Happy 6th Birthday Anniversary, Garden Gallivanter and Happy 30th to Me!

A stroll in our backyard village of Puget-Théniers.

The best things in my life seem to happen during Fall, when the leaves are changing color, fire reds and oranges, when the air turns crisp and you can see your breath linger as your face tightens and turns red from the cold to the point where it’s hard to talk. It’s a time of baked pies, pumpkin and apple, of the sweet aromas of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cardamom warming the house along with the crackling wood fire.

Fall is when new things happen for me and somehow my life changes course. This blog I began on a November Fall day 6 years ago. It was when I began to garden; and, it was also when I made my plans to intern at the Garden School Foundation, setting my life forth in another direction and leading me to meet amazing people.  In the past, I’ve  met other incredible souls who have shaped my life, or I made plans for grand solo adventures, like the one to France 3 years ago. This Fall, I married a beautiful soul, mon amour, Jorris. It was a milestone for us both. With that, I moved my life to a new country. This Fall, our farm cat Agata gave birth to 3 adorable kittens, and we are enjoying them so much. It’s a beginning of many new things.

A little crumbly, but oh-so-good with wild and organic apples.

From left to right: Bodhi, Sattva, Peaches&Cream (aka: The 3 little monsters)

Our yurt dressed in a surprising snowfall at the end of October. 

It’s a time of reflection, a time of transition, transformation, of quiet. The garden sleeps. Her bounty harvested, stored for winter meals. The yurt goes down. We move closer to the city but still live in the small village of Puget-Theniers. As the season changes, so does life, and so does our rhythm. Only since I started living close to nature 3 years ago did I start to really notice nature’s rhythm, and I have found that aligning my rhythm to hers makes me feel more whole, more at peace and in equanimity of my surroundings and of how I show up in my life.

Sometimes, I think that’s the best thing we can do. Just show up, everyday, with compassion, non-attachment, and love, for ourselves and for the world around us. With all of your heart, just as it is, whether that be full of joy for new kittens or full of stress from moving to a new place, a new country. Whether it be full of energy, or perhaps, a little laziness because it’s too rainy and cold outside to work. Those days are ok too; those days are important and also part of this beautiful thing called life. And, rather than being hard on ourselves for not performing at our “peaks,” what would happen if we allowed to ourselves full acceptance and unconditional love for how ever we showed up that day?

Garden treasures to be stored for winter.

Keys to new "apartment castle". 

I can wader the narrow streets of this village for hours. 

And just be thankful we were able to wake up to 3 kittens playing and bouncing around as we get coffee going in the morning, much needed coffee, since they were wild the night before jumping on our bed, the bed they already pooped and peed on while we were gone and so we had 2 blankets less and felt cold, so didn’t sleep that well and then our husbands wake up really early for work and we end up getting woken up too because we live in studio with no rooms. But we wake up, even though slowly, with gratitude and make our way to coffee and our day, and everything is good.

I have found that the same applies to yoga. With this approach, my practice has changed immensely. I have been showing up onto my mat everyday. Our studio loft is small, but we have been creative with spacing and so made our dining room table a folding one. It’s attached to the wall and folds down, remaining on the wall. In this way, I have room to practice yoga. When I show up without judgment of what I can do that day and just feel my way through, with curiosity and enjoyment, my body and mind just feels more receptive to expansion, physically and mentally. Also, one of the benefits of living in the village is better internet connection, so I can practice along with online lessons, but there are also some yoga classes in the village, which is wonderful, and I have visited. My personal practice is becoming deeper and so, I don’t feel the need to go to class really, but I like to, just to be in the company of fellow yogis.

My three little monsters. 

Entrance to our humble abode with folding table. 

Table folds so I have space to do yoga. 

