A group of amazing young people were out to the farm today to help us collect all the butternut squash from the fields. It is so fun to have them come and see what the farm is really all about. Their energy and help is so appreciated. Thank you all. Cacao is off to spend a couple of months with Dex the bull. We went to visit her today and she looks great and was having fun, running the hillside with the other cattle. I imagine the exercise is good for her too, she had gotten so chubby!  She let me rub her face and scratch her around the horns, one of her favorite things! Leche is doing great, it is easier to see the difference in the pregnancies now (or what we thought was a pregnancy)! She spends her days with one of the chicken families and they enjoy sharing their sprouts and wheat grass together! It is quite the scene.  These warm days and evenings are appreciated before winter comes. We are able to prepare fields for spring planting and the fall garden is in full swing now. Cauliflour, broccoli, cabbage, lettuce all in abundance. The peppers are still finishing up and we are roasting them daily. I shared that we bottled last years wine and we crushed and put into barrels (three!) this years harvest. We have enjoyed what is called "fresh wine", only fermented for two weeks prior to putting into oak. It is on the sweet side and delicious! Javier loves making wine and seems like he could do it all day every day, it is definitely his "gift" and passion. The days are shorter and I can begin to feel things starting to slow down a bit (seasonally). However life still feels like I carry a full bucket. We leave for a family reunion in Los Angeles on Saturday, then return home that night, head to SF to sleep, and leave for Maui on Sunday morning to prepare for our Community Building workshop there. I am so grateful for the support of community and especially Cary's father Jon, during some of the challenges we are facing. He has sent me so many great references, and inspiring sermons, and daily reads to keep our spirits up and focused on what really matters. I am blessed. Today I read a sermon he sent that shared how important "strife" is in any community, that resistance is what makes us stronger, more connected, and shored up to our mission.
Thank you all for continuing to support Cafe Gratitude and we are grateful to have you as part of our family. Love. Terces

Well the SUN came out today and watermelon is back on the farm menu with 5 volunteers here today to pick corn before more rain comes our way! Chilies are drying ( see photo) and boy do they smell good. Bread is baking and everyone is working together. The feeling of teamwork always warms my heart, I am grateful.

Corn is being picked to then dry and take off the cob to make our masa. It is a beautiful process. This years wine is fermenting and will be pressed on Saturday morning and put into oak barrels. Last year's wine has been bottled and is now resting while the flavor deepens.

The earth is softer today due to rainfall. I noticed while walking about the farm early this morning as I opened up the chicken coops that my boots (yes rain boots) were treading softer on the ground. The smell of moist leaves, soil and wood chips is everywhere. The flies are vying for their last days. Today there is a group of volunteers coming out to help bring in the butternut squash from the fields, and the corn too.

Our campfire is going, the smell of smoke permeates those of us who live here, so much so that when we hug people they ask, "Have you been camping?" I call it "Campfire" cologne! I haven't yet put on any "window coverings" on the yurt screens but we can certainly feel the cool night air blow across our faces when we are tucked into bed at night!

Anna is still visiting from Kansas City and her assistance with Spanish (she speaks perfectly) is so wonderful and deepens our already deep connection to our family from across the border. She is a great "farm mama" assisting wherever she is needed. Newe our now 2 year old farm member loves her and she and he are a great duo to support his mama, Lindsay, who grows all our sprouts and wheatgrass.  

The baby chicks are here!  We picked them up with the Grandchildren and shared all about the miracle of receiving Special Breeds in the mail. The man at the post office was so precious about handing over the box to Kate. She said when we returned to the farm, “This is my best day ever!” I love the lessons that children can learn living on a farm! 

Tomato plants are in the ground, and we are keeping our fingers crossed for no more heavy frost. The greenhouse tomatoes now have golf ball sized tomatoes! Love the early start we got this year with the new greenhouse. Starts are abundant in the greenhouse and Lindsay is doing a great job of balancing mothering a small child, Newe, and keeping up with all the sprouts, wheatgrass and plant starts too!

Cacao, one of our Dexter cows, is pregnant and due in July.  We can’t wait to have a baby calf on the farm. The grandchildren are looking forward to that as well. Leche, our other Dexter, just returned from two months on the farm where we purchased her and we are hoping she is bred as well and will calf in December or January.