Howdy!
So I made it to Tennessee just fine, but I haven't been able to get my internet working until just now. Plus, it only works in a certain spot on a bench that is far away from my trailer, so I wont be able to write as much as I had planned. But I did make it here to Tennessee just fine, and I have been riding horses ever since! We have very long days here, usually 12 hours. We are up at 7 and sometimes outside by 7, and we get done around 7pm sometimes. But it is really fun, and never feels like work. I have been learning a ton about horses and how to handle them and train them. Joey is a ranch hand here, and he knows a lot about horses and their care. He is very nice and friendly and always answers my questions when I ask. Bo is the main ranch hand, and he knows everything there is to know about horses. He also does all the vet care for the animals here. We have horses, mules, donkeys, German Shepherds, peacocks, quails, guinea fowl and chickens. There is a lot to do here, and we always stay busy. I have been riding horses a lot, especially on trails. We ride over rocks and up and down hills a lot. We also ride the horses in an arena so they get used to obstacles that they would encounter on trails.
We usually have campfires every night and all of us wwoofers and ranch hands hang out and talk. It is really fun and I am having a great time here.
I wont be able to post every day because we are so busy and I dont have a stable internet connection, but I will post some pictures as soon as I can!
Miss you all!
-Sam
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Tennessee, Here I Come!
So my time has come to an end here in Kentucky. I am sad to see it go because the scenery is so beautiful here and it is so peaceful out in the country, but I am very excited to start working with horses and learning so much about them. Tomorrow I am going to leave here around 7am, drive to Atlanta, Georgia to see the famous aquarium there, then head back up to Nashville for a bit, then head over to my ranch in Hohenwald. They are an hour behind, so I will have that working for me as well. I am really excited to see the Georgia aquarium because it is one of the biggest in the world! And I am definitely looking forward to Nashville! I just hope it doesn't disappoint me, but I doubt it will. I am also looking forward to meeting my new hosts. They seem so nice on the phone, so I can't wait to meet them and see the ranch.
Yesterday I spent the day in Louisville and Lexington. It was a 2.5 hour drive to Louisville, but the weather was nice for a change so it was my only chance to go. I went to all of the huge malls there, saw Churchill Downs, Old Historic Louisville, Thoroughbred Retirement Centers, the Louisville Slugger Factory, Fourth Street Live, and Franklin Avenue. Franklin Avenue is a great place where all the locals hang out. There are tons of different types of restaurants and really cool dive bars. Fourth Street Live is a tourist trap. There is the quintessential Hard Rock Cafe, TGI Friday's, and other typical restaurants that attract tourist crowds. Churchill Downs was beautiful, but there was a race that afternoon, so I couldn't go inside or anything. Plus it was very crowded so I didn't want to mess with the crowds. Historic Louisville is beautiful, and all the houses are so old and traditional. There is a lot of gothic architecture, but it fit the scene well and all the houses were very nice. However, downtown is very ghetto and I was not impressed at all. I left early because I just wanted to get out of that town after that point. I then headed down to Lexington, where I had planned on checking out other parks and malls, and then I planned on going line dancing at a country bar I found online. So I checked out all the cool sights and parks, ate dinner at a restaurant in the University of Kentucky village, explored UK and then went over to the bar. It was after 10pm by this time, so I figured it would be nicely crowded by then.......I was very mistaken. It was essentially a ghost town, but the bar was very nice. There was a nice dance floor, nice tables and the decor looked new. There were a few guys, all in boots and cowboy hats, and a few girls with them, all in boots as well. But that was it. So I talked to the bartenders for a bit to see what the situation was. Apparently they do not line dance there, but they play a few country songs. They play mostly 'top 40' music and no one dances when they play country. So basically they just dress up country and sit around waiting for Britney Spears to play; at least that is what I got from the description. I was extremely bummed out. I asked the bartenders if there were other bars around where I could line dance, and they said that there aren't any in that city at all. And none in Louisville either. What a let down!! I guess it was strange of me to think that by coming to the country, I would be able to find places to country dance. How erroneous of me....
