Have you ever found yourself nostalgic for something you never had?

That's how I feel about Lake Crescent, but that's not what brought this thought to mind. What caused this line of introspection was this...


Some pictures from the Wednesday market in Sequim, booth manned by my co-intern Ruth:


After said market, I drove East, around the sound, and wound up trying to go to a show in Seattle, but, and this I find both perturbing and absolutely hilarious; I couldn't park the van. No joke. I spent an hour trying, both on the street and in lots, and it was useless. C'est la vie. I crashed in my van, and flew across the country back to Georgia.

I almost typed 'back home', to Georgia, but as you all must know by now, as much as I love it there, and as much as I miss all my friends and family, that place isn't my home anymore. It doesn't cease to amuse me that it took my leaving to truly develop an appreciation for it, and it felt great to go back, but it felt very much like going on Vacation, not returning home. I got to do almost everything I wanted to, for such a short trip. I got to see my old work compatriots, and I got to bake them cookies. I went for a hike at Vickery Creek with Dahveed, while J and the girls got a nail-job. I made bread for my family, and I got to eat all the things I had hoped to: pulled pork and mac and cheese at BBQ1, pizza at Five Seasons, shrimp and grits at Relish(not to mention biscuits and gravy). I got to drink a beer at five seasons, and I got a Sweetwater and a Terrapin at the wedding. What can I say about the wedding aside from the obvious? It was fantastic, Rachel was beautiful, and it was great to see everyone who made it. I'm so glad I was there, and I can't wait for the chance to go back and see everyone again.

From my first bake after returning from Georgia, Triticale Flax bread, and gluten-free chocolate chip cookies:


The greenhouse, look at how tall those tomatoes are:


Thai bird chilis. These things are ridiculous. I sometimes eat one as a post-breakfast treat(or punishment):

A blue hubbard, bigger than my head, by quite a bit:

A forest of leeks:


And maybe my favorite thing we grew on the farm this season, Cupani sweet peas, beautiful, fragrant, and utterly impractical from a market standpoint. An example of how sometimes it's alright to save the best things for yourself:



From my walk this morning. I stayed at the barn dance last night until the wee hours. I even danced, or as close to it as I'm capable of, at least. It was fun as always. There waspotluck, and strong coffee, good beer, homemade wine, and of course music.

I actually am not going for a hike today, although I probably should. Instead I'm staying in, reading, writing, and making a pot of soup. Here are some pictures from my last weekend hike, up to Hurricane Hill:



It was an odd hike, once I got to the top I was surrounded on all sides by a misty bubble. It was as if I was the only person in the whole world. I couldn't see beyond ten feet, and if a bear had chosen to devour me, I would never have seen it coming. Still it was a beautiful walk, the leaves had just begun to turn in earnest, which process is continuing now, and making me simultaneously happy and melancholy.

I can't believe my summer on the farm is coming to an end, and while there is still plenty of work to be done on the farm, it's a different sort of work, equally important, and equally satisfying, but without the instant gratification of summer crops. We're getting the food harvested, and tilling, and planting cover crops, which will simultaneously protect and enrich the soil over the winter. Soon enough it will be time to plant garlic, which will be a major project.

Oh, and anyone recognize these?:

I'll get them in the mail as soon as I can. Sorry about that.

It was so good to see you all, and I'm sure I'll see many of you again in December. As soon as I have any concrete plans I'll be sure to let everyone know. I love you all. Hope you're enjoying life as much as I am.

On the subject of rain...

If you know me well, you're undoubtedly well aware of my fondness for rain, and rainy days. Not just for the obvious comfort of curling up inside on a gray day, with a cup of hot tea and a good book, though that is perfectly lovely, but the rain itself. The rain walk is one of my favorite pastimes, always has been, but I knew, esoterically at least, that the PacNorWe is a whole other kind of rainy than I'm used to, and I wondered often before I left for my journey, if day after day of working in the rain would dampen my enthusiasm. Did you see what I did there? Heh. Clever, me.

Well having done just that, more than once, I can say beyond doubt that I still love rainy days, and while working in the rain, often sucks; there is also a certain satisfaction to be found in it as well. As with any repetative task you fall into a sort of zen groove, weeding garlic or potatoes and your mind is elsewhere, writing or editing, or just appreciating the beauty of your surroundings. As long as the rain doesn't pass the threshold from drizzle or shower, to actual rain, the pleasant aspects far outweigh the negatives.

On my last day off it was free entry day up at the Olympic National Park, so I took the opportunity to take a short rain hike, the first one I've had a chance to take since I started working here. I'll keep the pictures to a minimum, but there are a couple I think are worth sharing:


Look! A banana slug! Weird! Gross!:


We've been getting some planting done, but we're definitely behind schedule. This week we planted five hundred ears of corn, and two thousand heads of celery(200 of which are celeriac, awesome). We planted Four beds of wheat, and a bed of flax. Kelly and Christie's daughter is graduating tonight, and so there are huge numbers of family coming this weekend, so in addition to a full day of farm work, they've been running around like headless chickens, cleaning, building a fire-pit, and other chores necessary to host a huge family gathering. I can't wait.

My first co-intern has arrived. Her name is Kay(sp?), and she came here from Texas, but spent most of her life in Connecticut. She's a recent college graduate, and has never done any work of this sort, either. She's a hard worker, and fast, so that's great for all of us. On Sunday her roomate, our third intern will be arriving, and we're all looking forward to having another pair of hands to help with the work.

I'm doing a lot of baking; I know, shocking, and I've been working on translating many of my standard cookie recipes to gluten free versions, to allow one of my new friends to eat his share of the baked goods. I'm also recipe testing the recipes from a baking book that one of my fellow Freshloafers is having published later this year, which is a fun excercise.

Last night I went to another potluck, on another farm. There was much fantastic food, as I've come to expect. Copper River Salmon, several different ways, fresh baked bread, baked by someone other than me(cool), and I baked a Banh Chuoi(Vietnamese banana cake) for some new people. After we ate, and had a farm tour there was a sing-along. No. Really. A sing-along. It was like being in a different century, and yet it was profoundly cool. These people were clearly passionate about sharing time together, and entertaining themselves, and having fun. They were pretty talented to boot. It was a perfect example of a happy melding of the old and the new. Sure, they were doing this very nineteenth century thing, making their own music, rather than just plugging in one of their iPods, but when they were inspired to play a song none of them knew the music for, all they had to do was hit the internet, and moments later they were gathered around and playing.

It was a really fun time, and yet another example of being rewarded for stepping outside my comfort zone. I've been endeavoring to accept as many invitations to hang out, or to go to a show, or see some art, as I can manage. Things are busy, busier than I've ever been, and I hope you're all keeping busy as well. I miss you, and I love you, and I hope to hear from you all if you have a chance. If you've sent me an e-mail, I promise you've got one coming in response, but I only have so much time each day, and that time is full to the brim. I'm always doing two things at once it seems, and I'm honestly really loving it, it's tiring, but it isn't wearying, if that makes any sense. I'll keep trying to blog more often, but will likely keep failing to do so. This is ok. E-mails and calls are forthcoming, I promise.