El trecero semana

The meltdown... is hopefully coming

This week I felt much more at home at Calypso then I have thus far. I think I am starting to settle into living a rustic lifestyle and being in Alaska! It was a relief to find that when I went to chop wood the pieces seemed to fall apart quickly and naturally, rather than each piece painstakingly chopped into bits like my previous attempts. I also felt comfortable enough to start baking! which is always a sign that I have begun to settle in. I don't know what it is really... but I have never felt at home in a place before starting to bake. Maybe the smell of baked goods just makes everything seem that much more cozy, or maybe it's the creative feeling I get when digging into a new recipe... or even the satisfaction of pulling a steaming, yummy, baked good out of the oven (aaah).

I was also running around Fairbanks a lot this week! On Tuesday I went with two of Calypso's School Garden Supervisors to the Fairbanks job fair to promote their "EATING" program and the new Farm Docent program I mentioned in my previous post. I am fascinated by the EATING program, which funds gardens at local Fairbanks schools. During the summer these gardens employ kids and support either a CSA or a Farm Stand for the surrounding community. It is such a great opportunity to get kids involved in growing their own food and learning about eating locally. These gardens will teach them the difference between commercially grown products and ones grown with their own two hands! Plus the CSAs and Farm Stands they are supporting accept food stamps, so low income families can buy fresh produce!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I apologize for all the exclamation points... I'm just a bit overly excited about it!
So, all in all, the fair went very smoothly and I think I got some great potential volunteers for the Farm Docent program.
My other excursions in Fairbanks included a trip to the Rock Climbing Wall and live music at Spring Fest, both at the University. If you have never heard of "Sweating Honey" I suggest you check them out. I really enjoyed their music.

The weather has also been all over the place. On Thursday and Friday there was a substantial snow fall, but then on Sunday it warmed up to 60 degrees!! Apparently it is supposed to stay there for the entire week!! This means that I can finally spend some time basking in the sun and reading outdoors!! It also means that the fields are finally starting to thaw, and that there will hopefully be plants growing in them soon. I can't wait to look out the door of the weatherport and see lots of blooming flowers, herbs and vegetables! Right now I've been taking refuge in the greenhouse, when I can, and looking at all the little green plants they have germinated in there.
This past week Tom also sheared Calypso's three sheep Holly, Bridget and Sabrina. I have posted some pictures of that, and other adventures, in the photo album connected below. All the sheep have also been bread, and Sabrina is supposedly lambing VERY soon. When Tom sheared her she was already bagged up (meaning her utter was filling with milk), so we should have some little lambies here soon!!

Spring is in the air! and I am so relieved. As much as I love snow and winter activities, it is just too late in the year for me to be living in a twenty degree weather climate.