ColaMoosaJamesaMegaRado!
So, James and I have officially been farmers (well, farm apprentices) for 24 hours. We are dirty and tired and sunburned and really really excited about our new life here!
The drive here was uneventful, apart from our venture into a mid-western twister movie... As soon as we entered Oklahoma and finished commenting on how completely and unendingly flat it was, James said, “You know, this looks like the kind of place where there would be a tornado.” Not five minutes later we saw a giant flashing sign informing us of tornado warnings. Suddenly, our beautiful day was falling behind us and we were driving directly into the most intimidating black storm front I have ever seen. I think we may have been on an undercover mission for the weather channel. The radio warned “Driving on I-40 West is the worst thing you could do right now. If you are traveling, pull over.” This was Oklahoma, and there was no where else to go; we hadn’t seen an exit for an hour. So we weathered the storm, tornado conditions, 70 mile-per-hour winds, and, strangely a beautiful sunset in a clear patch of sky out the passenger side window (which I stared at intently in a futile attempt to stay calm).
That night, at the hotel, our roof-top bike racks stood at 15 degree angles (back to front of the car, where they used to be straight) with warped plastic clips and bent heavy metal screws. The next morning we crept cautiously towards the REI in Albuquerque (bikes wobbling dangerously atop the car, we imagined) where we bought all new parts and set off with the most secure bike racks you have ever seen in your life.
The rest of the road trip was hour after hour on I-40 West through canyons, Navajo Country (where we ate fry bread tacos..yum!), and finally the Rocky Mountains, where we climbed to 7,000 feet and finally, yesterday, arrived at our new farm home! Mark and Michelle, our farmers, are wonderful. Michelle is an endlessly upbeat and cool woman and Mark is a grown up hippy with gentle manerisms and a bottomless collection of crazy stories from his life. James and I spent the afternoon yesterday touring the farm, meeting the 3 dogs, 3 cats, goats, turkeys, chickens, and ducks, biking on the country roads, and moving in to our Tipi. We shared with Mark and Michelle the 4 Asheville-brewed beers our friends Alex and Juancho sent us with from NC (meticulously labeled “DO NOT DRINK UNTIL COLORADO” ...we didn’t break the rules!) and enjoyed a sunset over the mountains, which are still capped with snow.
Our tipi! I was mistaken when I said we’d be living in a yurt. We have a huge, beautiful tipi. When the sun goes down, the temperature drops forty degrees, the night is completely black and the sky is incredible, and we can see stars through the open storm flaps on top of our tipi. The only trick is not stepping on a cactus on the walk over!
This morning we were welcomed into the day by the square pupils of goats and their two (week old) baby goats, and the excited peeping of a mix of turkeys, chickens, and three odd ducks as we opened their sleeping quarters brought them their water and food. We even got to watch a good old fashioned cock fight as the roosters competed for the attention of the ladies. There is no shortage of entertainment here, I assure you. Breakfast was farm eggs, homemade cheese, homemade sausage, etc. Yumm!
Our moose kitty is doing really well. The potential problem could be between her, who we call Moose-cha, and a black and white kitty called Muska (pronounced “Moose-ka”!). However, the two kitties actually rubbed noses and seem to be friendly, despite their common name. Mostly we just hope Kate Moose doesn’t eat the baby chickens.
We spend today in town with Mark, mostly loading bricks onto his truck for a natural building project. We saw a lizard who stood an inch off of the ground and must have been eight inches long. It had a bright orange head and a turquoise body with orange spots on the turquoise and yellow feet. We also got stared down by dozens of alpacas as we loaded their poop into the truck for fertilizer. After James and I scooped several loads each into the tractor Mark was driving, Mark, as kindly good-naturedly as he could, commented “My goodness it is funny watching the two of you try to operate a tinefork!” I guess we have a lot to learn!
After a long day’s work the three of us sat on the back of the trailer (yes, with the poop) in our straw hats and dirty clothes, popped open a few beers, and talked about how the fun to be had being broke and adventuresome.
Our official farm learning begins tomorrow. Michelle has a neatly typed plan for each week, including all of the things she hopes to teach us over breakfast each morning through lessons, reading, and hands on work. We can’t wait to get started!!
