Into the dark. And what I’m thankful for.

Thanksgiving is always kind of a shock to me.  For the past few months I’ve only seen the farm by headlamp.  And here it is, in broad day light.  Winter always feels like that.  A journey into the dark, with a few glimpses of sun, till spring, when imperceptibly at first, but eventually there will be light (when I am home) and things will begin to move again.  It’s hard to not feel a little darker this year.  And that has me looking for the sun just that much harder.

A few months ago, I learned that a cousin, several years older than myself, and in the Midwest, had been diagnosed with lung cancer.  Quite a shock that was.  Not just a friend’s parent (not that it’s any easier) but family.  Then about two weeks later I learned of another close friend, who while trying to get a GI issue diagnosed was found to have multi organ cancer.  She is a good friend, who was a big part of our lives while we worried through the birth of our first child, and for many years after.  She’s a wife, and mother to two boys (one of them our Godson’s), and will be celebrating her 40th birthday before the end of the year (sorry gal, I couldn’t help dropping the ‘age bomb’).  To kick here when she was down, midway thru Chemo, she had a tear in her GI tract, and there were some scary words about possible outcomes.  She’s out of the ICU, but not the woods.  Yet.  Then just a short time ago, I learned of another mother of two, who’s family has been client’s of mine, she has had a tumor found internally, near her ear. And we are waiting to hear more.

The winter is also a great time to be reminded of all that you didn’t get done during the year.  Pump house with heat lamp to hold the hose reel so you can fill animal watering troughs (in freezing weather).  The barn still needs paint (seriously?), the loafing shed didn’t get the rebuild it needed, and the coop is still at 80%.  There are several loads of things that need to get moved into the new tool shed (and that needs to get set up).  And that’s just a few things from the ‘short list’.

So it feels like a dark time.  Looking for the sun.  And often when I see it it’s a bit of a shock.  And I am thankful for it.  Most often I see it in my children, and my wife.  Some times in relationships around me.  And it gives me hope.

Looking across our creek last winter.  Right now I can hear salmon working their way upstream while I gather wood in wood shed.

~///~

Back to the table…

Hello again, it’s been a while hasn’t it?  It’s not that you aren’t important to me, but internet, well, there are other things that have been getting shat spare time I might have.  Just because the tape seems to have stopped rolling here, doesn’t mean life has come to a halt.  Quite the contrary.  The busier I am, the less I am here.  And it’s actually gotten so crazy out there in the real world that the camera has actually been in the drawer for (gasp) multiple days…  (I’ll let you recover from the shock)…

I am not going to promise a steady diet of updates, and fresh pressings, but I do want to get back into the habit.  It’s good for me.  In small doses.  So here’s a small bite.  Prep for a cooking demo my wife did recently.  We had to pre-make about two dozen home made tortillas, and as we don’t have a commercial kitchen, the dining table was pressed into service…  And yes they are good, just a touch salty, and they cry for something friendly and spicy to wrap themselves around….

~///~

AAaaaaaaaaaugust…

August.  Hot (finally), busy and filled with fun.  Aaaaa as in, fall is coming and there is still lots to do!  So there isn’t much here, between work, finishing up some client work, and the farm, well, the blog tends to slip a bit…  So here’s something to cool you off (not that you need it if you live in the PNW, but others might find it refreshing…)

~///~

Look who’s turning … (what are you kidding? No way am I finishing that one!)

Happy birthday to my wife. My best friend. I have been so blessed to have know you for so long. It really set me back to think of how much we have gotten to experience together. From Grade School, to High School, and full time in College. Anything good in my I owe in part to the hand you have had in shaping it. Your patience with me, your keeping me on track, and your clear vision of where we want to go… Coupled with your strong faith, and desire to be doing His work in the Kingdom. To have shared all the wonderful experiences, the highs and lows, the adventure and the boredom. It’s all either better or more bearable with you. With all that life’s been throwing at us lately, I can’t help that think our 2011 verse should be Jeremiah 29: 11-13. I am looking forward to the future and remembering our past.

