Ashar Fox is 4 this week, which I guess means that Milkwood Permaculture is also officially 4 as well.
Though we started Milkwood just over 6 years back, it was Ashar’s birth that woke me up. Something went click or snap at that point, and I switched from ‘hey, living in the country is kinda fun’ into ‘I will make this work’ mode. Hence Milkwood was born.
The harvest of Autumn 2009
So thank you Ashar Fox for teaching me many things about love and life and about myself as well. It’s been a wild ride with plenty of ups and downs (mostly on my side, Ashar’s been ridiculously healthy and happy throughout) but we seem to have collectively made it all the way to 4.
I will hold in my nostalgia about catering for two week permaculture courses with ashar strapped to my back, and about the ongoing and really quite enormous trepidation (and exhaustion) which comes with self-employment while mothering a little person who doesn’t really see the point in sleeping much…
15 months old and off up the hill by himself.. bye mum.
My central goal (ok one of them) for the next 10 years is to help Ashar Fox find a solid sense of self, and a deep connection with the natural world. Regardless of what life throws at him later down the track, I figure if these two things are sorted, he’ll be right.
I also assume that if these two aspects are strong, then that will go a long way to him having compassion for others and himself, to be able to love madly and sit quietly, and to have an awesome life in which there will be the beautiful moments that come with being fully present.
He’s named Fox for that beautiful and resilient feral that inhabits these parts – adaptability, agility and tenaciousness will be key for his generation’s development, I know.
Anyway. On you go, foxy. Good luck my little love.
Gigi and Rose making a birthday cake of champions
More sugar in one place than he’s had in his entire life so far. Yikes and yay.
Just your normal Friday night at Milkwood Farm…
Thanks to Rose and Gigi for the awesome dinosaur cake, to Sofie for the fox jacket (among other things), and to everyone on-farm that day for the fabulous birthday dinner home-made animal costumes…
>> More posts about dressing up as animals (or not) at Milkwood Farm
Happy Birthday!!
Beautifully said. As they always say, The next generation is the most important one for they are the ones to teach those who come after them! I wont take credit for this as I am sure some one out there or back then has said this before, but it seems always to be forgotten.
That looks like a truly happy boy. I think you must be doing the right things. Congratulations to you and yours. And hooray for that fabulous apron the cakemaker is donning. 🙂
That is a super awesome cake girls!!!! Happy birthday small fella, four is a magic age I reckon (and a tad easier than three!) xxx
happy birthday, sweet boy! four is wonderful and delicious and full of adventure!
happy birth-day to you, sweet momma! congratulations on marking the day you became even more you 🙂
thanks for allowing us to share in your milestones-
Looks like a lot of fun! 🙂
Happy birthday to little fox and well done to everyone who contributed to the day. I know it’s not easy when you’ve got work to do, and then there’s a party to cater for. But it looked like it was a splendid day.
Congratulations! I follow your blog from afar, Los Angeles, in fact, which has similar climate to parts of Australia, thus all the Australia native trees and plants we have. That is quite possibly the cutest jacket (on a darling girl) that I have ever seen! – Kaye
http://www.youtube.com/user/kittrellkaye
OOPs, just reading, that’s a boy! Darling boy!
How lovely. I bet he sleeps in that beautiful jacket too!
Happy Birthday To Fox and Milkwood.
What a wonderful journey this little fox has made and so many more adventures to come 🙂 Happy birthday Mr Fox and may all your chickens come home to roost 🙂
what a lovely ‘conscious’ parent you are. xx
treasure these days before he goes to school … blink, and he’ll be asking for your car keys! (from mother of 4 – last baby doing Driver Education now 🙂
Thank goodness for our living wake up calls. My twins turned 6 in January. Nothing will ever be the same and for that I am eternally grateful (almost all the time). Lovely post, looks like a lovely day.
happy birthday, l’il man.
A belated Happy BIrthday to Ashar, how blessed you are with beautiful surroundings and generous and loving family and friends (including the wonderful teachers, students and woofers). To the proud parents: He will grow up with so many positive life experiences than the ‘door-latch’ kids, you can be proud of the hard work and dedication to establish Milkwood and raising Ashar at the same time.There must be some great grandparents there somewhere as well. Good fruit from good trees…Blessings to all… Mary.
This post made me cry – a good thing!! My eldest is turning 5 this year. When she was 1 and I was pregnant with number 2, I had the exact same epiphany. We are determined to make our sustainable life work for us and are encouraging others in our area to make the change too. For our children, and their children, not for us.
Happy birthday little Ashar Fox and to Milkwood 🙂