August's Monday Melodies

by Laura

August 29, 2016

Tao Te Ching Chapter 10

translation by Stephen Mitchell

Can you coax your mind from its wandering
and keep to the original oneness?
Can you let your body become
supple as a newborn child's?
Can you cleanse your inner vision
until you see nothing but the light?
Can you love people and lead them
without imposing your will?
Can you deal with the most vital matters
by letting events take their course?
Can you step back from your own mind
and thus understand all things? 

Giving birth and nourishing,
having without possessing,
acting with no expectations,
leading and not trying to control:
this is the supreme virtue.

Produce Update:

Basil - now is a perfect time to make pesto (before the basil succumbs to disease or frost)! In food processor, process: 2 cups packed basil leaves; 2 peeled garlic cloves (roasted in a dry frying pan, in skins, until softened and browned, ~5 minutes); 1/2 teaspoon salt; 3/4 cup roasted sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, walnuts, pine nuts, or almonds; 1/2 cup olive oil; Parmesan cheese (optional)

Flowers - this week's bouquets feature poppy and nigella seed pods, baptisia leaves, and majestic fuchsia cockscomb celosia

Aster 8.29.2016

Prairie at sunset 8.28.2016

A bountiful summer meal 8.27.2016

The "hot house!" - our small hoop house, filled with six kinds of hot peppers 8.26.2016

Chickens settling into the coop for their nightly sleep 8.25.2016

Phlox 8.24.2016

Ready to go to the city for the first farmers' market of the season! 8.23.2016

Late August Winds
August 22, 2016

Papers are blowing around the house today. Dry autumn airs have begun their gradual entrance, reminding us of the dramatic cyclical changes that come, almost by surprise, every year. Today is the beginning of the last of our summer programming, a 5-day junior high apprenticeship, as we make the annual movement into another new school year, another season of leaves falling to the ground and corn rustling in the fields, another time of sleeping fields and deepening darkness. We began this Monday morning with a circle, an opportunity to listen to one another, to ask and answer a few questions:

By what sound have you been intrigued this summer?

What is something towards which your being has a natural inclination?

How would you answer the question that you would hope to be asked? 

 

 

8.22.2016

Our farmyard friends 8.21.2016

Another beautiful evening sky 8.20.2016

A bouquet of perfect August zinnias 8.19.2016

The achievement of a 2016 Garden Goal: plant many many sunflowers! 8.18.2016

Jewel Weed 8.17.2016

Aster 8.16.2016

A love for foliage, flowers, and for choosing stillness

August 15, 2016

  

A sun hat is almost like wearing a personal forest canopy of shade. 

Is there anything more beautiful than a leaf made transparent by the sun?

We will never tire of the beauty of flowers. 
What are they saying that they are hoping we will hear? 

Stillness. 
Choosing each day amidst the busyness of life to remember and return to the restoration of stillness. 

One of the activities into which I always enjoy inviting students is a simple experience we refer to as 'magic spot'. We spend much of our time as people engaged in the dimension of human conversation: listening to others, formulating our own thoughts, telling stories, sharing exclamations as we experience the world. There is infinite value in these practices of human communication and expression, and yet if we spend all of our time within that space, there is something (indeed much) we neglect to notice, something by which we neglect to let ourselves be fully affected. 'Magic Spot' is an opportunity we give students to enter into their own space of silence, stillness, and sensitivity.  

We entered into the pine trees and each found a soft needled place to sit down. Nobody spoke, nobody seemed even inclined to speak. We all dropped into our own way of receptivity from and attentiveness to our surroundings. Layers of voices emerged all around us: choruses of insects, the chattering of birds, the sound of the wind breathing through the high branches of the white pines. We noticed our questions: who is that singing? Who all lives in these woods? What are these trees beneath which we are lying? I called for the group to return, and as we approached each other after this period of our silence, I felt that there had been a palpable shift. I sensed a peacefulness, a wonder for having noticed something,

 a deepened sense of gratitude for our place in this world. 

Produce Update:

The first sweet corn and watermelons of the season are almost ready for harvest! A full harvest tote of purple beans was picked today, many of which will end up in the freezer for wintertime eating. The flowers are eagerly blooming and will surely make for some gorgeous bouquets for next week's market: Tuesday, August 23, 4-6pm, in the Lake Country parking lot. 

Tuesday's Community Workday, August 15:

The time has come to harvest this year's crop of onions and shallots, and to move them into the greenhouse for the curing process. The are hundreds, perhaps thousands, of these big beautiful bulbs to bring in from the fields. 