So besides the failure of not dancing like I was so excited about, the day was really fun. I loved Lexington, but would not go back to Louisville. Lexington was like any other major city, but with a Southern accent on everything. I decided that the best part of Kentucky is the country. If you do want to come here, come for the country and not the city.
So today was my last day working on the farm, and it was a very relaxed day. I weeded some garlic, covered strawberry and blueberry beds with nets and picked some asparagus. We had a nice dinner, and now I am trying to get to bed early so I can get up early.
I will see you all in Tennessee!!!!!
-Samantha
Yesterday I spent the day in Louisville and Lexington. It was a 2.5 hour drive to Louisville, but the weather was nice for a change so it was my only chance to go. I went to all of the huge malls there, saw Churchill Downs, Old Historic Louisville, Thoroughbred Retirement Centers, the Louisville Slugger Factory, Fourth Street Live, and Franklin Avenue. Franklin Avenue is a great place where all the locals hang out. There are tons of different types of restaurants and really cool dive bars. Fourth Street Live is a tourist trap. There is the quintessential Hard Rock Cafe, TGI Friday's, and other typical restaurants that attract tourist crowds. Churchill Downs was beautiful, but there was a race that afternoon, so I couldn't go inside or anything. Plus it was very crowded so I didn't want to mess with the crowds. Historic Louisville is beautiful, and all the houses are so old and traditional. There is a lot of gothic architecture, but it fit the scene well and all the houses were very nice. However, downtown is very ghetto and I was not impressed at all. I left early because I just wanted to get out of that town after that point. I then headed down to Lexington, where I had planned on checking out other parks and malls, and then I planned on going line dancing at a country bar I found online. So I checked out all the cool sights and parks, ate dinner at a restaurant in the University of Kentucky village, explored UK and then went over to the bar. It was after 10pm by this time, so I figured it would be nicely crowded by then.......I was very mistaken. It was essentially a ghost town, but the bar was very nice. There was a nice dance floor, nice tables and the decor looked new. There were a few guys, all in boots and cowboy hats, and a few girls with them, all in boots as well. But that was it. So I talked to the bartenders for a bit to see what the situation was. Apparently they do not line dance there, but they play a few country songs. They play mostly 'top 40' music and no one dances when they play country. So basically they just dress up country and sit around waiting for Britney Spears to play; at least that is what I got from the description. I was extremely bummed out. I asked the bartenders if there were other bars around where I could line dance, and they said that there aren't any in that city at all. And none in Louisville either. What a let down!! I guess it was strange of me to think that by coming to the country, I would be able to find places to country dance. How erroneous of me....
So besides the failure of not dancing like I was so excited about, the day was really fun. I loved Lexington, but would not go back to Louisville. Lexington was like any other major city, but with a Southern accent on everything. I decided that the best part of Kentucky is the country. If you do want to come here, come for the country and not the city.
So today was my last day working on the farm, and it was a very relaxed day. I weeded some garlic, covered strawberry and blueberry beds with nets and picked some asparagus. We had a nice dinner, and now I am trying to get to bed early so I can get up early.
I will see you all in Tennessee!!!!!
-Samantha
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| University of Kentucky, in Lexington |
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| UK is on the left and right. The center is a walkway to get to the buildings |
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| UK Pharmacy School, and other classrooms behind in the other building |
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| Churchill Downs from the street |
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| Churchill Downs |
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| Front View |
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| The back, when you are driving up towards it. It appears out of nowhere |
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| Whole Foods Louisville. Huntington is better ;) |
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Rain, Rain Go Away
Hello All,
So it has been raining almost everyday here lately, but it has still been really hot. Usually in the 80's, but with a huge storm that blows in every day. It is very strange weather out here, and I am definitely not used to it. We usually just have enough time to go out and do some yard work, then a storm will come in and we cant go out and work for the rest of the day. It is supposed to rain for the rest of my time here, but I guess that will be okay, because it is so hot outside anyway. I am still planning on going into Louisville and Lexington this Friday, and if it rains a little bit that will still be okay. I am going line dancing in Lexington Friday night, so I am really excited about that.