Yesterday, I had the privilege of going to Marie and Samuel’s place with Philippe. They are our sheep cheese making friends, which I have written about before. They are a lovely couple and have a lovely growing family. They got some other village producers together and we all had lunch of incredible, exquisite food, seriously made for fine dining, without the fancy plates, just rustic and real. Pumpkin and squash soup, juicy and falling-off-the-bone oven baked lamb (their own!) with fennel, cous cous, variety of steamed squash (pumpkin, butternut) and rosemary; For dessert we had apple tart with caramel sauce (both homemade and best caramel I’d ever tasted), and homegrown/homemade pears cooked in red wine and cinnamon. The color and taste of that pear was just gorgeous.  My senses were all over the place and high on something! Real, homemade, homegrown food!! Everything was homemade or from the farm except for the flour in the bread and the couscous! Impressive and exemplary way of living, if you ask me.

The main reason we got together, apart from the exquisite food, was to make apple juice. This year was a fantastic year for fruit trees. These apples were organic and homegrown or wild. It was a day of apple juicing indeed! They had made 100 liters of juice before Philippe and I arrived, and with Philippe’s apples from his Mother’s house, we made another 100 liters! We brought home 95 liters. With this experience I have gotten closer to understanding where our food comes from, never will I drink apple juice nor see it, in the same way. Now I understand so much more.

This Fall has been particularly good for apples, so many apples!

Pasturizing 35 liters of freshly pressed apple juice. 

My mind, senses, and gut are exponentially expanding while here in France. I truly hadn’t tasted apple juice (I feel like that about a lot of foods I try here) until last night when I took a taste of what we had juiced. It was sweet, pronounced, a golden syrupy refreshing delight. It was real and pure juice, microorganisms and all. I did feel a little bubbling and gas in my stomach, but that just shows that it is a living food and that my body will get innoculated with more good bacteria and therefore my gut and immune system will be stronger. I will have some pasturization to experiment with tomorrow, to conserve the juice without adding preservatives.

It was a traditional juicing machine, made of wood and iron. It was gorgeous. You place chopped pieces of apple in, a lot, this spliced wooden barrel thing. And then with pressure from wooden blocks above, you turn this iron rod and the rod and screw pushes down on the wood and the apple pieces are compressed, so juices start flowing out. It’s pretty amazing. My phone died so I couldn’t take a picture, but actually, it was kind of nice, just living in the moment and enjoying the process of it all and the company of such kind people.

Today, is the 6th anniversary of Garden Gallivanter, this blog which I began when my heart struck a match with gardening and has fueled this fire of my life in the most profound, life-changing ways I never could have imagined. It has also burned down old habits, patterns of thinking, of being, old ways maybe not so good for me, people around me and the environment; I have been able to rebuild a new life of exquisite tastes and textures.  Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, I am reborn. It hasn’t been easy nor has it always been beautiful.  But I choose to keep remembering, to keep coming back to all that is beautiful, when it gets hard and desperate. I choose to embody the phoenix rising from the ashes. 

Village Street Art: Hold my hand and don't let go. 

Dinner party/housewarming with Daniel et Sylvaine.

Mon amour Jorris avec les petits chatons.

I will also be turning 30 in a few days. And, I really feel 30. It’s wonderful, to have made it this far. It’s wonderful to be married, to have moved to France, to be creating organic products I love and believe in with all my being. When I think about it, I think how lucky I am to have lived 3 decades, experiencing this crazy thing called life. That is a lot of years, months, weeks, days, hours, minutes and seconds I have had the gift of experiencing. And now, I get to share these experiences and hopefully make new ones with mon amour, Jorris. I know you're reading this, my fantastic Garden Gallivanter fan, and je t'aime. 

Most of all, I think of all my phenomenal family and friends who have been there for me and with me throughout my 3 decades of life, filling my life up with stories, with unforgettable memories, with unconditional love. I think of my mom, dad, grandparents, brother, aunties, uncles, cousins, yogi friends and garden friends. Without this kind of love, the kind that moves mountains and splits sea water in half, I can say without a doubt, I wouldn’t be here, at 30, married and doing work I love here in France. This goes out to all of them, my family and friends, near and far, who continue to love and inspire me. And of course, this one goes out to you guys, my fellow readers, near and far. Thank you for growing with me through all these years. Happy Autumn!

Beeswax candles I made with apples. 