Baptisia leaves: a love for foliage 8.15.2016

The clouds of late have been displaying their full summer grandeur 8.14.2016

Plum season has arrived once more! 8.13.2016

Tomatoes, packed into their winter homes 8.11.2016

The grape vines, transplanted from the old arbor, received their relocation well 8.10.2016

New rose hollyhocks by the farmhouse: a love for flowers... 8.9.2016

August 8, 2016

many carrots this week from the weeds we did free

fernly green leaves now so lovely to see

our soils need rain so the sprinklers are swirling
fulfilling the needs of each leaf who's unfurling

the market begins in just two week's time

the tomatoes are eager and continue to climb

a summertime cold has descended on me

a pool of thick energy from which to give thee

this news from the farm, where the humming of flowers

is the honey of bees who are filled with great powers

Tuesday's Community Workday, August 8:

The Long Barn is receiving a fresh coat of white paint, requiring that the many plants who grow along its sides be pruned or relocated. Tuesday morning will find us transplanting monarda and rudbeckia as part of this project. In the afternoon, garden work may include some of the following: breaking onion stems (which will allow them to begin drying and curing in the field in preparation for this year's big harvest), hand-weeding potatoes, or hoeing beds up in the Farmstead garden. 

 

Allis Chalmers Model G tractor, used for cultivating crops in the "Big Field" 8.8.2016

8.7.2016

Thistle in the prairie, sending forth vital seed! 8.6.2016

8.5.2016

The Grain Bin 8.4.2016

Our resident spider in the peppermint patch 8.3.2016

Chamomile and Echinacea, drying on screens 8.2.2016

Keeping it Simple, Abundant, and Desirable
August 1, 2016

April: spring peepers. robins. the constant drone of the propane greenhouse heater. remembering the immensity of the seed's magic. 

May: rediscovering the feeling of digging a shovel into warmly scented soft soil. 

June: plant. sleep. repeat.

July: 'weeds are simply the exquisite expression of the wild fecundity of the earth.' but where did the carrots go?

August: tomatoes! basil! tasseling sweet corn! little striped watermelons whispering sweet promise! 

August has come. The fruits are ripening and the flowers are blossoming. "Transplant" and "seed" have been fading off of each week's to-do list, as "harvest" and "preserve" have inversely begun to grow, calling forth a new flavor of creativity from the strategizing prioritizing mind. The drying racks are layered in herbs, the freezers are beginning to fill, the canner who has been asleep on the shelf knows it is soon time to awaken. This cyclically familiar and generous time of year has returned once again, and with it a new bit of clarity in my ambitious mind: keep it simple, abundant, and desirable. Food is a central piece of almost every student's Land School experience, an experience that encompassed the planting of the first seeds in the soil, the harvesting of hundreds of pounds of tomatoes, the sharing of beautifully prepared feasts at our familiar and storied tables, and so much more. As a Land School staff, we strive to preserve as much of the year's harvest as possible, not only for the ecological and economic benefits of eating our own home grown food, but also because through eating the fruits of this land all throughout the year, we literally never stop becoming this land, this land from whom we are learning and in whom we are finding home. And we do it because, whatever else the many-layered reasons may be, it simply brings a lot of joy. It is a joy to open the freezer on the coldest day in January and to find there the memory of August's garden still alive. Here is the beginning of a list of what we hope to preserve this year:

Brassicas:

Broccoli (frozen)

Brussels Sprouts (frozen) 

Cabbage (sauerkraut [fermented, refrigerated]; root cellar)

Cauliflower (frozen)

Kale (frozen)

Corn:

Flint, Flour and Dent Corns (Floriani Red Flint; Hopi Blue Flour; Painted Mountain Flour; Great River Yellow Dent [dried])

Popcorn (dried)

Sweet Corn (frozen)

Fruit:

Applesauce (canned)

Blueberries (frozen)

Raspberries (frozen)

Herbs:

Basil (pesto, frozen; dried)

Echinacea (dried)

Peppermint (dried)

Oregano (dried)

Thyme (dried)

Tulsi (dried)

Nightshades:

Eggplant (for Baba ghanouj: roasted, pureed [frozen])

Sweet Peppers (frozen)

Hot Peppers (fermented hot sauce; whole frozen)

Potatoes (root cellar)

Tomatoes (salsa [frozen]; ketchup [canned]; pizza sauce [canned]; oven-dried oil-packed herb-infused; whole canned)

Other:

Carrots (root cellar)

Daikon Radish (root cellar)

Dry Beans (Black, Honduran Red; Brown; Lima)

Hakurei Turnips (root cellar)

Garlic

Green Beans (frozen; canned; fermented)

Onions

Shallots

Winter Squash

 

Tuesdays' Community Workdays:

An invitation is extended to everyone in the Lake Country community to come out to the Land School on any (or every!) Tuesday throughout the growing and harvest season (June-October). As I have done below, I will give a general sense each week of what the Tuesday work may be. While I will have ideas and direction to offer, work is responsive to people's needs and desires. Please call or email ahead if you would like to come, and please feel free to call or email if you have any questions: landschool@lakecountryschool.org. 715.265.4608. We would love to have you join us!

Tuesday's Community Workday, August 2:

With a forecast of rain, ripe tomatoes, and abundant basil, much of tomorrow will be spent in the kitchen: making fresh salsa (to freeze) and pesto.