The drive here was uneventful, apart from our venture into a mid-western twister movie... As soon as we entered Oklahoma and finished commenting on how completely and unendingly flat it was, James said, “You know, this looks like the kind of place where there would be a tornado.” Not five minutes later we saw a giant flashing sign informing us of tornado warnings. Suddenly, our beautiful day was falling behind us and we were driving directly into the most intimidating black storm front I have ever seen. I think we may have been on an undercover mission for the weather channel. The radio warned “Driving on I-40 West is the worst thing you could do right now. If you are traveling, pull over.” This was Oklahoma, and there was no where else to go; we hadn’t seen an exit for an hour. So we weathered the storm, tornado conditions, 70 mile-per-hour winds, and, strangely a beautiful sunset in a clear patch of sky out the passenger side window (which I stared at intently in a futile attempt to stay calm).
That night, at the hotel, our roof-top bike racks stood at 15 degree angles (back to front of the car, where they used to be straight) with warped plastic clips and bent heavy metal screws. The next morning we crept cautiously towards the REI in Albuquerque (bikes wobbling dangerously atop the car, we imagined) where we bought all new parts and set off with the most secure bike racks you have ever seen in your life.
The rest of the road trip was hour after hour on I-40 West through canyons, Navajo Country (where we ate fry bread tacos..yum!), and finally the Rocky Mountains, where we climbed to 7,000 feet and finally, yesterday, arrived at our new farm home! Mark and Michelle, our farmers, are wonderful. Michelle is an endlessly upbeat and cool woman and Mark is a grown up hippy with gentle manerisms and a bottomless collection of crazy stories from his life. James and I spent the afternoon yesterday touring the farm, meeting the 3 dogs, 3 cats, goats, turkeys, chickens, and ducks, biking on the country roads, and moving in to our Tipi. We shared with Mark and Michelle the 4 Asheville-brewed beers our friends Alex and Juancho sent us with from NC (meticulously labeled “DO NOT DRINK UNTIL COLORADO” ...we didn’t break the rules!) and enjoyed a sunset over the mountains, which are still capped with snow.
Our tipi! I was mistaken when I said we’d be living in a yurt. We have a huge, beautiful tipi. When the sun goes down, the temperature drops forty degrees, the night is completely black and the sky is incredible, and we can see stars through the open storm flaps on top of our tipi. The only trick is not stepping on a cactus on the walk over!
This morning we were welcomed into the day by the square pupils of goats and their two (week old) baby goats, and the excited peeping of a mix of turkeys, chickens, and three odd ducks as we opened their sleeping quarters brought them their water and food. We even got to watch a good old fashioned cock fight as the roosters competed for the attention of the ladies. There is no shortage of entertainment here, I assure you. Breakfast was farm eggs, homemade cheese, homemade sausage, etc. Yumm!
Our moose kitty is doing really well. The potential problem could be between her, who we call Moose-cha, and a black and white kitty called Muska (pronounced “Moose-ka”!). However, the two kitties actually rubbed noses and seem to be friendly, despite their common name. Mostly we just hope Kate Moose doesn’t eat the baby chickens.
We spend today in town with Mark, mostly loading bricks onto his truck for a natural building project. We saw a lizard who stood an inch off of the ground and must have been eight inches long. It had a bright orange head and a turquoise body with orange spots on the turquoise and yellow feet. We also got stared down by dozens of alpacas as we loaded their poop into the truck for fertilizer. After James and I scooped several loads each into the tractor Mark was driving, Mark, as kindly good-naturedly as he could, commented “My goodness it is funny watching the two of you try to operate a tinefork!” I guess we have a lot to learn!
After a long day’s work the three of us sat on the back of the trailer (yes, with the poop) in our straw hats and dirty clothes, popped open a few beers, and talked about how the fun to be had being broke and adventuresome.
Our official farm learning begins tomorrow. Michelle has a neatly typed plan for each week, including all of the things she hopes to teach us over breakfast each morning through lessons, reading, and hands on work. We can’t wait to get started!!