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Daily gratitude

 
David Huang
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Today I'm grateful for friends with a truck that have a lift gate and a willingness to help.

You are welcome to check out my blog at http://www.theartisthomestead.com or my artwork at http://www.davidhuang.org

 
David Huang
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Today I'm grateful to have finally finished the final bit of decorative trim work on my Rocket Mass Heater that I began building 3, or is it 4 years ago?  This project is really what brought me into the Permies forum community.  One of the major guides that gave me the courage to try building one in my mobile home was Paul's DVD set "Better Wood Heat".  As I got underway with the construction I got lots of advice and tips from others in the rocket mass heater forums.

Once the basic unit was built I wanted to use it for a while to see if major tweaks were needed.  ... and time marched on.  This year I finally decided I really needed to do the decorative finish work I had planned.  My goal was to make a RMH that had some aesthetic appeal besides being really awesome at heating a home.  So tile work was done, slate was cut for the top, a bit more cob fill for the weird shaped areas, I tried a bit of clay paint after discovering this as a SKIP BB (what I did doesn't fit the actual requirements of the BB but was still awesome to do), and finally today finished off some copper trim on the vent ports of my pebble style RMH.

I'll share photos soon.  I'm too tired at this point to clean up surrounding crap for a decent photo op!

edited to add a link to where I've posted my finished images here on Permies.

You are welcome to check out my blog at http://www.theartisthomestead.com or my artwork at http://www.davidhuang.org

 
David Huang
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My little homestead gets all its electric power from a solar array.  For me this means power is tight for 3 weeks to either side of the winter solstice, a period when days are short and my region is usually very cloudy.  I'm very grateful that this year it has been far sunnier than normal so far.  Today has been full sun allowing me to luxuriate in the energy consumptive activity of a long hot shower.  Ahh... Bliss!

You are welcome to check out my blog at http://www.theartisthomestead.com or my artwork at http://www.davidhuang.org

 
David Huang
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Today I was considering how grateful I am for a service that I tend to take for granted as it's always been a background part of my life, running with amazing reliability 6 days a week for as long as I've been capable of remembering.  That is the postal service.  It's a pretty awesome thing if you really stop and think of all that has to be involved to set this up and keep it operational.  Not only do they function within my country (USA) but they have collaborated in some form or fashion for me to send and receive mail from practically any other country in the world.  That I've been able to receive mail from the UK, China, India, and other places in my mailbox at the end of my driveway on a dirt road out in the rural countryside is pretty sweet.  

While I can complain at how much I pay for shipping sometimes, in truth it's stupid cheap if I compared it to what it would take me to personally deliver the letters and packages.  Working together to collectively gather mail and move it around in bunches is what makes this all possible on a wide scale for affordable prices, and energy efficiency.

Having worked a fair number of years delivering pizza, including during nasty weather, I have extra gratitude for my mail woman who reliably comes about the same time each day no matter the weather, down pours, snow, ice, or beautiful spring days when we'd all rather be out playing.

You are welcome to check out my blog at http://www.theartisthomestead.com or my artwork at http://www.davidhuang.org

 
Nancy Reading
steward and tree herder
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Thank you David - I run a little convenience store and rural Post Office and we've been pretty busy these last few weeks (!) with Xmas post, and years with people visiting and travelling less recently. We also have a few local businesses that send their goods all over, and it's nice to get that feeling of connectivity with the rest of the world.
People do complain about the cost of stamps, but I think they are probably still pretty good value.

How Permies works: https://permies.com/wiki/34193/permies-works-links-threads
My projects on Skye: The tree field, Growing and landracing, perennial polycultures, "Don't dream it - be it! "

 
Jay Angler
steward
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Today I am totally grateful for having a son who was willing for the second day in a row, to haul hot water out to the chickens - some almost a quarter mile from the house - and go up and down to the winter creek for extra water, so all our feathered employees would have water in their buckets. We got snow overnight, so he's blazed the trail for me to follow out later to put fresh mulch (thank you to the trees that shed dead branches for us to chip) under the perches and anywhere else that needs it.