Produce Available:

While the Land School market does not begin until Tuesday, August 23, there is the possibility of certain produce being available now upon request. The past two years have found our basil succumbing to fungus just as the market was beginning; the zucchini are starting to pile up; with an especially warm summer, the tomatoes have already begun to ripen in earnest. While we will be working diligently to get as much of this ripe produce put up for our student programming, there is only so much we can achieve! It would be delightful to be able to get some of this produce that is at the height of its beauty into hands that could receive it well. I am thinking larger quantities here, as logistically it could be a bit complex making the exchange happen! (It may be that you would have to come to the Land School to pick up the produce.) Please be in touch if interested. Potentially available produce: tomatoes, basil, eggplant, kale, fennel... and the list grows.

Echinacea paradoxa in Homestead Prairie 8.1.2016

Silphium, commonly known as 'Cup Flower' 7.31.2016

Comfrey leaves, growing beneath the Farmstead plum tree 7.30.2016

Echinacea purpurea, harvested to dry and save for use in tea 7.29.2016

Papaver laciniatum, Peony Poppies 7.28.2016

Hyssop 7.27.2016

Kapoor Tulsi 7.26.2016

July's Monday Melodies

by Laura

Monday Melodies

July 25, 2016

I will write to you on Mondays
to give to you a window 
for I want you to remember
the beauty of this place
a place for us to fall in love
a place where we are fed
a place who remembers all that we
have forgotten as our core.

I will show you so that I may see 
a depth of life to share
for I want you to remember
that this land holds you with care. 

She sings, this land, to your sweet children, 
daring children, eager children. 
She asks them questions with her leaves,
her fruit, her flowers, living stories.
 
Please join me here on Mondays
to receive the view I offer.
Take the news of each week's harvest 
to give us hands to which to give. 
As my words ask for your eyes to see
your heart to feel
your mind to light 
see past the window I have woven
to know this place as home. 

3 Sisters Garden: Scarlet Runner Beans, Guatemalan Blue Squash, and New Mexico Corn 7.25.2016

Junior High Apprenticeship; June 26 - 30, 2016

by Sage

The apprenticeship can be many things. It can be fun and satisfying.   It can be challenging and frustrating.  Over the week we all felt just that.  Waking up at 7 in the morning was not a highlight, neither was the exhaustion I felt growing in me as the hours passed.  What was fun was the satisfaction of weeding a field for several hours to see what you had accomplished. It was tiring and satisfying.  I struggled with an allergy attack during the clean of the chicken coup.  I would not count that as an highlight, neither cleaning out the llama pen.  It smelt like rotten eggs and I felt like I could barely breath.  But then later on we got to go to the lake and all was okay.  There were many other high and low lights, but over all those were the ones that stood out the most.   

by Grant

I think that this apprenticeship has really done a lot for me, I gained various skills and knowledge from this including an experience to remember for a while. I learned how to make a brick wall with mortar including how to make mortar, and clean the bricks with muriatic acid. It was very fun to make the brick wall around the chimney of the pizza oven; now we just have to paint flames on it. I also had the opportunity off helping make the deer fence, during which I learned a lot about building electrical fences and how they work. I was happy that I had the chance to make oat cakes. Overall the experience really helped me in many ways and I hope to come back next year.

by Grace

The apprenticeship has been an exciting whirlwind of events, and experiences. Everyday the alarm goes off at 7 o’clock in the morning. Usually we ignore it, and hope it will turn off. We then eat breakfast, and head off to another exhausting day of work. My favorite work day was when we got to clean out the chicken coop, and llama pen. It was an experience. An experience I hope I don’t have to do more than once. Most of the other days we planted, and weeded, which was very satisfying.  The evening activities were a blast: the first night we played telephone pictionary, which was hysterical considering nobody was great at drawing; the second night we watched Captain America, which was really good; the third night we had a bonfire, we roasted some marshmallows for s’mores, and played sardines. When I look back to see all the work I have accomplished, I feel very proud. I am proud I persevered through the heat, and proud that I did that amount of work. Overall, I had a wonderful time learning new things, and hanging out with friends.

by Clayton

I have really enjoyed the apprenticeship so far. It has been a lot of fun. I have enjoyed the hikes, building the chimney for the pizza oven, and gardening. On Wednesday we went to Clear Lake, which was also very fun. On some of the hikes we climbed trees; some of them were really difficult to get up in. The pizza oven is almost complete; we finished the chimney. We work for six hours a day, doing either gardening or utilities work. We have planted, weeded and picked a lot of different plants. I especially liked working with the beans and the corn. It was a lot of fun to see the Land School when it isn't during the school year. I had a lot of fun seeing the animals. I helped change the llama's and sheep's pen. It smelled really bad, but putting new hay down was rewarding. The work here feels slow but the days seem to go quickly. 

by Saxon

Apprenticeship is basically a small Farmstay with no academic work,  less people, only 4 days and a total of 24 hours of physical work. During my apprenticeship I was in Donna's group with Grant and sometimes Clayton. The main things we worked on were building parts for a deer fence going around the new orchard, and laying bricks for the chimney on the pizza oven. While we were working on the pizza oven we learned how to make mortar, butter bricks, and lay bricks (buttering bricks is the term used for putting mortar on the bricks). We started out by gathering all the tools which included: Masonry Trowels, Brick Jointers and levels. We made the mortar by making the mortar dust into a volcano structure then pouring water in the middle and covering the water up with the dust so that it soaks up the water turning it into a clay like substance. Once we mixed it we had to test to see if it stays on the trowel when flipped upside down, if it does we then apply it to the brick and place it where it needs to go.

