There's hope for spring

Finally the snow has melted, and crocuses are blooming at the farm. Patricia prepared a fantastic Easter dinner. Bob read a passage from "The Autobiography of a Yogi" about death and renewal. We surrounded ourselves with dear friends. Life is very good.

It is at this time that we have taken stock of the remaining produce stored last fall. Boy, did we overdo it this year. We still have two bushels of potatoes, no matter how often we eat them. And there's corn, applesauce, rhubarb, strawberries, peaches, spinach, green beans, tomatoes, pickles, jams, etc.

Next season we must remind ourselves to "put up" in moderation. And we will have time to plan other summer activities.

Malia and I have been attending bee school and will place two hives near the garden this year. Malia has already planted a couple of rows of buckwheat to provide food for the bees early, while the hive is getting established. We are both looking forward to this new adventure, with our eyes on honey in the fall.

With colony collapse disorder a reality, we're trying to do our part in supporting healthy bee hives.

The remnants of the ice store are everywhere in Derry, now that the snow has melted. We still have much cleanup ahead of us. Paul has purchased a chipper.

For me, I am looking forward to spring, then summer and fall. I am grateful that winter is behind us all.

Ice Storm

In December 2008 Sunpoint Farm was hit by an historic ice storm which knocked out electricity for over 95% of Derry, NH. We learned what community really meant, as Paul and Scott worked hard to help neighbors clean up downed trees, and Bob and Tate Conlon trekked all the way to Patterson, NJ to purchase generators for themselves and neighbors. The house up the road (70 Old Chester Rd.) was symbolically restored to power around midnight on Christmas Eve. Paul, Patricia, Malia, and I were at the Hampstead Episcopal Church Christmas Eve service that evening, singing carols and listening to inspirational stories of neighbors helping neighbors all across the area.


Yes, there was vandalism and theft, which, I suppose, shows that crises bring out the best and the worst of us. However, this experience has left me grateful for those luxuries I have taken for granted: light, heat, and water. And more than ever it has shown me that community is really, really the answer.

My parents survived the dust bowl of Oklahoma in the '30's because of friends, neighbors, and families. They reinforced in me the necessity for us to support one another in hard times.

This crisis proved again that their lessons are as true today as they were 70 years ago.

Thanks to Scott who took the photos of Sunpoint Farm and who tolerated the invasion of four round-the-clock inhabitants at the farmhouse, where wood stoves and water from the local fire station, as well as Paul's stash of candles (garnered from various yard sales) kept us going through the darkest hours.