Visit Redhawk's soil series: https://permies.com/wiki/redhawk-soil
How permies.com works: https://permies.com/wiki/34193/permies-works-links-threads

 
David Huang
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Thanks Nancy for being part of the whole postal system.  It's people like you that make it all work!

Jay, awesome to have a helpful water hauler and snow trail blazer!  Certainly something to be grateful for.

You are welcome to check out my blog at http://www.theartisthomestead.com or my artwork at http://www.davidhuang.org

 
David Huang
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It's January 1st, 2022 here today.  While the temptation is to say "thank goodness 2021 is over" as I sit and reflect a bit I can say this past year was really a fine one for me with many things to be seriously grateful for.  I approached my life as more or less semi-retired and my quick look this morning at my overall net worth as I did my monthly tally of income and expenses shows that my business was still doing fine last year.  My net worth gained a bit over the year, nothing heroic by any means, but I don't need that.  Just living a simple, comfortable life, doing income generating work when I felt like it and not when I didn't has so far been sustainable.  I'm majorly grateful to see that!

I'm also grateful my old car has been running for yet another year.  I need to get it into the shop sometime soon, but it continues to serve me getting me where I need to go and back home safely when my bicycle is not suitable for the transportation job.

Trees on my little homestead have fallen in storms, but didn't damage any structures.  These and other downed trees from the area continue to provide all my fuel for the RMH currently rocketing away behind me as I type, heating my home.  Meanwhile other trees have grown larger or sprouted anew.  My peach tree provided me fruit for the first time this past year.  My hazelnuts provided a few more nuts this year than last.

I've had the pleasure of spending time with my friends as well as meeting many more cool new people.

I am grateful to have caught Covid and recovered from it, developing my natural immunity against further infections, at least until it mutates enough for my body to no longer recognize it.

I've gained a better understanding of human nature and the importance of one's surrounding culture as I've watched the ways we've collectively dealt with the covid pandemic this past year.  Though this isn't all fitting the ideals I'd like to see, it helps me to understand other events of our past, and have greater empathy toward those I might disagree with.

I should probably sit down and write a full blog post for my rather neglected blog site to explore all that I am grateful for further, but for now I'll leave it at this.  The past year had it's challenges and disappointments, however I sit here today warm, comfortable, well fed, content, and grateful to have gone through it all as I ready myself for the year ahead.  

Happy New Year to you all.  May we each find greater joy, gratitude, and personal growth while building a better world in our own backyards and communities in this year before us!

You are welcome to check out my blog at http://www.theartisthomestead.com or my artwork at http://www.davidhuang.org

 
David Huang
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In the winter months here when the bike trail is covered with snow/ice and given over to the snowmobiles I try to get out at least every other day if not daily and hike at least a couple miles for exercise.  The rest of the year I work to use my bike to get around for regular exercise.

Anyway, there is another fellow in this small rural community who I often see out hiking or biking around the roads as well year around.  He's more diligent at it than I and thus looks to be far more fit than I.  I don't know his name and he seems like a hard person to get to know.  Usually I will offer the casual wave when we pass on bikes and almost without exception I get no reaction.  Today we happened to both be out hiking on the same road going in opposite directions.  As he approached I heard him listening to some sort of podcast, which is unusual.  I don't normally hear him listening to anything.  This one was something about boosting health by eating more vegetables, something I'm right in line with and all for.  As usual I gave a casual wave, not expecting a reaction but making the effort none the less.  Sometimes it takes lots of quiet persistence to break through.  Today that small crack developed and I'm grateful for it.  He actually gave a casual wave back as we passed!

You are welcome to check out my blog at http://www.theartisthomestead.com or my artwork at http://www.davidhuang.org

 
David Huang
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Lame personal accomplishment! Today my 50 year old lumpy puddle of flesh managed to jog a full mile nonstop for the first time in my life. I realize that compared to the general abilities of our species this is not a big deal. The fact that real runners can do over 26 miles during a marathon is still astounding to me, but frankly a few months ago the thought that I could do a mile seemed just as unreal.

My bigger goal is really to be able to jog up to the nearest major road and back, basically 2 miles. I'm still quite far from reaching this, but it's feeling more doable. I think I've probably said something like this before in this thread, but today I am grateful the human body is SO AMAZING in it's ability to self heal, grow stronger, and increase the heart and lung capacity!