Our mortar mixing and brick placement didn't go perfectly but it still looked pretty good in the end. In the future I really want to try doing it again and hopefully it will be at the Land School.

by Rio

Last year, I went on an Apprenticeship because my sister had gone on one the year before that. This year, I went on one because I had a great time last year. Apprenticeship is sort of like a smaller and shorter Farmstay except no academic work to keep up on. This year our group is all 7th graders going into 8th graders with three girls and three boys. There's Grace, Sage, Grant, Saxon, Clayton and myself. We split up into Stewardship groups, one that goes with Laura where we usually garden and one with Donna where we build things, such as the pizza oven. We work for the whole morning and take a break for lunch. Then we go back to work until we have free time. Then we have dinner and an evening activity. We are all very tired by the end of the day so we are very thankful to be going to bed. We wake up the next morning, have breakfast and repeat the whole process. I am very excited to do more Apprenticeships in the future because I have had a lot of fun on the other ones I have been on.

E2 Farm Camp June 14 - 18, 2016

by Mary

Day 1:

Today, I did a few things in the morning. Here they are:

Riding in the van 

Having lunch at the tree-house

This afternoon, we had a garden tour. It was really cool seeing all of those plants. After the garden tour was over, Laura showed us that there were baby chicks in the coop! They were so cute! After the garden tour, we had some free-time. For free time, I decided to go see the chicks. After I left the chicken coop, it was about dinner-time. We had dinner. We didn’t really do much after dinner.

Day 2:

This morning, I woke up pretty late. I had granola and half of an english muffin for breakfast. After breakfast, we did stewardship. We had a choice of doing gardening and stuff like that with Laura or working on the pizza oven with Donna. I chose to work on the pizza oven with Donna, and I’m so glad that I did. I had so much fun putting down the bricks where we would stick them, then we realized that we didn’t have enough bricks! Although it was hard carrying the wood that was on top of the bricks, I had a lot of fun. We had lunch, and then we did bird house painting. We didn't really paint houses, but we did coat them in some sealant. After we painted the bird houses, we went on a hike to do earth art.  I had a lot of fun on the hike. We did some earth art,  Rowan and Donna ate worms, it was so much fun. After the hike we had dinner. After dinner we went on an "Evaning"-hike - Eva was the leader - to the Tree of Life and then came back to the homestead and went to bed. 

Day 3:

Today I woke up at the same time as everyone in my room did. We all got dressed, and went to breakfast. After breakfast we did stewardship. I did the pizza oven again. We made some mortar. It was really fun. After stewardship, we had lunch. Lunch was really good. After lunch, we tie dyed t-shirts. We worked really hard on them. After tie dying, we did some yard games. For the yard games, we played thicket. There were a lot of cool places where we did it. I was the last thicket master because I had an amazing hiding spot: under the bridge. The thicket master then was standing right by the bridge. I got the thicket master, and I was it. I had so much fun. “THICKET!” Just kidding. After yard games, we had dinner. After dinner, we watched a movie. The movie that we watched was “The Last Mimzy.” If I had to rate the movie 1-10, I would choose 9.5, because I really liked it. After the movie we went to bed.

Day 4:

Today I woke up really late. If you would like to know how late, it was when the breakfast call was. Finally, I woke up, and got out of bed. I went to breakfast in my PJs. After breakfast, we had stewardship. Instead of doing the pizza oven with Donna, I decided to work with Laura. It was really fun. I liked picking the lemon balm. After stewardship, we had lunch. After lunch, we did archery. It was really fun. I almost got a bull’s eye! It was so fun! After archery we had to do a deep-clean. After the deep-clean, we went swimming. It was so much fun! It was fun watching Rowan pretend to hitch-hike. After dinner and swimming, we had a “camp fire.” Which actually was watching a video of a fireplace. It was really fun.

Day 5:

Today I was the first one awake in my room. That was good because I really needed to pack. I got dressed, and had breakfast. Nothing much happened after that, except for the pizza party...

I HAD SO MUCH FUN AT E2 FARM CAMP!

Walking Precious.
by Rowan

When i was down by the animal pen we were hanging out with Precious. We were doing “click and reward” training while Katie told us about Precious. She told us how people took Precious for walks. So we thought that would be fun so we took her out into the pasture. Since Llarry (the llama) is deaf, he stepped in front of the leash. After we got Precious past she spit on Llarry a couple times. Then Katie told us how they walked Precious to the farmstead, so we snuck up on the dinner prep group. They were so happy to see her. Then we took her onto the road. Some dude drove by on his fourwheeler and i knew he was thinking to himself. ‘WEIRDOS.’ then we brought her back to the barn. And then me, Helen, and Katie. Were the first people in about four years to walk Precious.

by Helen

These are some of my favorite things to do at the land school .

