Yesterday I got some bad news from one of my landlords. I should preface this by stating that I have one wonderful, responsible landlord and one not so nice, kind of irrational one...I've posted about friction in the house of late but now it's come to a head. Their partnership is dissolving and now I have to move the backyard farm.

At first news of this, I panicked. This has become my life and I am not certain how I will adjust to not having access to a space to grow food and raise critters to feed myself with. And then it dawned on me...I've simply outgrown being here. While I certainly don't think I deserve to be the target of anyone's anger, I do see how my lifestyle might rub people the wrong way. It marks me with a rather large bullseye. My interests are not meant to anger anyone, but I can't much help what other people think or feel about it. I thought I was doing the best I could to be considerate, tidy and self-aware but it may not have been enough. And so it is. I have to clear the farm stuff out.

I'm moving my rabbits over to Dara's place temporarily. They will live in the hollowed out carriage house in her backyard in Bed Stuy. I've got to cull Salad's offspring this weekend. I'm simultaneously filled with dread and anxious to see the job done. They've been getting free outdoor time daily and seem happy and I've been enjoying my time with them. Even so, the time as come. I may just sell off Hazel's litter because I just don't know where I'll be able to cull them once they are of age. I've had kind offers from folks upstate to host such an event but money is extremely tight right now and I can't afford the gas and tolls for such a trip.

The chickens are staying put for now. The bees will be moved to Brooklyn Navy Yard in the Spring where they will be part of Brooklyn Grange's new bee yard. It'll be a good place for them because I can pester Tim to check in on them every so often.

As far as the gardening is concerned....I'm not sure if it's worth trying to plant at all this Spring. Maybe just a ton of early crops. Radishes, greens, peas...

I'll be able to get my hands really dirty with the ladies at Domestic Construction this Spring and Summer. I've signed on to help them get Design Plot, their urban garden, up and running. They are really inspiring ladies so I'm so completely stoked that I get to work with them on this. I've got a post coming up on a truly awesome project involving me, the Grange folk and Domestic Construction...Stay tuned for that!

Anyway, I'm certainly sad that things are ending on a sour note here at Jewel Street, but I've been sensing the end drawing close for some time now. I've been planning and scheming. I've got a project on the wings for later this summer, into 2013 which would afford me space, freedom, and some quiet all within reach of the city I've grown to love. I'll be able to bring my critter kingdom back together under one canopy of trees overlooking the shore. It's going to be beautiful and inspiring and I cannot wait to share it with you all. Once I've got all of that settled and confirmed, I'll spill all of the beans about it.

With that, I hope that you all continue to follow me on my journey. I'll still be teaching classes and working with other folks on their projects. Things will be different, but not much so. This is not the end. Just a little bump in the road. I've been fortunate to be cruising for as long as I had been.

<3m

...and I suspect my cats ate it. But it doesn't make it any less remarkable to me.

This summer I came back to Brooklyn from a week in the Catskills and found a weird little poop like mass in my travel bag. At first I was startled by it and thought an animal had left a happy little surprise in my bag, but it started wiggling around slightly, jolting me to my senses. It was some sort of insect in a pupal stage.

Not knowing what to do with it and not wanting to kill it, i buried it in the soil of one of my house plants and forgot about it.

Several months later (last night) I hear a rustling in the dried leaves that I use to mulch the soil of my plants. I looked closer and saw this:

It's a newly emerged Whited-line Sphinx Moth ...a type of Hummingbird moth, known for it's ability to hover while it feeds from flowers. It's also the adult form of a hornworm, which many gardeners detest due to their voracious apetite and ability to do some real damage to solanaceous crops like tomatoes and eggplant and tobacco.

Being as it's still winter and this critter would no doubt freeze to death, I just let it rest on a hanging plant and hoped my cats would take no notice of it. If it was still there in the am, I'd feed it some nectar and try to drop it of at the American Museum of Natural History where I have a friend that works in the Entomology department. That would have been the best I could do.

There's still a chance that the moth is hiding out somewhere in my apartment I'll be glad to see it, but I feel really fortunate that I was able to witness part of the lifecycle of such a beautiful creature in any case.

Insects are just so damned remarkable! Check out this video of a White-lined Sphinx in action!

Why worry? Just garden!

After a few weeks of pity-partying, I've decided there will be no more of that sort of thinking. I apologize to my readers for having to endure it. I've recognized a fault in myself that I am going to fix right now. I think it's likely one of those things that most people do from time to time, but I think I am especially bad about it. I am speaking of the tendency to harp on all of the negative things going on in your life to the detriment of all of the positive.

