February 2022 | The Elliott Homestead Newsletter
I want to love February, but I don’t. I don’t know what it wants from me and unstated expectations give me anxiety. Do you want me to stay in and be cozy next to the fire? Your wind gusts and snow storms lead me to believe so. Or rather, February, do you want me to be hopeful of what is to come? Do you want me to plant my tomato seeds and dig under the snow banks looking for snowdrops and hellebore? Your sunshine is tempting me.
What do you want from me?!
If I had to guess what February demands of me, it’s submission. Submission to the snowstorms - or to the sunshine. Submission to winter. Congratulations. You won. But March is lingering on the edges and March, my friends, is pure hope. Even despite the cold, and even the occasional snow storm, she’s nothing but sunshine and roses in my heart.
Plus March is fun. Stuart’s birthday is in March. Our anniversary is in March. The first day of spring is in March. March is bright. March is playful. February is… well. I suppose February makes March all the sweeter.
Here we are. I’m glad we’re here together.
On The Farm
I’m still anxiously waiting for lambs. Based on udder development and ligament loosening, I’d say Eleanor will likely lamb first. I expect her to drop her lambs within the next few days. Each morning I make my coffee and eagerly peek out the kitchen window to count sheep in the pasture, anxiously awaiting to see some small ones. It’s been a bloody cold winter here and in a way, I’m grateful they’ve held off this long. Last year Eleanor gave birth a few days after Christmas - she’s a wonderful mother but even the best mother has a hard time keeping fresh, wet lambs alive in some of the temperatures that we’ve had.
We’ve separated the sheep and Cece (the cow) now. Cece’s in the barn where she can rest easy in her final month of pregnancy. Her belly is getting so large - I’m always amazed that a cow her size can manage to house a 60 pound calf. The sheep remain in the pasture where they can lamb easily without fear of a bovine accidentally stomping or laying on little lambs. Cece would never hurt lambs intentionally but she’s large. Girl can’t help herself sometimes. We’ve found it safest to separate when there are babies involved.
For us, now, this mostly means making sure that the shelters are filled with dry straw a few times each week and kept clean. We don’t really scrape animal pens in the winter, rather, we just pile fresh straw on top. This is sometimes called the “deep bedding” technique. Microbes begin to break down the old straw, urine, and poop and in that breaking down process, create heat. When the animals lay on the dry straw on the surface, they’re actually being simultaneously heated from the microbes underneath. Creation is so wonderful.
Every once in awhile (read: like twelve times a week), we also have to actually clean the farmhouse and deal with the hay and dirt and mud and children of winter. That’s exactly what we took the time to do in last week’s YouTube video. If you need a little motivation to tend to your own space, I hope you’ll find it right here.
In The Studio
It’s been a beautiful month in the studio. I’ve been balancing “digging deep” for images to create while simultaneously embracing the rest of the season. I’ve found in creating it’s almost impossible for me to do with people around. It’s something that needs to be done in silence. In solitude. I’m not sure why that is. Being that we live here, work here, school here, and farm here, silence and solitude are valuable commodities. I usually head to the studio on Tuesdays when the kids attend a homeschool coop. I find the silence absolutely invigorating. Somehow in that silence, I was able to create what has become our most popular image to date and the newest in our Homemaker Series - titled “A Moments Rest”- available here:
This month, we had the blessing of launching some new products over on the art shop. First up, card collections. Chosen and fulfilled by yours truly. We’ve included two collections thus far: The Garden Rose Collection and The Rustic Collection, both in very limited quantities (there are only 20 of each right now in the art shop and the first batch of 20 sold out in just two days last week!). Each set includes 10 cards + 10 envelopes. The paper quality is absolutely beautiful. Take a peek:
We also had the pleasure of putting some of our most popular images on puzzles. We are a big puzzling family and after lots, and lots, and lots of requests we finally figured out how to make them available to you! You can browse the available puzzles right here.
Other new images this month to enjoy:
The cellphone covers offered in the art shop also continue to be very well received, which I am so grateful for. In fact, just a few hours ago, I went to my Mom’s house who proudly showed me her new cellphone case - it was “Bowl of Orange” and it was beautiful! I love seeing art being used in this way. It makes it comfortable, approachable, and enjoyable. You can shop all the available cellphone covers right here.
Again, thank you for keeping my dream of being an artist alive for another month. We’re so grateful for every single order.
In The Kitchen
We’ve had a bit of a challenge in the kitchen this month. After making this incredible jam galette together on YouTube, and after publishing this long and lengthy post on how to make/maintain/and bake with a dry sourdough starter, a few of us got sick and have yet to regain on our energy or motivation. In fact, I’m typing this right now in front of a fire, under a gigantic furry blanket, where I can easily rest my weary bones. Thank goodness for low-maintenance sourdough starters.
I’m never unmotivated in the kitchen. It’s making me (and my poor children) a bit crazy.
Somehow, amongst the sickness and fatigue, I did manage to perfect sourdough einkorn English muffins. But more on that later this month on our “How to Stop Being Scared of Sourdough” class. Free. We’d love for you to join in.
On The Podcast
This is Season 10 (what the what) of Homemaker Chic Podcast and this season - after over 2 million downloads - Angela and I decided to throw caution to the wind and just bring back fun. Remember fun? Remember how we used to joke and be silly and dance and belly laugh and disagree and hug and not take everything so damn seriously? I’m trying to remember that. This season is all about that. Tune into Homemaker Chic wherever you listen to podcasts for more…
What’s Inspiring Me
I know I told you that I create art in silence, and I do. But I edit to ‘This is Shawn Mendes’ on Spotify. I can’t help myself. It brings out all the creativity for me.
COLOR. I need to do a post on this soon but the colors and texture I had initially gravitated towards for our bedroom renovation have been thrown to the wind. I’m craving rich, vibrant color. Mustard. Bright blue. Spring green. I’ll be sharing my vision board soon so you can track with me on this journey. In the meanwhile, here’s the color for the ceiling. Yes, the ceiling.
I shared my favorite French 75 recipe with paid-newsletter subscribers earlier this week and brought them a little bit of education on quality “frizzante” wines. If you *think* you don’t like bubbly wines, I’d really encourage you to try the 3-bottle sparkling package from Dry Farm Wines. I’m confident you’ll change your mind. PS: If you don’t love a bottle, Dry Farms will replace it. The use of a quality bubbles in cocktails like a French 75 makes all the difference.
That’s all for now. Whew! I’d like to thank my paid-newsletter subscribers for keeping this reader-supported publication coming. If you’d like to upgrade to a paid-newsletter subscription, it comes along with bonus recipes, exclusive Q&A sessions, and more, you can upgrade right here:
Thanks for being here, my friends! We’re so grateful for you all.
Cheers,
Shaye
PS: Don’t forget to sign up for the free sourdough class right here.
I'm absolutely loving this season of the podcast. I find myself laughing along with you both a lot as i listen