1. Feed the chicks

2. Walk a lama

3. Go to the tree house 

4. Make bread dough 

5. Garden

6. Trey new plants 

7. Take hikes 

8. Tie die 

9. And paint bird houses 

by Cooper

This camp is fun! You get to go to the red barn and see the animals, if you’re here at the right time of year you can see and hold the baby chicks, you get to dye shirts, there is a campfire and you get to eat s’mors!!!!

by Saul

One day we were hiking and trying to make earth art. On the way there we saw some orange mushrooms. I thought that was very cool because I've never seen them or known that there was an orange mushroom. We also had some strawberries on the way there. When we started making earth art, I thought Donna's earth art was cool. Her's was made out of rocks. I also thought Helen's was good because at first it looked like an animal when she started.  

by Eva

The weeping cries

Of the dead wind,

The light of the 

Fireflies at night,

The beautiful birds

Chirping at six,

Tired,

Resting,

Awake

Ready for a new day.

Farm Stay 4, April 11 - 27, 2016

by Eamonn

April 26

The orange and blue tinted sky

appears almost an oil painting 

lovingly created for the enjoyment of life itself.

grass gleams with the hopeful rays of tomorrow

the air feel

warm with a promise

a promise whispered by the sun

if nothing else but to return

and return it must.

by Saxon

April 26

Last night there was a storm. This wasn't just a small little rainstorm, this was a big storm with tons of lightning, rain and thunder. There was so much rain the creek started flowing and was still flowing the next day. I don't have good experiences with storms, however this was one of the best storms I have ever seen. There was so  much lightning and thunder that every few seconds the whole room would flash and then rumble. However this was not all good because I was on farm chores so I had to close the chicken door. I gathered some friends, which actually took a really long time because no one else wanted to go out in the rain except for me. Eventually I had gathered my crew of 4 people. The idiots who ventured out into the storm were: Zane, Billy, Oskar and of course me. 6 of us went into the pit, and by pit I mean down the hill into a bunch of puddles, and by 6 I mean 4 6 just sounded better. Then we all geared up to head out, everyone except for Zane. He wasn't even wearing shoes! 

We burst out of the door. The amount of puddles was over 9000! There probably weren't 9000 where we were but probably 9000 for the whole land school. When we reached the bottom of the hill my pants were immediately soaked. My flashlight looked like a searchlight on the side of a ship. We looked over at the creek and someone pointed out that it looked like rapids. After many days of traveling across the wetlands - well it wasn't days it was more like a few minutes - we finally reached the chicken door. Billy quickly ran over to shut the door. All of a sudden Oskar started yelling about the chickens missing, when they were actually up the perch and when Oskar opened the door I foolishly turned on the light. This mistake led to a flurry of feathers and the rapid close of the door. We then ran back to the homestead as fast as we could. All that I gained from closing the chicken door on a stormy night was a great experience and very wet pants.  

by Lily

April 25

Looking out across the fields, I see all the times I have been here.

Growing up, shedding tears, and laughing until my stomach hurt.

Telling stories on the picnic benches around a fire, 

doing cartwheels across the A field

Pushing through 6 foot tall stalks of corn, laughing and hiding.

Sitting in the A field, looking up at the stars, staying out for way too long.

The walls of the land school must have heard my secrets hundreds of times.

Felt my tears, and were annoyed with my jokes.

I've heard thousands of birds, killed many a tick, gasped at the sight of deer, and stared at the light of fireflies.

The Land School is more than just a place.

It is my home from home.

Where I feel at most myself.

The Most Dangerous Game

by Zane

April 25

Here at the Land School we play a game called The Most Dangerous Game. We are told that we were just brought to an island and that it turns out that the owner wants to hunt us!

We are given 5 minutes to run away and make strategies. I went with three of my buddies: Eamonn, Oskar and Saxon. Oskar and Eamonn climbed a tree. We heard some real spooky noises and Saxon and I went to investigate. We found Calvin stalking us up Strawberry Hill. I was closest to Calvin yet somehow I didn't get caught. I ran back to the tree of life and ran down the hill to the safe house. Even though my friends lost because of me I still won. The moral of the story is: "Life's a dirty game and you gotta play dirty to win it."

The First Farmstay
by Billy
April 24

Even though my family has come to the land school for countless amounts of years, nothing could prepare me for what Farm Stay is like. It is much more fun than I thought that it would be, and it is nothing like coming for a class overnight. Everything is so much more fun. Both of my brothers told me what Farm Stay was like for them, and I thought it would be almost the same as their experience. I didn’t realize that my experience would so different. I have enjoyed my Farm Stay tremendously and I can’t wait to do it again.

by Rio

April 24

I have been taking trips to the Land School ever since I can remember and I have formed a connection with the land and the natural aspects of it.

The Land School is like a home. You feel free. You can wander around and know you’ll always make it back. I have created so many memories here. I have found areas that I consider “mine” because I have such a strong connection with the land. The places me and my friends have found feel special and I feel safe there because of the happy memories associated with it. 

