Remember how I kept saying I was going to be worked to the point of exhaustion...

Boy, did I call that, but realistically, after the first few exhausting days, I've settled into a groove, and have begun to really enjoy myself. Despite the hard work, I feel priveledged to be allowed to become a small part of this really cool community. I'll try and sum up the last few days since my last post, but honestly I haven't done a whole lot of exciting things, but I'll do my best to amuse you all.

For starters here are some pics that i promised you for several posts now. The pigs, and a shot of Bowie the pony and his companion, the as-yet-unnamed Newfoundland:




My pigs(perhaps it isn't kosher{get it?} for me to call them mine, but given that they're my responsibility, it's how I think of them:



I discovered, first thing the other morning, that I am in fact a farm boy, if not a farmer. I had just woken up, and was enjoying my first cup of coffee, locally roasted of course, and I looked out the window of the trailer which is right next to the chicken coop, and noticed a rogue chicken. I had seen her before, and when I asked Christie about her, she explained that she had gotten out several months earlier, and they hadn't been able to recapture her. So I put down my coffee, went outside, and after five hilarious minutes captured her, and returned her to her home.

I had some remarkably success baking bread given the nature of the oven, but am looking forward to the possibility of building a wood-fired oven with Kelly at some point, after we finish getting the farm into shape. When I arrived it was a little worse for wear; it had been a hard winter, and the Johnstons hadn't had as much help as they're used to, but between Kelly and I, and the part-time farm hands we've made so much progress in the last week. I can see clearly now how good the farm will be given only our hard work, and am getting really excited about all of the things we're getting ready to plant.

In the last week I've weeded garlic, carrots, spinach, and peas. I've mowed lawns and tilled fields, and planted seeds, and slopped pigs. Gathered eggs, and harvested salad greens and radishes and herbs. I'm exhausted most nights, but not so tired I don't have time to cook tasty, fresh, exciting meals for myself using a combination of local fresh produce, and all those pantry goods I hauled across the country with me. I'm baking as much bread as ever, maybe more given the fact that I've been sharing with hungry farm folk, and getting my writing don every single day, as always. I am content, and I'm so glad that I actually did this. I've yet to figure out what comes next, and that's helping me stay excited about what I'm doing now, and what the future may hold.

I'll leave you with a shot of some of the produce I've been enjoying, and a pic or two of the neighbors cattle fields. Remember that I love you all, Happy Mother's day to all the moms, and I hope you're all doing as well as I am. I'm going to go take a hike on the Dungeness Spit now, pics to come next time.