Olive us

 We spent one Sunday morning harvesting olives.

We took a bucket home to cure in wood ash.

Our classroom.

 

The green string farm store.

vegetables and chickens and vegetables, oh my!

Feast on this!  Some of the delicious foods available on the farm right now...

We learned that vegetables that are raised with too much nitrogen might become big, but they probably will be nutritionally hollow.  Most grocery store produce is big and cheap, but doesn't give you nearly as much energy and nutrients as healthily grown veggies do.  Insects seek plants or parts of plants that are unhealthy because unhealthy plant parts are defenseless against them.  Therefore insects are not pests but indicators of plant health; healthy crops don't need pesticide.

You may have noticed that there aren't any soybeans pictured above.  We don't have soybeans here because almost all soybeans are poisonous whether they're "organic" or not.  We learned that soy beans were engineered to be grown in harsh conditions by being submerged in toxic substances like petroleum and then planted.  Because of natural genetic mutations, a small number of the soy bean seeds actually grew into plants.  The plants that survived became the new soybean plant that could thrive almost under any condition but is also toxic because of its modified protein structure.

We continue to eat like royalty.  Last night a culinary graduate from New York (a female who just happens to have been born on October 31) made a meal that would knock your socks off; a lentil cheese bake with a fennel cream sauce, squash curry with rice, and a fresh mixed salad full of greens and herbs (we need to start photographing these gourmet meals).  

This is what a really good salad might look like if it was planted in the ground.  Kale, chard, and a variety of lettuces.  We interns have our own gardens around our housing.  The idea is for us to experiment and learn as many lessons as possible while not fouling up the main crops that are sold for income.  We are free to plant and harvest our crops as we please, and we are also free to take vegetables from the main crops with permission. We are well taken care of around here... we almost have it as good as the chickens do.

This is the entrance to the iron workshop.  We haven't done any work in there yet, but hopefully we will soon... more pictures to follow (the inside is AMAZING).  There is also a wood shop that we will begin lessons in soon.

 Here the chickens are playing 'chicken of the mountain' and enjoying the view of the vineyards.  Laurel is currently on chicken duty and has the joy of feeding and watering them, taking them compost and fresh greens, collecting their eggs, and scraping their poo.  We are in the process of improving their nest boxes and getting their coops cozy for the winter.

Next time we will include some pictures of the goats and the farm store.  The farm store is amazing and sells produce, eggs, oil, and a variety of preserves, sauces, and glazes to the public.  Our master farmer manages several farms and vineyards in the area and sells to the famous restaurant Chez Panisse.  Tomorrow we are going to his house to pick olives and eat lunch.  We will visit some of the other properties during our 3 months here including the Jacuzzi winery, as well as a wild land preserve; lots of great stuff going on down here!

dirt don't hurt

sunrise from the porch

 Above and to the right is the volunteer 'chicken mama' and adores each and every chicken on this farm (several hundred?); she has names for several of them and has even trained some of them to do cute little tricks.  Who knew a chicken could give hugs or play dead?

 There is a pack of wild cats that live on the farm and help keep the rodent population balanced; the cats can also be seen quite frequently foraging on the compost piles.  No joke.  I've never seen cats eat compost... quite amusing!

 This is the little school house where the library resides and where lessons are held when it is raining.  It has a little wood stove inside and is said to be quite cozy for wintery days, otherwise we meet for our lectures on the porch of the intern house (below).

The intern house is where we cook and eat our meals and sit around the stove at night.  With a crew of 13 people, Jonny and Laurel, as well as another couple were exiled out to a private suite across the parking lot (pictures to come).  We have our own room (and space heater), share a bathroom with the other couple, and feel quite blessed.

We are 2 of 13 wonderful interns from all over the U.S.  Everyone is great and have all kinds of stories to share. We arrived yesterday and had an orientation (paperwork) and then toured around the farm and made a big meal.  Quinoa, fresh chard and kale from the garden, pink banana squash (who knew such a thing existed), spaghetti squash, and free range beef stew for those meat eaters (about 2/3 of the crew).  6:30am came early this morning and we were out watching the sunrise by 7.  We then fed the goats, visited and fed the four chicken coops, learned some basic farm chores, hoed the herb garden and planted decorative flowers in the entrance to the farm store.  Chores and projects are completed between 7 and noon, then lesson begins at 1 and runs 2-3 hours.  We ate a gourmet lunch of squash gnocci, leftover quinoa, chard, and fresh salad!  We have direct access to a plethora of the best tasting vegetables you can imagine!  After lunch we had an entertaining and informative lesson with the master farmer and a larger scale tour of the property.  Around our living area we have our own little plots to grow whatever we desire, and the program is very open to experimentation and new ideas.  They are happy to help us achieve anything we can dream up; the master farmer is incredibly inspiring and teaches that you WILL harvest positive results when you put positive energy/resources into your efforts.  He is quite the character and very amiable.  I am under the impression that each and every intern feel blessed and excited to be here.

There is so much to say and so little time to do so...