Before I came to the Land School it could have been someone else’s special spot. They could have created memories there. But you never can tell. So, now, I am going to live in the present and enjoy my time here at the Land School.

by Oskar

April 23

The Spring Festival was a very fun and cool experince. It was exiting to see our parents and to see our products being sold, with some of the money going towards our bowling and pizza party. We all had lots of fun seeing our families and working for credits.

Everyone enjoyed all of the products and games, including bocci ball, finger painting, and water color art. Everything at the time felt very chaotic, and a bit out of control, but looking back on the festival, I had a lot of fun and cannot wait for next year.

An Ode to the Land School
by Paige
April 21

Wispy skies

And rooster cries

Peaceful nights

And warm sunlight 

Bursting Colors across the wide expanse 

Moving outwards

And onwards 

Filling the land

End to end

Red 

Yellow

Blue 

Green 

Flowing around the trees

Rolling over the hills

Mud caked forest floors

And tall trees blooming with greens

Crackling branches

And slithering leaves

Capturing the air

Eating away all other sounds

Fluffy marshmallows 

Paint pictures in the sky

Natures hum is alive

So many doors could lead me out

The whole world one pane of glass away

“Come outside” the branches whisper

Light breezes waft through the open door

Urging me on

Swaying grass 

Pleads with me 

Inviting me in

“Run through my long leaves”

“Play with me”

Strong trees stand boldly by the river bank

Begging me to climb their sturdy, rough branches

One step

I could be at the door

One push 

And I am free

The world is hovering inches above my fingertips

It is all one step away

by Sarah
April 19

Today the Junior High visited us on Farmstay. It was both strange and fun to see my friends from school at the place I have been calling home for the last week or so. I had a lot of fun seeing my teachers and friends, and I wish we could have had a bit more time to talk and hang out. 

I always love these Land School visits and catching up with the friends that I have been away from. It is great to share inside jokes again and go on adventures around the Land School. I am sad that this is this is the last Land School visit I will ever experience, but I am also excited to go on to have new adventures.

Ode to Friends

by Sydney

April 18

I appreciate friends.

They keep you going, they give you strength. Friends bring you joy when you are sad. They listen, they story-tell. There are all different kinds of friends. They are there for you, when you fall. They cheer you on, they congratulate you. Friends help you soar. There are different qualities to each. Each quality is important. Each quality is inspiring. 

Spring
by Zoe
April 17

Warm weather
Calling out to me

Beaming sunshine
Urging me outside

I look away
Hoping the spell won’t take over me

I look at the paper
But the ink won’t flow

Only a window separates me
From running outside

Feeling alive
Feeling free.


Equity And Justice
By Imelda
April 17

Race. You can’t change it or do anything about it. It’s just there. You’re not weird, you’re just different. But even when people try to change that big difference, it always comes right back. When people look at me, they see me as one of  “them”. I’ve gotten used to it now because I know that they only look at my skin tone. They don’t focus on what really counts, and that’s what the person looks like on the inside. These days, I still wonder how the world became this way. They say that “we” are invading their “world” when we immigrate. But we are just trying to find a better lifestyle. It's the same thing when they come to “our” world. But the difference is, that “we” are not allowed to point that out. I’m not different. I’m like everyone else. I may not look the same, but most people who know me, don’t focus on what I look like on the outside. They don’t judge me. I’m just trying to grow up and become somebody in this world like everyone else. I just look different that’s all. Why do people make such a big deal out of it? It’s really no big deal. But that’s just my opinion.

by Noah

April 12

Challenges… what are challenges? Challenges are everything we take on in life, no matter how easy or how hard. They ensue in every direction regardless of our passions, and the path we take in life. We look at challenges as something negative, something that will be mentally or physically tiring. Yet they’re more than that. Every day, we overcome countless challenges, from getting out of bed to going back to bed. It all takes motivation, and they are always difficult to overcome. But with every challenging situation comes a reward… a positive feeling that we get after the matter. And every time we overcome a challenge, it gets easier to overcome the next time we encounter it. That result after overcoming a challenge will always reward us mentally, sometimes physically, and will sometimes even reward others. Challenges and accomplishments go hand in hand, yet the rewards afterwards will always be greater than the effort put into overcoming it. When I encounter a challenge, I always think about the rewards that will benefit me in the end rather what effort I’ll need to put in. My challenges always bring me further in life, and benefit me greatly whenever I finish what I start.

Farm Stay 3, February 22 - March 10, 2016

by Julia

March 7

On Farm Stay we have many funny adventures and experiences, one of which has become a symbol of our Farm Stay in a way. This ‘symbol’ happens to be a gourd crafted into a baby. This baby’s name is Gigi.

Gigi came to life during CEPE (Creative Expression, Physical Expression) when we were doing gourd art. People were making luminaries, bowls, pitchers and other such crafts, but a friend and I decided to take it in a different direction, and we glued 1 and a half gourds together to make a little snowman shaped baby. 

