What the heck happened to October?!?

Marie arrived on October 8th, and we promptly started hauling water and manure tea at Mike's and hanging drywall. Since then we have:

• mudded
• gone on two hikes to enjoy the last of the leaves
• bought hardwood flooring from a guy in Cookeville
• mudded some more
• gone spelunking with Alison at Indian Grave Point cave
• bought more insulation and a range hood ($10--thanks, golsn)
• sanded the mud
• drank obscene amounts with Marianna and Dan
• attended one evening of the Short Mountain Fall Gathering
• mudded some more
• spent the night in the barn for Marie's birthday
• got stuck behind over 100 four wheelers which were driving the length of Dry Creek
• mudded some more
• toured our neighbor's workshop during the Off The Beaten Path weekend
  
• did a Shittake workshop with a farmer in McMinnville then came home and
• mudded some more

Some members of the Short Mountain communi
ty loaned us a drywall lift, which made hanging the full 12' (foot) sheets on our 10'+ ceilings soooooooooooo much easier. I have no idea how we would have done it without the lift. And just so any of you who haven't worked on drywall before know--you have trim in your house or apartment because drywalling is a bitch. The next time you see a crew of immigrants working on a house, thank your lucky stars you don't make your damn living working drywall.


Marie has been a bad-ass trooper. The first day we worked I made her climb up on the roof with me, which involved stepping on the top step of a ladder and pushing herself up onto the roof, butt first. When we put up the first sheet of drywall she told us she had never used a drill before. The three of us make a good work crew.

We are almost done with the drywall. Next is priming and painting, then floors. We'll be cooking and heating with propane. Dad is almost done with the electricity, and soon we have to dig out our greywater area. Here's another slideshow of our progress.



Rob Harvey finally plowed our field! We waited for two months for rain so the ground would be soft enough to plow, got plowed, and then it rained for two days straight. Now we are waiting for the ground to dry out enough for him to come back and till. Then comes making the beds and hauling as much rotten hay as we can possibly manage to mulch, mulch, mulch. We can still plant garlic and onions if this happens in the next couple days. Tomorrow we're going to help someone plant their garlic. Maybe we'll get some to plant ourselves.

Indian Grave Point was an amazing experience. The ceiling of the first room looks like a giant vagina--very Georgia O-Keefe. It's actually on private property, so it's not protected. There was so much trash. I find it really upsetting that the people from around here don't value their surroundings enough to keep their damn beer cans out of the cave and their four wheelers out of the creeks. The cave was awesome, and I found a small piece of branched coral in a little hole in the floor. It's so humbling to think of time on a geological scale, to consider the way that exact spot has changed since there was an ocean here. The Art Room is where people have made little clay doodles and sculptures, like penises and names and dates. We sat inside and contemplated the complete darkness and silence of the cave. The only noise was an occasional drip from a couple rooms back. We had to wade through THE SEA OF MUD, which I decided to tackle without my shoes. Turns out that was a good decision. Alison almost lost her boots. Awesome cave.

Friday was the worst day I've spent working with Mike. It was freezing cold and starting to rain. The sky was gray and cloudy. We were harvesting, so I couldn't wear gloves, and my fingers were freezing. And you know what--it was still better than a day in the office. Today we harvested and hauled fresh manure to build compost piles. A close second. The view was awesome though.

Contemplating our valley...



















And....

Kevin has become a mountain man!

This morning

I just wanted to write about my morning. Kevin got up and made me oatmeal for breakfast then dropped me off at Mike's. We sat around for a little while picking out seeds and drinking coffee. The morning was cool, and I started weeding a bed while listening to the birds chirping and singing in the trees. There was a breeze, and the sky was streaked with pink clouds. It was absolutely beautiful.

Perfection.

Country life

Kevin is finishing the blocking for our interior walls! I'll post more apartment pictures later. Right now I actually don't have anything to do and have already spent hours in the sun planting garlic, so I decided I would write a post.