I wish I had the time to really dig back and see what we can find in the way of great old photos, but I’ll have to do with these…

The Mommy.

Mommy again…

“What do you think your doing?” (it’s the same look from her daughters….)

I love you babe! I hope you have a wonderful day with our two little ones. Bless you.

~///~

Wu? 3-17-1920 to 6-20-2011

I’m not really sure where to start this one…  Lets see…

It started a long time ago.  Long, long ago.  And it would help if you knew my brother in law, or at least his sense of humor.  I think my wife and I were still dating, or had just gotten married, and I think it was Christmas, but it might have been her birthday.  Anyhow, her/our family passes the card around that came with a gift as the gift is being opened.  I remember the card being handed to me and looking at the signature.  “Wu? honey, I thought your grandma’s last name was ‘Wilson'”  I tried to say it quietly (being all new to the family and such).  As I said I was new to the family, and had not learned to keep my voice to the sub audible level when posing a possibly dumb question.  Brett chimed in “Grandma, did you hear that?!  Your ‘Grandma Wu?’  I didn’t know you were Chinese?” (made all the funnier by some family history tied to China).  She laughed so hard we though she might keel over right there.  And she’s been Grandma Wu ever since.  For all five great grand kids, ‘Great Grandma Wu’.

So I suppose it didn’t start all that long ago, she was already in her 70’s.  I wish I had known her sooner.  I know I would have smiled more.  She did.  All the time.  Babbling silly nick names to her children, or cuddling great grand children.  Now we will need to wait, till we can see her again on the other side.

Although she always called me ‘that man with that dangerous camera’ she always smiled for me, and I never had to ask.  But I think I should now, so Grandma Wu, if it’s ok, I’d like to share some of the wonderful memories with some friends, is that ok?  (I think she’s too busy laughing at me to answer)…

Garage turned photo studio at her 90th birthday…

At the beach.

And in my defense, her periods look remarkably like a small ‘u’.

~///~

4th of July…. Postmortem.

Postmortem as in, it’s behind us.  No one died.  No skin was burned, and no ear drums ruptured.  All fingers accounted for.  Except for the critters and the 2 year old, it was a complete success.  The animals are not fans of anything loud and flashing, and apparently the 2 year old isn’t either.  She was OK with smoke bombs though.  As long as her big cousin (superhero in her eyes) is keeping her safe.

~///~

14 Years….

It’s been a lot longer than that. Really. A lot longer. Like grade school. So arguable more like three decades (ish). Kind of hard to believe. If it weren’t for the fact that the photos from 30 years ago look familiar to me….

Joscelyn,

You are my best friend. My rock, and constant companion. You challenge me to do better, you push me to find ways to improve everything from my parenting, to my faith to rinsing the dishes before putting them in the dish washer. You are with me when I fail. And I like that, cause you end up with me a lot!

You do so much more than care for my children (yes, I know they are yours too), you teach them, love them, sacrifice for them. You worry about them when they seem ‘off’, and hardly sleep when they are sick, or if you think they are. It’s almost annoying how much you love them.

You have such a heart for service, for others, for God and his Kingdom. Your love of His creation reminds me that our job is not to make things as easy for us as possible, but to care for others.

I have no idea where then next year will take us, or the next ten, or 15, but I know you will be next to me, cause I’m going to be next to you.

The past…

I remember her like this… Grade school, and singing with my next door neighbor. Bottom row, Joscelyn’s on the right,

(and BFF) on the left, cute girls huh?

Colledge Freshman! Ahh, the sunflowers… And animals.

Here they are again! (So, no I didn’t marry the girl next door, I married her best friend, no offense Em, but I totally scored!)

One of our big trips as a married couple was to Emily’s wedding in NYC.

Last year. Dinner out. No kids. Paradise, with my wife.

~///~

Iverson Beach.