That baby got painted and decorated and adorned with beads and ribbon and a crown, and she stays in whatever room we all happen to be in. She is even in our Farm Stay picture. Gigi is the cause of a lot of jokes and laughter. 

Strange things like gourd babies are part of what makes Farm Stay so much fun, and so interesting. Every Farm Stay has it’s unique little funny things, and those things make every Farm Stay really special. I am so happy that we had the opportunity to make that little gourd baby, as she has brought us a lot of laughter.

by Jack

March 7

We had a great pancake breakfast on Saturday! The pancakes were great and we had lots of great crafts and food such as cutting boards, coasters, tea and egg bake. I had a great time getting to see people from my class and especially my family. I had a blast getting to catch up with them on what is happening. My sister just got back from Widji and she was excited to tell me all about it. My brother was very excited to show me that he is now tying his shoes. It seems like a lot has happened since I have been gone. It was also really fun to see my friends and catch up with them on how school is going and just what is happening. I love Farm Stay, I am sad it will be over but I will also be glad to come back and see my friends and family.

by Lilian
March 7

Today we began 

to see spring

snow softly melting

bears tumbling about 

looking for food in faraway forests

the birds softly calling 

the sky turning from a muddy puddle grey to pillow like puffs of satiny silk

we trudge along

muddy boots 

heavy like a soaked through pair of pants

we sit
I hear the wind rustle low amongst the wild whispers of last year’s crops

by Lexi

March 6

Okay, so the pancake breakfast was yesterday, and really busy. Tons of people showed up, and I saw a lot of classmates.

    

The food was good, I liked the banana bread, and my family came, so I guess it was good.

   

(I don’t really know how to write blog posts, as I don’t do them in my free time, but I’ll do my best. Also, I don’t know how long they have to be, or anything. Was I the only one who thought of Watson’s blog on ‘Sherlock’ when a blog was mentioned? )

After all the clean up and stuff it was free time for a bit. I was reading ‘Mockingjay’ when Calvin told me we were going to go out and build snow forts. I wish I could tell you the tale of the laborious build of an impenetrable fortress, and the merciless bombardment that came from it, but I can’t. I was at the tree house.

     

I have no idea what kinds of structures were created, and I’m fine with that. I was sitting on the lower branch, reading. Later, back at the Homestead, we had gallery night, but that was a blur.

   

Today, for the first chunk of the day, I was just in my room. I felt blah, so... eh.

   

We went bowling, though I didn’t feel much like playing, so I watched. We had pizza at a pizza place, but they ran out of pizza crust and we had to split our pizzas instead of each having our own. Oh, the horrors of roughing it over here in wild Wisconsin.

   

I can’t think of any other notable events in the past day or so, but then again, there could be something I forgot to mention right in front of my nose, and I would have forgotten.

   

I don’t know, that’s about it. See y’all in a few days, PEACE!

by TeDabi

March 6

Today was a good day. Whether it was furious games of ping pong, complex chess games with Ben and Clayton, gorging on left over pancakes from yesterday’s Land School celebration, enjoying wood fire pizza, witnessing Calvin scoring 4 bowling strikes in a row, or listening to Eliza and Julia sing songs the whole way back, today was an engaging day. Maybe there were daily jobs and farm chores, but I played Frisbee with Ben, had some intense ping-pong games with Clayton, participated in solitaire with Katie, Calvin and Max, had good conversation with Dietz, and experienced a good ride home. It’s days like these that clearly illustrate how good farm stay is. 

by Grace
March 5

The morning was a rush of activity.  Everyone still quite groggy from the early morning wake-up call, we managed to set up for our pancake breakfast event.  When the guests started to arrive, there was a buzz of excitement in the air, as we all grew excited to see how well our products sold. 

We welcomed, we hosted, we cleaned, we served, and we welcomed some more. This was a process. In the beginning it was stressful, but then everyone began to have a lot of fun. We enjoyed every minute of the wonderful smells floating from the kitchen to the craft area, the lovely rush of friendly people eating their pancake breakfast, and yes, even the aftermath of the busy morning: the cleanup. 

by Eliana

March 5

(Before the event)

Today is the big day of the Pancake Breakfast! I am so excited to see my family and friends and to be able to sell the products I made. I am signed up to be the food cashier and I’m kind of nervous for it because there are a lot of food items to be sold and lots of hungry customers. I did not especially want to wake up an hour earlier than what was normal for us but whenever I have to get up early for an exciting event I am always ready and awake when the time comes. 

(After the event)

Now it is over and it was so much fun!! I was really proud of my group for pulling all of our projects off and almost selling out of everything. The pancakes were also very delicious which made it fun. I did not think we were really going to have a lot of people but we had a fair amount – not too much or too little. In the end it was a fun event and I enjoyed every minute of it.  

by Micah

March 4

Here are some photos of animal tracks found in the Land School woods. These photos are a part of a science project involving observing animal patterns in winter. Using data from animal tracks found all over the Land School, we will make a map of where we found each animal to be the most common. This will be for our Farm Stay science project.

by Eliza 

March 1

Today, the Junior High came to visit the Land School for their stewardship day. I think that there were many mixed feelings from our Farm Stay about taking in many other people into our small community, which we have grown so used to in these past nine days. Despite the large change in numbers in our community, we all split up into our stewardship groups and set to work.

