Henny Penny Farmette

Is this the new norm? If I had any doubts that the planet was heating, I have abandoned them in the face of sweltering heat expected today.  Bay Area forecasters predict the thermometer to climb to 107 degrees Fahrenheit in some of the inland valleys around the San Francisco Bay.

Orchids love heat

On the farmette, the heat will top out at 104 degrees. While breezes from the Delta in the late afternoon blow through, what we need is cool, moist fog. Breezes today will be like having a fan in a sauna.

No doubt about it, this heat is unseasonably warm here for any day in June. Not so, in Death Valley, an area of the state below sea level in California’s Mojave Desert. It holds the North American record for the hottest day on Earth.

In Death Valley, 125 degrees Fahrenheit is nothing to sneeze at. Back in 1913 in Furnace Creek, the center of Death Valley mining operations and ancestral home of the Timbisha tribe of Native Americans, the temperature climbed to 134 degrees.

To date, that 134 degree-temperature is the record for North American heat. As a species, we humans might have to think about how much heat we can stand, because it just might be the new norm. See, http://www.history.com/news/the-hottest-day-on-earth-100-years-ago

The backyard and farmhouse patio bathed in morning sunlight

Each day on my farmette starts with chores involving plants and animals . . . and writing. The latter might seem a bit strange until you understand that my farmette–with its organic heirloom vegetables, eggs, and honey–has evolved into a brand that includes my forthcoming Henny Penny Farmette novels. It’s business. I have to write three novels in three years. I’ve already written two.

Like any business that involves regular tasks for keeping the enterprise thriving, my farmette novels require a daily commitment to writing. Excellence in my writing endeavors is just as important to me as the quality of my Henny Penny Farmette jams, honey, eggs, and this blog.

Chickens are an integral part of the farmette landscape

I rise early,  at 4:00 AM, to get a jump on my day. The roosters start crowing around that hour, but the sleepy hens remain on the roost until daylight. I like to stroll outside, see the edges of the black sky turning lighter at the eastern horizon, observe the position of the moon and stars, feel the cool predawn air on my face, and notice the silent vapor of fog receding like gray shroud being tugged upon.

I enjoy the scent of pine and orange blossoms (when the trees are in bloom), and take note of the occasional spritzing of a skunk or cat marking its territory while out prowling. These observations become notes in my journal.

At bedtime and when I awaken during the night, I practice yoga nidra, a state of deep relaxation and lucid dreaming. Often, though, the lucidity may be nudged aside as sleep and dreams in which I am not aware of my physical environment take over. Still, I sometimes work through problems in my life or my stories and awaken with a solution . . . sometimes, but not always.

A pretty corner of the garden on the farmette

During the morning hours before sunrise, following a good night’s sleep, I feel sharpest and most in tune with nature and my deepest, inner Self.  One of my favorite writers John O’Donohue observed the profound and numinous presence of nature and wrote in his book Anam Cara:  “Landscape is not all external, some has crept inside the soul. Human presence is infused with landscape.”

The Henny Penny Farmette landscape has echoes from the past in it. I’ve re-created my grandmother’s farm garden where I spent happy hours of my childhood. But also, I’ve got my own personal stamp on this landscape. It’s a lot of work, but I embrace the daily chores and the discipline needed to keep the farmette and a book series going. It’s an ongoing journey to a new horizon.

California is in a historic drought. It’s our fourth year of below-normal rainfall and scientists, city governments, state lawmakers, and communities worry that this drought could run longer, perhaps even becoming a mega-drought. Wells are going dry, reservoirs in the state are lower than they’ve been in years, and water levels in rivers, lakes, and streams have shrunk.

Farmers have a right to be worried that their acreage may have to lay fallow. And what about the fruit and nut orchards? The Sierra snow pack that supplies much of the water to the Central Valley and Bay Area (where much of California and the nation’s food is grown)  remains a fraction of what it has been in non-drought years. Salmon runs are being impacted. Water is getting more scarce and more expensive. And less food produced means higher food prices.

Recently, Governor Jerry Brown mandated water conservation throughout the state. Communities are implementing drastic measures to force their citizens to cut water use. But that doesn’t necessarily mean lower water bills if our communities have to buy water to make up a shortfall. Each of us must do our part.

Environmentalists value bamboo for its drought tolerance and landscape appeal; stone is an excellent element for zero landscaping and can be used with succulents or cacti

Twenty Tips to Cut Water Use

!. Install low-flow toilets and tub, sink faucets, and shower heads.