*Photos by Tiffanie Ma

June 13

It’s just after lunch. I steal away for a few minutes to our yurt for a well-earned and necessary self-manicure and to write. I’ve been back at work in the garden, getting the last of the: tomatoes, cabbage, squash, corn, lettuce and carrots into the ground. The soft, flour feel of soil in my hands and that earthy, humus smell is luxurious to experience once again. Of course, as a result of my luxurious activities in the garden, my hands and fingernails begged for my attention. 

Living close to nature means a scrumptious lunch of fresh, organic food!

Sitting on the edge of the windowsill with the window open, my computer on a chair so I can still type comfortably, I relish the warmth of the June sun on my back. A light breeze of fresh mountain air enters, swirling around my face as I take a breath and savor the moment. I’m here again. And everything is the same and different at the same time. 

It’s been a little over two weeks since I’ve been back in the Southern French Alps at Le Rucher Des Gorges de Daluis. Our little bee business is growing with new methods, a makeover, and fresh ideas. I take it slowly, earning my mountain legs again with each step up and down the hills of uneven terrain. My muscles remember though, so this week my legs don’t feel as sore. 

Jorris organized and cleaned spotless Le Miellerie ( the honey room).

Jorris made these shelves outside the Atelier to organize bee materials.

Picturesque: Wild flowers such as these coquelicots (poppies) color the land.

Surrounded by the eternal beauty of this land, this sky, these same particular wild flowers sprinkling colors of the rainbow all around, I bask in the realization that I get to be here again, in Villetale Haute, for another season of: beekeeping, gardening, cooking, adventuring and creating. 

Jorris and I are reunited after 4 months of being apart! It’s been a burst of joy, every meal together, every drive to the apiaries, every time he brings me coffee as I water the garden in the morning.  I haven’t been writing for a while. It’s been a long lull of writer's block between enormous waves of joy and sadness since I’ve last written here. My apologies for being away for so long.

Mon Amour et Moi, reunited.

In short, Jorris and I had a remarkable wwoofing journey in CA. We experienced the lives of several wonderful homesteaders and traveled almost to Oregon but had to turn back to be with my Auntie Jane during her last days. We are a close family and losing her has been tremendously painful. But I don’t feel like I’ve lost her. She is here with me, with us, and is ever more present in my life. She fought cancer for 3 years, against all odds, against all fear, against all darkness. She was the light and still is. 

My beautiful Auntie Jane & I on Mother's Day 2015.

After her passing, Jorris returned to Villetale to prepare for another season. I stayed back in L.A. to be with my family and to figure out my next move. I had found myself in a cloud of uncertainty and sadness. Jorris and I had been faced with the question of where to make a life for a while now. And, being an international couple, with visas to worry about, our time together has always been limited, with a pause lingering in the near future horizon, whether in France or California. Living in France seasonally is one thing, but living there, making a home and life there, away from my friends and family, that was a whole other beast, one I was not ready nor sure how to tackle. Jorris remains patient through my whims and waves of hypothetical questions, euphoric moments when seeds sprout, and all the rest in between. 

Since the timing of things happened that I was still in CA and my brother had some vacation time off, he and my mom and I decided to pack our bags and go to Asia! We went to Vietnam and Thailand.  It was a short but sweet trip together.

Outside Mom's old home in Da Nang, Vietnam. 

Original intricate bricks my Grandpa Lee picked out.
photo by: Kevin Ma

While in Asia, I gave myself time to discover a new land, people, and some of my Vietnamese roots. We got a chance to see the house where my mom grew up in Da Nang. Even the old intricate brick remains, which my Grandpa Lee picked out, according to mom when we walked through her old home which is now a Red Cross Center. It was spectacular to meet some distant relatives, cousins of my mom. Their kindness and hospitality were delightful. 

During this trip, I also gave myself time to reflect on whether or not life in the countryside of southern France, far from my family, is really for me. I thought, I’ll have an answer when I return to California. Even having returned to L.A., I found myself always thinking about France, though having my reservations about it at the same time. This aching in my heart wouldn’t cease no matter how much yoga I did or other busy stuff. My mind kept wandering and wondering about how things were going in Villetale Haute, and I had found it hard to live in the present moment. So I decided to listen to that aching and return to Villetale Haute and to Jorris. 

