Mark and Linus arrive! And we get our flock of 30 chickens...

 After driving this 22 foot Penske truck from Seattle to Paonia over 3 long days, Mark and Linus arrived!  I'll let Mark tell of their adventures, including rock climbing and meeting up with our pal Paul Bullard in Moab!
As soon as we compared the storage unit to the amount of stuff in the truck, we knew the unit was too small.  So we quickly located a bigger, newer facility, and unloaded until it was pitch dark.  Finished up the next morning, and finally got to enjoy a little time on the farm together.  We celebrated with a delicious dinner of farm fresh foods, with Catherine and John, and Delta friends Missy and Rooster.

Sunday morning we took off for Boulder, to give Linus a taste of that environmentally savvy city.  It sure is full of beautiful people!   Spent the evening visiting a swing dance venue called the Mercury Cafe.  Then slept at an airbnb (a private home that rents out rooms for about half the cost of a hotel).  And on Monday, Mark and I bid farewell to Linus, as he flew out of Denver, returning to school at the University of Washington.  Stocked up on the way home at IKEA and Costco, before returning to the rural ways of sourcing food and hunting for second hand furniture.

Meanwhile, back on the farm, the compost pile is quite a bit smaller now...

 

 ...since our flock of 30 chickens came home to roost!  4 Rhode Island Reds are the mature, queens of the hen house (although they are all molting right now, so they look a bit shabby and only sporadically lay eggs).  The other 26 are still growing their combs, and not producing eggs quite yet.  30 chickens, and we still have to buy our breakfast from Don's Market!

 

This is my favorite chicken.  She's recovering from a combination of molting and being picked on.  I named her "Denise" after my sister, not because of personality similarities, but because I can recognize her, she lets me hold her, and I miss my childhood pal.  So I can say her name many times in a day, and think of my sister.  I'd like to name them all after my beloved family and friends, but I honestly can't yet recognize the others!  

Mark and I are doing a crash course in raising healthy chickens, helped greatly by Catherine's experience and advice.  So far, we get maybe 1 egg a day... I'll keep you posted; it's sure to improve.

Life feels much more familiar now, here in Paonia.  We will start teaching dance classes soon, and be on the lookout for building materials for our art shed.  Thanks everyone for keeping in touch.

  The days are getting shorter, but continue to be absolutely gorgeous.  With the new moon, galaxies of stars have been revealed to us; the night skies are awesome!  Wish you were here to gaze at them with us.

With love and great affection, Margot and Mark

Getting Settled

Hola friends!  Here I am, sending you the first post from our new home at Fire Mountain Farm.  So far, so good.  It is unbelievably beautiful here, like a mirage after crossing the vast, hot desert plains of Utah.  Christine and I were very forgetful about taking photos, but luckily, I do have the three pictures taken in Arches National Park, Moab Utah (thanks, Steve!).

We were quite occupied during our road trip, taking care of the cats and ourselves.  Bella escaped once along the way, but luckily, only got as far as C's grandmother's bushes, where we found her crying for help.

As you can see, Bella is now happily exploring the farm, catching giant grasshoppers and following me around in that nonchalant feline way.  Christine, how would I have managed to get these cats here without you? 

 Here's a funny synchronicity for you - when the 2 cats that live in the barn made their first afternoon appearance, I cracked up - they are the visual doppelgangers of our cats!  The mama looks like Bella, though with a sweet, droll expression, and her daughter looks like Boris!  Bella is not at all sure about Mama cat, as you can see...

 ...but Boris is perfectly comfortable hanging out with her.  "Mr. Social", that's Boris.  Notice how I'm going on and on about my cats?  Well, they are my familiars in this new landscape.

 The water system is crucial to keeping the farm growing and green, and this is our biggest job as caretakers.   Here's the sprinkler set to water the plantings we see from our basement apartment.  John, the experienced caretaker, is teaching me how to run the water...

...while Catherine, owner of Fire Mountain Farm, is coaching me on how to care for chickens, among many other tasks.  This is the smaller coop ( I LOVE the bright colors of the purple house and cheerful outbuildings).  Mark and I may soon be the proud owners of our own flock!  Farms are very busy places; I'm gaining a new appreciation of what goes into growing food and maintaining an organic farm.   The beauty of this place is deeply nurturing.