You are welcome to check out my blog at http://www.theartisthomestead.com or my artwork at http://www.davidhuang.org

 
Cris Fellows
pollinator
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I am so grateful for the 'you should write a book about your life' turn of events that brought one of my sons to call another one and ask for help.  They have always said they love one another but have been very distant despite the only 2 mile distance between them.  Starting Monday they will be working together.  💜💜💜

Together is our favorite place to be

 
Jay Angler
steward
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Today I am grateful for rocks. I'd better admit that for the grateful feelings may be fleeting. I've been watching videos about geology and archeology. I've seem mention by other permies that their properties have no rocks. My plethora of rocks that are often a hindrance in my work, I have too often under-appreciated.

Yesterday, I went to plant three potato starts in an area which I improved the soil over by putting a compost there years ago. As I dug the 3rd spot, I hit a rock. It was about 10" x 7" by 3". It's now on the surface up the hill, mulching a shrub I planted last week. I will appreciate my rocks by putting them to work!

Visit Redhawk's soil series: https://permies.com/wiki/redhawk-soil
How permies.com works: https://permies.com/wiki/34193/permies-works-links-threads

 
David Huang
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This morning I find myself grateful for my electronic engineer father who would always seek to fix anything that quit working in our house when I was growing up.  I remember once getting frustrated with a hair dryer that quit working and tossing it in the trash.  The next day I found it back in it's drawer where it belonged and working.  He said he pulled it out of the garbage, opened it up and then there was a bunch of technical jargon like resisters diodes or whatever that he jiggled to fix it.

Thanks to this upbringing, and even though I am in no way an electronics guy I still will generally at least open up the case of a malfunctioning device to take a peek.  Today that was my CD player which quit working a few days ago giving me an "err sled" code.  I almost didn't bother with it, but because I really do hate shopping for stuff like this I did an internet search for the code and found it means the part that slides the laser head along to read the CD isn't working.  It could be jammed or a bad motor or something.  Well, I just manually ran it back and forth along the tracks a few times and that fixed it!  It took a few minutes overall to repair, saving me a pile of money and the planet from having the resource for another pulled out of it.

Thanks Dad.  I am grateful for this among the many other lessons you taught me over the course of your life.

You are welcome to check out my blog at http://www.theartisthomestead.com or my artwork at http://www.davidhuang.org

 
David Huang
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This morning I thought to go check out my ostrich fern patch.  As a child growing up we would visit my grandparents on their farm in northern Maine every summer, one of the highlights of my year.  Among the many wonderful foods we'd have would always be fiddleheads.  These are the young shoots of the ostrich fern that grow wild out there (and in many other places).  Sometime in the spring my grandparents, or other relatives in the area would go out harvesting these.  No doubt they would eat a bunch fresh, but thankfully they would also preserve some in the freezer which we would get to enjoy during our visits.  For some reason fiddleheads seemed to be more of a cultural thing around there, but not necessarily in other places where the ferns grow wild and abundant.

Many years ago when I realized they actually grow well around me too I set out on a quest find some and to try and get a patch growing on my little homestead.  I did get some planted but they didn't really take off and thus I more or less ignored them.  In fact for a few years I kinda forgot all about them.  Then a couple years ago I noticed that the patch did seem to finally be getting established and spreading out, though I'd always notice them after the fronds were out, which is past the harvesting stage.

Today I thought to go check and to my delight they are in the ideal stage for picking!  Not only that, when I got right down there in the leaf mulch with them I can see they have spread much more than I realized, with many young crowns beginning to unfurl their fiddleheads.  I still consider it a tender, fragile patch in its infancy, because the fiddleheads themselves are rather small.  However, there were enough that I ruled it safe to harvest a handful, along with a few wild leek leaves from some leeks I'm also working to establish.  

