Wild Geese

There is a great exodus taking place all around me on the farm. Every morning that I am in the field I hear them, the wild geese flying south for the winter. They are passing through by the thousands, over head and to the side. I hear them in the distance and always take a moment from my harvesting to look up and observe them as they fly by me. So many of them the sound of their wings can be frightening.

When I was in Israel a good friend gave me a wonderful present, a beautiful poem she inscribed on a treasured rock. The poem was Mary Oliver's "Wild Geese"
In dedication to my new field companions and their journey I am posting it here.

Wild Geese
by Mary Oliver

You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting —
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.

Sunrises

How many sunrises have I seen since I began at Brook Farm? 8 weeks worth...And they have been some of the most beautiful I have seen in my life.

Rooting

Harvesting storage turnips

The first frost has come with all its frigged rain, and now we begin the great root harvest. We've begun collecting everything from carrots, beets, and turnips for storage in the cooler. And we'll distribute them over the next month to members. Something I learned today in my nutrition studies, when you eat roots they help ground and stabilize you. If you're filled with nervous energy, there's nothing better than to eat a sweet potato. In cold weather roast your roots, this helps to add heat and density to your veggies.

Flower Arranging

One of the tasks I've been given on harvest days (Tuesday and Saturday) now is to lead a group of volunteers into our zinnia and cosmo flower beds and demonstrate the art of flower arranging. I find it very enjoyable teaching the adult volunteers a new skill they have never had. Basically I lead them into the fields give them a short set of instructions on cutting flowers, let them gather as many as they can, and then more instructions on how to arrange a bouquet. It does get tedious on the days that we need 50+ bouquets. I'm no flower specialist but I do have a fair bit of experience in the area and what is always surprising to me is floral design does not come naturally to everyone. During our small workshop as I watch over the final arrangement of the bouquets, I am always surprised at who is talented at design and who is not. And the best part is that most of the time not all the members pick up a bouquet at distribution so there are always leftover flowers that I go crazy with in decorating the house.


An extra floral bonus at distribution


A lovely bouquet of cosmos, zinnias, and sunflowers

Autumn

Indian Summer is here. I’m not sure how long it will last but the leaves on the trees are already changing to their yellows, oranges, and reds. It is an absolutely gorgeous site to see the mountain of Mohonk with its lush forests go through this ancient autumn passage. The summer plants, tomatoes, squashes, and peppers are finishing up and it is now time for the brasicas to mature. We’ve already got tons of kale, collards, bok choy, and broccoli on the way. Everyday I try and incorporate as much as I can into my daily diet from this harvest of plenty. You could say I am nourishing my body and spirit by being here.

Another Adventure

The fields at sunrise



I’ve decided to continue this blog as it seemed silly to me to stop with just including Israel since I am continuing to journey further into my own personal wonderland.

After some intense traveling the last 2 months, all around Israel, Turkey, Upstate New York, Houston, and San Antonio, I’ve finally unpacked my suitcase for a 3 month stay at Brook Farm. I will be completing a work/study there as an agriculture intern. I’ve completed two weeks so far, which I must say was not easy. I am putting some intense hours in each day, as I’ve been starting work at 7am to finish at 6pm, but my body is finally starting to toughen up to these new harsher conditions. And just in one week I’ve already started getting a handle and education in late summer/fall plantings. Brook Farm is a completely different type of farm compared to Hava V’Adam (the place I spent 5 months in Israel). Hava V’Adam is a small educational farm where we grew food basically for our own consumption and Brook Farm is a 5 acre, tractor plowed, CSA farm. On a CSA farm you really feel as if you are the keepers of the vegetables. CSA members prepay you before the season begins to grow and care for their food, so this is a very different practice and thought process being done here.

As an intern in exchange for my labor I receive lodging in the old farm house (my own bedroom and bathroom), all the fresh veggies, eggs, and meat I can eat, and a stipend. It’s a pretty great deal as I’m actually getting to further my education doubly while I am here. I will be listening on an ipod to lectures in my slow hours weeding because I’ve recently enrolled in a distance learning program through the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. With this course work (which will be completed in 10 to 15 months) I will be become a certified (by the American Association of Drugless Practioners) holistic health counselor. Where by the end of my course I hope to work on or at CSA farm teaching workshops on healthy holistic lifestyles that will focus on an organic diet and nutrition.

As I’m at Brook Farm I will continue to update my blog to let everyone know how the vegetables are growing and hopefully share some new found wisdoms.


Jimmy Cricket in the bean patch

So the Time has come....

Well my program is officially over and I've been traveling around with EE. I'm obviously way behind in pics and posts but I will be trying to post mad crazy in the following days. So stay tuned!


Harvest time with the Ecos