Douglas Fir tender new growth in light green
Eat from the Land Eat locally grown plants from the land each day—a practice that we have almost forgotten is possible! In past times everyone had a garden. The connection of the earthy beets on the table and the soil outside the kitchen was a conscious one. The work of growing food for sustenance became a dialogue with… Read more »
Smoke from the Lake Berryessa fire rises over the eastern ridge of the Napa Valley.
Fire and Farming This morning it is evident that the fire in the eastern most part of Napa County is less contained that it was yesterday morning this time. A large plume of smoke spreads across the sky at first light. The orangish light is alarming and reminds us to think about animals and evacuation… Read more »
Forest Buddha
The Forest Buddha sits just outside the gate on the western most reach of the vineyard and lavender field (Lot Sophia). Each day I walk the goats, we pass the Buddha. He amplifies a quiet place in my soul, reminding me of why I am on earth. The goats remind me, too, in their much more… Read more »
Old Friends
Old Friends The Psychological Perspectives issue with my article about the death of a beloved valley oak on our ranch, “When an Old Friend Dies,” had come in the mail the day before. As I sat down to look at the article in print, the phone rang. “I am not sure that you know, but Mary… Read more »
Quote reminder in First Light Farm Store
My farming father would have been amazed at my son Jesse and his wife Lisa, of First Light Farm! He farmed all his life and loved the land. Community was a given in small town farm life, taken for granted. But with the advent of agribusiness practices, small farms went out of business and community deteriorated …. Read more »
Mandala ripples in the fountain.
The Word for the Day, this rainy morning, from www.gratefulness.org: Mountains and oceans have whole worlds of innumerable wondrous features. We should understand that it is not only our distant surroundings that are like this, but even what is right here, even a single drop of water. DOGEN ZENJI Yes, it surprised us and… Read more »
Join us on Saturday, July 11, at our son Jesse’s First Light Farm, 4588 Bodega Ave, Petaluma, from 11 am to 5 pm, and try a sample of our newest recipe for Honey Lavender Limeade! We will be selling our loose flowers and discussing their many culinary uses. Lavender is a plant that grows in the… Read more »
Death of a Tree: Shocking death of an old friend.
Death of a Tree “When an Old Friend Dies” was just published in the June issue of Psychological Perspectives. The article details an experience my husband and I had when an ancient valley oak fell last year. It is a tree we both loved. It grew next to a little pioneer farmhouse that we lived in while we built… Read more »
The hollow of an ancient valley oak used to make barrel compost.
This summer of the fourth year of drought, we are liberally using the Barrel Compost we made on site in December (see post, Making Barrel Compost). Each fruit day (moon in fire signs) we spray the ground under the grapevines and orchard, and each flower day, moon in air signs) we spray the aromatics. The vines looked… Read more »
Lavender and Healing The lavender that we harvested for bouquets is dry now. We dried the bunches in the dark, hanging them upside down and ventilating the room with fresh air. We cleaned the stems of bind weed and the small leaves at the bottom of the stems. The bouquets were then packed in boxes of 30 to store… Read more »
© 2026 Patricia Damery.
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