May has been a rainy, rainy month here in the Great Western Catskills. Out my window each day - for weeks on end, it seems -- the green of the new growth takes my breath away while and all the cold wetness dampens my spirits, threatening to squash enthusiasm under its pall.

Celebrating Earth Day, Every Day, at La Basse Cour and Kortright Handworks

Coming of age in the 1970s I was acutely aware of the degraded state of our environment and the impact that was having on people here and around the world. Thanks to Gaylord Nelson, I also began to understand the power we have as a people to create large and lasting change for the good.

First Day of Spring at La Basse Cour and Kortright Handworks!

In late February I was “nominated” for the 10 day farming family challenge by a Facebook – and real life farmer-friend. The challenge is to post pictures from a day in the life of farming that had an impact on me, without any explanation, and to nominate someone to take the challenge, for 10 consecutive days.

I first became aware of TAC in 2011, when my husband and I began living in Brooklyn half-time. Out walking one winter's day, I was brought up short by a series of beautiful arched windows in a restored industrial building, my attention caught because they were shiny bright in contrast with their dingy neighbors.

Like many farmers, we are on the front lines of climate change. Each season we experience the increasingly dramatic weather events and continue to think about how to adapt. Our baseline farming methods that nurture the soil and increase its organic matter provide us with a great deal of resilience, holding water in the soil structure during drought and enabling it to move through more readily in rainy conditions. By letting the living organisms in the soil do the work of feeding the plant as nature intended, in our small scale we are also supporting the soil and the plants as they act as a carbon sink, converting CO2 in our atmosphere to oxygen and food for us through photosynthesis as the plants and the life of the soil are fed.

March is well-nigh, when here in the Northeast we begin to count the days until signs of new life become obvious. We generally view Winter as the season of trial and hardship, Spring as the season of hope and renewal; Winter as a time of monochromatic dormancy and Spring as a time of vibrant activity.

Keeping in Touch with La Basse Cour and Kortright Handworks!

Two years ago today I got wind that Belle Terre was up for sale. An historic mansion once owned by Alice T. McLean, daughter of James McLean who was known as the “Copper King” during the Gilded Age, its elegance and charm has withstood with grace the ravages of time, most likely due to her enduring spirit.