These will become a small side dish for lunch years in the making but I am very grateful today for the effort my younger self put forth so many years ago to make this happen.  Because they are long lived perennials I should be able to keep harvesting at least a bit for the remaining spring seasons of my life.  I'm also so grateful to my grandparents, aunts, uncles, and other relatives who passed on this bit of food culture and wisdom to me so many decades ago.
fiddleheads.JPG
[Thumbnail for fiddleheads.JPG]

You are welcome to check out my blog at http://www.theartisthomestead.com or my artwork at http://www.davidhuang.org

 
Harry Anderson
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Today I am glad that the rain had taken most of the pollen out of the air. In the Willamette Valley, that's a real blessing.
 
David Huang
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Took a lovely hike through the forest today with a very sweet dog who is visiting me.  He normally lives in an urban setting so he has the time of his life when we can get out to the forest where he can run around like crazy off leash sniffing smells, chasing squirrels, and bounding with joy.  I'm grateful to have been able to give him this experience.

I'm also grateful that when intestinal distress hits while in a remote forest setting I can pretty much find a spot to take care of business immediately.  That said, when I got back home I was reminded just how luxurious it is to have a bathroom to comfortably sit and deal with such things without clouds of mosquitoes and flies trying to get in of the action!  This is something I tend to take for granted so it's good to have the occasional reminder of how it could be so I can be fully grateful for how awesome my life is.

You are welcome to check out my blog at http://www.theartisthomestead.com or my artwork at http://www.davidhuang.org

 
abbi testament
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I am grateful for the courage to stand up for what I know is right for our planet. I am surrounded by people who feel they must mow their grass every time a dandelion or clover flower pops up.
I am grateful for clover flowers that foster native bees so I let my grass grow so I can see a sea of little faces among the green.
I am grateful for the purple martin pair who just came to visit and have nested under my porch roof and now have four fledglings to teach to fly.
I too am grateful for the rain so I collect it in rain barrels then share it with my orchard.
I am grateful for this 300 yr old home of mine that has stood watch over the Juniata and the Tuscarora.
 
Carla Burke
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Today I'm thankful that while our land tends to be hostile toward all attempts at gardening, it still offers so many foodstuffs we (and our livestock, which also feeds us) can forage. I'm also grateful to have plenty of resources to help me learn what, how, & when to forage - as well as not to forage.

"The only thing...more expensive than education is ignorance."~Ben Franklin
"We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light." ~ Plato

 
David Huang
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Carla Burke wrote:Today I'm thankful that while our land tends to be hostile toward all attempts at gardening, it still offers so many foodstuffs we (and our livestock, which also feeds us) can forage. I'm also grateful to have plenty of resources to help me learn what, how, & when to forage - as well as not to forage.



That pretty much sums up my relationship with my little homestead.  Traditional garden plants seem to be a real challenge, but the bounty of wild forage is fabulous.  I too am grateful to have the knowledge resources for foraging and the abundance to harvest from!

You are welcome to check out my blog at http://www.theartisthomestead.com or my artwork at http://www.davidhuang.org

 
Carla Burke
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David Huang wrote:That pretty much sums up my relationship with my little homestead.  Traditional garden plants seem to be a real challenge, but the bounty of wild forage is fabulous.  I too am grateful to have the knowledge resources for foraging and the abundance to harvest from!



Which brings to my mind another thing to be grateful for. John and I detest having to buy soil, then still have to drastically amend it, to make it useful - but, we're also very grateful that we've been blessed with quite a few 'instant' raised beds (to fill with that soil) that were either simply given to us, or that we were able to purchase for very petty sums, that will (hopefully) allow us at least a few small crops, this year.

"The only thing...more expensive than education is ignorance."~Ben Franklin
"We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light." ~ Plato

 
Lana Berticevich
pioneer
Posts: 82
Location: currently in Wembley, AB - moving to Southern BC soon!
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I am grateful that I was able to write an entire 76 thousand word book in a week.

My sister is doing the proofreading, my two adult daughters will do the cover art, and my step-mum said she will do the book summary.

I am so grateful for family that is willing to help me and who care so much about me.

Also grateful that whatever creative dam I had prior to last weekend finally broke! Now I have three more books on the go. 1 is the 2nd book to book 1 and two are different stories.

Not a book about permaculture - as I am a noob

If I ever think I know everything, then I'm really lost and need to rearrange my entire thinking.