We can wonder and make pro/con charts and imagine how something could be, over and over, or we can actually live it, experience it, and see. Only then I think can we know or come close to knowing how we really feel about something. Putting a pause on life to figure things out first, to avoid making mistakes or the possibility of feeling pain, I have discovered is fruitless. 

I feel so much happier being here, rather than wondering about it in California. I feel much more mindful and present, more engaged with people and my environment, back to doing the things I enjoy and believe in. Even though Jorris and I don’t have all the answers, at least we are living life, working, sometimes whining, many times laughing, quite blissfully. 

It seems that the “figuring out” of life is in the living it, moment to moment. Even if those moments aren’t always happy, at least by living them presently and gracefully, we keep moving forward in the best way we know how with what we have, how we feel, and where we are.





*Photos by Tiffanie Ma unless otherwise noted.

Happy 4th Birthday Garden Gallivanter!!!!

We are mid-November and only today did it feel anything like Fall. It actually rained! And, it was cloudy, and you needed a jacket or sweater. It was divine. It sure hasn’t felt like this. The last few months had been nothing but scorching 80-90 F weather.  And with Christmas music already playing on the radio and X-mas trees and decor pouring into stores, it feels like everyone is rushing past Thanksgiving, as usual, and the weather last week had me feeling like it was Christmas in Summer?! I prefer Tim Burton's mix of Christmas and Halloween, at least during Halloween, it's cooler, well, supposedly. 

It's hard to stay connected to the natural rhythms of the earth when you live in Southern CA where it's almost always 70 F and sunny. Ok, so I can't complain. It's really gorgeous and many across the country and world would die to wear slippers and a tank top in November. But, not having real seasons can throw a girl off, especially a farm girl in the city.

But no more complaining, this week it’s going be Thanksgiving! My favorite holiday, not only because it’s my birthday a day before, after or sometimes when I’m lucky, on Thanksgiving, but also because, it is a day that reminds us to be grateful, to be thankful. I am so thankful for all the food I helped grow and cook from the garden to our table this past season! We expanded the garden up the hill and grew corn and lots of squash and beans and potatoes, lots of potatoes this year. 

In April, Philippe helped me prepare the lower garden for planting.

I love how every year you can start on a blank canvas. 

                                        

Jorris took time to help us build a tunnel-greenhouse for the tomatoes. 

I planted 60 or so tomatoes plants.

Growing tomatoes: cherry and coeur de beouf (beef heart)

By June/July, a tall and wild jungle of tomatoes.

Most our seedlings we got from our friends Evelyn and Sophie, and some other local seedling producers. They were so helpful in helping me select plants such as tomatoes which do well in mountain climates. I wish I had a picture of them. I may have one and if/when I find it, I'll share. They are the two kindest women I've met here and work incredibly hard growing seedlings for people to buy at the farmers' markets. In some ways, they are always with gardeners because their product continues to grow in people's backyards, beautifying and nurturing their homes and health.  

I planted these happy lettuce as babies and we had fresh lettuce to eat!

Jorris liked to wander and weed the garden from time to time. 

Cukes growing up a trellis, shading lettuce. 

Philippe taught me many little tricks here and there. Like this one shown above. We built this little trellis so that the les concombres (cukes) had something to grow on and when cukes appeared, they would hang, so we could see them. This way they were also protected from critters below who would munch on them if they were on the ground. And, the lettuce would have some shade. French companion planting at its finest!

Started from scratch in the upper garden. 

A few months later!!

Another trick Philippe taught me was to cover young seedlings with crates. This protected them from extreme weather and critters. I suppose Philippe's favorite vegetable is le courge, squash, or more botanically, the cucurbitaceae family. We planted tons of spaghetti squash and potimarron and les courgettes, which everyone eats here, like Americans eat apples. 

Squash is one of those veggies that just surprise you and hit you with that "wow!!" every time. They start off small and you check on them hoping they are bigger and then when you ignore them BOOM!  There is suddenly a huge le courge ready for harvest. 

Newly planted baby les courgettes and les courses.

Just weeks later...boom!

Corn and Squash growing happily together, the beans were also near by.

Beans in the foreground, squash and corn. 3 sisters!

