autumn harvest

drying for winter wreath-making

seed-saving

we harvested all the lingering amaranth, celosia, and bells of ireland for drying and seed-saving. i used to use the margins of my time for these things, but more and more the kids are joining me. farm life encourages (and sometimes forces) us to live seasonally, and that lifestyle is beginning to take root—a seasonal rhythm of work and learning. for our first year here at little phlox farm, there was a real disconnect between our academic calendar and the rhythm of the seasons. a year in, and a natural integration is happening. what it looks like right now is a big splash of academics for one month, a deeper dive into folk and farm work and knowledge for the next month, etc, which i’ve charted out for the coming year. it’s a bit experimental, more influenced by grundtvig’s danish folk school ideas than charlotte mason right now, but i’ll let you know how it goes…so far, so fun! (photos from 10/7 and 10/14