Spring has sprung and the trees on the land are showing off their new finery--ivory blossoms, pale green leaves, yellowish leaves unfurling, and the constant background color of the conifers. 
The sheep have produced 14 lambs, doubling the size of the flock for now, and they form a river of wool on the hoof as they move in an excited eddying stream from trampled-and-eaten grass to fresh new grass every day or two. Some of us helped Jens care for a few lambs who needed nursing help over the last few weeks, but he is still the best Ovine Lactation Counselor among us.
The sheep have produced 14 lambs, doubling the size of the flock for now, and they form a river of wool on the hoof as they move in an excited eddying stream from trampled-and-eaten grass to fresh new grass every day or two. Some of us helped Jens care for a few lambs who needed nursing help over the last few weeks, but he is still the best Ovine Lactation Counselor among us. 
After a weirdly mild winter and an unsettled early spring, we are finally getting a seasonal mix of warm days, drizzle, rain, sun, and cloudy skies. Many of us are sprouting seeds and putting in gardens--although we had a (last?) frost in early May. The local groundhogs must surely be looking forward to the gardens of August...
Some of us have been involved lately in MoveOn.org's 99% Spring movement, fostering nonviolent actions in local communities. In April QIV-C members hosted a 99% Spring training here, which was attended by about 30 people, and an ongoing local group includes some of us.
Our farm intern Sky, who has been a great addition to our community, departs mid-May (leaving behind the beginnings of a cob oven!) to cook for the Co-Cycle project, a summer cross-country bike tour of cooperatives along the northern United States, organized by college students in honor of the 2012 International Year of Cooperatives. We will miss her! Later in the summer we will host two founders of The Transitioner for short residencies. The Transitioner does research and development on collective intelligence, wisdom, and consciousness, with the goal of creating new technologies and methodologies that will improve the decision-making capacity of humanity and its organizations. We enjoy the new personalities and perspectives of our visitors!
are farmers, were spared except for a less-than-24-hour power outage. In fact, our four pigs, visited in the midst of the storm, were in their glory - up to their hocks in mud! 
September. Natalie is the first “child” who mostly grew-up among us to graduate from college. Her graduation is a milestone for us as a community as well as for Natalie and her family. We’re looking forward to celebrating!
The evening of the summer equinox, we had a “Community Fruit Walk,” where we visited places around the land where fruit was bursting forth. This took us not only to our official berry patches and orchards, but also to some less traveled locations where old apple trees still produce and wild blackberries are prolific. Some of us noted that we were visiting such spots for the first time, and some of us were surprised at the great volume of fruit we can produce. Now, several weeks later, we’re enjoying sweet and tart berries – raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, currants, and gooseberries – and looking forward to enjoying luscious peaches, plums, pears, and apples.