Calendula flowers which I made Calendula oil with. 

Strawberries growing wild and we re-planted them.

Lots and lots of juicy strawberries!! 

Of course, I couldn’t have done so without these two. I’m so thankful to have shared another season of hard work on this bee farm in Southern France with the two hardest working men I have ever known. Philippe has been my teacher and Garden Wizard, cleaning a small part of forest growth so we could expand the garden above, and doing some hard earth cultivating in the garden below, helping me prepare the soil for planting.

The 3 Mountaineers of Villetale Haute, on Jorris and Philippe's bday in May.

We are a team that can do anything. They are two people who have taught me so much about nature, about life; they opened the door to another world for me and I see the world from a higher perspective and understanding because of all the people we have come across who have visited Villetale Haute. 

I am so thankful I had the honor of throwing them a birthday party this past May at the farm house where I cooked Deviled Eggs with creme fraiche, Guacamole (avocados from Pedro’s home country of Guatemala and his recipe he shared), vegetarian lasagna with garden veggies and last but certainly Jorris’ favorite, pumpkin pie I had frozen from un potimarron (little French sweet pumpkin) when I had first arrived the month prior. It was a feast, oh and did I mention the amazing company and wine, lots of wine…and champagne, and candle light, and how we talked and dined until midnight…or maybe it was even later...

Setting up the party: freshly picked wildflowers, candles.

Introduced Deviled Eggs with a French twist of creme fraiche to our guests.

It was a beautiful evening. 

It Jorris’ Big 30th birthday on May 27th, and Philippe, well, with his strength, spirit and heart, we could say he turned 30 again. Their birthdays are a week a part so we had joint birthday party. We had our closest neighbors and friends over. And everyone loved the food, so I was thrilled! And we all had a marvelous evening. Jorris was happy and so was Philippe. I was too, of course, luckily everything turned out well and our neighbors and friends Daniel and Sylvaine allowed me to use their big oven to cook the vegetarian lasagna in!

For Philippe's Bday, homemade chocolate brownies, card and wild flowers. 

Cooking the veggie lasagna at Daniel and Syvaine's house. 

Garden fresh salad along and veggie lasagne. 

Our neighbors, friends and guests of the party. 

Sometimes when it gets to be too "city-ish" here, and with only 1 day left until Jorris arrives for the Holidays and our next adventure, I get giddy and look back on pictures of this season, coming to a close with our bees moved to the coast where they will hibernate over the Winter while we take a break. 

We somehow managed to build 2 yurts with the help of the one and only Pedro, while juggling the bee business, garden, hosting wwoofers and building upon a new natural beauty line.

For the past 2 months, Jorris and I have been talking on the phone mostly every day. We finally skyped a few weeks ago when he got a new computer because his old one was damaged from a leak in the yurt. Seeing him after not seeing him for a while made him seem more real, that this story, our story is still alive, despite being an Ocean apart. He looks the same, handsome with a bohemian twist. His hair looks longer and more wild, his beard as well. I love scrolling through pictures of our times in Provence...."working"....we really did work, these pictures captures the moments before or after our work!

Jorris during at one of our date nights.

Provence.....

Not a bad place to be stuck when your car breaks down....

Jorris the chef on our lunch break after working with bees in Provence.

Our camping bed during the few days we would work in Provence.

Le Lac de St. Croix, where we went swimming. 

The sunflowers we stopped to smell on the road to Provence. 

This is heaven.

Time really does fly, more like free falls. This time last year I was still in the French Alps and it was getting cold. I remember the trees were stunningly on fire with leaves of reds, oranges and yellows. You could feel the cold creep up in the air and everything just slowed down a bit. The bees were moved to the coast, the season coming to an end. Fall is a favorite time for farmers I’ve discovered. We can take a moment to breathe, to reflect, to be more present with our loved ones, friends and family. And while I am not with my French friends, I still think and remember them often, and the beautiful Summer we had.

I’ve been keeping myself busy but when I get lonely I like looking back on our accomplishments of the season. These are some of my favorite memories which I am so thankful for…and without which I would not be my 28 year old self in 6 days and without which my blog, my baby, wouldn’t be its 4 year old self today.   

