Today, we worked fast, because it rained on and off on Monday, and the weather report anticipated more for, well, today. Speed was of the essence, as if we didn't finish setting up the farmstand and CSA, we wouldn't be able to clear the beds for planting, and the seedlings HAD to be in before the rain. We also had a limited time frame for stringing up the tomatoes, because though they cannot be strung up while wet, they need to be contained before they grow too large.
Tom, the assistant farmer, wasn't here today. I suppose I should explain about Tom. See, Tom used to be a full-time farmer, but he retired. So now he's on the board that runs the CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), and he assists in the running of the farm. Cool, huh?
So we worked fast, focusing on preparing for the planting and above all working ourselves into a frenzy, and....
No rain.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Saturday
My cousin from Florida decided to help today, and with her plus a sudden influx of volunteers, we had a large workforce. We spread out and started weeding, which always needs to be done, especially in the wake of a rainstorm that helps the bastards grow.
My group were regulars, me, Jeremy, and Josh. While we weeded, we talked about music, discussing bands, genres, and venues, asking each other things like 'ever hear of X?', and 'Ever seen a show at Y?' They recommended some...eccentric bands and some good, smaller venues to see them in.
Afterwards, my cousin and I headed home leaving the rest of the weeding to those who stayed.
My group were regulars, me, Jeremy, and Josh. While we weeded, we talked about music, discussing bands, genres, and venues, asking each other things like 'ever hear of X?', and 'Ever seen a show at Y?' They recommended some...eccentric bands and some good, smaller venues to see them in.
Afterwards, my cousin and I headed home leaving the rest of the weeding to those who stayed.
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Friday
Worked to morning half day, as my cousin came in to visit in the afternoon. We worked inside the barn today, which was awesome. See, the old barn is going to get rebuilt, so we had to...disassemble the place.
There was a wall, y'see, made entirely of boxes nailed together, and first we used a crowbar and sledgehammer to separate the wall(I used the sledgehammer), then I got to use the sledgehammer to break the boxes into pieces of scrap wood to take to the dump. Dirty, exhausting, FUN work, that lasted me the entire morning.
There was a wall, y'see, made entirely of boxes nailed together, and first we used a crowbar and sledgehammer to separate the wall(I used the sledgehammer), then I got to use the sledgehammer to break the boxes into pieces of scrap wood to take to the dump. Dirty, exhausting, FUN work, that lasted me the entire morning.
Friday, July 18, 2008
Wednesday/Thursday
Two days where less got done, so I'll post them together.
On Wednesday, I arrived at nine due to being tired enough to warrant sleeping an extra half an hour. We worked the far reaches of the field, plucking raspberries to donate to the food pantry. Actually, we harvested almost everything for the food pantry, which is one of the big things the farm does for the community.
Thursday, and we spent the day selling produce, and bunching produce to be sold, and loading produce onto the truck to be taken and sold. During lunch, we played 'soccer', which consisted of one of the farm children kicking a soccer ball at us while we ate.
It was really, er, slightly more fun than it sounds.
On Wednesday, I arrived at nine due to being tired enough to warrant sleeping an extra half an hour. We worked the far reaches of the field, plucking raspberries to donate to the food pantry. Actually, we harvested almost everything for the food pantry, which is one of the big things the farm does for the community.
Thursday, and we spent the day selling produce, and bunching produce to be sold, and loading produce onto the truck to be taken and sold. During lunch, we played 'soccer', which consisted of one of the farm children kicking a soccer ball at us while we ate.
It was really, er, slightly more fun than it sounds.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Tuesday
Came into work at ten again, stayed till two. Shoulder pain is better, but not gone. Needs more icing.
We spent the remainder of the morning after I arrived harvesting lettuce, carrots, and the last of the sweet peas, which sadly are now going to be plowed under to make room for the next crop. We also began prepping some of the empty fields for planting.
At lunch, we chatted about vegetarians, vegans, lineages, and Judaism and ate a loaf of chocolate bread that my mother made for us.
After eating, two of our four workers left, and the remaining volunteer and I went out with Greg and Tom, the 'assistant farmer', a former farmer, now retired, and weeded the beds that were going to be planted on Saturday.
We spent the remainder of the morning after I arrived harvesting lettuce, carrots, and the last of the sweet peas, which sadly are now going to be plowed under to make room for the next crop. We also began prepping some of the empty fields for planting.
At lunch, we chatted about vegetarians, vegans, lineages, and Judaism and ate a loaf of chocolate bread that my mother made for us.
After eating, two of our four workers left, and the remaining volunteer and I went out with Greg and Tom, the 'assistant farmer', a former farmer, now retired, and weeded the beds that were going to be planted on Saturday.
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Past Week
Damn, fell behind here. One more weekly format, then we're back to daily.
This week was an interesting on, schedule-wise, as my injured shoulder swelled up overnight, forcing me to work the afternoon shift while icing it in the mornings.
Tuesday, when I showed up, lunch had just ended. We transplanted hibiscus plants into new pots, harvested carrots and snap peas, and played with the sprinklers to get them to work. Wednesday, I showed up in time for lunch, and we spent about an hour discussing first the 60's, then racism, then the foundation of America as a slave nation, then the status of boyars in pre-revolution Russia. Very farm-centric.
All in all, a productive week, mainly because we finally convinced Greg, who, in case you missed it, has lime disease, to rest instead of work the fields. My god, the man's a machine. xD
This week was an interesting on, schedule-wise, as my injured shoulder swelled up overnight, forcing me to work the afternoon shift while icing it in the mornings.
Tuesday, when I showed up, lunch had just ended. We transplanted hibiscus plants into new pots, harvested carrots and snap peas, and played with the sprinklers to get them to work. Wednesday, I showed up in time for lunch, and we spent about an hour discussing first the 60's, then racism, then the foundation of America as a slave nation, then the status of boyars in pre-revolution Russia. Very farm-centric.
All in all, a productive week, mainly because we finally convinced Greg, who, in case you missed it, has lime disease, to rest instead of work the fields. My god, the man's a machine. xD
Monday, July 7, 2008
Farmer troubles
Farmer Greg was diagnosed today with lime disease. Probably because he works so hard every day, when really he should leave some of it up to us volunteers.
We're going to have to step it up, because he'll need to take antibiotics and sleep.
We're going to have to step it up, because he'll need to take antibiotics and sleep.
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