Our first rotation called Basic Block has ended and Monday will start our Rotation I in which I'll switch locations from the Up Garden to the Down (... a bit of garden speak for you). The weeks have been full. So have the sinuses. At the farm we share most everything- including the hacking cough and sinus congestion that has been going around. I caught the fever the beginning of last week- and fought it off with vigor (and loads of ginger, lemon, garlic & some Chinese herbs). Meanwhile I continued with some work and many lectures- specifically learning of mechanical tillage, the ever loving cover crop and the trials and joys of fruit trees. We've thinned, thinned and thinned some more. The descriptions of the tastes, flavors and textures of over 150 apple varieties at the farm lend their ear to discriptives of a wine tasting. Who would think past the 5 or 6 familiar varieties on the super market shelf? I can't wait to delight my taste buds come September. Peaches, pears, apricots, plums... the lists continue. Stone fruits, poms, thinning, pruning, leaf curl, dwarf trees, aphids, codling moth, M111, rootstock, scion, fruit baring capacity and alternate baring... Ask me anything! I can't promise I can regurgitate an answer just yet, but chances are the answer has filtered through my ears at some point in the past few weeks.
Sunday night I ventured with some fellow farmies out and about to Monterey to catch some Po'Girls live music. I never imagined the clarinet could look so sexy and sound so soothing. Nothing like a good venue, some tasty beer and sweet music to soothe the soul.
At the farm we rotate chores and duties. We also take turns with cooking responsibilities. Monday was my first day to cook- tag teaming with my friend Corey. I'm not sure which is more tiring, double digging beds in the UP garden or cooking all day for 40+ people. A day of cooking involves waking up before 5am, heating up the water at the farm center and getting breakfast out by 6:30am. Who would have thought a simple
breakfast of oatmeal and tea could have been so challenging? I not only managed to burn the oatmeal once.. but twice!! (where is Sonya when you need her?) Nothing a bit of rice milk, spices and honey couldn't (mostly) mask. On the menu: homemade chai, (slightly burnt) oatmeal, strawberries with fresh mint, kiwis, and matzah brei. Despite the power going out around 9:37am and our progressively complicated menu, the day only got better and the meals more successful despite the rough start. Lunch time: Lentil salad, brown rice with mint, green salad & very popular squash bread. Cookie Fairy treats entailed raw seed balls (nice energy boost!) and as I returned from delivering cookies to the various sites I found the power back on!! By 4:20pm or so I was so tired and my feet so sore I would have easily cashed it in there... but dinner still had to get done and out by 6:30pm. Dinner: caramelized onion & fennel flat bread, chard/kale soup, rosemary croutons & quinoa salad. Delicious! I REALLY appreciate the cooks each and every day- especially since the heat is settling in.
At the farm we rotate chores and duties. We also take turns with cooking responsibilities. Monday was my first day to cook- tag teaming with my friend Corey. I'm not sure which is more tiring, double digging beds in the UP garden or cooking all day for 40+ people. A day of cooking involves waking up before 5am, heating up the water at the farm center and getting breakfast out by 6:30am. Who would have thought a simple
breakfast of oatmeal and tea could have been so challenging? I not only managed to burn the oatmeal once.. but twice!! (where is Sonya when you need her?) Nothing a bit of rice milk, spices and honey couldn't (mostly) mask. On the menu: homemade chai, (slightly burnt) oatmeal, strawberries with fresh mint, kiwis, and matzah brei. Despite the power going out around 9:37am and our progressively complicated menu, the day only got better and the meals more successful despite the rough start. Lunch time: Lentil salad, brown rice with mint, green salad & very popular squash bread. Cookie Fairy treats entailed raw seed balls (nice energy boost!) and as I returned from delivering cookies to the various sites I found the power back on!! By 4:20pm or so I was so tired and my feet so sore I would have easily cashed it in there... but dinner still had to get done and out by 6:30pm. Dinner: caramelized onion & fennel flat bread, chard/kale soup, rosemary croutons & quinoa salad. Delicious! I REALLY appreciate the cooks each and every day- especially since the heat is settling in.Wednesday was another outing- as far as Seabright beach in SC- to do some birthday celebrating complete with a bonfire. So all the exhaustion doesn't necessarily come from back breaking garden labor.... but a fair amount does come from the fact that it's warmed up 20-30 degrees in the last week. I'm not complaining as this won't be the norm all summer, but so much sun and sweat does make farm work a bit more challenging. Though nothing a break of cool kiwis can't cure.
Thursday I was lucky enough to go get a bee swarm that had landed in town. Truly amazing to watch those bees marching into the hive as we set the box on the ground.
I boogied down to San Fran this weekend to meet up with my friend Rob and experience Bay2Breakers. Nothing like a little San Francisco fun. I've now had my fill of crazy druckin' debauchery and am ready to settle back into farm life for another week. Back to hands in the soil.
Until next time- I hope your days are happy, healthy and piled with loads of good food.
love and hugs all around-
ps- I've attached more links to my pictures. My only regret is that I can't take a picture of the lovely smells the citrus trees are throwing around and the incredibly sweet, soft roses. Hope you can come visit soon!
1 comment:
Oh, homemade chai! That would get me up in the morning...
Thanks for the update!
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