The Blur (and lots of photos)

The pace of life has certainly accelerated around here and the summer work is in full swing. Our interns all arrived at the end of June so we have about 30 people working and camping during the week and staying here in camp on the weekends. Mike and I (and Kimbo, our good friend and Mike's assistant) have found juggling work and Amara challenging but also doable with all the helping hands around here. Peiwen, a local teenager comes to camp on Saturday morning to watch Amara while I food shop in town and Mike bakes bread with the interns. Also on Saturday we tend the garden, give the compost the attention is lacks during the week, as well as focus on environmental education. Crew members can participate in an afternoon program which ranges anywhere from mushroom hunting with a local expert to volunteering on a dairy farm, to learning to fly fish. This Sunday Kim and I will bake granola and make soap with anyone who wants to stop by the kitchen and hang out. We have tried very hard to focus on and teach sustainable living skills to the interns. Although it makes for some long days and lots of extra work we enjoy the projects and love the results of our work.

The Finished Oven

Three Sister's: Corn, Squash, and Beans

A Snap Pea Blossom

Interns Harvest Swiss Chard

A Squash Blossom

Yellow Squash

This week Danny and Ryan, Mike's Dad and Brother, came to visit from California. We did have to work so we didn't do anything very exciting but had a really nice visit. We showed them around our little corner of New Jersey and they helped bake bread. Amara loved all the attention from her grandfather and despite not seeing each other often it seems the two of them have a special bond.

Amara took her first steps this week! She has been practicing standing on her own and cruising for about a month now. She is also becoming quite the little climber and can take a flight of stairs in no time. Today I saw her back down a stair for the first time instead of just face planting. She is the most fun baby I have ever known...very cool and relaxed, silly, and smart. She loves to play in boxes and bang on things with spoons. She likes to eat dirt and bugs and grass, well just about everything I guess. Mike took her in the lake for a real swim the other day and she giggled and splashed. She likes to be naked and throws a fit every time she has her diaper changed. She is stubborn and mischievous and just getting to the point where you can't take your eye off of her for more than a minute. She also got four top teeth in the last two weeks, needless to say it has been tough on all of us.

Oooh and the blueberries are ripe, this is the best time of year!