Farm Oasis

Many if not all Peace Corps 'extension' programs ask that a nominee continue to gain experience in whatever field they were nominated for before gaining an official invitation. For me that was at least three months of exposure in an agriculture related field (greenhouse, farming, gardening, forestry, beekeeping, ect.). I graduated from college on May 27th and miraculously the next week started a job at a local organic farm. I describe it as miraculous because I could not have self-designed a better learning, working, thriving, exposure to everything I could have ever dreamed of environment. And it really did fall into my lap.

The farm is certified organic with over 40+ vegetables with many different varieties of each of those types, 10+ different fruits, 15+ herbs, a whole host of critters running around...chickens of all types, alpaca and pygmy goats, cats, and dogs. I could call this my dirtiest summer yet because there was not one day when I came home clean. Tasks ranged from planting, weeding, picking, plotting, trimming, arranging, weeding again for the produce, shearing the goats, trimming hooves, washing and dyeing yarn made from a mixture of mohair and wool, canning jams, cleaning barns, professional goat and chicken catcher, and yes butchering chickens.

Rows of Tomatoes & Bean 

                                                                          Watermelons!!

Sally and Art, the people who make it all happen at the farm, have taught me everything I know about farming and I can't even begin to tell them all that they have done for me this summer. Sally has taught me how to love soil, to love having dirt under my fingernails, to marvel at the small changes in plant growth, to live at a slower and more appreciated pace, to understand the body's craving for colors and nutrition from our food, to appreciate the work we can do and forgive ourselves for the work that doesn't happen, she has taught me the beauty and importance of lunch, and to laugh about the little things. Art has taught me to completely clean a chicken, which in this era is a purposely forgotten life-skill making us vulnerable to large scale chicken industries. He has taught me how to laugh at myself and be critical and analyse topics I once took for granted, to see a gorgeous huge sweet pepper or sweet potato and say "holy shitt would you look at that beauty....isn't that a beauty..."    Haley and Mark have been such pleasures to work with, whether its "diving" into a weed patch with Haley or digging a whole row of potatoes and getting barely a pound with Mark.  Its been a truly amazing summer/fall and I wish it didn't have to end for there is much left to learn.

Patchenheimer/Patchy/Hapatchy, the farm's terror kitten 

                                                              aahh, pretty swiss chard

                                                                  Eat & Buy Local!