I'll be updating these photos periodically... keep checking in. And please comment! I haven't logged in to Facebook for a week so if you love goats, I want to hear it.
Week 1 at KGF. Where do I start? Let's start with the cast of characters, out to watch the Bruins game for Bob's birthday.
Clockwise from left: Mat, Pierre, Bob the birthday boy, Sam, Jennifer, me, Basil
Bob and Jen have owned KGF since the 80s. I asked Bob why they went organic, and he said that's the way his mother did it, so it was the only way he knew to farm. Their son Sam is still on the farm and works every day here. Their daughter Abbi lives and works in Boston and comes back every once in a while. I'll probably get to meet her before my time is up here. Sam's buddies show up to help out a couple times a week. We also have Ash, who's a full-timer here on the farm, and her boyfriend Dennis who helps out too. And, Coley (aka Basil) came here last fall as a WWOOFer, went back to Minnesota, and came back out for a couple months before she goes off for a field study in the White Mountains this week.
Basil, Ash, Dennis, Sam and Pierre in the Teepee field. Peas and spinach
So, what do I do each day? Wake up somewhere between 7 and 7:30. There are no dairy cows to milk, so we start a little later than typical farm hours. Breakfast together, then out to feed and water the animals. I usually start by uncovering the everything in the greenhouses. Then water everything. KGF has a gravity-fed well, which means hoses and irrigation systems aren't effective (water pressure too low). So, hand watering it is.
Then it's on to planting. Mostly from flats hanging out in the greenhouse. I did plant carrots from seed too. I also planted a few flats myself.
Golden frill mustard greens. Day 2.
Day 5
At the end of the day, covering back up the greenhouses, doing the animals, and back to the house. Or whatever. I went for a run last week and left my camera in the woods overnight after helping Dennis out in the field. In the rain. I stuck it in rice and it works just the same. Something, probably a squirrel, did rip a nice hole in the carrying case (a sock). I'm happy it's still alive.
We tend to eat dinner as a group, whoever's around. I made lentil soup last night with kale from the greenhouse and garlic from the farm.
Mama built the nest on top of a stepladder leaning on the shed. She yells at us if we get close. What is she? This should be an easy one.
Charlie the Kerry Blue Terrier in a rare moment in of calm
I've learned an awful lot so far, but my favorite so far are the goats. They have easily surpassed cows as my favorite farm animal. Baby goats make the cutest, most heartwarming sound you'll ever hear. Just watch Phil bounce around.
CC the escape artist
On to week two, but I leave you with a mystery plant. It's become my favorite plant so far. I planted some in the field today. Comment below to guess what it is.
I moved out of my apartment in Manhattan, moved stuff back into my storage unit in PJ, spent a fun final weekend in the city, with a special guest star from Tucson... Sara!
Now I'm on my way to the next adventure... 3.5 weeks volunteering on an organic farm in New Hampshire. I'm very interested in the business side of farming - both on the family farm level, as well as more mass-market sustainability aspects. I'll be on planting duty, but I have 2 goals: to milk something (cow, goat, sheep, whatever) and to witness a slaughter. That's how meat gets to my plate. Will it turn me vegetarian? Stay tuned...
Four days in Breckenridge, even in a low snowfall winter, is still an awesome way to spend four days. Especially when spent with a bunch of wonderful people.
Christopher was kind enough to put all of us up in his parents' condo. And by all of us, at one point there were 11 people in a one bedroom condo.
The view from the condo
I spent 2 days on the slopes. One day at Breckenridge, sticking mostly to Peaks 7,8,9. I was definitely the least experienced skier of the group. They were all good sports taking it slow in the morning and dashing off to the more challenging stuff in the afternoon. Tom stuck it out with me till I went down to the wrong ski lift (again) and skied back down to the condo on Four o'clock Run.
Then, Becca came down from Fort Collins (!!!!) Jared and I went to ski on her guest passes at Copper Mountain, about 30 mins from Breckenridge. I preferred Copper - the trails were a little wider, even if they were harder. My peak elevation during this trip was about 12,300ft.
And then... Laura came to town!! It was completely coincidental that she was out visiting her boyfriend Jim at the same time we were out. It was so great to catch up with her. Sadly, I forgot to get a picture.