Sun.  Sand.  Water.  Good food.  Kids.  And some really good friends.  Really.  Good.  Friends.  I think it’s hard work to be our friends.  It’s not that we don’t have a lot of folks we call friends, but it seems like some of those really special relationships are stretched by time and distance.  This family is another example.  They have been everywhere, and have landed back in Portland.  They continue to blow us away with their incredible hearts.  They come up to the sound once a year, to stay at a place on Camano Island, last year they came to the farm, this year, we were invited to the beach house.  Yep, we are spoiled.  It is awesome to hang out with folks who have such a similar parenting mindset, child rambunctious/obedience ratio, interests, and sense of humor…  Take a look….

 
~///~

(side note…  It’s late and I’m tired of messing with the formatting…  If it the layout looks funny it’s me, not you.)

Boys and Girls…

I don’t follow sports.  Team sports especially.  Not that I have anything against them.  I’ve just never been ‘into’ them.  I think to a degree my disinterest is rubbing off on my kids.  The in-laws though are a different matter.  Three boys, dad a rabid sports fan, yep, balls were outlawed in the house several years (and picture frame, glass vases, porcelain figurines) ago.  So they joined up with the local Boys and Girls club.  Fun stuff to go and watch, our kids love seeing ‘Scuzons” running around, and I get to take photos.  I know a deeper knowledge of the game would help, but they are 5th graders for crying out loud.

This last Saturday was the final game for the youngest (t-ball) and the middle child (flag football).  We just missed the t-ball but were able to watch the entire flag football game.  Lots to shoot, and some good times.  The MVP was a girl, and she had some skills, but as I only knew one of the kids on the filed, I am sticking with the ‘anonymous feet’ photo.

~///~

Look who’s 6!!

I can’t believe it.  It seems like I just read her ‘Good Night Moon’ for the first time a few days ago.  She’s off to 1st grade next year.  Riding a two wheeler, and so much more…  She’s a real help now doing the chores and working on other projects..  Blood & guts don’t bother her (she’s bummed that mom won’t let her see the chickens get bled, but she does love helping pluck them.

I don’t think I could be more proud of her.  She plays with her sister and I can see and hear her heart.  Sharing and giving without the hope of receiving something in return.  Saying please and thank you out of a true feeling, not because it’s a ‘what your supposed to do’.  She knows who she is and reminds us every day that she is fearfully and wonderfully made.

~///~

What’s the Buzz??!!

Want to see what we’ve been up to? Head over to the farm blog and take a look! It’s been a busy spring, and with the wedding season coming up you might not see much more than ‘work’ stuff here…. Personal goodies? Look yonder www.adalynfarm.com

~///~

Through the woods again… (or a walk in Wonderland)

I don’t know what it is about my girls and hospitals.  Or April for that matter….

We are through the woods again though.  Last September our oldest had a nice little vacation down at Children’s Hospital, this month it was Mommy’s turn up at Skagit Valley…  Chronic intestinal trouble is hopefully behind us now.  My best friend is still sleeping off the effects of surgery, and as much as I am sure I’ll pay for this latter, it’s kind of fun to hear her slightly delirious dreams…  “no…  nope.  ha, ha.  where?”  She let me grab a few photos of her pre-surgery, but I will not push my luck…  It’s nice to have her back, as good as the care has been here, it’s good to be in the same room with her again…

Edit!!  It may be her drug induced state, but she did give me the OK to put this up here…

~///~

Baby Goats!

I am not sure of any other animal on our farm that has brought us as much happiness as our goats have. (Don’t tell the dogs, or then again, go ahead. Maybe then they’ll stop puking on the floor after eating too much grass…) They are happy to see us, and are friendly and full of personality. Our herd has risen and dropped in number over the last few years. Most of this is in reaction to the pure cuteness of them, or having too many mouths to feed (see this post, and this one, …) And here we go again.