Yesterday, Bobbett and I visited the Maker's Mark distillery in Loretto. It was about 2 hours away. When we got there, we parked and walked up for the tour. The tour is free, and there were a lot of people in our group. We started in the founder of the distillery, Mr. Samuels, home. It was a very nice home, and there were so many actual documents that were used during the original days of the distillery. Maker's Mark is different than all other bourbons because it is made with soft winter wheat instead of rye grain, so it is much softer to drink. (I guess, I wouldn't know because I don't drink, but thats what everyone says....) After we toured the home, we walked to the room where the wheat and grain is delivered, inspected and ground up. Then it is added to yeast in humongous vats, where it would sit for a few days. The yeast vats were enormous, and the room they were in was extremely hot and humid, and smelled really bad. It smelled like rotten beer or bread; like it had that yeast-like rotten smell. Everyone was allowed to dip their finger in the vat and taste the yeast mixture, but I didnt want to because it smelled so bad. And judging by everyone else's facial expressions, I assume it didn't taste good at all. After we left that room, we went to the barrel room where we got to see all the barrels of Maker's Mark that were in different stages of aging. The barrels sit in that room for 6 years before they are bottled and sold. The room we saw held about 600 barrels, while the other warehouse held over 1000 barrels of bourbon. That room was really cool, and we got to walk through the aisles of barrels. Some of the barrels had names on them, and that is because Maker's Mark has a program where the public can sign up to be an ambassador. If you sign up, you can have your name put in a registry, you will be assigned a batch of bourbon, and after 6 years, when it is ready, you can come back and purchase 2 bottles of that special blend of bourbon, and your name will be on the bottle. And you can dip the bottles yourself. It seems really cool if you like Maker's Mark and want to come back every 6 years to get it. After the barrel room, we got to go into the lounge in the gift shop where we were each handed a glass with a small sip of Maker's Mark, and Maker's 46 in it. I didnt want to taste them, so I just sat there. But everyone else got to taste the bourbon, and we all got truffles with the bourbon in them. I didnt want the truffle either, because it smelled like alcohol. But I did purchase a bottle of the grain that is used to make Maker's Mark, and I got to dip my own bottle in the red wax. It was so cool, and I would never drink the alcohol, so it was nice that they had an alternative to purchasing the alcohol. It was really fun dipping my bottle, and now I have an awsome souvenir from my trip. After the Maker's Mark tour, we drove over to the Shaker Village. We got to take tours of the original buildings that the Shaker's lived in and worked in. I also got to see the barn, tapestry room, worship halls, kitchen, and bedrooms. There were goats, horses, cows, and sheep too. The tour was really interesting, and I enjoyed the day very much.
After the Shaker Village, we drove over to the major city to eat dinner and get a few things from the store. Bobbett took me to Cracker Barrel and it was really good! I have never been to one before, and it was very crowded. I, of course, got a big breakfast plate of french toast with cherries on top, and a ton of sides. And I had sweet peach tea! It was really good, and everyone was really nice and friendly. Cracker Barrel is definitely a good place to eat in the South.
So that is about all that has happened so far. I have my next part of my trip planned. I am going to leave here next week, either Monday or Tuesday. Then I am going to drive to Georgia to go to an aquarium. It is the world's biggest in some aspect, so I am extremely excited to see it. Then I am going to drive back up to Nashville, where hopefully I can take a tour of Vanderbilt, and check out downtown Nashville. Then I am going to my new ranch. I might be interested in transferring to Vanderbilt if I end up liking Nashville, so I wanted to meet with someone and take a tour. It seems like a nice location and it is a great college. I am so excited to get to my new ranch and play with horses and ride them and take care of them! And I am so excited to learn all I can about them as well.
I will let you all (or y'all) know what my plans are, and update with pictures too! Miss you guys.
Love,
Sam
So it has been raining almost everyday here lately, but it has still been really hot. Usually in the 80's, but with a huge storm that blows in every day. It is very strange weather out here, and I am definitely not used to it. We usually just have enough time to go out and do some yard work, then a storm will come in and we cant go out and work for the rest of the day. It is supposed to rain for the rest of my time here, but I guess that will be okay, because it is so hot outside anyway. I am still planning on going into Louisville and Lexington this Friday, and if it rains a little bit that will still be okay. I am going line dancing in Lexington Friday night, so I am really excited about that.
