When winter lingers and the grey refuses to yield, the weight of the burden can be too much to bear. As though the shroudy haze is heavy. It has a weight all its own. Time and time again, now, I've watched as the last long weeks of winter call captive a spirit. Weariness smothers when light cannot navigate the clouds. It's not a seasonal disorder. It is an annual phenomenon, when you live in the land of snow and clouds. We can discuss the occurance a time or two. We can negate the trend, but life requires light. Levity. When reluctant she tickles the clouds back from the horizon, there the infermed lie trapped beneath the weight of greyness. I can smell the shift that no groundhog can predict. We wait to sow the seeds. We wait to scrub mud splashes from windows, gloomy. We wait to stow the mittens away for next year. Once again, winter elected to holdfast. In her delay, spring s-l-o-w-l-y danced into frame. There, loved ones stumble in the dense fog of gloom. A stalled...

Sweet Spring, you precious dear. Sweet Spring, you lovely, shy sister. Sweet Spring, you powerful and understated wonder. Sweet Spring, you beckon beyond the snow-trimmed tree line. Sweet Spring, you whisper along the rays of sunshine pouring into my window. Sweet Spring, your temper tosses the pines, shallow roots upturned. Sweet Spring, you saturate the green patches and swell the streams. Oh, Sweet Spring, how I smile when I take in your breeze! Oh, Sweet Spring, how I am filled with joy as the first shoots emerge! You know, my lovely friend, we've prayed for you each grey day. We dreamed of you, as we've seeded trays and sketch garden plots. Oh, Sweet Spring, with your Celtic tunes and your layers made light. We sway as we step, we hum as we toil. Oh, Sweet Spring, what joy you bring. (first blooms, our first year at the cottage)

You know that time... when you have a third kid and you KNOW your vehicle situation needs to change? Leave it to Subaru  to release a powerful *third row* contender! The hubs and I have been torn which vehicle would best suit our growing brood, now, the answer comes clearer... We stopped by the Cleveland Auto Show to give the Subaru Ascent the once over. She's lovely! Standard roof rails, a towing package, and (of course) ALL WHEEL DRIVE! The Ascent offers optional upgrades that include built in window shades for the second row, as you might find on a Cayenne. She has options for navigation, auto start, and larger wheels for adventurers, or heated leather seats, copious USB connections, and upgraded sound system for the discerning buyer. The Subaru Ascent offers a tidy cargo space, first highlighted in their roll out video, also confirmed by my handy pocket tape measure (#dorkymom #whatfits #measuremuch)  It is a little tighter spacing on t...

Roots are as important as wings, in my humble opinion. This, from a lady who is genuinely, powerfully, and passionately a fan of wings. Roots offer one a springboard. They give you something to push off from. They offer perspective and grounding. Roots nourish the soul. Roots anchor the heart. Roots tether our decisions and roots add depth to our experience. From a young age, my younger brother and I were deeply curious about our ancestry, perhaps to a peculiar level. We wanted to know about the Native Americans who inhabited Northeast Ohio. We wanted to practice their language, fashion clothing, weapons, tools, and footwear in their style. We wanted to know the heroes of their culture and we read whatever we could about their way of life. Not unlike so many Americans now, who seek stronger ties to their ancestral heritage, I suppose, we wanted to understand where "our people" came from, how they lived, and why they were gone from the landscape. Such conversations in 2018...

You all have been so kind to follow along on our journey. From the earliest hop plants and the tiniest ankle biters, to a CSA and growing community, to Rank and Row and the Veterans in Agriculture movement. Thank you.  Dear friends, I wanted to share a bit with you about why we made a change away from the "Hop Haus" title and towards "Compass Crops". If you aren't one to care too much about the nitty gritty, I'd encourage you to toss back a beer and know that your hoppy pals are still here. We are just shifting the scope a bit. We were teenagers, at the Hop Haus. We're now inking up on middle age. The journey has left it's mark on us, but it hasn't changed who we are or the quality we strive for! Schneider's Hop Haus was kicked off in 2011/2012. A baby on our back, a song in our heart, and the notion of our very own hop yard-- wide-eyed and dreamy. We forged our way through worn and tired soil. We rehab'ed a beat-up...

***edited to add. This posting was one of five that didn't quite make the publishing floor in "the year of our move". I'm retracing my steps and thought this one may be of some use to folks.**** We've had an influx of yellow jackets in and around the new homestead. It seems, Northeast Ohio has had an increase in yellow jackets this October. Our colony split just a few weeks ago. As it turns out, very poor timing for this lot! As family gathered on the back porch to celebrate my awesome niece's birthday, it occurred to me that there were yellow jackets (read hornets) coming and going from the general direction of the top bar hive. WE HAD BEEN INVADED! There was a literal massacre of honey bees going down, right under my nose. The recently split colony wasn't strong enough to fight off the onslaught of aggressors. I pulled the hefty bars of honey. We stored the maticulous bars of drone comb in the freezer. And we bedded the hive down for another ...