsicles. Today we found seeds and of course lots of fallen leaves. We made dumplings out of them. This may seem very simple, but it was superbly entertaining, at least for our children.

Last Harvest

The growing season is drawing to a close. I spent the morning at Blue Heron helping Ellery harvest for the restaurants and farmers' market. We chatted in the field as we picked kale and chard and lettuces. It was hard to believe that we will not be harvesting at the end of next week, especially when the warm wind blew the leaves off the trees all around us (too warm to be the end of October).


Who knows what the next season (winter, hopefully), and the next chapter will bring. Ellery will get a break from the farm, that much is true. As for me, some things may be brewing... I will keep you posted!

What we saw today

Pictures are supposed to say a 1,000 words. So as you look at these, imagine a light warm breeze, and the afternoon sun touching your skin. In the air, there is that very distinctive scent of New England fall: the leaves, the trees, the rich soil. There you have it, a perfect Indian summer day.