the beginning

it all started when james and i decided to look for a house with some land.  our search took us to the northeast corner of the valley, where we became the second owners of a lathe-and-plaster, spanish-style house on 2.3 acres.  the house was built in 1928 by an immigrant italian family who planted olive trees and processed the oil for sale.  the iron oil presses still stand in the barn, and the property is dotted with over a dozen huge olive trees and a small fruit orchard.  we are one of a handful of larger properties in the area that haven't yet been competely sliced up and covered with mc mansions.   suburban sprawl is all around us - condos and townhomes are overtaking the landscape and traffic is increasing - but riders still trot their horses down the streets and roosters crow to each other at dawn.  

i lived in the city nearly all of my adult life.  i didn't own a pet or even a plant because my job required constant mobility.  creating a home with james and putting down roots in this little suburban community taught me as much or more than i learned by traveling the globe.  i now know how to use a backhoe.  i have built a chicken pen by myself.  i can make jam.  i know the difference between a kadota and a queen anne fig.  i have friends who make their own cheese - using milk from their own goats.  i've assisted with a hen's surgery on the dining room table, and trimmed the cord of a newborn lamb.  i never thought that i would know how to do any of these things, nor did i anticipate how these experiences would forever change me.

this blog is a place to share some of the unexpected things i have learned, and continue to learn. welcome!