This place is so beautiful. When I'm frustrated or tired or both I just look around me at the hills set against the blue sky, and I feel rejuvenated. Money is going faster than originally planned, and I'm not interning with Jeff Poppen yet. I was starting to get stressed out, quaking a little. But then I helped Mike plant peas and broccoli, and the Chinese cabbage I planted for him is growing so well, and I share ideas with him that are helpful, and the dirt calms me down. My neighbor, Julie, brings me the straw she uses as bedding in her chicken coops. Free mulch. A neighbor will be plowing our field this weekend. Our friends volunteered to help us hang and mud the drywall. The help keeps pouring in. I can do this. We can do this. The money isn't gone yet, and we're more than halfway done. This is what I am on this earth to do, and I will do it. We have phosphorus for centuries, and calcium and magnesium, and we have manure.
The barn roof leaks, which is bad news for our apartment, so Kevin and I had to get up there with a bucket of tar to seal the seams and nail holes. As you may or may not know, I am not fond of heights. Our barn is three stories tall at the peak. To get from one side to the other, you have to get a running start, fling yourself at the peak, and haul your ass over. I was terrified at first, but the roof is surprisingly solid, and the view is beautiful. As of the last rain, we had fixed all but two of the big leaks, so we're feeling pretty good about it.

It feels weird to be regarded as an adult. People ask me gardening questions and invite me to work parties, like I actually know what the hell I'm talking about or how to do anything.

Yesterday when Kevin and I were finishing up for the day, I was overcome by how far we have come as a couple. Here we are. He lives in Tennessee, with me and with my parents. He's changed his whole life to come here with me. Five years ago....

I love living here. Our friends, Dan and Marianna, hosted a Hootnanny two weekends ago. They did a pig roast and brewed three kegs of brown ale and a keg of cider. The cider whooped me; I was college drunk. Kevin was a gentleman and rubbed my back while I puked. I managed to keep it out of our tent.

I can't wait to share this place with all of my wonderful friends! Bring on the naked dance party in the woods :-D

Progress!

It feels like years since the last update. We have been running at full throttle, usually twelve hours a day. We did some major deconstruction of the original barn structure before we could even start construction. It took off from there. As of today we have most of the roof plywood up, all the exterior walls, stairs, and the subflooring done. The insulation, drywall, and electrical wiring is all being purchased tomorrow. So we are well on the way! I already know exactly where the couch is going. Kevin is an absolutely amazing worker. He has impressed me every day since we started. I've learned so much watching him and Michael work together. I kept myself busy shovelling ancient cow manure, laying a stone walkway, pulling nails, and stacking wood. Click here for a slideshow of our progress!

Mike, the farmer I've been working with, had us over for a dinner party and introduced us to the son of one of our neighbors--Sam. He's going to be plowing our field, and we'll be planting it in a mix of rye, hairy vetch, clover, and winter wheat to improve the soil before spring. He and his wife want to move back to the creek to raise grass-fed beef. His father's land buts up to our property line. I also got to pick the best blueberries in the world with Mike. I have several quarts frozen and made a few pints of blueberry jam. It was my first jam experience, and I used honey and no pectin. It took several hours to cook down but is so freaking fantastic--worth every moment. I can't think of a better way to spend a morning than stuffing my face with organic blueberries off the bush, listening to the birds sing as the day warms up. Divine. This is how I spend my life here.

The season is changing. About the last day of August I noticed Partner's fur had changed, and the leaves are beginning their transition. Today it occurred to me that the people here in Tennessee aren't the only organisms that like getting undressed and swaying in the wind--the trees are gearing up for a winter long naked party! Except the prudish cedars; they keep their clothes on all year.

I went for a beautiful ride today. We went down to the creek and splashed around and had our first gallop in years. It was exhilarating, and I lost my hat.


Some random highlights since the last post: Kevin and I went hiking, and my ankles got covered in seed ticks. It was horrendous; I had hundreds of itchy red bumps for more than a week. I'm all for biodiversity but I wouldn't mind if ticks went extinct.



The truck caught on fire. Yes, that perfect farm truck. So after a new carburetor to compliment the new transmission with new spark plugs and wires it finally starts every time. I'm knocking on wood as I say this. That's all I'm going to say about the truck.






I thought this post was going to be longer, but that's all I can think of. We're doing it. And it's amazing. I can't wait to cook that first dinner in our kitchen!

So far

Not according to plans, I am not yet interning with Jeff Poppen, the Barefoot Farmer. I am, however, working three days a week with Mike and Rob of Henley Hollow Farm. It is scortching hot, and I drink a Bubba keg of water every morning and never have to pee because I sweat so much (tmi?). But I love it. I love waking up in the morning when it's still cool and the sun isn't baking the ground yet. It is so beautiful here. I was staking tomatoes, and I paused to wipe off the sweat that was pouring down my forehead. The sky was brilliant blue, white puffy clouds were meandering over the jewel green hills, and it was just magnificent. I was overcome with the feeling that I couldn't imagine myself being happier doing anything else or being anywhere else at that moment. I can say with absolute certainty that I never experienced that feeling in my office. There is no amount of money that can buy that feeling of bliss.

