Saturday, August 22, 2009

Portland is amazing. We walk down the streets and pick fruit to eat along the way. My friends are fabulous, we make food, create music, dance and ride bikes. They remind me what kind of people I need to stick with. People aren't worth your time if they make you feel like shit or don't have your back.

We play charades and have poetry nights. They encourage the ridiculous songs I make up. They let me draw them their future girlfriends late at night and pick me up off the bathroom floor when I've fallen asleep on it. They offer respect, not cruelty. Its what everyone needs in friendships.

We listen to our myriad collections of records, from Louis Armstrong to The Pixies to Crime in Stereo to John Prine. We're all individuals yet all connected. I love it here.

Osit left on Wednesday so now its just Mel and me visiting. A friend of theirs is staying where Osit was so I've created a little nest for myself in the breakfast nook. I sleep on a smooshed air mattress and write haikus. I'm reading a comic called The Walking Dead about Zombies. Its amazing.

Later on this week we'll be camping up in Olympia national park. Its supposed to be absolutely beautiful and I can't wait. I got very used to never using my wallet, and its getting thinner the longer I'm here in Portland.

I've begun looking into organic farming apprenticeships in New York and New England. I can feel that I'm on the wrong coast here. It doesn't feel quite right. Every day I feel like I'm carrying the distance in my torso. I know my family is far away, I'm in a completely different time zone and I don't understand a damn thing about the local geography. Tornadoes happen here. The Pacific is far away, and you can't just jump right into it. Its too cold. Salmon is fresh here, but Lobster isn't even heard of. It just feels strange.

These guys are all into the idea of me starting my own farm. Building our own buildings and sustaining ourselves. Creating a community for the local area to come and experience and work with. That's another thing I miss being here- lack of farming. I miss working with my body, with the ground. Having a set schedule which my body loves and thrives in. I miss waking up with the sun and setting along side it. I'll be able to do that soon enough.

If you want to hear a new song I wrote, go to the tinysheep myspace:

If you want to see a few photos of the boys and their house, you can read Mel's blog:

Friday, August 14, 2009

PORTLAND!

We've had quite an exciting few days. We left Carol's on Wednesday after harvesting all day, and headed west towards Yellowstone. We ended up hating it there and leaving early. We knew full well that it is a super volcano and reeks of methane from the hot springs, so we didn't like the constant scent of our imminent death. We couldn't find anywhere around the park to camp, since the grizzly bear population is so large you can't camp without a hard-sided tent (aka an RV), so we had to head into Montana and spent the night there.

The next morning we left early in the AM and ended up deciding to just head towards Seattle, but since we couldn't get in touch with Mary, we headed to Portland! In all, we drove for 14 hours on Thursday. We drove through 4 mountain ranges in 36 hours, a desert, and along the Columbia river.

The pictures are backwards of our trip. Mike and Mel on the porch in Portland. My dear, dear Montana. Panda hugging a rock East of Yellowstone. Me in the Big Horn Mountains. Me driving away from Wyoming.





Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Leaving Clear Creek Tomorrow

And I don't want to go, not one bit. Carol and Bob have been so amazingly kind to us, as people and as mentors. We've learned a ton about gardening, have had wonderful opportunities to experience what life would be like if we became gardeners or farmers. This experience has been amazing. We've been weeding, preparing beds, planting, harvesting, cooking. All aspects of the food cycle. We've learned about predators and companion plants, sacrifice crops. I'm just so incredibly grateful for this experience.

Tonight Carol and Bob had us over there house with our roommate, Lauren, and they had their friend Bernie over who cooked us an absolutely amazing meal. My stomach is protruding a good 3 inches past its normal mark. Bernie is half Indian and she cooked us a number of curry dishes, a cucumber yogurt salad, and a delicious pistachio bar.

Tomorrow we'll work in the morning to help harvest for the CSA, and then we'll come back to the trailer and pack our things. We'll be heading to Yellowstone, then Seattle, and then finally Portland! I'm excited about moving on, but its bittersweet because we've loved this place so much.

One of the best parts about this experience is it has made me realize I am interested in continuing learning about agriculture and farming. I'd like to go on and do an apprenticeship at an organic farm, and I hope that I'll be able to start my own farm within the next 2 or 3 years. I've already started planning start-up expenses, CSA plans and looking up farmers markets.