Yesterday, Bobbett and I visited the Maker's Mark distillery in Loretto. It was about 2 hours away. When we got there, we parked and walked up for the tour. The tour is free, and there were a lot of people in our group. We started in the founder of the distillery, Mr. Samuels, home. It was a very nice home, and there were so many actual documents that were used during the original days of the distillery. Maker's Mark is different than all other bourbons because it is made with soft winter wheat instead of rye grain, so it is much softer to drink. (I guess, I wouldn't know because I don't drink, but thats what everyone says....) After we toured the home, we walked to the room where the wheat and grain is delivered, inspected and ground up. Then it is added to yeast in humongous vats, where it would sit for a few days. The yeast vats were enormous, and the room they were in was extremely hot and humid, and smelled really bad. It smelled like rotten beer or bread; like it had that yeast-like rotten smell. Everyone was allowed to dip their finger in the vat and taste the yeast mixture, but I didnt want to because it smelled so bad. And judging by everyone else's facial expressions, I assume it didn't taste good at all. After we left that room, we went to the barrel room where we got to see all the barrels of Maker's Mark that were in different stages of aging. The barrels sit in that room for 6 years before they are bottled and sold. The room we saw held about 600 barrels, while the other warehouse held over 1000 barrels of bourbon. That room was really cool, and we got to walk through the aisles of barrels. Some of the barrels had names on them, and that is because Maker's Mark has a program where the public can sign up to be an ambassador. If you sign up, you can have your name put in a registry, you will be assigned a batch of bourbon, and after 6 years, when it is ready, you can come back and purchase 2 bottles of that special blend of bourbon, and your name will be on the bottle. And you can dip the bottles yourself. It seems really cool if you like Maker's Mark and want to come back every 6 years to get it. After the barrel room, we got to go into the lounge in the gift shop where we were each handed a glass with a small sip of Maker's Mark, and Maker's 46 in it. I didnt want to taste them, so I just sat there. But everyone else got to taste the bourbon, and we all got truffles with the bourbon in them. I didnt want the truffle either, because it smelled like alcohol. But I did purchase a bottle of the grain that is used to make Maker's Mark, and I got to dip my own bottle in the red wax. It was so cool, and I would never drink the alcohol, so it was nice that they had an alternative to purchasing the alcohol. It was really fun dipping my bottle, and now I have an awsome souvenir from my trip. After the Maker's Mark tour, we drove over to the Shaker Village. We got to take tours of the original buildings that the Shaker's lived in and worked in. I also got to see the barn, tapestry room, worship halls, kitchen, and bedrooms. There were goats, horses, cows, and sheep too. The tour was really interesting, and I enjoyed the day very much.
After the Shaker Village, we drove over to the major city to eat dinner and get a few things from the store. Bobbett took me to Cracker Barrel and it was really good! I have never been to one before, and it was very crowded. I, of course, got a big breakfast plate of french toast with cherries on top, and a ton of sides. And I had sweet peach tea! It was really good, and everyone was really nice and friendly. Cracker Barrel is definitely a good place to eat in the South.
So that is about all that has happened so far. I have my next part of my trip planned. I am going to leave here next week, either Monday or Tuesday. Then I am going to drive to Georgia to go to an aquarium. It is the world's biggest in some aspect, so I am extremely excited to see it. Then I am going to drive back up to Nashville, where hopefully I can take a tour of Vanderbilt, and check out downtown Nashville. Then I am going to my new ranch. I might be interested in transferring to Vanderbilt if I end up liking Nashville, so I wanted to meet with someone and take a tour. It seems like a nice location and it is a great college. I am so excited to get to my new ranch and play with horses and ride them and take care of them! And I am so excited to learn all I can about them as well.
I will let you all (or y'all) know what my plans are, and update with pictures too! Miss you guys.