“Crazy-chendo” (really Crescendo) and Legato have both kidded over the past week. Crescendo threw twin girls (YEA!) and Legatto had a single buckling. It’s going to be interesting to see how this summer progresses, and it’s already been worth it to see the little ones scamper about like wind up toys…

Answering the age old question ‘him or her?’

Sweet little girl…

Poor little boy, soaking wet and sticky… Momma had to take some talking to before she got to work licking him…

Meeting our guard Llama ‘Sampson’.

Look Who’s Two!!!

What a trip it has been! From re-learning all the baby routines to helping a big sister learn that it’s not all about getting to be a ‘little mommy’.  Now that she’s 2 her independent little personality is coming out.  As if you could have guessed it would go any other way.  She is learning to hold her own in conversations as well.  Her vocabulary went past 300 some time ago and we have focused on more important things…  Like trying to reason with her about her diaper.  I don’t think Joscelyn thought she would be trying to reason with a two year old who takes her own diaper off during nap if it gets wet.  Joscelyn walked into her room the other afternoon to find her standing in her crib, holding a wet diaper and saying “doaking wet Mommy.  It doaking wet, I know.”  Hard not to at least smile.  She is still talking about her finger the chicken pecked to get the bread..

Yes Technically this should have gone up ‘yesterday’ but, with Easter, three birthdays, and my wife’s pending abdominal surgery, the week has just ran right away from us…

Compromise. Or “Family, Faith, Work & Bonhoeffer’s wrench”

What?

Yea. Like that. Only while trying not to get hit on Hwy 2.

So, I work my 40-50 hrs for an electrical contractor who’s office is about an hour from the farm. That gives me some time to think. About two hours a day. And to talk on the phone (hello blue tooth). I’ve been listening to audio books, podcasts, and music as I am not a fan of broadcast radio. And don’t even get me started on talk radio. For lent I gave up on secular audio during my commute, don’t laugh. Try giving up a two hour block of TV during prime time, there you get the idea. For about three days I listened happily to music that met the restrictions. And for some reason that got old. In stepped Bonhoeffer. “Cost of Discipleship”.

Each commute home usually starts with a call home ‘anything to pick up on the way, yes I know i’m late getting away, no I forgot to stop by the (fill in the blank) on they way in….’ Usuially there is some discussion of what is important and what is critical, and what we want to get done in the (not growing YEA SPRING) daylight once I get home ( I dare you to find one item that fits in all three lists. Go on, try. Yea, I didn’t think so).

After that short discussion I spool up Dietrich and try to get my mind around what he is tossing at me. I find my self doing a lot of ‘well yea, you are probably right D’. The ‘scary’ part is what that will mean in application to my life. And I am alone in the car, the people it would affect the most are not part of the one sided conversation. There’s an angle that needs some work.

Compromise? Yea. And that’s thanks to a blogging friend from Kansas. She hit me up a few days ago for some tips on event photography. I thought a lot about compromise when I was answering her questions. Photography is all about compromise. Faith and spirituality? Not so much. Er, sorry there Dietrich, Not at all.

Here’s a illustration of the kind of photographic compromise I can get my mind around. Cute shot (I think). Exposure is where I want it (as in ISO, Aperture and Shutter speed all getting along well), focus is where I want it as well (drawing the eye to the little biped in the road) and composition is, well. A compromise. I wish the bike wasn’t in the frame. I like where the big sister is (background coming to check on the little one), and love the moment. Hands full of new discovery and full of wonder. Arg the BIKE!! If I physically move it, I will not be able to capture the candid moment. I can move to my left to get it out of the frame but that will wreck the composition. I could photoshop it out…. Yea, cause I would rather do that than play with them, or do about a billion other things. So there you go. Great shot with a bike in the background…

I can handle it. And it’s one of my favorite shots from that day… If you have kids you know it’s a game of compromise. As we like to say, “pick your battles”. Cause we love them too much to argue. Christ probably has the same POV on us. Ever feel like telling your kids “if you would just do as I say, everything would be so much easier!!!” Ever wonder if God’s saying the same thing to us? Yea, I’ve been getting a lot of that lately.

So in a way, to cut down on the compromise, changes that were planned in the photographic beat are getting shelved. Farming is changing it’s directive and mission. And we (the Adalyn Farm WE) are doing some soul searching. And as life throws us curve after curve we will be leaning into our Faith. Farmer J will be going under the knife on the 20th (no April fools there) for some intestinal surgery that will hopefully keep her from another stay in the hospital. I’ll spare you all the details but to quote the doc “you have the intestines of an 80 year old”. Prayers would be appreciated. We have loads of family and friends who came around us for our adventure last year with big sister at Children’s, and know that God will provide what we need when we need it. We will be taking that (and a lot of other things) on faith.

~///~

What do wood stoves and a Swiss man have in common….

Well?  Do you know?  They both say Woof.  Sort of.  A wood stove does if you use gas to start it (no I don’t).  A Swiss man does if he is a WOOFER.  A what?  Um, well, Take a look at this so you know what I mean, cause I don’t know if I can really explain it…  http://www.wwoofusa.org/ He’s staying with my parents, helping out for a few weeks.  My dad has most of their side covered on his site: www.theopengatefarm.com.  Helping out on Saturday meant keeping a date with a friend with wood.  We had a little ‘scouting trip’ last weekend and set up the better part of a Saturday to cut wood.  Maple.  4 years old maple.  Hard.  Maple.  Hard.  It needs a little more seasoning.  And we need to go back.  Cause there is a bit more.  Oh, and the company isn’t too bad either, or the baking.  Or the view.  Did I mention that the rounds are really hard?  And it’s tempting to put off the last of it till her farm is in full bloom.  Can you think of anything better than cutting wood on a lavender farm?  I can’t.

The tip of the iceberg.

Going over the mechanics of splitting….

Toys!

More toys!

2/3 of the great company on the lavender farm.  Who wouldn’t want to spend some time with these boys!?  (no they

are not the ones who do the baking)

Don’t forget we love comments!

Wir lieben Anmerkungen!

~///~

One Year Ago….

I’m still working my way through last years personal photos…  The grandparents are starting to complain about not seeing any.  Any?  Really?  Oh come on, it’s not that bad.  Well, almost not that bad.  Our baby wasn’t even 12 months old last new years….

 

January you say?  Yes.  Well I hit some of the summer months, and then decided to be all organized about it and begin at the beginning…

Stories….

I love stories.  I always have.  I devoured them as a child.  Books, movies, and most of all the stories of my family.  To be taken away, somewhere real, or imagined if only for a few hours.  I also love telling stories.  As I was cruzing through all the personal photos from the year (almost done.  really.) I kept turning around to talk to my wife about the stories.  “Remember when we…  Do you think we should do this again, look how happy…  Wow, she has GROWN!…  I don’t remember feeling that tired….”  I am looking forward to 2011.  There will be some new stories, new memories, safely tucked away to be enjoyed and reminisced over later….

Like this one.  The trip to the Zoo.  Off season, later in the day, almost all to ourselves.  There were loads of great frames, but I think this one really told the story.  Do you think she’s excited?  Who wouldn’t?

Christmas….

Merry Christmas to you!  Oh internet it’s been an odd year hasn’t it.  From a slow start to far to busy to even think about posting, and now trying to get back in the saddle during the holiday rush.  I love taking the time to remember the year past, the highs and lows, and the fun memories, and hard work.  It also a fun time to look to the next year.  Besides a new website and blog, there are no earth shaking changes in our plans.  I expect life to throw us all the curve balls we can handle.

I also love being able to spend a bunch of time with my family.  Really the motor driving all I do, as I see it my ‘mission’.  Watching my girls ‘sistering’ each other is something that I will never get tired of…

So may sights, sounds, tastes and smells..  And so much to do.  And to take pictures of.

