Happy Equinox!

Spring is definitely bustin’ out at Commonweal Garden—the apple, pear and plum trees are budding, the bees are stirring, and a mass of new baby chickens have sent the old hens into renewed frenzy. 

Other changes have come to the farm, endings and beginnings—Rachel, Matt, and Amara have left us to start their own homestead in Grass Valley. We wish them all the best even as we miss them. Our new farm manager, Tammy Davis, is fantastic, and has dived right in to get things moving in every respect. She comes with experience in permaculture and community building and we are thrilled to have found her. 

Our new work exchange crew is settling in, and this amazing group of young people are quickly becoming a solid part of our community. They are busy with early spring tasks—right now feeding and mulching the lemons in our citrus grove with compost from our greywater system, and finishing the nuts and bolts of the cord wood building and the straw bale building. We welcome Adam, Byron, Katherine and Ian, and are thrilled that Sarah H., Sarah W and Dhyana from the last crew will be staying on for a while.

The goats have new digs—a beautifully crafted goat pen made of recycled material. Thank you to Scott Braun, the furniture maker who put a lot of love and time into building it! The goats are finding the life of luxury a bit challenging since they bonded to the old pallet shacks they were living in.

This cold, slower time of year brings a different kind of awareness and opportunity for observing the land. Wild foods like wild onion, miner’s lettuce, nettle and chickweed are ready to eat all around. And we’re not the only ones watching the shift: Penny's been tracking a bobcat who’s been visiting us. All those tracking classes with Jon are finally paying off...