I’m back! It’s been nearly two-and-a-half years since the last post. I don’t remember who subscribes to this blog, but we’ve moved away from Sebastopol — from that beautiful half-acre oasis — and are back in the Bay Area. We’re in the East Bay, in Berkeley, and really love our neighborhood.

My daughter is now 4, and she’s in preschool. It’s a co-op, and parents are actively involved in the school community, and some parents even volunteer for half-days at school, assisting alongside the four teachers. This reduces the tuition cost a bit. It’s a great school, and we love it. I’m in charge of maintaining the school garden, and a few weeks ago, I planted two vegetable beds with some fall crops: little gem and supergreens lettuce, pink and orange Swiss chard, lacinto kale, and dill and chives in one bed, and then broccoli, purple broccoli, broccolini, Chinese yellow stem celery, purple and orange cauliflower, leeks, marigolds, and African blue basil. I also created a little harvest/Halloween-themed fairy herb garden with sage, oregano, and parsley.

Obviously the name and domain of this blog, Little Chalet Farm and Where the Gravensteins Are, no longer makes sense! (Sebastopol is known for its Gravenstein apples.) I’m not sure what changes I’ll make to it yet, and when. I don’t have much time these days to take photos, write, and post on various blogs like I used to. But I’ll try to document the progress of our school garden this year.