My alarm clock goes off about 6:30am and I make my way downstairs in the farmhouse. I have a quick drink, then feed the chickens and dog. Its nice to see that local farmers do indeed raise 'happy' chickens. I actually had a chance to stop by a 'cage-free' egg farm outside of Portland on my way here, and I have to say that I will try to never buy eggs from a store again. Instead of the pack of terrified looking chickens crammed into a space that barely allows the chickens to turn around without hitting three other chickens, the farm I'm on has a large, fenced in, area for them to play and forage on their own (they fly in and out of the area as they please but the fence protects them from the random coyote). Note that I am comparing the chickens here to the 'cage-free organic' variety (the egg farm I stopped by was a an Eggland's Best supplier, a Whole Foods brand). But I digress. I'll get to that a bit later.
After the household chores are done, I get started on my day's work early. This way I spend less of my time working during the hottest parts of the day. One day we planted tomatoes in a garden bed. We start by pulling out all the weeds and dead plants (our host farm is so backed up that a lot of the herbs and plants they planted weren't harvested in time) to put in the compost heap. We have to 'sow' the ground by using a pitchfork (the ground is hard and compacted. It needs to be broken up). We then spread fresh compost and soak the ground with water. Every time I shovel compost I find myself humming 'Gravedigger' for two reasons; it reminds me of the time I had to fill in a grave by myself at a Jewish funeral, and secondly, after doing it for a few minutes I think I may have a heart attack. After prepping the ground, you dig up holes, plant the tomatoes and water again.
This can take a couple of hours. Oddly enough, the most draining activity isn't the compost shoveling (which we first load in a wheelbarrow and have to haul around the farm). Being on your hands and knees while digging out the holes to plant in is brutal. The sun is baking your back and its such an unnatural way to work, you can't get into a rhythm. We have done that a couple of times already, along with other random jobs. Yesterday I spent 4 hours washing out nursery planters (the little pots you buy herbs in at a farmers market). By the end of it, I felt like I had inhaled the whole bottle of bleach.
Our main duties are done around 12:30pm and then we are off until late afternoon. We generally lounge around and read, with an occasional nap. I polished off 'The Omnivore's Dilemma' and started 'The Art of Happiness' (a book about the Dalai Lama's teachings). Both have been excellent reads. I feel like the last few years I got away from reading enriching books. Its good to have them back in my life.
At about 4:30pm, we head back out and take care of any miscellaneous chores needed to be done on the farm. Then we water all the plants in the nursery and head in to prepare dinner. Our hostess is actually a great cook and we've had some amazing, yet simple dinners together. Today I'm making some barbecue chicken and roasted veggies. I've been brining the chicken the last few hours in a mix mostly made up of herbs grown right here, and am really excited to see how it comes out.
I think I've had more salad in the two weeks on the farm then I'd had the whole year. Every dinner has a large salad and about half the lunches as well. Its not just the salads that have been a change, but many of the mains. We've had vegetable casseroles, Japanese veggie pancakes and vegetable samosas. Its been refreshing. We probably only have chicken or meat three times a week between lunches and dinners (that might sound like alot to some people, but thats an extreme change for me).
Lets get back to my previous musing. I would suggest that everyone read 'An Omnivore's Dilemma.' While it is a very strong indictment of our current food chain, the author (Michael Pollan) isn't trying to convert you to any other agenda. He is simply showing the hazards of most food from the conventional food trade, the fallacies of the organic trade, and the virtues of the local trade. He acknowledges that most of us will still rely on the two former trades, as the local trade is hard pressed to supply us. But we must be cognizant of what we are doing and change what we can (e.g. I will never eat a chicken nugget again, or buy 'cage-free' or conventional eggs).
So thats life for me in a nutshell. I'm leaving this farm tomorrow and hitchiking to our next 'farm' near Hebo, OR. The next place is more of a wildlife sanctuary then a farm. I have no idea what we will be doing, but it should be an experience. Along the way Eva and I will be doing a couple of days of trekking in Oswald State Park. Should be deathly fun.
After the household chores are done, I get started on my day's work early. This way I spend less of my time working during the hottest parts of the day. One day we planted tomatoes in a garden bed. We start by pulling out all the weeds and dead plants (our host farm is so backed up that a lot of the herbs and plants they planted weren't harvested in time) to put in the compost heap. We have to 'sow' the ground by using a pitchfork (the ground is hard and compacted. It needs to be broken up). We then spread fresh compost and soak the ground with water. Every time I shovel compost I find myself humming 'Gravedigger' for two reasons; it reminds me of the time I had to fill in a grave by myself at a Jewish funeral, and secondly, after doing it for a few minutes I think I may have a heart attack. After prepping the ground, you dig up holes, plant the tomatoes and water again.
This can take a couple of hours. Oddly enough, the most draining activity isn't the compost shoveling (which we first load in a wheelbarrow and have to haul around the farm). Being on your hands and knees while digging out the holes to plant in is brutal. The sun is baking your back and its such an unnatural way to work, you can't get into a rhythm. We have done that a couple of times already, along with other random jobs. Yesterday I spent 4 hours washing out nursery planters (the little pots you buy herbs in at a farmers market). By the end of it, I felt like I had inhaled the whole bottle of bleach.
Our main duties are done around 12:30pm and then we are off until late afternoon. We generally lounge around and read, with an occasional nap. I polished off 'The Omnivore's Dilemma' and started 'The Art of Happiness' (a book about the Dalai Lama's teachings). Both have been excellent reads. I feel like the last few years I got away from reading enriching books. Its good to have them back in my life.
At about 4:30pm, we head back out and take care of any miscellaneous chores needed to be done on the farm. Then we water all the plants in the nursery and head in to prepare dinner. Our hostess is actually a great cook and we've had some amazing, yet simple dinners together. Today I'm making some barbecue chicken and roasted veggies. I've been brining the chicken the last few hours in a mix mostly made up of herbs grown right here, and am really excited to see how it comes out.
I think I've had more salad in the two weeks on the farm then I'd had the whole year. Every dinner has a large salad and about half the lunches as well. Its not just the salads that have been a change, but many of the mains. We've had vegetable casseroles, Japanese veggie pancakes and vegetable samosas. Its been refreshing. We probably only have chicken or meat three times a week between lunches and dinners (that might sound like alot to some people, but thats an extreme change for me).
Lets get back to my previous musing. I would suggest that everyone read 'An Omnivore's Dilemma.' While it is a very strong indictment of our current food chain, the author (Michael Pollan) isn't trying to convert you to any other agenda. He is simply showing the hazards of most food from the conventional food trade, the fallacies of the organic trade, and the virtues of the local trade. He acknowledges that most of us will still rely on the two former trades, as the local trade is hard pressed to supply us. But we must be cognizant of what we are doing and change what we can (e.g. I will never eat a chicken nugget again, or buy 'cage-free' or conventional eggs).
So thats life for me in a nutshell. I'm leaving this farm tomorrow and hitchiking to our next 'farm' near Hebo, OR. The next place is more of a wildlife sanctuary then a farm. I have no idea what we will be doing, but it should be an experience. Along the way Eva and I will be doing a couple of days of trekking in Oswald State Park. Should be deathly fun.
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