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

Aloha!

I am heading to the other side of Maui today to visit Aya and Anis before heading home mid day tomorrow. We had a wonder-filled first Community Building Workshop on our farm this past week, with a key focus on restoring trust in one another. We were blessed to have Cheyenne and Dreux from our central kitchen and admin office join us.  They both looked like new people when heading home!

Check online for our upcoming workshops for an infusion of inspiration!