2. Use a front-loading washer rather than a top-loading version. The front-loading machines use roughly 20 gallons per load versus the 40 gallons of top-loading machines. We installed our energy-efficient front-loading washer when we moved in.

3. Wash laundry less often and make sure you set the machine for the right size load.

4. Take shorter showers with the drain closed. Capture the gently-used water in pails to recycle.

5. Use your energy-star dishwasher for cleaning dishes, glassware, and pans. You will use less water than by washing dishes by hand. But run the dishwasher only after it is full, not half-empty.

6. If you have a pool or hot tub, use a cover on it to prevent evaporation of water.

7. Wet your toothbrush, but then turn off the water as you brush your teeth.

8. Capture gray water (from the dishwasher, washing machine, shower, and sink). Gray water is gently used household water, not water from the toilet or sewer. Have a plumber install a gray water system to trees and plants on your property.

9. Completely turn off faucets to avoid drips. Also, fix any leaky faucets or water pipes.

10. Collect rainwater in plastic barrels and keep covered to eliminate the potential for mosquitoes breeding in the water.

11. Shower less often. Flush the toilet less often and never to flush away an insect or tissue. Use a lidded-waste can instead.

12. Use the broom to clean the sidewalk and driveway, not the garden hose and water.

13. Stop watering the lawn. Consider removing the lawn in favor of a landscape with drought-tolerant and indigenous plants. Or zeriscape, using bamboo, succulents, cacti, and stone.

14. Buy and use green products with the EPA-partnered WaterSense label.

15. Don’t throw out leftover ice cubes; use them to water a plant.

16. Never use running water to thaw meat or fish. Defrost overnight in the refrigerator.

17. Insulate water pipes to get hot water faster instead of running water through the faucet.

18. Install an instant water heater appliance under the sink to get hot water instantly rather than let the faucet run until the water gets hot.

19. When on vacation away from home, turn off the water softener to conserve water.

20. Recycle kitchen waste instead of putting it down the garbage disposal and running water. That recycled waste can become valuable compost for your garden and keeps it out of the septic system.

A gray-green stalk of lavender rises above the bushy rose-scented pelargonium

Lavender oil can reduce the pain of a minor burn and minimize inflammation. Since lavender oil is also an antiseptic, it serves to reduce the risk of a a secondary infection.

For a simple burn, run the afflicted area beneath cool water and then apply lavender oil. Next, cut a piece of aloe vera plant (if you have one growing in your kitchen or home), and apply the sap to the burn.

Perhaps you don’t own an aloe vera plant but have aloe vera cream. Cream or lotion of aloe vera without fixatives can also be applied to the burn. A dry bandage or Telfa pad to cover and possibly Tylenol or ibuprofen (for pain) is all that is required for a minor burn.

For a deeper burn or one acquired from contact with chemicals, electricity, or radiation, seek immediate medical attention.

A favorite memory of mine recalls my making butter with my grandmother in her farmhouse kitchen in Boone County, Missouri. All she needed was fresh cream and a jar with a lid.

My grandfather milked the cows and my grandmother would strain the liquid into galvanized cans. After the cream had risen to the top of the milk, she would skim off the cream into smaller cans, storing all of the cans in cool area at the back of the house until my grandfather could take the milk and cream to market.  He always kept some back for Rosie’s homemade butter.

The buttermilk that was poured off the would then be chilled. It was his favorite drink after a long, hot day on the tractor working in the fields.

Rosie would hand me a glass jar with a screw top lid in which she’d poured a cup or two of cream and tell me to shake it. My energy and stamina would dictate how long the shaking would have to go on. She’d help. Eventually the butterfat solids and the butter milk would separate.

Rosie favored using a large glass jar with a metal lid that featured a beater and hand crank. Turning the crank beat the cream and amounted to less wear and tear on the arms. Either method worked by separating the liquid from the butterfat.

Today, beating heavy whipping cream (without additives) in a blender or mixer will accomplish the same result. The milk solids eventually become separated from the liquid, which can be poured off. The sweet creamy solid mass can then be salted and even colored if you wish, molded or shaped, chilled, and used. Also, you can leave out the yogurt and still make butter, but it won’t have that tangy flavor.

 
RECIPE: HOMEMADE CULTURED BUTTER

INGREDIENTS:

1 C heavy whipping cream (no additives)

1 Tablespoon natural, organic yogurt (no additives but with live cultures)

optional: 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

DIRECTIONS:

Pour the cream in a small to medium saucepan and warm over low heat to about 90 degrees Fahrenheit.