So what have I accomplished on our farm? Nothing. I have weeded some, but not as much as I had originally intended. I have not even started doing battle with the osage oranges or box elders yet. I have been adding to our compost pile and bought a load of beautiful black dirt. I planted a very small bed of scalloped squash, rainbow chard, and bush beans and am starting purple broccoli, Tuscan [black palm] kale, and cabbage to be transplanted sometime in September. And that's pretty much it. It's hot.

I have learned some take home lessons from working with Mike and Rob. One, it you want it trellised, install the trellisses when you plant; if you don't, it won't be ready when the plants need support. You might have every intention of doing it tomorrow or the day after, when it rains and the ground is softer, blah blah blah. But the point is, you won't have it done. Coincidentally, this is exactly what Rich at Bumpy Road Farm in Tallahassee told me. Two, all farmers, or even just people who work outside, need a good pocket knife. Three, weed regularly. This kind of goes along with number one. If you don't do it now, you'll suddenly be wondering what happened to all those squash or tomato plants that used to be in that row---oh wait, there they are... under the towering perilla and pig weed. Just do it. Now.

Kevin and his family arrived on Sunday, sans the farm truck. This is now the third trasmission that has been laid to waste on the drive from Tallahassee to Dowelltown. His Sierra was the first this past March, my parents' truck was the second, and now our future farm truck. If all goes well [knocking on wood] the truck and Kevin will be back this evening. His parents' first visit went very well. Everyone got along famously, we ate like hogs, and they even got to go in Pie's swimming hole on Dry Creek. Update: The truck isn't ready, so maybe Kevin will be back tomorrow.

Tomorrow the plan is to start shuffling stuff around the barn so that we can begin building on Friday. We'll be starting off building the stairs and the floor. I use the pronoun "we" lightly, as I will, by far, be the least useful person on the jobsite. Mostly Kevin and a man named Michael will be building the stairs and floor. I'm so excited to start construction on the apartment!

I am currently subjecting my horse to daily torture--the grazing muzzle. This is because he's a fatty fat-fat, which is bad for horses; it can lead to founder and founder is bad news. We are truly blessed to count Alison not only as an excellent friend but a phenomenal farrier, so Partner is well shod and comfortable... minus the flies.

Journey to Purple Maize

What more appropriate way to open the blog than to recount the circuitous route that brought me here?

I spent Thursday morning tromping up and down the stairs at Talla Villa stuffing my car with laundry, cat food, and other odds and ends. Anthony and Nancy saved my life; they showed up and took a ton of stuff I thought I had room for but didn't and helped me clean. We still ended up leaving a lot for Kevin to take care of. It's good I have such wonderful people in my life.

After a fantastic breakfast with Maria, we got on the road. My parents decided to go through Alabama, instead of Georgia, in order to avoid some of the major hills. Good thinking. 30 miles south of Dothan (about an hour and a half from Tallahassee) our pick up truck broke down. My dad and I left my cat and my mom at a produce stand to go track down a U Haul truck in Dothan. The three of us had to move everything from the trailor to the U Haul truck. It was cloudy but didn't rain. Then we hooked up the U Haul trailor to the U Haul truck, returned it to a different location in Dothan, and picked up an auto transport trailor. I got a hotel room in Dotahn while they went back to the produce stand to get the pick up truck. The man at the produce stand had just left when he saw my parents coming back; he turned around to help them load the truck. My dad had to get a running start to get the truck on the trailor--it was wet, and the tires were just spinning. The trailor was only about 6" longer than the truck. We left Dothan Friday morning around 9am and got to Tennessee around 6:30pm. Quite the journey. We were all exhausted from packing on Wednesday, packing on Thursday, and hours and hours of driving. But we survived. And now here I am.

Kevin has found the perfect truck for us and offered to paint it purple. I told him he didn't need to do that... but how funny would that be? :)

I've picked blackberries, watched fireworks, and am being eaten alive by the chiggers. No ticks yet. Earlier I planted sweet potatoes in my mom's garden. Today I'm going to the library, more blackberry pickin', the swimming hole, and I'll get on Partner for the first time this evening. The purple maize is huge, and so are all my plans!

Thank you to all the wonderful people in my life who made this move possible.