Studies in Shade and Tapioca

 

Tapioca's World

 

Evening Light

 

 

Mombrella

 

 

 With temperatures going up and the grass growing tall, Tatyana and Blue Note have more access to the yard, creating bucolic scenes like this.

Quieter than a mower, and lower greenhouse gas emissions! (March 22, 2020)

Sun-loving Lars (April 5, 2021)

 

 Lars and Sigmund check out their new Swinging Czech Brothers bachelor pad. They're two wild and crrrrrrazy guys! Up next: lava lamps, shag carpet and bead curtains.

Coop/run courtesy of Orting, WA's Original Chicken Man, who's sheltered our growing flock since 2016 (August 21, 2020)

Resplendent Lars (December 26, 2020)

 

Blue Note and Gelsomina try to break the internet (January 4, 2020)

 

Puck Greets the Spring (April 1, 2020)

Summer Solstice 2020 (June 21)

 According to some pagan and Wiccan traditions, at the summer solstice a transfer of power takes place. The Oak King, who governs Winter and Spring (when the light waxes), cedes his throne to the Holly King, who presides over Summer and Fall (when light wanes). There is always death in life and life in death.

Some observe the transition at the equinoxes, but we chose to commemorate this momentous event last night, during the longest day of the year. Among other activities, we removed the oak leaves in our home and replaced them with holly leaves to symbolize the new king's ascenscion. At its heart, paganism is simply about attuning your life more to natural cycles.

The rituals were led by Kristin, the good witch of the Pacific Northwest.

Imbolc 2021 (February 1)

 Today pagans the world over celebrate Imbolc, the midpoint between the Winter solstice and the Spring equinox. In general, it's a time for home, hearth and feeling the first stirrings of the coming Spring.

Some, like Kristin the Good Witch of the Pacific Northwest, choose to mark the day by "waking the forest," in her case by rattling bells on a stick and urging the plants and trees to "Wake up, wake up! -- Spring is on its way!"

Heavy rain notwithstanding, mission accomplished.

Happy Imbolc!

Conchita RIP (October 5, 2020)

 This weekend we had to put down our dear girl Conchita. She had been deteriorating for several weeks, with a condition likely brought on by the fact that modern domestic chickens are bred to lay as many eggs as possible, which takes a terrible toll on their bodies and over time can cause complications.

Our interventions bought her some time, but she had lost a lot of weight. On Sunday, we decided along with our vet that she was getting to the point where the discomfort and lack of eating was turning into real suffering, even if she still enjoyed sun, grass, and foraging. Her last days were made as pleasant as possible, we hope.

We know we have our animals for only a short while. We know that they depend on us for everything; that we have absolute control; that their lives and deaths are determined by what we do or don't do. But every one we lose still hurts.

Conchita, named after my grandmother, and whom we brought with us from Seattle when we moved to the country, is resting now in our growing animal cemetery. We will soon honor her brief life and remember her at the Day the Dead.

 Nature does not know waste, but operates through cycles and loops.

Case in point: one's cleared-away nuisance brambles become others' all-day salad buffet.

Moving Announcement (2019)

 Dear all —

 

We have moved.

 

On October 16th, 2019, José and Kristin packed up our Seattle house of four years and moved to a 9.7-acre parcel in Longbranch, WA, on the Key Peninsula south of Gig Harbor. A locale we had not heard of prior to finding our new home. So small it isn’t even a town but a “Census Designated Place.” A place that, as soon as we saw it, we knew would make us very happy. Luckily, everything worked out and here we are. Our undying thanks especially to Kristin’s parents Denny and JoAnne for helping us move.

 

The property is mostly forested, with trails lovingly maintained for thirty years by the previous owners. It has three pastures (one used to hold bison!) and areas for recreation, including a campsite with outhouse. When Kristin told her friend Laura about the place she said it sounded like a summer camp. Every morning when we wake up it feels like Christmas! One month in, we still don’t believe it.

 

While enjoying the privilege of living in such a sanctuary, we hope to steward this habitat (restored from a former logging site) and aid in the well-being of all creatures that fall under our care. So far we’ve seen newts, banana slugs, native Douglas squirrels, and deer. To this menagerie we’ve so far added six cats (Franz, Eartha, Pilar, Mr. Pants, Tapioca and Sheetara), ten chickens (Gelsomina, Mabel, Eleanor Roosevelt, Amelia Earhart, Leona, Conchita, Ororo Munroe, Jean Grey, Emma Frost and Kitty Pryde) and two Nigerian dwarf goats (Tatiana and Blue Note). 

 

To you, our friends and family, we extend an invitation to come visit. We have plenty of room, especially in the warmer months, when the adventurous might want to camp out.

 

In short, feeling grateful.

 

Best wishes and happy holidays,

 

J & K

November 27, 2019