The Grovestead
  •  Blog
  •  Events
  •  Publications
    • Durable Trades
    • Audio Recordings
    • The Grovestead Newsletter
  •  Gather & Grow
  •  About Us
A great homeschool or home-from-school spring break project: plan the garden planting! Ivar and I spent the morning looking at the farmers almanac, our seed packs and notes from years past and wrote on our calendar when we should sow our seeds under grow lights and when we should get each item in the ground outside. It’s like the biggest word problem you’ve ever come across. Great critical thinking skills and a whole lot of hope because the farmers almanac seems to think we’ll be digging in mid-April. A hopeful word!
At dinner, during ‘hey, hey what do ya say? What was your favorite part of the day today?’ Alden reported that the best part of his day was busting up the ice between the truck and the van and asked if he could go back out after dinner. I just loved that at age 5, he has tapped into the universal joy and gladness of helping the ice go away.
A wonderful day with wonderful friends! About 50 undaunted Minnesotans braved subzero windchills to learn all about maple syruping and then we headed up to the (heated) barn for a pancake potluck. Good food, good fellowship.. a blessed time all around.
“Once upon a time a little girl was very happy to work. She love to work. All she wanted to do was working. She loved working. She was very happy to do that. The And.” If you need her, you can find Hattie loading and unloading the dishwasher...happily. Can you tell we talk a lot about the choice we have in working? You can work crabby or you can work happy!
Last year we had two families go home and tap their own maple trees that very afternoon! Our annual Great Maple Syrup Get Together is one week from today. We have just a few spots left for a morning of tree tapping, evaporator empowerment, snow pants and (new this year) a big brunch potluck up in the barn. We’d love to have you! Come try maple syrup in your coffee. You won’t be sorry. Gathering is Saturday, March 18th, 10:00-1:00ish. Sign up at gatherandgrow.us and bring something yummy to share!
Today Ivar led the tree tapping. Remarkable! He taught the kids how to identify maples and gave each one a turn with the drill and hammer. Every tap was dripping with sap which definitely means spring is on its way!
The Grovestead
The Grovestead
  •  Blog
  •  Events
  •  Publications
    • Durable Trades
    • Audio Recordings
    • The Grovestead Newsletter
  •  Gather & Grow
  •  About Us
  •  Blog
  •  Events
    • Farm Camp
    • Workshops
    • Internships
  •  Publications
    • Durable Trades
    • The Grovestead Newsletter
  •  Farm Stand
  •  About Us
View Post
  • 262
  • Family

Hattie is Seven

  • October 18, 2022
  • 3 comments
  • Becca
Hattie came to me the morning of her birthday and told me a bit remiss, “I standed on the top of the steps with my arms out to see if…
Share
0
0
0
View Post
  • 143
  • Events
  • Faith
  • Family

Upcoming Events: Fall Family Retreat

  • October 14, 2022
  • No comments
  • Rory
One of the goals of Gather & Grow is that after each gathering we leave families dreaming bigger dreams, seeking God for the vision He has for their family. In…
Share
0
0
0
View Post
  • 153
  • Family
  • Farming

The Festival of Tents

  • October 12, 2022
  • No comments
  • Becca
The day we harvested our pumpkins I remembered the funny thing about the pumpkin harvest: the pumpkins become toys. They always do. Not as balls, but as items to haul…
Share
0
0
0
View Post
  • 154
  • Family

Read All About It!

  • October 11, 2022
  • No comments
  • Becca
I have this image of a pile of leaves, caught up in the wind. They swirl around in the air, and it’s beautiful and fun and chaotic. For me, every…
Share
0
0
0
View Post
  • 345
  • Events
  • Faith
  • Family

Blest Be the Tie That Binds

  • September 10, 2022
  • 3 comments
  • Rory
With great joy in our hearts, we just wrapped up our second Gather & Grow get-together. Last year was our first big gathering, and it was after that event that…
Share
32
0
0
View Post
  • 259
  • Events
  • Faith
  • Family
  • Farming

Gathering Again

  • July 26, 2022
  • No comments
  • Rory
Our second annual gathering of newsletter readers and kindred friends is scheduled for Labor Day weekend in September! The event will be on our farm again in Northfield, Minnesota. Come…
Share
0
0
0

Posts navigation

Previous 1 2 3 4 5 … 42 Next
Recent Posts
  • A Very Photogenic Winter
    • February 27, 2023
    • 98 views
  • Working Together
    • February 20, 2023
    • 188 views
  • How Much to Grow?
    • January 14, 2023
    • 616 views
Popular Posts
  • Where’s the Beef? It’s time to build our own supply chains.
    • April 25, 2020
    • 23.5K views
  • Managed Intensive Rotational Grazing for Sheep
    • December 27, 2016
    • 14K views
  • Boiling maple sap over home-built evaporator
    How to Build an Evaporator (from stuff laying around)
    • April 12, 2014
    • 11.4K views
Mailing List

Be notified of events and goings on at the Grovestead!

Contact
The Grovestead
  •  Blog
  •  Events
  •  Publications
  •  Gather & Grow
  •  About Us
Copyright © 2022 by The Grovestead. All Rights Reserved.

Input your search keywords and press Enter.