If anyone is interested in learning about farming and young farmers today, look at thegreenhorns.net, there will be a movie coming out about young farmers in the Hudson Valley of NY. It has ton of info on starting a farm as well as the current movement of the young farmers in the US.

Thursday, August 6, 2009

hoooooome home on the raaaaaaange

Today has been a weird day, what from I'm not sure, maybe the weird weather or the moon, but I've felt strange. All day I was tired and having arguments with myself in my head about anything I could think of. At one point I got so worked up I had to climb down from the ladder where I was painting and sit for a second. I haven't gotten like that in forever, its a strange place to be, making arguments in your head about all the issues of the world.

When Mel and I got overwhelmed we decided to walk down to the creek, and I walked up it about 400 yards. Creeks are really interesting to look at and they're so quieting. They're too cold though, so the desire to lay down in it is not fulfilling once you do it. I do like that you can see down to the bottom and know where your feet are going and how deep the water is. With the sound you just get used to not knowing when your feet will stop touching the ground and you'll have to start swimming.

I also learned how to plant spinach today, which was so much fun. Spinach like soil high in nitrate and should be planted 4 inches apart, because they should be between 6-12 inches apart AFTER they've been thinned. They begin to sprout about a week to 12 days after they are initially planted.

There's a grass hopper infestation right now so we had to spray the area with a phosphate and then cover it up with netting. They're beginning to mate, which is creepy, and we're supposed to kill them mid-act so they don't go laying their eggs all over the garden for next year.

I'm beginning to get much stronger and feel so capable and healthy. We eat straight from the garden most days and I haven't had anything to drink since Omaha a week and a half ago. It feels like so much longer. I really love gardening and I love learning about running a business. Carol, the farm owner, is absolutely an amazing woman and I can't believe we've come in contact with her. She wants us to stay for longer or come back, maybe I will. I don't know what we're doing after Oregon. We have coffee every morning and she makes us lunch and we chat. We're learning all about her life and her husband's life here and in Alaska, and she imparts us with some gold nugget of life wisdom every day.

Tomorrow we're getting up early and harvesting for the Sheridan WY CSA. Then we'll be staying with Carol and her Husband in their house in town and go see a movie and look around. Apparently its a traditional western town with a bar called the Mint Bar which has been around for the longest time. Carol's parents met there, and her grandfather used to have drinks there when he'd take her grandmother in to town for the day. We're going to stick out like sore thumbs, but I'm really excited to see what the town version of Wyoming's all about.

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

For everyone I miss at home

I did a little dance for you:

What a wonderful wonderful world.

I will never starve with a pandy by my side.

Today was a busy day, and I loved every moment of it. We started work today at 6:30, gathering greens for the Buffalo (not Sheridan, that's Friday) CSA, painting, and fixing the structures that the storm had toppled in the garden. After a wonderful snack Melanie and I continued painting, until we finally quit around 3. We cleaned around the house a bit and then around 5 Carol brought us home- telling us all about Broke Back Mountain and birds in Wyoming. It was a long day, but we get to sleep in tomorrow, we have work at 8:30!

I love it here- Mel cooks me food, keeps me hydrated and healthy. We're gonna watch a River Runs Through It and think about the lovely west we're living in!

I haven't felt terribly homesick, but I do miss my family and friends- its hard when you're so used to constant easy contact to change to a land where cell phones don't work and you only have 3 hours a night to relax. This is growing up, huh.

I'm learning so much, and get to eat fresh from the garden. I can't wait until I find a place to settle and can start growing food for me and my neighbors.

This is a ramble, I will write more elaborately later. Just know that I'm really happy!

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Busy bee

6AM: Woken by plane spraying pesticides.

6.15-7.30: breakfast, getting ready for work.

7.30-9: coffee and garden walk at Mona's

9-3: Prop up tomatoes, paint trellis and top of house red.

3-5: Wild rain storm, eat with Bob and Carol

5-7: Relax a little, fix screens in trailer.

7-now: read news, relax, plan for tomorrow.

By the end of today, I was wiped. I can't think straight enough to write a lot. I'm loving it here though. The people are so friendly and open, and they're extremely willing to tell us about their pasts and their current lifestyles. This is what I was looking for in a WWOOFing experience, it seems we have found wonderful mentors here.

Tomorrow we will be harvesting greens and some tomatoes and turnips for the CSA in Sheridan. We'll leave the house by 6:15 to make sure we have all of the veggies harvested, cleaned and bagged by 11. Then we should finish painting the house/trellis. My little bunk bed seems to be overly toasty, and I'm craving a brisk night.