 
David Huang
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Yesterday I bought a new used car.  While I much prefer biking to get around there are many times and/or places where a car is the way to go.  In the past getting a new car was often very stressful and financially punishing.  I'm not saying there was no stress involved this time, nor fiscal impact, but it was minor due to having achieved a more stable position in life.  I am very grateful for that.

Mostly though I feel I must express my gratitude for my old car, a 2000 SAAB 9-5.  I've bitched and moaned about it for years.  Whenever I've had to repair it I always felt like I had a Delorean, only without the cool factor.  Finding parts for the SAAB was a bear, and expensive when found!  That said, in retrospect, it was the best car I've ever owned, lasting me about 10 years.  While there was much grief with it I can only remember one time when it actually left me stranded.  A broken timing belt will do that!  Otherwise it was always robust enough to get me where I needed to be, even if it was limping there.  On far too many occasions it took loads with abusive weights when I asked it to.  The last few years it has been degrading slowly, letting me gradually arrive at the conclusion that I cannot rely on it for trips of any distance, and pouring more money into isn't justified.  Still it kept going and let me decide to retire it on my terms, rather than a forced issue with a major breakdown, where it's not worth repairing and I'm left without a vehicle to go find a new vehicle.  

Thank you my SAAB for the many years of service.  I am grateful for all you provided, for all the places you took me to and from safely, for all the materials you hauled for me.  You were better to me than I deserved for all the verbal abuse I heaped upon you.  You really were a solid car.  I can only hope my new one is as good to me.

You are welcome to check out my blog at http://www.theartisthomestead.com or my artwork at http://www.davidhuang.org

 
David Huang
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This morning I'm grateful that it's starting out to be a berry good day.  To start I saw the first of my black raspberries have ripened for the season.  Soon they will be coming in abundance!  Then while checking the mail I decided to take a quick peek at one of mulberry trees I planted years ago.  I had seen earlier in the spring that for the first time ever my mulberries were developing fruit!  Today the tree I checked actually had some ripe fruit.  Not only that but this tree, which is by the driveway really does produce the white mulberries like it was said to!  I am grateful that after setting this into motion years ago I have finally gotten to harvest the first of hopefully many mulberries from my little homestead!

You are welcome to check out my blog at http://www.theartisthomestead.com or my artwork at http://www.davidhuang.org

 
Catherine Guzovich
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I am grateful that I was born in this country, the United States of America, at this time in history, and in my family.
 
David Huang
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I went out jogging this morning on this fine cloudless day.  I was grateful for the cooling shade and transpiration provided in some areas from mature roadside trees.  It's so much nicer jogging along those this time of year than along the open cornfields.  (Though in the winter it is nice to jog along the open sunny areas!)  

During the run I also took some time to think about and feel gratitude for the drivers who give me wide clearance when possible, which is most of the time on my back country road.  Though they could still safely zoom by fairly close to me.  It's nice when they do shift away into the other lane.

You are welcome to check out my blog at http://www.theartisthomestead.com or my artwork at http://www.davidhuang.org

 
David Huang
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Today I set up my little station to do my laundry by hand outside.  It's something I particularly enjoy doing in the summer on a nice day like today.  That said, when washing by hand one becomes more aware of just how abundant clothing is in our modern lives, mine anyway, and I'm not even someone who cares much about clothing.  

Even before the stage of making clothing I started thinking about just how much good quality cloth is readily and cheaply available to me.  It is something I completely take for granted in my life, all the bolts of fabric that were made to go into not just my clothes but sheets, towels, blankets, upholstery, carpets, etc.  Then I think about just how much work would be involved for me to personally grow/harvest/extract all the fibers involved from the plants, spin it into thread/string/yarn, dye it, and weave it into the fabrics.  It's astonishing really how much material wealth I have just lying around me practically for free compared to the labor I'd need to put forth to make it myself.  It would be the bounty of kings of the past.  I am deeply grateful for this abundance.  