I have a lot to be grateful for so it's important for me to occasionally remind myself to can it and just enjoy all of the exciting projects and people I have in my life right now. None of it is perfect. It never will be. If it was I wouldn't strive to improve. I'd just lie around basking in the perfection and frankly, that sounds really boring. I'm a big fan of turning lemons into lemonade. The lemonade always tastes better when you're exhausted from all of the squeezing. Am I right?

One of the things I'm happiest about at the moment is that my classes have been really well received. My goal is to really focus my attention on perfecting that part of my work. Better presentations, original print outs, videos, info-graphics. More web-based workshops for those of you that can't make it to my NYC classes. I'm working on improving the website so information about classes is easier to access.

Things at my home have improved a little. Where there is tension centered around one relationship, there is solidarity in another. There are people who have my back and I certainly have theirs too. I'm just going to approach everything on a day-to-day basis, lighten up a little and try not to let anything rob me of the joy all of this craziness brings me. I do hope it brings other people some joy too. It's difficult, if not impossible, to enjoy things alone.

For the last few weeks I feel as though I've been walking around with a boulder on my back. Money problems, deadlines and....well it's mostly money problems and deadlines that have been bringing me down, but pepper in a little bit of stress over lack of time and insecurity about my future and you've pretty much got a case of the "free woman" blues. It's the pits, right now. Is this how career independence is supposed to feel? I can't let myself believe that this is how it will always be. I have to know that I can live the life that is right for me without having to spend 1/3 of my life as a cog in the wheel.

I'm kicking myself for possibly getting in over my head, thinking I could just cobble together a sustainable life on my own, but now I'm in the thick of it and I have no choice but to keep pushing forward. I can't imagine going back to a normal job. I'd feel like I was merely puppet-ing my way through each day for little more than some spending cash in my pocket. Frankly, I'd rather be poor.

I'm having a hard time justifying the things that I'm doing these days. Yields across the board are pretty low because I have so little to work with. I'm speaking mostly of space to farm, but I suppose you could use that as a metaphor for other parts of my life. The only thing I feel really confident about is teaching. I enjoy sharing what I know with those who want to know. It's a great exchange and I always leave classes feeling light.

I'm really fortunate that I've been able to teach workshops to make a little extra cash here and there. So, thank you to all the folks out there who have put their hard-earned cash and faith in my abilities. I won't let you down.

I'll never ask for a hand-out, but I will ask for a chance to earn my way. Please consider helping me carry on by signing up for any of the workshops or classes below or the ones I'm presently teaching at 3rd Ward or New York Botanical Gardens. You'll be helping me to not only pay the rent, but to grow as an urban farmer and teacher. And, of course, you'll learn something!

(Me and the Catskills bees)

Online Urban Beekeeping 101- 1/22:
Learn the ins-and-outs of beekeeping from a city-dweller's perspective. From honeybee anatomy and behavior to pests and diseases to honey harvesting, we'll cover a full season of beekeeping from Spring through Winter so that you can feel confident starting your first beehive this year!

Growing Edible Mushrooms at Home- 2/12:
In this workshop, you'll learn how to turn waste into delicious, meaty mushrooms. We'll make mushroom logs from tree cuttings, grow oyster mushrooms in espresso grounds and discuss stem butt cultivation with salvaged burlap sacks! Students will take home a mushroom log of their own!

Backyard Homesteading Bootcamp- 4/7 (all day):
In this day long workshop, you'll learn how to turn your small space into a functioning homestead. Learn gardening, composting, chicken and rabbit basics, beekeeping basics, diy home and body care, homebrewing and food preservation.

More workshops coming soon!

<3 Meg

There's a great to place for Brooklynites far and wide to support the thriving and vibrant community of entrepreneurs we've got running things around this bustling borough. Dara Furlow, a chef, mother and all-around ballsy risk-taker created With Love, From Brooklyn, an e-commerce site dedicated to all things Brooklyn. Much like a mother hen and her chicks, Dara strives to help our local businesses thrive by bundling them in a way that gives the shoppers a sense of context but also creates well thought out gift options for those who want to keep it strictly Brooklyn-based.

Of course, I had to be involved! I contributed a curated selection of some of my favorite local goods. From rooftop grown honey and hot sauce to jams made from bootstrappin' badasses here in my neighborhood of Greenpoint, this selection celebrates seasonality, camaraderie and the urge to step to the beat of your own drum. To me that's what living here is all about!