The storm today was absolutely beautiful and unlike anything I've ever seen. The expansive terrain makes it easy to see the beginnings of a storm far off, and also facilitates strong winds. The storm came swooping over the hills with 30 mile an hour wind, strong rain and threat of hail, and bright and loud lightning.
We sat with Bob and Carol as they calculated whether the hail was going to hit the farm, and whether or not the storm was going to pass through quickly or stick around. We counted lighting along with them and listened to their stories about the terrible hail storm that ruined their entire crop last year.

I'm listening to this now, as I get ready for bed. I really love it here, and feel pleased to be here. Later this week we will go to Sheridan to Carol and Bob's "town" house, spend the night and hang about town.

Enjoy! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9B-h1EEsKDA

Woken up

by a crop duster flying over our trailer at sunrise. Hello rural America.

Monday, August 3, 2009

Home, for a week.

Here's the trailer where we're staying:




We'll be here for a little more than a week, in the foothills of the big horn mountains of Wyoming. I'm really enjoying it!

I'm feeling lazy now, but read mel's blog for updates: onlybirdseed.blogspsot.com

Sunday, August 2, 2009

Clear Creek Farms!!!

We made it! The place we were going to spend the night creeped us out so we decided to leave. They were going to make us camp in a small yard by the restaurant instead of in the regular camping area because apparently the spaces were only for RVs. The entire place was empty and it was right next to the highway, where a million bikers were riding all around. So, we left and called Carol LeResche, the owner of the farm and she told us we were welcome to come a night early.

We'll be getting up at 5:30 tomorrow to start working by 6, and we'll be tying up tomato plants to keep crickets away. Its absolutely beautiful here, Carol lives in a one room cabin by the creek, and the farm is small but bountiful. Tonight we're staying in her office, and tomorrow we'll be moving into the trailer where WWOOFERs usually stay.

Heck yea!

WYOMING

In Wyoming now, leave for the farm tomorrow. Can't upload pictures for some reason, so check out our flickr!

flickr.com/ifshecan

We're right at Devils Tower, the US' first national monument. We can see it from our small campsite. Spent last 2 days in the Black Hills, which were absolutely beautiful. We fixed our tent with duct tape, I'm not sure it will hold up in strong winds again, but for now it suffices.

All of South Dakota is being swarmed by packs and packs of bikers, as it is the Sturgis Biker Rally this weekend. Had we known this, we would have never come. They're impossible to avoid, and their presence here has jacked up all the prices. They're like giant ants traveling in long trailing packs all over this area of the US.

I'll be glad to be on the farm tomorrow- I'm ready to work and learn some more. PLUS- we get our own bedrooms! Thats basically the greatest luxury I could imagine right now.

Oh, here's my twitpic of me and devil's tower:

Saturday, August 1, 2009

YA DUSTY OL' FART


Missin' Omaha in South Dakota. It was truly a great place with some truly awesome dudes. Wish we could've stayed longer, but its better to leave before one outstays their welcome.

We drove through the night and made it to the badlands around 9:30 Omaha time, after leaving around 1:30. We had stayed later to see a great basement show with the dudes, and then got late night food at Alvarados with Tyler and Mitchell in Council Bluffs. They showed us how to get to 29 and we were off on our way!

Driving all night was intense, but we did it safely. We set up our tent at Sage Creek and passed out until 5PM. Made some rice and beans for dinner and went back to sleep shortly after the sun set, listening to coyotes howl.

We were woken up around 6:30 to grunting bison- those animals are gigantic and would come relatively close to the campsites, it was beautiful.
Around 10 we left for the other side of the park to hike, and we hiked through an amazing canyon which overlooked an expansive part of the badlands. It was absolutely beautiful, and exhilarating to hike something slightly dangerous.

When we returned around 3 the wind had gotten so strong one of the poles on the tent splintered, forcing it all to collapse. It was beginning to rain, and the wind was a bit scary, so we just decided to pack all our stuff up, laughing as we did it, and drove on off towards the Black Hills. We stopped at Wall, which was terrifying, and continued on our way.

We stayed in a Borders in Rapid City for a while, and finally found a motel that could fit us around 9 tonight. Its been a long and amazing day.

This has been a relatively uninspired post, so I'll post some pictures: