I've been reading Mycellium Running: How Mushrooms Can Help Save the World, a birthday gift from my mother.  Fascinating stuff.  Don't think I have the brains to go into detail, but let me say this: decomposition is a beautiful thing.

The kettlebell (a cannonball with a handle) was first used as a Russian training device over 300 years ago, so though it might seem like just another gimmick in a long line of fitness fads, it's the real deal.  Along with the hunk of iron that we bought Jake for his birthday, we gave him a copy of Enter the Kettlebell.  Its author, Pavel, a former special forces trainer in Russia, is credited with popularizing the kettlebell in the USA.  Chief among its virtues, at least in my mind, is that the kettlebell develops strength while simultaneously powering up the heart.  Or, as Pavel puts it so wittily, you develop your heart "without the dishonor of cardio."

All the beauty in the world.  We had a wonderful meal with our Sweet on our way to a conference in Augusta.  We stuffed ourselves in the dining hall--Jessie looked at our plates piled high with food and said, "you two are going to get the freshman fifteen!"; but, you know how it is, free food... anyway, we worked off a bit of the buffet with a ramble on Colby's nature trail.  Nice.

My beautiful baby boy turns 22 today.  Gee wiz, I must be an old man.  Here Jake demonstrates the 60 lb. kettlebell we got him for his birthday.  Yes, that is what he wanted for a gift: a hunk of iron.  That's keeping it simple, my friends.  Rock on, Jake!!!

This stump, which is from a tree felled a couple of years ago, looks like it was painted black--pretty cool. But maybe it needs to be seen to be appreciated. At any rate, it's back where we did the big cut, so no need to remove it. I was surveying the land, so to speak, a couple of days ago, and realized we could have a veritable farm if we so desired. Sounds like a retirement plan to me!

Dreary weather, finally. We were blessed with some serious sunshine on this staycation. Now we can catch up on some reading, get our house in order and get ready for the home stretch before the end of school. For all you regular working stiffs who must toil through summer... tough luck!

Two heads are better than one. It occurs to me that human beings now have two brains: the God-given one and Google. Inspired by my other brain, I'm going to try a stump-removal system that does not require a stump-grinder (which I would have to rent). My goal is to clear some land behind the garden to plant potatoes. This year I'm going to grow sweet potatoes in one of the beds, but will probably skip the white potatoes. Last year we grew some in large containers, but it was a pretty limited harvest. Hence, my interest in clearing some land.

Today we gathered some more cow manure, then headed to Cutler to pick up some arugula that was free for the taking from Candy's greenhouse (thank you Candy!). After that we got a truckload of seaweed for our compost pile. Ocean breezes, seaweed, manure--the smells of nature--sure beats the odors of my childhood (i.e. the New Jersey Turnpike, Fresh Kill landfill and the subway). Yesterday the cows gave us some space, but today, knowing us a bit better, they crowded around us as soon as we got inside the fence. Later we rewarded them with a couple loaves of bread. I can see why Hindus consider cows sacred, I really can.

Yeah, it was a glorious day for shoveling manure. Cows are composting machines, and this particular herd is polite, gentle and beautiful with a peaceful presence. Definitely could not have asked for better company. And it was great to spend the day with my lovely wife too!
See, she's laughing, because she knows that I am funny.

Splitting wood on the homestead holiday.

The puzzle will not be solved.

Today is the post-full moon, Friday the 13th, last day before vacation--ought to be a fun one at school. We had planned on going to NY, but that's not in the cards for us. Instead, we'll hang around the homestead, working on the garden and the woodlot. Activities will include our 2nd annual hauling of manure. Now that's a vacation!

I'm sending all my prayers to my mother in Boston. Here's to hope.

The Appalacian Trail has been routed to include a multitude of beautiful mountains, but then there are many hills that hikers consider nothing special; hence, the acronym PUDS (pointless up and downs). Pictured above is Jake doing our PPE (pointless pack excursion), which only makes sense in the context of training for PUDS. Normally when you're on the trail you think, well, if anything happens to me, at least I have a tent and sleeping bag and food and water. But what would we do if we got stuck on the side of the dirt road, would we find comfort in our 20 lb. kettlebell?

I know what you're thinking, if we don't feed this girl she's going to shrink away to nothing. I mean, I know people lose weight on the plant-based diet, but I had no idea I'd have to go out and buy all new furniture. But seriously, Cara's weight does not fluctuate. She can eat three gallons of ice cream or an arugula salad and it makes no difference, she's always at her fighting weight of 105 lbs. Even when she was pregnant she snapped right back to her regular weight minutes after giving birth. I'm surprised it didn't make other women hate her--but then, who could hate my loveable little lady? You know what they say: Everybody Loves Cara.

Sunday.

I was standing in the backyard talking to Greg and Suzy, when I heard rustling in the woods. I had no idea what was making the noise, and had no plan to investigate. Greg was talking about The China Study, which we had loaned to them, and how he and Suzy were joining the plant-eater team. Everybody who reads that book seems to have the same reaction! Anyway, I guess this turkey knew we were friendly folk, because he came out of the brush and walked right up to us. He stood around gobbling while I took a few photos, then headed back to the woods. Made my day.

We're a quarter of the way through our 40 workout/hike program. Today's hike was especially enjoyable because Cara joined us; her conversational skills go a long way toward taking the mind off the pain. (Well, it's really not pain, just a bit of discomfort here and there). I went old-school for the workout part of the program: 110 pull-ups, 220 push-ups, 330 sit-ups. That had me breathing like a creeper, let me tell you. Tomorrow I'll do the lumberjack workout; that is, I'll chop wood, then hike. Yeah, a little of this, a little of that. It's a happy life.

Llama love you too!

This is the 500th post here at Wisdom in the Birches. Wow! There ought to be door prizes, like this original Austin Mini for instance. We happened past it in St. Andrews and Jake and Cara thought it would be the perfect addition to Mike R's Used Cars. It is cute, I'll give it that, kind of like that baby llama that some of you failed to notice on April 1. Funny that, and I'll tell you why. When we walked up to the pen housing the llamas we heard the bleating of what sounded like a goat. But then Cara said, "no, it's a sheep." So we went back and forth, it's a sheep; no it's a goat, etc., etc. Until Cara, redeeming herself and shaming us, says, "it's a baby llama!" Duh. A baby llama with the mama and papa llamas. Go figure...

No comment for the baby llama? Really? Come on, people, you can't get any cuter than that!

That could be Machias, if the town had any sense; but instead of cute little shops and nice places to walk along the water, we have a couple of gas stations and a bottle redemption. Oh, don't be so negative-- at least there is the hardware store. Anyways, St Andrews is pictured above, all pristine and perfect in its sweet little corner of Canada. Well, they do have socialized medicine over there so they're probably just a bunch of commies. Ha!

Looks like we're in for a glorious Sunday!