Like those trips to the coast we would make...all the beauty I witnessed. 

Staying at Jean Claude's in St. Raphael where Pablo Picasso painted!!

Philippe spots a fox in L'Esterel!

L'esterel is a most magnificent natural park right on to coast. Home to foxes, bees and les sangliers!! Philippe and I were so honored to witness them so closely when we went to harvest rosemary to make rosemary essential oil one Sunday afternoon in May.

Pat follows us to a market in Puget.

Where cute little bunnies are sold as food! :(

And speaking of food, I can't forget to be thankful for all the amazing food I made in the grand company of our many wwoofers.

Ysé and Arnaud with Kan in the back of the J9. 

Just one of Ysé's amazing dishes; this one is very Provencal!

Bread from Cedric and Stephanie!

Just one of many date lunches w/Jorris. Pate avec ceps!

Our fabulous wwoofer Isabelle taught me how to make an Apricot tart!

Tarte d'abricot! Apricot tarte with almond flour crust and lavender flowers.

I love those moments of breathtaking beauty that imprint in my mind, forever.

Just another day in Villetale Haute.

My beeswax candle I made!

Jorris and I in Roua where some of our hives were.

When we hiked to a little church w/Katie, our wonderful wwoofer from Canada.

Daluis

Just glorious views all the time. 

I'll never forget when my beautiful friend Kat came to visit me all the way from LA. We met about 4 years ago at Garden School Foundation where we were interns. This Portland transplant is the one of the most sweetest and most beautiful people I am so lucky to know. And we had a blast!

Kat's first evening in Provence, straight from the airport to the lavender fields! 

Kat is the kind of person who just inspires you to do anything! To live BIG, love BIG, and never fear! She inspired me to make a little video of the glorious drive through the Gorges de Daluis, which was our main "freeway". I wish the quality were better, but this is just a sketch of the gloriousness of this drive.

One afternoon we went swimming down in the Gorge in the Var river!

Isn't she just divine?

Ok, so you are probably wondering why we ate so much pizza in France, but that is because we lived right next to Italy in the south east of France, and so found pizza just as delicious as in Italy.

Pizza at the best pizza place in the world, the Guillaumes campsite.

Pizza and beer after swimming on a Saturday=perfect. 

Philippe joined Kat and I after distilling Lavender oil. 

Philippe, while a little macho some times, respects and believes in the power of women. I've always known this, but this instance really celebrated this quality of his. One day the Laguna got stuck on the side of the road going up to the farm house. And we couldn't get it back on the road. So Philippe asked Kat and I to wake up at 6am to help tow it off the side. It took 3 people, 2 quatre-quatre four wheel drive trucks and some rope. I drove the blue truck, Philippe the white, and Kat was in the Laguna, to steer.

Making our own tow. 

Kat ready to go. 

The laguna fallen to the side of the road and stuck. Kat steers.

With a few revs of the engine, the brake-release trick, a touch of the clutch, then full gas, and 2 tries later, we did it!! Philippe never gave up on us. It all sort of happened all at once and fast, so my writing skills aren't really capturing the fullness of it. But, just know we used lots of horse power to pull this car back onto the road and it took the right timing between the two trucks to pull. It was so exhilarating! Kat was such a trooper. She woke up early and even with the car, literally tilted to the side, she still got in like my great, one-and-only, friend Kat would.

Although last Fall while I was not used to wearing jackets and layers during November back in southern CA, it was a different story in the southern French Alps. A story I still couldn’t put down then. And one I still don’t want to end now.

So I’ll keep writing it, living it. We’ll keep writing it together, Jorris and I. What’s the next chapter you wonder? We’re on the road again, WWOOFing this time through California, discovering the possibilities of a countryside life here. And as someone once said, “when you don’t know what to expect, anything is possible.”

Cheers to all my readers near and far. I am so thankful to have this virtual space to write and share my stories with you. Thank you for all your support and inspiration. I wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving!!

Cheers to all my readers!!

Always Your Garden Gallivanter, Chef, Beekeeper,

Tiffanie

*Photos by Tiffanie Ma otherwise stated.