Winter Wonderland at HOWL

Winter has arrived at HOWL. After a tremendous windstorm (85+ mph winds for nearly 24 hours), nearly six days without power, and a two-foot snow storm, we are dug out enough from the storms to admire the beauty of winter. Next time you're thinking of coming up to HOWL, bring your skis or snowshoes!



Michio is captivated by a downy woodpecker feeding on suet.


Hmmm, guess we'd better put "improve attic insulation" on the to-do list. Sure makes for pretty icicles, though.

The chickens didn't bother venturing out into the snow from their squatter digs in the old sauna...

...while the storm encouraged Anya, Martha, Peggy, and Amalia to take to the Catamount Trail for a four hour dusk-return jaunt.

Nuns Fest!

Educational, inspirational, and gastronomically pleasing....Nuns Fest, 2010! If you missed Nuns Fest, you might just have to make the trek to Our Lady of the Mississippi Abbey in Iowa and say hello in person to Sister Grace and her wise Sisters. Or at the very least, order a good twelve pounds or so of their caramels: www.trappistine.com. Seriously, these things are sinfully delicious. From one women's land to another, thanks Sister Grace and all the Sisters of Mississippi Abbey!

Zebith put her Art Professor skills to work with this brownie-nuns-cake masterpiece. And okay, so the photo below is a terrible picture of all of us, but check out this spread! Where else can you find a Hannukah menorah and a nuns cake framing a veritable feast, all by candlelight? Nat saved the day by hauling over her neighbor's generator (Nuns Fest Saturday was Day 5 of no power) to power up the 4 hour DVD marathon screening of The Monastary. Missed it? Check out www.mississippiabbey.org/DVDs.

HOWL's on-site Ski Patroller

Not that we want to encourage anyone at HOWL to break a femur or go into cardiac arrest, but if you DID, you'd be in good hands with Vanessa. Congratulations to Vanessa for acing her Ski Patrol course!

What, more cleaning?

Habitat for HOWL was so much fun, the HOWL residents just couldn't help ourselves...we took on the freezer. Annie poses with a mystery package of Boca Burgers (best if used by September, 2006): Going, going....Chicken TV this morning featured the flock going wild for these veggie delights.



Laura shows off the results. So clean! So tidy! Ah, what we won't do for entertainment on a dark November evening.

Habitat for HOWL cleans up

The chain saws were buzzing, the sun was shining (Temperatures were in the 60's), and Annie was overheard saying, "I'm happy, it's a good day," as the garbage piled high in the truck.



Annie and Paedra bucked up a bunch of blow-downs.



Glo wields the paint brush. Look at those jammies!




Sarah and her sister Laura carted and stacked the wood. Guess which one is six months pregnant?



Thanks, everyone for a great day and a huge amount of work!

Steph Pappas Experience

Howlers comes down off the mountain to see Steph Pappas at On The Rise in Richmond. Laura, Anya, Amethyst and Nat all enjoyed the high energy performance.

Habitat for HOWL needs you!

Come on up to HOWL for our volunteer work day: Saturday, November 13 from 1:00-4:00. Help paint a bit of trim, buck up a blow down, stack wood, haul out trash, collect firewood...there are all sorts of ways to help. And of course we invite you to relax, visit the sheep & chickens, and take a stroll, too.

HOWL Herstory Archives

Next time you're up at HOWL, browse meeting minutes from 1980, read an issue of Commonwomon from 1979, or check out who signed HOWL's Articles of Incorporation nearly 23 years ago. Thank you Lynn Vera for dropping off a treasure trove of HOWL herstory. And big thanks to all the early HOWLers who worked so hard to make HOWL a reality.

A HOWL Founding Mother, Glo, turns 70!

One of our founding mothers, Glo, hit a major milestone, turning 70! HOWL still greatly benefits from her kindness, wisdom, and on-going involvement on the collective. Happy Birthday, Glo!

Pumpkins and Club HOWL

Pumpkin carving morphed into a Club HOWL dance Par-teeeee, complete with a blinking headlamps strobe light. Rock on, grrrrrls!

Three Gals Roofin' at HOWL

Annie, Vanessa, and Anya started in on the barn roof project! Here's boss Annie showin' us how it's done. Is she smiling because it's fun or because she's thinking about skyping a certain special gal?



The Before shot...



...and Vanessa after the moss has been scraped off. We laid out three rolls of asphalt roofing sheets that Annie hauled up, smiling the whole way. Good work and good fun!

Fall Glory at HOWL

Fall Shearing of the lambs

Vanessa, Laura & Anya all took part in the fall shearing. Vanessa is the shearer and Laura is typically the "coach" who reminds the shearer of the next move, takes the machine if the sheep start struggling and general helps hold and handle the animal through the shearing. Anya is behind the camera here, but after a few pointers and observation of how we do it, Anya filled in as the "coach" for several of the lambs that were shorn yesterday.

Shearing is an exciting time for sheep farmers. Icelandic sheep are shorn twice per year and the fall wool is at it's best. It's also a chance to see just how good the animal looks under all that fleece! Summer pastures at HOWL treated them well! They all scored a 3.5 (out of 5) or higher on the their body condition scoring. A good hoof trimming and some organic garlic treatment for their tummies and they are back on pasture.

Anya's butch moment

Anya gets butch with the weed trimmer. After a quick lesson from Vanessa, Anya takes off for the fields to whack down the beginnings of HOWL trails.

Vanessa & chickens

Buff Orpingtons, Red Stars, Rhode Island Reds, Australorps, Black Stars, Plymouth Barred Rocks...

Sheep & Fall Colors

Incredible Double Rainbow

A majestic double rainbow appeared over Crouching Lion this week. Laura, Anya and Suki were blessed with the opportunity to bask in it's grace and presence.

More Aunt Angy

Anya's great aunt Angy graces HOWL with her lovely presence. Stories, laughter, and good times.

Anya's great aunt Angy joins farmer Vanessa to feed the wiggers!

Rainbow in Huntington

I had the opportunity to witness this beautiful rainbow on Shaker Mountain Road in Huntington. It's been a beautiful summer here.

Sunset at HOWL

Spring Flowers

Stark Hollow Farm animals have arrived!!

The Icelandic sheep, Tamworth pigs and layer hens of Stark Hollow Farm have arrived for the summer. The grass was already hip high by the time the animals landed over the Memorial day weekend. The critters are so happy to be here. There are 24 sheep, 4 pigs and 9 chickens right now with a few more layers on the way. Laura & Vanessa, of Stark Hollow Farm in Starksboro are working with HOWL on stewardship of the land to help bring back the fallow pastures. This year we hope to have the sheep graze out the labyrinth so that it may once again be enjoyed by HOWL caretakers and visitors alike.

Omnium Gatherum at HOWL, May 21 2010

Can you guess what words, concepts, or phrases the above women are representing?

About 20 women gathered at HOWL for the Omnium Gatherum, which included a fire, singing, cello, great food, and a round of "Birdie on a Perch". The late-night crowd busted out the hip-hop tunes for Club HOWL (but no strobe light this time).