First Days

Well my first two days are off to a galloping start.  Yesterday (my first day on the farm) was tough.  My body was tired and sore practically all day and I worked 9.5 hours.  It was rainy and cold, but that didn't stop us from harvesting rhubarb and leeks.  Spent a good deal of time filling pots until my trapezius muscle insisted I stop.  That said, I was in relatively good spirits and after I got off work I immediately set out to find the mythical "Forest Grove Aquatic Center".  I was successful and they even let me have my first swim free!  They also provided me with cap, goggles and towel (conclusion: small town people are nice).  

Today was a blast.  After breakfast my boss and I planted cucumbers and then around 10am a class of 15 or so preschoolers showed up to plant the pumpkin starts they started from seeds a couple months ago.  Man, were they adorable! and super energetic.  I also had the opportunity to cook lunch for our crew this afternoon (the kiddies left around 11:30...but another gang comes tomorrow!) I made rice, lamb curry, lentils and braised collard greens (4 separate dishes, not one big mish-mash).  I think it was a success, everyone cleaned their plates.

The afternoon was spent filling pots to use for pepper transplants with the company of OPB (listened to an interview with Vanilla Ice and one with Colin Powell, the two have nothing in common) and a cat named Paw-Paw who insisted on sitting on my lap while I worked.  The rain let up for about an hour around 3 o'clock, so I did some weeding in the garlic patch.  Weeding gets a bad name, but my back was feeling much more limber today and it was immensely cathartic and meditative.  I called it quits at 5:30 today and went into town to run some errands.  

My search for a new bathing suit (I discovered that my old one is completely see-through) led me on my first ever visit to Wal-Mart.  Guess what?  It's a fucking disgusting place!  I stole a single piece of Big Red gum and got a really cheap bathing suit (size small...that's a first, thanks WM).  I went for a long swim until the pool closed at 8:15.  Then came home and made scone dough for the morning.  All in all, a very productive and happy day!

Compulsory Image to Accompany Text, albeit completely unrelated...