When you browse around the website. It's helpful to keep in mind that most of the goods you are seeing are made by people that mostly know one another, sometimes collaborate and have even lent a helping hand in growing each others businesses at one point or another...so you're not just seeing Brooklyn pitched as a buzz word to get your dollars. It's a real thing. Community, connection. Brooklyn is more than just a place. It's a state of mind! Those of you who live here can attest. It's one of many reasons I think Brooklyn might just be the best place on Earth!

So yeah, go shop at Dara's site and support small business and community growth!

<3M

I quit my job in May of 2010 and since then have been teaching, consulting and writing to pay the bills. I've never been happier, frankly, but none of the aforementioned jobs pay very much when compared to the exorbitant cost of living in NYC and since I am "freelance", it's never consistent. There are fat months and very lean months. I live hand to mouth with very little cash left over for fun stuff, like things that make doing the urban homesteader thing a little easier.

So this is my plea to Santa (or any generous readers with these things lying around in good condition): If you think I've been good this year, help a gal out. I don't care if the items on my list are used or new, my home (and workshops) could greatly benefit from them. And when I benefit, my readers benefit, my students benefit and my neighbors and friends benefit. I hate to be a beggar, but here goes nothing!

Meg's Homestead Needs List:

Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving (yup, I don't have a copy!)
Pressure canner
Hand-crank grain mill (really any brand that is capable of grinding corn and hard winter wheat)
Grow lights
Food dehydrator
Vinegar Crocks
Cheese making supplies

Santa, if you're out there can you lend a hard-working city farm girl a hand? Or, if any of my readers feel inclined, donate to the farm by clicking on the about page and I can just get these things on my own.

Next year is already shaping up to be a really exciting time. My teaching schedule is full of great, interesting classes that I hope many of you aspiring urban agrarians out there will find hard to resist.

I teach the occasional workshop at the "homestead" as many of you probably know, but I also teach frequently at two great institutions in NYC; 3rd Ward and The New York Botanical Gardens. Please see below for dates and times and check out their websites to enroll!

At 3rd Ward:

Food Preservation and Canning
-Mon, Dec 12th, 7-10 p.m.
-Thurs, Jan 12th, 7-10 p.m.
-Tues, Feb 28th, 7-10 p.m.

Urban Food Production for the Landless
-Thurs, Dec 15th, 7-10 p.m.
-Sun, Dec 18th, 6-9 p.m.
-Tues, Jan 17th, 7-10 p.m.
-Sat, Feb 11th, 10 a.m.-1 p.m.

City Chickens for Fresh Eggs
-Tues, Jan 24th, 7-10 p.m.

Rooftop Beekeeping 101
Sun, Feb 19th and 26th, 10 a.m.- 1 p.m.

New York Botanical Gardens
(see NYBG link above for details)

Vegetable Gardening Certificate Course
-Wed, Feb 22-Mar 14 (4 sessions), 6:15pm-9:15pm
-Mon, Mar 26-31 (4 sessions), 10 a.m.-1.p.m.

Beekeeping for Bee-ginners
-Sat, March 17th-31st (3 sessions), 10 a.m.-1 p.m.

Rooftop Beekeeping Basics
-Thurs, April 12th-26th (3 sessions), 6-9 p.m. (Manhattan)

Swarm Catching for Free Bees
-Tues, May 1st, 6-9 p.m.

**Please note: The January EDIBLE MUSHROOM GROWING CLASS at my place will take place on Sunday the 12th. I'll post about it next week with a link to an Eventbrite page. Mark your calendars! **

Happy Monday, folks!

I'm back in Brooklyn after I took a much needed trip to the Catskills this weekend... Neil and I snapped a few pics of the times. It was the first time I was able to go up to the farm and just enjoy being there by the wood stove eating and reading with no pressure to do field work. The frost has killed off all but the hardiest brassicas so there was only light work to be done anyway.

Here are some I took with Instagram, though Neil and my friend Tom have more integrity and took some with a real camera. I'll share those once the film (yes, film) is developed.

(Mulching rows of garlic on Newton Farm)

(Winterizing the farm bees, part 1)

(My handsome boyfriend, post firewood stacking.)

(My friends Tom & Kira picking some collards with Cooper, the best dog in the whole world.)

(We ate well: Apple cider braised pork shoulder with pan jus, black-eyed peas, collards and bacon, pan roasted root veggies. We made a stew with the leftovers the next day)

Sometimes a song just rips your heart out...

In this case it was a song and a voice. Bob Davenport's role in this song is no small one.