Stir in yogurt and remove from heat.

Cover and let rest for 24 hours on the kitchen counter to allow the mixture to thicken.

After the cream has thickened, chill in the refrigerator.

Pour chilled mixture into a blender jar or electric mixer bowl.

Beat on a low speed to reduce splatter.

Add salt, if desired.

Beat the liquid and solids separate into massive chunks.

Wrap the butter into a cheesecloth and squeeze over a large bowl to drain out the rest of the liquid. (The buttermilk makes a refreshing drink or can be used to make biscuits).

Mold by pressing the he butter into a plastic mold or an old-fashioned butter molding box. Alternatively,  you can shape the butter into small balls using a melon ball scoop.

Hint: To make a flavored butter, add fresh wash, dried, and chopped herbs such as basil and garlic; or cranberries and orange zest. Or, add to the butter apricots or figs (peeled and chopped).

Socrates said, “The unexamined life is not worth living. Reflection and self examination are useful tools to help us become better people. Toward that end, I keep a dream journal, writing about the images–dark and light–that surface in my dreams. Today, I wrote about a raven.

Dream symbols can be dark or light or vividly colored

Years ago, I took a class on how to record one’s dreams and work with them to unlock their meaning. Such work is necessarily subjective. Certain images may hold more significance for one person than another. But some symbols are considered universal–father, mother, baby, path, home, water, eyes, fl0wer. for example.

The language of the dreaming mind is comprised of symbols. Long before my first husband passed away following a heart transplant, I diligently kept a dream journal. It felt therapeutic during that challenging period of our lives. I continued the practice and still record my dreams.  Interpreting them requires patience and an interest in symbolism.

The dreaming mind seems capable of creative genius if only the dreamer can remember his or her dreams. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein was inspired by a nightmare. It’s been said that the theory of relativity was inspired by a dream that Albert Einstein experienced. Paul McCartney literally dreamed the melody of Yesterday.

My own dreams are peppered with many symbols. I’ve worked out issues that have help me overcome problems in my writing projects but I cannot recall ever dreaming of the raven . . . that is, until last night. The raven is a symbol of death and transformation. Sometimes, it can herald a breaking down of the old structures in one’s life to make way for the new.

Transforming, I can do and take comfort in the fact that I adapt fairly easily to change. Working the farmette keeps me close to nature, which is always changing. But perhaps the raven image showed up in my dream because it’s so familiar. I often see a family of crows perched high in the eucalyptus behind my house.

The dream could continue to unfold and make more sense over the next few nights. Or, perhaps it merely serves as a fleeting reminder to me of the impermanence of nature.

A book of helpful prompts and art images intended to inspire you to  start right now manifesting your heart’s deepest desires

I just noticed that my new book–Doodle Your Destiny, Draw Your Dreams into Reality, that ties into the ancient, universal Law of Attraction, has moved up the list of my nearly two dozen book offerings on Amazon.com.

Now, interested readers and potential buyers can peek inside some of the pages. Read my written prompts and see how the artist has created points of departures for doodling an image. Only when you finish that doodle and make the image your own, do you claim it for your dream.

If Santa doesn’t bring you the gift your heart desires, use Doodle Your Destiny to attract it.

Take a peek and think about what you’d like to manifest for 2015. You can pre-order the book in time for the New Year (its pub date is January 2, 2015). It retails for a little over $11. For more info, see: http://www.amazon.com/Doodle-Your-Destiny-Dreams-Reality/dp/1440586519

The process is quite simple. Start dreaming . . . and give yourself permission and time to doodle. See how dreaming and doodling can work together with your laser focus and intention (such as prayer, affirmation, contemplation, and meditation) to bring what you truly want in your life.

I’ve used the ancient, universal Law of Attraction in my own life to make my dreams come true–from launching a career writing books and finding a home on the water in Miami, to establishing a new life in Northern California on the Henny Penny Farmette, and finding a new life partner after years of widowhood. The Law of Attraction process has worked for me . . . I believe it can work for you.

High wind and rain make for a slick road in front of our farmette

It’s been raining for hours. It’s the kind of day I love to listen to classical music, read Russian poetry, and dine on tea and apricot/walnut rugelach. The rugelach recipe is not mine, but I did use my Henny Penny Farmette apricot jam in the making of it. For the recipe, see, http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/rugelach-recipe.html

I could be doing a lot of other things like writing on my novel (but I’ve already put in four hours today on that, having arisen at 4:00 a.m., so a break is in order). I could be doing laundry, mopping the floors, decorating the house for the holidays, or changing the bedding. But I’m not.