I was in the group titled “facilities”. In the past, our group has usually worked on small things that needed repairing and/or replacing, such as benches, chairs, the entire place where the chickens laid their eggs (we worked on this the first Land School visit), and a few other structures that were in need of our attention. This time, we worked on moving benches to the Homestead, and I moved a small shelf to the bunk house, located by the biffys and the farm house. After we moved these things, our group set off on a hike to examine the bridges that lead across the small ditch where the river occasionally runs through. We were looking for imperfections in them such as crooked tread boards, the bridge being too short from erosion, or a gap in any of them. Once we finished with that, we went to the Tree of Life to retrieve the bench next to it that had been broken, and was in very dire state. We carried this bench from the Tree of Life, all the way to the long barn for it to be replaced or fixed. Finally, we headed back to the Homestead to set up lunch for the Junior High. Thankfully, we had lunch inside, because it was so cold today.

Despite the bitter cold, I had a good time seeing all of my friends again, and re-connecting with them. I surprised myself by actually being excited for the Junior High to come, because yesterday and early this morning I wasn’t completely ecstatic for about thirty more people to enter my home. In a way, their presence was somewhat comforting to me, because we are halfway through with Farm Stay, it is just nice to reconnect, and remind myself of the true mass of the Junior High, and that we as a whole have a lot more than thirteen people. I am so happy that I am part of a Farm Stay experience, because each time I come to the Land School, I just get blown away by the sheer beauty and how special the entire land is, and how fortunate I am to really be a part of this.

by Max

February 28

So far (and I hope in the future), Farm Stay has been very fun. On Saturday, I did some optional work for credit. Calvin, Noah, Jack, and I went out to collect sap from trees. In the first hour, it was only me and Calvin, and the first tree was probably the best one - we only got a half-inch into the tree before it started to drip sap. In the next hour, Noah and Jack joined us and we split up. At 11:00, I broke a drill bit so I had to run back to the homestead to get the electric drill (we had been using the manual hand-drill). I came back with it and it drilled holes in the trees at least 4 times as fast. Then before I knew it, it was 12:00 and time to come back to the homestead. 

After we were done we came back and got rewarded with credits: I got 12, Jack and Noah Got 8, and for the group we got 14 total. Since I got 12 I used one of them to get an ice cream sandwich, it was chocolate-chocolate chip and it was pretty good

by Noah
February 28

The first weekend is always a highlight for Farm Stay because it comes at a time when the group has really started to bond together. It is cool to be hanging out with people that I did not really know prior to Farm Stay. The weekend was full of opportunities like tapping trees, playing The Most Dangerous Game Ever (even though it is not that dangerous) and preparing our Micro Economy projects for the Pancake Breakfast. One of my personal favorite parts about the weekends on Farm Stay is the lack of schedule. This is because it leaves time for you to be relaxed and calm and not hurriedly preparing for the day.

 On Sunday we played a game called The Most Dangerous Game Ever. People get a limited amount of time to spread throughout the Land School. Once everyone is spread out, a person called the Zombie tries to find and tag everyone before they can reach a certain spot called the safe zone. The game was really fun, exciting and a great way to have fun on the first weekend of Farm Stay Three.

by Clayton

February 24

On Wednesday, 2-24-2016, Farm Stay 3 went out into the woods and did a solo sit. This was where we sat down in the snow, away from each other, silently, and looked at the nature.  It was a wonderful experience where it felt like you were completely alone. We were surrounded by nature, in the winter. It was incredible. The woods let you be able to feel calm and really think in this peaceful environment.

I sat against a large oak tree, on a slope, going down to the stream bed. Then I looked out, I saw beautiful white snow covered hills, and on them great leafless trees stood tall and proud. I heard the wind as it softly blew against the trees, and across my face. The view was so pretty.

I enjoyed getting this experience, to really enjoy this wonderful place at our Land School.

Poppin’ Pancake Breakfast!

On Saturday, March 5th in the cozy Land School kitchen, there will be sausage sizzlin’ and pancakes poppin’ in preparation for your arrival at the 2016 Farm Stay 3 Pancake Breakfast!!! Come join us for a festival celebrating the arrival of spring and one of its many treasures, maple syrup!!! We will have a feast of homemade hot poppin’ pancakes and locally made syrup, as well as banana bread, muffins, fabulous fruity fruit, and many more delicious and delectable delights. We, as a Farm Stay, have also created original and handmade crafts such as candles, cutting boards, dish towels, coasters and more!!!! We have been working hard on all of our fantastic products for you, and we’re hoppin’ and  poppin’ with excitement for your arrival here! Remember, this event lasts from 8:30 to 12:00!! We can’t wait to see you there!!!! Love, the hoppin’ poppin’ lockin’ droppin’ polka dottin’ Farm Stay 3 

:)