WINTER IS COMING

November 3, 2024 / joseph elon lillie / Leave a comment

Forgive the Game Of Thrones reference please. Today was the first day of daylight savings time. Two days ago it was 75 degrees here and we had enjoyed two more days of Indian Summer in Massachusetts. This morning the dogs were up at 2 A.M. and it was down in the 20’s when I took them out for a walk.

I got a lot done last month towards the winterizing of The Vicarage and the forest gardens, but there is much more to do before the true winter settles in.

There are still cellar windows to be covered in bubble wrap. It’s a new thing I am trying in the cellar to see if it improves the insulation in the dead of winter. This came as a suggestion from my sister who uses it on certain portions of her apartment in the Netherlands. The plastic at the cellar doors also needs to be hung. It was a big help last year with the winter wind.

Most of the leaves are gone now. Just the Norwegian Maples still hang onto their leaves. They light up the forest garden in the early mornings making the light almost magical. I still have some garden areas to prepare for next Spring. I am planning on planting a stand of Jerusalem artichoke out by the grape vines.

And I have plans for a pumpkin patch next year. So there is some cutting and dirt turning to do before the ground seriously freezes. I also have a few more rocks to move into place around the picket fence area before they freeze together in the winter storms.

It was a beautiful fall. Now it is time to get ready for the holidays and the New Year.

PUTTING IT ALL TO BED.

October 26, 2024October 26, 2024 / joseph elon lillie / Leave a comment

Our little bout of Indian Summer has ended and the temps are back down in the forties.

It has been a lovely fall, but it is definitely time to begin putting the Vicarage to bed for the winter and doing all that needs to be done to get the forest garden ready for….next Spring. Today I will take the walls off of the prayer tent.

And I hope to get at least some of the garden furniture stowed away in the cellar.

I also have about forty bulbs to plant in the side garden by the pet cemetery.

Usually things get quieter out in the garden as the winter sets in. Somehow I think this long winter’s nap is going to be a busy gardening season, as we get ready for next year’s planting.

DO YOU HAVE GARDEN PLANS FOR THE SPRING?

SABBATICAL DAY 16: AUTUMN SHINES AT THE VICARAGE

October 16, 2024 / joseph elon lillie / Leave a comment

One of the things that has made this sabbatical so special is the amount of time I have had to spend at home working, resting and praying fresh vision for the future. The Vicarage is beautiful at this time of year. One of the spiritual exercises I have tried to practice these last sixteen days is to build on the beauty of this little piece of Earth entrusted to me, while being mindful of the wild beauty it already does possess.

I was on the phone with my sister the other day and she suggested that I should photo-document the sights at the Vicarage so that people can see what I am seeing and perhaps they will then understand some of the things I am thinking.

Sing has done such a beautiful job with his yard. It seems always in bloom or full of color. He is someone with a real gift to make the most out of what he has. I hope to grow in that same direction and mindset.

The red maple tree out in back of The Vicarage has broken out into vivid color this week.

One of the projects I want to work on as part of beautifying the Vicarage is cleaning up this side yard and getting some trails cut into the wooded part of the Vicarage property to the left. I know it is too much to do this month, but part of the visioning process this month is to plan the way I want the forest garden to look in the Spring and to decide on the first steps come November.

When the sun shines through the colors of the trees, on these cool autumn mornings, it is hard not to feel hopeful about the future and about the eternal continuation of beauty. I am well aware of the precarious ledge of darkness our world is walking along right now, but in this little corner of the world the sun is shining bright. I know I can not take one day of sunlight for granted.

This leaf strewn pathway is one of the projects I began this summer. It leads out to the vernal brook which is dry most years after June. It reminds me of how much more potential is in this place. It just has to be spoken forth and created.

I am reminded that this season of autumn is quickly passing just like my sabbatical. Soon both will be passed. Then, it will be about beginning the work of bringing the future God has revealed, through this season of abiding, into reality.

WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS FOR THE FUTURE?

THE FOREST GARDEN IN FREE FALL

September 11, 2024 / joseph elon lillie / Leave a comment

We are falling quickly into autumn here in northern Massachusetts. The evenings get down into the 40s, but the days are still in the 70s. It’s that time of year when I fight with myself about whether or not to put on the heat at night. So far my frugal self is winning.

This morning I admit, I turned on one of the mobile heaters in the living room just until I didn’t need to wear a blanket in the house.

Today is my Sabbath so I have been trying to be mindful all day about my prayer time and about taking in the beauty of my surroundings.

The gardens are still full of beautiful fall flowers, like this stand of Maximillian sunflowers.