I’ve missed the rain that brings the smell of decay and greens the moss.

California has been in a terrible drought for three long years. We’re going to get a week of wet stuff, say our weather forecasters. I want to enjoy these blessed, wet moments.

I let the chickens out of the hen house to forage, but they’ve remained in a huddle beneath it. A cold, unstable air mass will bring thunderstorms this afternoon. I doubt the chickens will even leave the run today, but that’s okay, too.

It’s a perfect day for me to stay inside. Maybe I’ll make bread. There’s enough time still for two risings. I’ll form it into a braid and bake it for dinner. Perhaps I’ll make a hearty soup–one from Brother Victor-Antoine d’Avila-Latourrette’s Twelve Months of Monastery Soup  book. A citrus salad would be the perfect accompaniment.

What was it Henry Wadsworth Longfellow said about rain, “The best thing one can do when it’s raining is to let it rain.”

I’ve caught it . . . that nasty little bug affecting the throat and gut. Despite my best hygienic efforts at not catching the malady that many of my friends have recently endured, I have come down with it.

It started as a scratchy sore throat. Then a queasy stomach. Hoarseness and discomfort when swallowing followed. And the queasiness intensified to the point where even the sight of food sickened me. Oh, joy! Just what I didn’t want for the upcoming Thanksgiving week!

It’s always a good idea when you’re coming down with a cold or flu to increase your intake of fluids–herbal teas, juice, water, and popsicles. My former Chinese Tai Chi teacher advocated ginger tea to treat this type of malady; it’s my favorite home treatment for colds and flu.

Honey soothes the inflamed throat passages. Ginger settles the stomach. In fact, ginger has been used medicinally for 2,000 years in China to treat stomach upset, nausea, flatulence, and diarrhea.

GINGER TEA WITH HONEY

Ingredients:

1.5 inches of peeled and sliced fresh ginger root (about 1/2 cup)

5 to 6 cups of water

optional: 1/2 lemon, washed and sliced

optional: 2 sticks of cinnamon

honey or brown sugar, to taste

Directions:

Pour the water into a sauce pan.

Drop in the slices of ginger. Optional: add slices of lemon and cinnamon.

Simmer for 10 minutes.

Pour tea into a cup.

Stir in honey or brown sugar to sweeten.

Enjoy.

If you could manifest anything in your life, what would it be? Could you doodle an image of that desire? Form the intention of having your dream come true? Could you take some small action every day to reinforce your intention to manifest that dream?

If the answers are yes, you’ll be happy to know that your deepest desires are within reach. The ancient, universal law of attraction simply conveys that like attracts like. Our thoughts bring to us what we think about most. When we supercharge our thoughts with strong emotional feelings, our thoughts set up an attraction to draw to us the thing about which we are thinking/feeling.

An easy to use handbook to inspire you to begin manifesting your heart’s deepest desires.

The publication date for my newest nonfiction book is the day after New Years Day 2015. The idea for the book is to inspire readers to use doodling as a way of turning desire into the intention of having what their hearts desire. See, http://www.amazon.com/Doodle-Your-Destiny-Dreams-Reality/dp/1440586519

You are both artist and architect of your own life. Through your thoughts, you are already attracting good and bad into your life. We all dream about having something–an object, a coterie of friends or a soul mate, or optimal circumstances (better job, better pay, better ___________fill in the blank.) You absolutely can create more of what you desire and find meaningful and less of what you don’t want and find stressful if you use conscious thinking, intention, and action.

The Buddha said, “All that we are is the result of what we have thought: it is founded on our thoughts and made up of our thoughts.” Change your thoughts, change your life.

Even in the Buddha’s lifetime, people had doubts, fears, worries. Then as now, people obsess about the past or worry about the future. But how much better life will be if you stop that that kind of thinking in order to focus on the present in a positive way. Why? Because your thoughts today will manifest your tomorrow.

Doodling is something nearly everyone can do. It is a fun way to help you clarify what exactly your dreams are. Doodling a dream can inspire you. The prompts in the book will help you form the intention to attract the desired object, person, or circumstance into full expression in your life.

I challenge you to change your life in 2015. Pick up a copy and start manifesting your dreams and achieving those New Year’s resolutions. Doodle Your Destiny, Draw Your Dreams into Reality (Adams Media, Jan. 2015) is available online from Amazon.com and other online and brick-and-mortar bookstores.