Love,
Sam
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| 2 kids riding horses down the road...only in Kentucky |
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| Maker's Mark Distillery buildings |
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| Where the grains and yeast are mixed with water to ferment |
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| Where the grains are stored after they are delivered |
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| The giant vats of yeast and grain that will be made into the bourbon |
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| I didn't try it, but others did. |
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| Personalized barrels of bourbon |
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| The barrel room. All those barrels are filled with bourbon at different stages of aging. |
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| The taster glasses |
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| Dipping my bottle! |
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| It was so much fun! The safety glasses made it extra special.... |
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| Shaker Village interpreter |
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| The dining room for the elder Shakers, who were in charge of the community |
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| The bath house, where the rain water was held in this large tub. |
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| Carpenter |
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| Miscellaneous craft and tools room. They made their own brooms, and the brooms were actually for sale. |
Monday, May 16, 2011
Rainy Day
Hi!!!
Today, as well as this whole week, are going to be very rainy so we can't do any work outdoors. Bobbett is taking me to a movie in town, because we have nothing else to do. We are going to see Thor, and I am really excited about that! Tomorrow we are going to the Mammoth Caves to go spelunking and see all the cool underground caverns and water pools. It is far away, but I am really excited to go. We are going to an afternoon movie today, but we have to go outside right now while it isn't raining and pick garlic scapes. You guys should look up a recipe for garlic scapes and try to find some to eat. They are really good, and not as intense as garlic. Sort of like a mix between an onion and a garlic clove. We used some in our bruchetta last night, and they were very good!
Okay, gotta go pick scapes now! I will post again later. I have very exciting news to share!!!
Love you all,
Sam
Today, as well as this whole week, are going to be very rainy so we can't do any work outdoors. Bobbett is taking me to a movie in town, because we have nothing else to do. We are going to see Thor, and I am really excited about that! Tomorrow we are going to the Mammoth Caves to go spelunking and see all the cool underground caverns and water pools. It is far away, but I am really excited to go. We are going to an afternoon movie today, but we have to go outside right now while it isn't raining and pick garlic scapes. You guys should look up a recipe for garlic scapes and try to find some to eat. They are really good, and not as intense as garlic. Sort of like a mix between an onion and a garlic clove. We used some in our bruchetta last night, and they were very good!
Okay, gotta go pick scapes now! I will post again later. I have very exciting news to share!!!
Love you all,
Sam
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Derby Days
Hi Guys,
Really quick, I wanted to share a few pictures I have taken over the weekend. We had been very busy picking asparagus and such, and today it started pouring while we were on our way to town to do our shopping for the rest of the month. It is supposed to rain for the rest of the week, so I think we are stuck indoors for a while. Enjoy the pictures! I will be sure to take more when I can.
Really quick, I wanted to share a few pictures I have taken over the weekend. We had been very busy picking asparagus and such, and today it started pouring while we were on our way to town to do our shopping for the rest of the month. It is supposed to rain for the rest of the week, so I think we are stuck indoors for a while. Enjoy the pictures! I will be sure to take more when I can.
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| this is a normal sized asparagus |
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| this is our sized asparagus!!! |
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| look! it's my kentucky derby horse... |
Friday, May 13, 2011
It's Raining
Hi All,
So I woke up and got all ready for a day of heat, humidity and weeding in the sunshine. Right before I walked outside, I started to hear loud, LOUD thunder. I figured that it was probably storming in a neighboring county, because it was still sunny here and usually storms can pass right over the house and not hit us even though it is dark and stormy all around us. But, as soon as I walked outside, it started pouring, with more lightening and thunder, so I got to come back inside and figure out what I am going to do until the storm passes. Bobbett and I decided to make homemade tortillas, bread and biscuits for the day. Right now it is still raining, but it is lightening up. It will probably rain for the rest of the day, so we are stuck inside.
Yesterday I got to make homemade strawberry jam. I mixed the strawberries and canned them in a water bath. The jam is very good, and I am excited to use it!
