I really thought this was a short one, when I started writing...

It seems that one hundred days ago, I left Georgia for the great unknown. Having come to know at least one little section of it, I can confirm, that it is indeed, great.

I don't really have anything profound to say to mark the occasion. Farm work continues, we're quite busy all the time, but I still have time to write, and when someone invites me out for an adventure I always jump at the chance, and have yet to regret it.

Looking forward to Portland this weekend. Have no agenda, and don't even have plans for where I'm staying, or when exactly I'll be there, but I'm not stressing the details.

Some pictures to tide you over until I have something more substantial to share.

My first assortment of summer squash:



Blackberries, coming on strong. I swear the raspberries just started a week ago, and the last time I checked these were still green, and the size of a dime:



Hey look, pumpkins. Is it Hallowe'en yet?:


Food still grows, all of it growing inexorably closer to harvest. Zuccs and Cukes, Beans and corn, Celery, Broccoli, and Kohlrabi:




Sunday morning bread baking:


Some shots from today's hike to Lake Angeles. Wildflowers:




What on Earth are these?:

I don't know, but they turn into this:

And this thing?:


Lake Angeles, herself:


Look at that color:Come on in, the water's...well cold, but it was hot, and so that's fine:

A newt? I got better(sorry):


Waterfalls, at the lake, and on the trail:

I also took a hike with Maggie earlier this week up to Hurricane Hill, From Hurricane Ridge. Holy shit, pardon my swear words children, but holy shit. I don't know what I was expecting, but I can't believe it took me so long to get there. It was as beautiful a place as I've ever been. How does that keep happening to me here? It was fantastic, and I'm glad I didn't bring my camera because any attempt to capture what I saw would have failed to do it justice. The sun was setting, and the light was amazing. I can't say for sure, but I felt myself grinning like an idiot more than once. If mountains and wildflower dotted sub-alpine meadows are your thing, you could do a lot worse than to come to the peninsula. Also we saw bears. Plural. Heh.

I hope you are all doing as well as I. I know the time difference makes communication difficult, but I hope y'all know if you need me, you can call anytime. Love you all.

Oh, and lest I forget...Peaches, who knew?:

Images of things to come...

As I said in my last post, here is an update concerning life on the farm. Mostly concentrating on the work we've done in the last week, and some pics anticipating the things we'll be doing soon. I spent the last week doing the things that have become my regular chores. We finally finished weeding the garlic, and what a triumphant feeling that was. Of course by the time harvest begins to approach we'll probably have to do it all over again. C'est la vie. Life on a farm, especially one that doesn't use the RoundupTM. Yesterday I weeded strawberries, and it struck me how the skills I developed weeding the garlic simply don't translate. They're too different.

Our garlic, twenty rows most containing two or three varieties(plus some shallots, and bunching onions):


Berries - Straw:


Berries - Goose(two varieties):



Berries - Black (just coming into bloom, won't be ready to harvest until the end of the summer):


Berries - Blue:



Berries - Rasp:


Some apples (growing on the beautiful ornamental branching trees which will fence off the blackberry patch one day) :

The chickpeas we transplanted on Tuesday:

One of the twenty-odd varieties of taters which we're growing:


Brassicas (mostly Brussel Sprouts) waiting to go into the ground:


My peas have grown so much since we got them trellised:


A view from the roof of the barn, which is still under construction, but is starting to look really nice:


The first pizza I baked in my little RV oven, sauteed Bok Choy, with roasted mushrooms and peppers, topped half with feta and half Havarti:


The salad I ate for dinner last night, topped with a fried egg, the yolk of which was so golden-orange I almost stopped to take a picture rather than eat the thing:


So am I a farmer? I don't know. I do know that I'm loving this. Even the days which are frustrating, I feel like I'm doing something respectable, and I feel like I'm a part of a community here, which is a really special feeling, especially coming from the isolated islands of the suburbs. Everyone has gone out of their way to make me feel welcome, and to include me in their activities. I keep having these moments where I pause, look up at the mountains, and shake my head, grinning at the fact that I'm here. I hope you are all doing well, and if you have any questions for me, leave a comment and I'll endeavor to answer them as best as I can. I love you all. I miss you.