The nasturtiums are in flower. I have been adding the leaves and flowers to our salads these last few weeks.

The Japanese knotweed is absolutely beautiful right now too.

This St. John’s Wort is letting us know he is ready for what is to come.

The white and purple asters have been remarkable this year.

These tiny rose hips are already attracting the wild birds around the area. We are sure to be loaded with cardinals and bluejays this year through the winter. I hope we can get some good footage from Kristine’s camera.

While my daughter is not a fan of the goldenrod I love the brightness it brings to the season.

Today was not a big work in the yard day. I have been sitting out for my prayer sessions, but most of the day I have been in doing paperwork. Last week was yard work week. I got a lot of mint harvested and hung to dry.

I also mowed the whole yard…except the forest path. That I am afraid is looking pretty unkempt just now.

But Kristine got the chicken paddock moved. The chickens love it!

Well, all except for Partly Sunny. She escaped this morning through a hole in the fencing. We found her hiding in the bushes just behind the paddock. She complained when we put her back in the chicken yard, but I just checked on her and she seems resigned to her fate…at least for now. Kristine moved some of the fencing to deal with the hole and I am going layer some field stone around the bottom edges of the paddock to shore it up. All in all we are doing pretty well getting ready for winter.

WHAT DOES YOUR WORLD LOOK LIKE THIS FALL? OR IF YOU ARE IN THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE WHAT DOES YOUR SPRING LOOK LIKE?

OF RABBITS AND CHICKEN PADDOCKS

September 10, 2024September 10, 2024 / joseph elon lillie / 5 Comments

CLICK THE LINK BELOW THE PICTURE TO GO TO THE VICARAGE YOUTUBE PAGE. SORRY THE VIDEO DIDN’T POST. YOUTUBE IS BEING WONKY TODAY.

MINT AND MAINTENANCE AT THE VICARAGE

September 4, 2024 / joseph elon lillie / Leave a comment

The temperatures here in North Central Massachusetts have gotten unseasonably cool. From what I have read the next few weeks are going to be more like late October or early November than early September. We are definitely into the Brrrr months.

The gardens are slowing down and it is time to begin thinking about bringing in the last of the harvest and to get ready for the winter in a big way. I feel like all my fall projects are being put on the fast conveyor belt. The issue is basic maintenance here at the Vicarage seems to be taking more and more time. Mowing the lawn, walking the dogs, caring for the chickens, laundry, dishes, cooking. The kids are helping a lot, but I think I am still saying yes to too many things. I still haven’t figured out that perfect rhythm. Maybe I never will. Of course it could also just be that the whole family (except for me and Joe) have had COVID for the last week. We have been down two adults to help with the work. I think I am definitely feeling that extra burden.

Anyway, whatever may be causing my autumn angst doesn’t change the fact that time has to be made to bring in the fall plants. It is time to start drying the herbs for winter. I have a huge mint harvest to hang and then I have to start moving plants from the front gardens to other locations for the Spring. I have giant hosts, and daffodils and some irises to move.

Before all that though…the mint. Here is a video on how I am going about the process of drying.

I didn’t get all the mint harvested the other day. So I am back at it today.

DO YOU HAVE A LIST OF FALL PROJECTS?

THE FOREST HEADING TOWARDS FALL

August 21, 2024 / joseph elon lillie / Leave a comment

We have had a bit of dismal weather at The Vicarage over the last several days. The raindrops interspersed around ministry have made it a bit difficult to accomplish some of the tasks I had set for myself this week.

I still haven’t finished chopping down the brush around the chicken paddock.

It’s about half done. Maybe I’ll get it finished today so we can start building the actual paddock.

The forest creatures have not been deterred in the slightest by the weather.

If their appetites are any indication it will be an early fall.

I wrote YESTERDAY about how the sense of impending fall is giving me an urgency about the chicken projects. That, and the fact that two of the chickens have made inroads into escaping from the playpen is giving me a bit of agita. I came home from CVS this morning to find that Squash and Eggplant were sitting on top pf the netting.

The garden is still blooming though.

White Flat Topped Aster is blooming all over the property.

This sweet autumn clematis has put in an appearance around the sumac.

The cone floors are also in full bloom.

A sure sign of fall is that the Japanese Knotweed is flowering too.

Some of these stalks are ten feet tall.

And this year I have a giant patch of jewelweed growing.

I will be harvesting some of this to make an anti itch tincture for the winter.

It’s all coming along. I am enjoying the fact that I am being more consistent with the property this year. That said I am hoping I can get everything done before the weather breaks.