Back in Breckenridge, Jared and I went snowshoeing at the Breckenridge Nordic Center while the rest of the group took off to drive around the mountain passes. Once we got off the trails closer to the Nordic center, I really enjoyed the scenery and plowing through some off-trail powder.
Skiing all day and hot tubs, cooking, and Colorado beers in the evenings. What a fantastic vacation.
Hurricane Irene wrecked our plans to go to the Mount Snow Brewers Festival in Vermont. Way to flood towns and wash out bridges, Irene. So, instead, Jared and I took off to Montreal for a long Memorial Day weekend.
In our trusty rental car, we stopped to see the Orange County Choppers (and Molly working) in Newburgh, NY. Despite having grown up 40 mins away from OCC, this was my first visit. Then it was northward to Albany for lunch and beer samples at the Albany Pump Station
Take in that Albany skyline
We saw a gorgeous Adirondack sunset
And hit up Montreal in time for a later dinner. Everyone had us worried about all the French you need, but I found the "bonjour hello" greeting everywhere we went to be charming.
We ran up the massive Mont Royal hill to the top (hey, even though we were on vacation, half marathon training doesn't stop!) and I almost passed out at the top. Fo real.
Bonjour Montreal
Lots of wandering, beer sipping (what an awesome craft beer scene), some bike riding, and bagel eating. It's a manageable, quaint city. Even if we were there during frosh week at McGill and we were subjected to drunk Canadian 18 year olds most of the weekend.
Tagging on some travel after another (short) work trip to London. To Dublin!
First, a picture of Richmond. I stayed with my workmate Charlotte before catching a 6:40AM flight to Dublin. Not the best flight choice, but I'm glad I finally got to see Richmond. The Thames is pretty there.
After a quick flight to Dublin, I found my hostel (Jacobs Inn, which was meh) and set off wandering ahead of an 11AM tour with Sandemans tour of Dublin.
Down the River Liffey
Dublin Castle
It was good fun, met some nice people, including some girls from Saskatchewan (!!) and wandered over in the direction of the Guinness factory with the Australian, Scott. We got lost, but ended up near the Jameson distillery. Now, I'm not a big fan of whiskey, but I'd be lying if I said my main motivation wasn't to make a certain someone back home jealous. If you're into whiskey, skip the tour and do a tasting. Tour wasn't worth it.
After that, I wandered some more and made it back to my hostel to claim my bed, and find some people to hang out with for the evening. But, the few common areas around were deserted, so I wandered down to Temple Bar by myself for dinner and went pub hopping.
Harp Bridge. It probably has a real name.
Most every bar had live music on Thursday night (and just about every night, I imagine). Once one bar ended their music, I would go on to the next one. My favorite was with a band that was very interactive with the crowd. I can tell you that's where I fell in love with Ireland. I never had the strong desire to visit Ireland that many others in the US seem to have, but I was smitten by the live music.
Friday was rainy and generally miserable. There isn't much to sightsee in Dublin. It's not a very beautiful city – it's a working class place settled by the Vikings.
Friday I went over to Saint Patrick's cathedral (as in THE St. Patrick), and walked across town to the Guinness factory.
This was definitely worth doing if you have even the faintest interest in beer (even if you aren't a Guinness fan). I tried some Guinness in the US before I left, just so I had the taste profile. And, as everyone says, the Guinness is different in Ireland. I drank many pints of it in the pubs, and got to pour my own at the factory.
Guinness is good for you. It even says so!
Me and my Perfect Pint at the top of the factory.
Saturday morning came with another early wake-up call to get a flight to London and onward to New York. It was a fun trip that gave me the itch to get back to Ireland to see the countryside. And some more traditional Irish music. And Guinness.
Cleveland gets a bad rap. The "Mistake on the Lake"? That's a bit harsh. I took a long weekend trip over Memorial Day to Cleveland. Jared and I stayed with his brother Chris and his girlfriend Liz in downtown Cleveland. I ate a lot of really good food, drank a lot of good beer and cocktails, and had a fun time while I was there.
"God hates Cleveland so much that you had to fly through two cloud layers to land?!" -Chris
That's much better
I noticed that once you're out of the
downtown area, many of the business are in very residential areas –
mostly old houses. Felt like I was walking around a small town,
totally different from any other city I've been to.
The Christmas Story house, complete with leg lamp in the window
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