Year End Gratitude

I would like to express my gratitude to everyone who has supported Sister Sage this year. Specifically, Wade & Zoe for watering duties & letting me start my herb seeds in their greenhouse; Jim for helping me prepare the soils & acquire the "Tea Shack"; & Marc for endless laughs & love, my Jayne Drops theme song, helping me process our food and helping out with the chickens!

Sister Sage Herb Farm is becoming much more fertile, especially with the addition of chickens to the land. I am growing the herbs for my formulas, and I will expand the herbs that are most popular, and make those herbs into different forms. The herbal sodas were a hit, and I would like to get that bottled in Washington State. I installed one herbal landscape at Dr Denel's , in Georgetown and I will be marketing my Herbal Landscapes to more herbalists and Naturopaths in the Seattle and Vashon Area in 2009. If you are interested in having a healing garden installed, please contact me so we can begin designing it to fit your needs.
Future plans for Sister Sage Herb Farm include keeping bees or attracting bee keepers to the Roseballen Land somewhere, and especially in the medicinal herb field. For instance, I would love to set the hive in a field of Calendula and Echinacea and then infuse the roots of the echinacea plant in the honey later for an amazingly delicious flu fighter... Or a chamomile and holy basil field... Yum, the possibilities are endless.

It has been a great year for me personally, and I am obviously growing most of my own nutritious and medicinal herbs, and getting closer to one of my goals of growing most of my own food. After being snowed in for 10 days, I realized that we didn't put up nearly enough food in 2008. I ate more than I preserved of the blackberries right behind my property, the freezer wasn't that full, and I would like to participate in a dairy share with a farmer...Cheese, yogurt, and butter are the things I enjoy but had to go out to purchase. I do still have lots of pumpkins and squash, and the chard has survived the snow. Since we eat our chickens' eggs, that has been a great way to get protein, and I have improved my omelet skills- the key is having enough butter or oil in the pan! There is always more you can do to become self sufficient, but little by little you learn what you need to do each year to provide for yourself through the long winter.

One thing I have learned this year is the importance of community. My neighbors, some friends and I started a community garden together this year with the help of Zach Zink. He was a great organizer and constant garden worker. He organized the first work party, and always recruited people to work with him on major projects. We had about 10 families participating and lots of volunteers through the season. This project made our neighborhood more friendly immediatly. People who didn't know what was going on stopped by to find out how to join and where the garlic smell was coming from. We will continue with the garden this year, and hopefully we can keep building the community as well as the amount of food we produce. One of my goals is to be able to donate the extra produce we grow to the local food banks, and also to our neighbors. Check out the website for The Longfellow Creek Community Garden to find out what we are up to, and to participate if you live near Delridge and SW Myrtle.

My car is finally out of the snow (though there is still some in my yard), but I have not started the bio- diesel truck yet. I am a little apprehensive about it because I just changed the fuel filter, and I only have bio in it. I might have to go get petro to clear the lines...which reminds me that I am glad to have learned how to fix my isuzu pup, and finding isuzupup.com is a big reason I did. They have helped me through every issue I have had with my truck. I joined the forum, asked questions, and within the day (depending when you ask) someone on the list replied. Hats off to you joeisuzu!

I am grateful for the wonderful clients, friends and family I have as my community. I thank you all for your support and love through the years.

Winter Snow Hits West Seattle!

My Street in West Seattle was a parking lot Saturday night with about 7 cars just left there. A little Toyota Supra tried it and just couldn't even get halfway up. The dude tried so hard for about an hour before abandoning it (at 4AM). One van almost made it to the crux of the hill, then it must have stalled. They just left it in the middle of the street at the intersection! It is total chaos with the vehicles.

Marc, Jeramiah, Arlo and I hiked our snowboards (and Arlo's toy lawn mower)up SW Myrtle and 25th and rode down on Sunday; we caught a ride to the grocery store & went to Jeremiah & Jen's to have mulled wine! YUM- then, back out on the snowboard again.

The chickens are totally freaking out! They are afraid to walk on the snow. The first day it snowed, they just stood on their stoop and looked out. After I put fresh straw on the ground & shoveled a little walkway over to the porch they came over to sit on an old chair. Now, I can see them right out my office window. They don't seem to be too cold, but one of the Gingers let me pick her up to warm her and that is saying something, because none of the orange ones like being touched. I can tell she likes it because she kind of coos to me. Clucky Star let me pick her up, but changed her mind and flew out into the snow. Then she just sat there. I came out and got her. The snow was up to my knees! She left a cool snow angel with her flapping wings where she landed. I took some pictures, and they are on my flickr page. Check them out!

I am off to snowboard the hill again a few times before I go to the Seattle Men's Choir at Benaroya Hall with Pee Wee! Pee Wee is Nancy Evans, a great gardening friend who I met while serving on the Board of Directors for Seattle Tilth. She runs a pet care service called Dolce Vita pet care in West Seattle.