DO YOU HAVE A SENSE OF URGENCY CONCERNING THE WEATHER THIS YEAR?

ALARMS AND CHICKEN ENLARGEMENTS

August 16, 2024 / joseph elon lillie / Leave a comment

This week my goal has been to begin clearing the land for the chicken paddock we are going to build. I have to cut back the bushes around the trees where the chicken coop sits.

All of this has to go and so does…

most of this.

My daughter asked me tonight how my week has been. My word was “constant”. It has not been a bad week. It has been a really good week actually. It has also been a constant work of preparing for ministry or working on little unexpected projects.

Today I had a small unexpected project pop up at the church. Our building and grounds crew has begun another project for then church. They are working on refurbishing the green room (which is a large meeting room with couches and a kitchenette. When it is all said and done, it is going to be amazing. This week the volunteer crew began taking down the popcorn ceilings which were put up in the 1980’s.

My friend and one of our deacons, Jody Clapp

All was going well until one of the smoke detectors got some of the oil being used to remove the ceiling goo on it. That set the fire alarm off which caused the alarm company to contact me (the lead contact on the fire alarm list) and then the fire department.

With the fire captain’s help we tried to reset the system to no avail. So the fire captain gave me instructions about how to clean the smoke detector. We got the alarm silenced (though we were unable to shut of the emergency strobes throughout the church) so I went home for lunch and to clean the chicken coop while Jody finished up the ceiling. Then I went back to the church and followed the instructions on cleaning up the smoke detector. It involved paper towels, Q-tips and a shop vac.

In the end, I got the detector cleaned, the fire alarm reset and I even got a wheel barrel load of brush cut from around the chicken coop. I feel really accomplished. Still, I can’t wait to get the chicken paddock built. It is a lot of work moving the chickens back and forth between their coop and their play pen.

WHAT PROJECTS ARE YOU WORKING ON AT YOUR HOME?

SNOW WHITE OR THE FARMER?

August 12, 2024 / joseph elon lillie / Leave a comment

I went for coffee with my daughter the other day and we were talking about the forest garden at the Vicarage. Amanda said, “It’s like we live in Snowwhite’s Cottage, Dad.”

Today I was on a call with my sister and she commented, “You have let the gardens go for so long that what you have is a mature forest. You don’t need to make it into a forest garden you need to prune the forest and make it more usable.”

She is right, of course, Our little micro forest is severely overgrown. I do need to make it more productive as I practice permaculture.

I guess the questions I need to ask are “what do I really want my forest to do?” and “what do I want my forest to be?”

Honestly I love the gardening aspect. As I have turned back to it this year I have loved cultivating my own flowers and my own food. I want to do more of that next year.

Eggplant, tomatoes and green beans from the forest garden.

But it is not just about the productivity of the gardens; I also love the wildlife and the domesticated life we have in the garden.

I love the animals. As I prune the garden I want to make it a more usable habitat for us as a family but also for the little creatures that live in the forest around us. I can’t imagine not having cardinals and woodpeckers and bluejays and grackles and squirrels and rabbits and chickens. I love that I have to leave the clover long for the rabbits to eat and I love that I have to buy birdseed and suet for my winged critters. I even love it when the squirrels and chipmunks come to steal the food from the birds for their midwinter snacks.

I love being able to cook a meal straight from the garden and I love being able to eat that meal while watching God’s creatures from my dining room windows. I realize that everyone had goals in gardening. These are mine.

IF YOU HAVE A GARDEN, WHAT ARE YOUR GARDENING GOALS?

TAR AND FEATHERS

August 10, 2024August 10, 2024 / joseph elon lillie / Leave a comment

As some know, we have spent a lot of time fixing up the interior of The Vicarage over the last several years. It is always a work in progress, and maintaining what was done remains a challenge. That said, this summer I wanted to turn my attention to the forest garden at The Vicarage, which has been neglected for seven long years.

I have done a lot of work rearranging garden beds and planting herbs and vegetables. The time of harvest has begun. Tonight in fact I am frying up our second egg plant from the garden and making a chopped salad of tomatoes, cucumbers and green bean garnished with nasturtiums.

This week The forest garden had two large projects that took place. The first project was…CHICKENS!

We got our first four chickens! They are named Squash, Partly Sunny, Eggplant and Spot.

Because their coop is a little smaller than we would, we have built them temporary exercise yard as well. My plan is to do some more brush cutting around the coop , buy some wood and fencing and set up a larger coop before the winter sets in. This will have to do for now.