It makes me think of my grandmother who grew up in a different time, one that really valued cloth and didn't just take it for granted.  She would save all the old worn out clothes.  Then as she found time she would cut out the still good parts into patches and arrange them into squares she'd sew together, later arranging these squares together in her own artistic fashion to make quilts.  I had two quilts made by her and my mother for me.  Sadly the baby quilt got stolen out of the car once while on a cross country family trip.  However, I still have the larger one they made for my twin bed.  I did retire it from use some time back as all the salvaged fabric squares were themselves wearing out and I didn't want to see it get completely destroyed.  I can look at that quilt and recognize various bits of cloth that were once dresses my grandmother would wear.  I am grateful for the love and effort she put into making these, and the values she demonstrated through her actions to reuse and value material.

I am grateful to live in a time and place of such astounding abundance.  I am also conscious of the fact that should I live as long as my grandmother did I may find myself in an era that more closely reflects her early years, one where we will treasure and respect as a matter of course the effort that goes into making fabric, where it is not taken for granted.  May I continue to find gratitude for such things in my life now, and not just after they have gone away.

You are welcome to check out my blog at http://www.theartisthomestead.com or my artwork at http://www.davidhuang.org

 
Carla Burke
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I'm deeply grateful for all the awesomeness at the fiber arts conference I attended, this weekend. It was great to reconnect with old friends, discover new ones, visit, cry, and laugh with them all, help each other get stuff done, learn new skills, get great deals on equipment and supplies for both purely pleasure hobbies, and practical endeavors. In my case, I learned how to make an Appalachian style broom, weave a sturdy reed footstool, some new natural dying techniques, and turn wool into 'paintings'. And, for a change, I even finished 2 of the 3 projects in class(I've never finished a project in class, before).

Also, through all of it, I'm so very thankful to John, who was so incredibly supportive in cooking my meals to take, getting up extra early, to make coffee for me, taking care of all my livestock chores, being super flexible with our normal scheduling, and even giving back rubs, when I got home, each night. I am utterly exhausted, but feel so very blessed and loved. I really, ***REALLY*** needed this.

"The only thing...more expensive than education is ignorance."~Ben Franklin
"We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light." ~ Plato

 
Saana Jalimauchi
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What a great thread.. I have not read all of it yet but I do want to give it a gentle bump.

There are so many things to be grateful about but just at this moment, while trying to overcome a cold, I’m really, really grateful for the roof over my head, warm blankets and the hot tea I’m about to enjoy..

And the reminder of being grateful that you have given me with this thread. It is truly powerful, gratefulness, when the feeling fills you.. Thank you. I really needed this.
 
L. Johnson
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I'm grateful for birdsong and budding new leaves to remind me that every spring brings new life and new possibilities.

Yesterday I had a hard time being grateful, I'm grateful that the silence and peace of sleep has given me a brighter view!

一期一会

 
David Huang
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I'm grateful today for what feels to me like the first real spring weather this year where I could work outside without a coat or in my light jacket instead of the winter coat.

I was also grateful to be able to begin harvesting food from my greenhouse and general homestead again.  Arugula is going good out in the greenhouse.  The perennial broccoli raab I planted last year around my property looks to have established well and was ready for the first light harvest.  Daylily shoots are also up and at a good early harvest stage for me.

You are welcome to check out my blog at http://www.theartisthomestead.com or my artwork at http://www.davidhuang.org

 
L. Johnson
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Today I'm grateful that permaculture gardens are remarkably resilient, at least as much as I am, probably more.

The last 4 months have been one whammy after another with a few silver linings in between. My newer garden though has grown despite the weeds and pests, which I have mostly just completely ignored. Stepping on the grass and plants around most of my crops is usually enough to suppress it and let the crops win, we'll see how that goes.

I had thought I was going to just give up on planting out my eggplants... but today it seemed like something I could manage. So I put them all in the ground, a month late. They'll probably still fruit later in the year.

Anyway. I'm grateful that the plants I planted want to grow, whether I had time for them or not.

一期一会

 
Tereza Okava
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It is raining and 46 degrees (8C) for the second day in a row.
Before that, though, it was hot (26C this past Sunday!) and hadn't rained for at least 6 weeks. All my rain barrels were dry and I even irrigated a few times.
Super thankful it's raining, and even though I personally hate cold weather, it is what we need and what we're supposed to be having at this time of year. I planted peas and daikon specifically for it, and they're happy. The kale, chard, wasabi arugula, onions, scallions, dandelions are also happy. I imagine our local farmers here are also happy- they're known for their broccoli and cauliflower and this year the prices have been sky-high because the weather has just not been well suited to it.

