Most weeds are just good plants in the wrong place.

I feel like this summer is full of lessons that I have wanted to learn my whole life. This is my second week, which means another round of training for the education volunteers. I expected that all the ed. vols. would have the same reason for applying as I did (loving Heifer, farm work, and education), but the reasons are really varied and intersting. We have two houses of volunteers, and only one volunteer is male. I feel a special kinship with all the volunteers. People's   dominant traits are aspects of my own personality. Luckily, the people with the traits that I try to suppress are living in the other house.

   

I have a feeling that I am going to have a hard time leaving in the fall. Four other girls live in the upstairs part of the house, and we are expecting two more in July. It is really turning into an intentional community. We have community 

meals every night (my turn to cook is on Sat. - veggie chili!), and we are sharing the majority of out food in common. I like my roommate a lot. She's dating a eagle scout, is a vegetarian, is an English major, and loves animals, too. She has a relaxed 'ghetto' style about her that is really cool. I'm excited about making cheese, yogurt, pies, pizzas, bread, and  other things with my housemates this summer.

I am one of two Southerners on the farm, and the other one went to Sewanee (Katie Payne). It's true: you never really can escape. The rest of the girls find my accent amusing sometimes.

I miss Devin terribly. I didn't know that part would be so hard. He's coming up in July, though, and we talk on the phone every day - and Skype now. It's not the same, but we agreed that we would take what we can get.

        Life and death here are divulgently intermingled. I haven't found an eloquent way to express the idea yet - but I will.

 All organic matter goes in the huge 3 year compost piles, which are located by the chicken coups and sheep and goat pins. It's not uncommon to see bones from animals that have died on the farm in the dirt. They serve as a good momento mori when you are herding frolicking lambs to pastures.  Most of the lamb are tagged, too, which means that they will be sold at auction or processed (ie. sheep burgers) when they are older. It's hard not to take joy in them, though. There's a comfort in knowing that new lambs will be here next year and that it's all just a part of the cycle of the farm, of life. 

   I knew farm work was hard - but not this hard (or enjoyable). I spent 7 hours today cultivating (weeding, watering, hoeing) the organic garden - all by hand. I learned a lot today. We can't grow corn because the neighboring farm genetically modifies their corn and the bees would cross pollinate. I wonder if he knows how greatly his decisions affect our farm. I also learned a little about weeds. Can you believe that one of the girls didn't know what a weed was?

I showed her. I noticed that a lot of the weeds that I was pulling looked edible, and I asked one of the girls that lives downstairs and knows a lot about farming ("Farmer 'Jo'") about it. Evidently, I was weeding out (and later harvesting) dill, cilantro, and lettuce. Most weeds are just good plants in the wrong place. That seems like it should be a lesson for life. I  will try to find my happiest place for my skills and interests so that I do not become weed-like. At any rate, we had an awesome salad tonight.

    

           Heifer and the farm have gotten me to thinking about and appreciating food much more. It's something I've always taken for granted. There's a great satisfaction in growing your own food or knowing where it's come from and then cooking a simple meal with fresh ingredients. Speaking of which, I smell cookies. One of the girls said that she would bake some after dinner. 

I hope that all is well on your farm and that your weeds are just good plants growing in the wrong place - "volunteers."

love,

Hailey

Some of my adventures thus far:

goat milking

sleeping on the ground

spooning with a girl to stay warm while sleeping on the ground

cooking the Peru and China meals over a fire on site in the Global Village

goat herding

sheep herding

moving bulls (that one got a little frightening)

trying to conquer algophobia

harvesting dill, lettuce, and cilantro

starting a personal vegetable garden with the other girls

moving  and stacking 200 bails of hay

discovering that chickadees mate face to face

socializing with a camel

Helping to catch an escaped camel

Algophobia: (al-guh-FO-bee-uh) n. the fear of pain

Hello.

    This has been an eventful semester for me (to say the least). I had the majority of my close friends in foreign countries, fell in love, began anti-depressants, went to Ecuador, almost switched to a Religion major, only took three classes, had my computer stolen (and subsequently replaced) from the Post Office, went to the ER for an infection, subsequently found out that I am allergic to sulfur, skipped classes and work because school just didn't do it for me after coming back from Ecuador, got a summer job on a farm in MA at an organization that I am adamant about, almost adopted a beagle puppy, started to get to know my sister and brother-in-law, became the academic chair of my sorority, discovered Michael Franti, and started feeling a lot better about life and myself. However, my sentences have not become shorter. 

    I thought that I would start this meretricious blog (ick, modernity) for myself because secretly I hate the solipsistic nature of journals and because if anyone were to be interested in what is going on in my life (and that's not solipsistic, Hailey? :) ok, you got me), then they could just come here (or,  email me). So, I hope to write more soon - especially when I go to work up on Heifer's farm in mid-May.

    Oh, and if I haven't told you lately, thanks for being my friend, and I love you.

Word of the day: Meretricious (mehr ih trihsh uhs) adj. - gaudy; falsely attractive