Bokeh courtesy “Lights of Christmas” at Warm Beach Camp

~///~

Getting ready for Christmas. (or i can live on 4 hours a night, can you?)

It’s that time again.  Trees, cookies, presents, candy, candles, egg-nog, family and food (did I mention food?)  There are so many wonderful traditions for celebrating this time of year.  I just wanted to toss a few quick photos up from our annual trip to Westlake Mall for the annual tree lighting.  It’s a little different every year, and one of the chances for our kids to get to the “city”.  If you know the area, I won’t need to narrate for you….

 

 

(check out all those LCD’s, I can almost hear the cell tower melting as people posted the photos to facebook)

Some window shopping (we didn’t buy anything but dinner, and coffee) and the trip back.

Sisters. Film. (I love my family)

I love my girls. And I have so loved watching them grow. And growing with them. Mid point through a massive digital edit/comp project I stumbled into an analog folder for a little relief. Both these frames are straight scans from a roll of film from earlier this summer. I remember taking both of them. Because they were the only photos I took of them while we played. When I have my DSLR it seems to stay at my face, limiting direct interaction. With my film camera it’s so different. Just one or two, no chimping. Switch it off and swing it over my back, and back to playing, or spying on goats… Oh yes, I should probably touch up all the dust and hair on them. Or just blow them off and re-scan them… But I love that I can share these without sweating the color balance, distracting elements, or exposure.

~///~

More Celtic Fairing….

Here is another post that’s long overdue.  Back in August (really, August?) our church had a Celtic Faire, think fun Irish music, fair food, games and general fun.  I was at the inaugural event a couple years ago, and for some reason it just didn’t come together last year.  This year the weather conspired against us, but like the rough tough Irish, we simply carried on.  It cleared up, and as anything where there is cotton candy, games and kids; it all ended well…

These last two shots are of a really cool game, battling tops, supplied by Barry Reed of Seattle Game Rentals.

The Big Brother…

My favorite author when I was growing up was Gerald Durrell. I wanted to live his life. He even wrote of his younger years growing up, one of my favorite books from that time of his life was “My Family and Other Animals”. I identified with that. Not that there was a 10 min wait for the bathroom on any given morning, but I had loads of critters. Don’t get me wrong, I had a wonderfully large, interesting, entertaining and loving extended family. And the description could probably be extended to them as well, the ‘others animals’ bit.

We don’t all have is a big brother like my Uncle Dan though. My dad’s older brother (ok, so as the 5th of 5 boys there are 4 people that applies to..) is one of my two uncle Dan’s. Yep, that’s right. I’ve got two. But that’s another story. Back to the photos. My Dad’s brother Dan was in town for a visit that coincided with my Dad’s book release and signing. We got to go back to their farm for dinner, and some fun with Uncle Dan. Let’s just say our girls love an audience, and Uncle Dan loved being just that for them. And he can be quite a character himself. Joscelyn said she understood me way better after she had met my extended family. I’m not exactly sure what she meant by that.

Careful though.  Everyone has a breaking point….

And just like that.  Back to ‘normal’.

~///~

Visiting a neighbor (sort of…)

I have a good friend who blogs with the regularity of a clock. At three minutes to 9 every day. So that’s what her blog is called. She buys duck eggs from us from time to time, and asked folks she knew about their Christmas traditions, and my wife gave her a quick synopsis. I was tapped for some photos. The night shots are from last year at Westlake, this years shots will be here shortly, and the cake photos are what a “professional” shoots when he is is own customer (my favorite!).

Here’s the link to her blog:
http://threeminutestonine.blogspot.com/2010/12/stevens-family-christmas-traditions.html

Her blog is worth bookmarking!

~///~

Thanksgiving

I am so thankful.  I could go on and on, but to put it simply I am thankful for my family.  Why don’t I show you?

Someone told the little one she could eat snowflakes, if they were still in the air.

This summer it was fun at the beach…

~///~