This will be the first winter in many years that I will spend entirely here (usually I get away for a month to somewhere warm and miss the worst of it, but this year my vacation will be in October). I'm sort of looking forward to it though, and all the things that make the season (soup in the crockpot, tangerines from down the street, etc etc).
 
David Huang
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Today I am grateful that my wild strawberries produced fruit for the first time.  They may have in past years, but I never saw it or got to eat any.  Today I got my first two and they were delicious!  Thank you strawberries for finding your way onto my homestead, spreading, surviving, and bearing fruit.

You are welcome to check out my blog at http://www.theartisthomestead.com or my artwork at http://www.davidhuang.org

 
Carla Burke
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Today, I'm incredibly grateful for not making it to the place we'd wanted to ride our motorcycles, for lunch - over an hour from home. About 20 minutes in, we made an unscheduled stop, and John's bike wouldn't start back up. While I rode home to get the car, John called the shop, in that town, and the one of the best small engine mechanics in our area was just 1/4 mile down the road - and didn't charge us for the tow. If we'd made it to our destination, it would have been at least 3 hours, just in my extra riding & driving, and the both the tow & repairs would have been crazy high.

I'm also super grateful that our friend, who had a terrible motorcycle accident a couple weeks ago is not only going to be fine, he's healing rapidly, and working hard at rehabbing his surgically repaired foot.

"The only thing...more expensive than education is ignorance."~Ben Franklin
"We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light." ~ Plato

 
Rob Kaiser
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Today, I'm grateful that I continue my father's legacy by packing sauerkraut and mustard and preparation for our return to the farmers' market tomorrow.  It's been a challenging few months with his recent cancer diagnosis and passing on May 20...but I'm grateful for all that he started here and the opportunity to carry that on.  I'm grateful for our small community that is forming and for the people (Cody, Gino, Dave, and others) that help us farm the land and provide them with the opportunity to grow their own businesses and support their families.

I'm grateful to be revisiting the permies community again.

So much gratitude today.  

Check out my podcast! https://allaroundgrowth.buzzsprout.com/ ~ Community Group Chat: https://t.me/allaroundgrowth

 
Carla Burke
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I'm so grateful that we were able to get chicken feed - and get it into the coop's storage compartment, right away, yesterday. Even more, I'm grateful for the rain, today. We need it - the gardens, wildlife,  livestock, and the earth itself, need it - and I need the rest it forces upon me, from the outdoor work I push to hard to get done.

"The only thing...more expensive than education is ignorance."~Ben Franklin
"We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light." ~ Plato

 
David Huang
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Today I'm feeling grateful for the return of the lightening bugs, or lightening fairies as I like to call them.  Ever since I was a young boy watching them light up my grandparents field as I would go to bed at night I've taken pleasure in the wonder they offer with their flickering and drifting lights on summer nights.

I'm grateful to now live in a landscape inhabited by these fairies and the seasons have turned though again to where they are appearing in small flashes.  Magical summer nights are ahead!

You are welcome to check out my blog at http://www.theartisthomestead.com or my artwork at http://www.davidhuang.org

 
Carla Burke
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I'm so VERY grateful for strong fingernails to shield my fingertips!

"The only thing...more expensive than education is ignorance."~Ben Franklin
"We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light." ~ Plato

 
Rob Kaiser
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I am grateful for the abundance in my life and to be connecting with good people inside and outside of the permies community.

Check out my podcast! https://allaroundgrowth.buzzsprout.com/ ~ Community Group Chat: https://t.me/allaroundgrowth

 
David Huang
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As odd as it sounds today I'm really glad there are hoards of mosquitoes outside looking to feast on me if I give them a chance.  I say this because that's the way it should be this time of year in the environment I'm in.  For the past couple years there have been hardly any and I found that rather concerning because the bottom of the food chain really shouldn't go missing!

You are welcome to check out my blog at http://www.theartisthomestead.com or my artwork at http://www.davidhuang.org

 
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