Dear Reader,

There's a log cabin on the back of our property that brings me so much joy.

Now, the truth is, it has seen better days.

It's rickety.

There are gaps in the eaves.

The red cedar is showing its age and the chinking is falling apart.

We don't have the budget to do what it needs right now.

But this week, I walked in with a broom, a vision, and printed art by Scottish artist Anne Thubron, and I thought: what if I just start here?

Anne, by the way, illustrated much of the botanical art that you see inside the _​SAGE app​, and you can find those art files on her Etsy store, "The Blushing Penguin" ​here​.).

I just couldn't wait for a proper remodel to see what the possibilities could be if I could make the most of what we have right now.
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This simple act of sprucing up this spaces has got me so excited to get up in the morning and satisfied to go to bed at night (as I can see the cabin from my bedroom window).

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After the farm tour, I also plan to use it as a drying shed for all the flowers and plants I want to harvest seeds from. The possibilities are endless!

Indeed, this old log cabin has brought me so much joy.
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Permaculture teaches us to us to work with what we have, where we are, right now.

• Not the garden you wish you had.
• Not the soil you'll amend next season.
• Not the raised beds you'll build when the budget allows.

The principle is called observe and interact, and most people apply it to plants.

But I think it belongs to everything.

• You observe what's actually in front of you.
• You interact with what's actually possible.

And slowly, faithfully, the thing that felt broken starts to become something.

That cabin isn't going to be restored anytime soon.

But it can be swept out, organized, and hung with something beautiful. It can become a farm store for our​ upcoming farm tour.​​

It can be the start of something that will someday be restored.

That's not settling.

That's permaculture applied to your actual life.

So I want to ask you something this week.

What's your log cabin, Reader?

Not just in the garden. Maybe it's something adjacent to the garden, the corner of your life that needs more than you can give it right now, but that's quietly asking for something.
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A little attention.
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A little intention.
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Maybe just a broom and a print on the wall.

You don't have to fix it. You just have to start somewhere and have faith the size of a mustard seed that it will be better in the future.
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Rooting for you and your log cabin,
​
Nicky

Upcoming Events

Farm Tour- May 16th-17th

If you're local to Loudoun County, I'd love for you to come see the cabin — gaps and all — during our Spring Farm Tour on May 16–17. It's going to be beautiful impefect though it may be.

​Please register to let us know you are coming. Thanks so much!

Solanacea Webinar- (potatoes, tomatoes, eggplants & more)

If you're not local, but wish to know more about the joy of growing tomatoes, potatoes, eggplants and peppers, register for the Solanacea (that's their plant family name) here.