After we made jam, I realized I was out of sunscreen so we had to make a trip into town to go get some for me. A trip to town consists of driving 25 minutes to the town, which is the nearest form of civilization. Outside of town there are no stores anywhere so going to town is the only way to get things you need. We went to town to get me sunscreen, then we went to a few other stores to look at things. Bobbett took me to a few dollar stores, and they were really interesting places. They are different than our 0.99 cent stores, and they have cool things sometimes. I ended up buying a ton of candy (of course!). Then we had to drive all the way home and make dinner. We had fresh asparagus from the garden and pasta with olive oil. I also got to go swimming yesterday. We worked for a long time in the sun and got really hot, then we jumped into the pool with our clothes on so we could cool off as we dried. The pool was cold, but it felt so refreshing after we had just sweat our butts off weeding all day. We swam for a while, then got out and did some chores around the house. Then we went to town.
Today we will be inside for most of the day, and tomorrow it is supposed to rain all day again. We are thinking of going to some antique stores or maybe doing our grocery shopping for the week. Tomorrow night I am taking Bobbett to a country bar that I found out in the backwoods. There was a big red barn somewhere in the middle of nowhere on a back road, and a sign that said 'Country Music' so I looked it up and they play live country music Friday and Saturday nights and line dance too. I am excited to go and check it out, but I dont expect it to be great. I am sure it is just a bunch of locals who have nothing better to do on a Saturday night. Casey County is a dry county, so there is no alcohol served anywhere, so at least I dont have to worry about any strange drunks or anything. Bobbett isnt going to dance, but she will sit there and enjoy the music with me. I will dance if I know the dances, but I highly doubt that they do the same line dances that we do in California. At least it will be an adventure!
I will update later when I figure out what we are going to do tomorrow.
Miss you all!
-Sam
So I woke up and got all ready for a day of heat, humidity and weeding in the sunshine. Right before I walked outside, I started to hear loud, LOUD thunder. I figured that it was probably storming in a neighboring county, because it was still sunny here and usually storms can pass right over the house and not hit us even though it is dark and stormy all around us. But, as soon as I walked outside, it started pouring, with more lightening and thunder, so I got to come back inside and figure out what I am going to do until the storm passes. Bobbett and I decided to make homemade tortillas, bread and biscuits for the day. Right now it is still raining, but it is lightening up. It will probably rain for the rest of the day, so we are stuck inside.
Yesterday I got to make homemade strawberry jam. I mixed the strawberries and canned them in a water bath. The jam is very good, and I am excited to use it!
After we made jam, I realized I was out of sunscreen so we had to make a trip into town to go get some for me. A trip to town consists of driving 25 minutes to the town, which is the nearest form of civilization. Outside of town there are no stores anywhere so going to town is the only way to get things you need. We went to town to get me sunscreen, then we went to a few other stores to look at things. Bobbett took me to a few dollar stores, and they were really interesting places. They are different than our 0.99 cent stores, and they have cool things sometimes. I ended up buying a ton of candy (of course!). Then we had to drive all the way home and make dinner. We had fresh asparagus from the garden and pasta with olive oil. I also got to go swimming yesterday. We worked for a long time in the sun and got really hot, then we jumped into the pool with our clothes on so we could cool off as we dried. The pool was cold, but it felt so refreshing after we had just sweat our butts off weeding all day. We swam for a while, then got out and did some chores around the house. Then we went to town.
Today we will be inside for most of the day, and tomorrow it is supposed to rain all day again. We are thinking of going to some antique stores or maybe doing our grocery shopping for the week. Tomorrow night I am taking Bobbett to a country bar that I found out in the backwoods. There was a big red barn somewhere in the middle of nowhere on a back road, and a sign that said 'Country Music' so I looked it up and they play live country music Friday and Saturday nights and line dance too. I am excited to go and check it out, but I dont expect it to be great. I am sure it is just a bunch of locals who have nothing better to do on a Saturday night. Casey County is a dry county, so there is no alcohol served anywhere, so at least I dont have to worry about any strange drunks or anything. Bobbett isnt going to dance, but she will sit there and enjoy the music with me. I will dance if I know the dances, but I highly doubt that they do the same line dances that we do in California. At least it will be an adventure!
I will update later when I figure out what we are going to do tomorrow.
Miss you all!
-Sam
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
It is SO hot here!
Hi Guys,
It was in the high 80's today, but still no rain. It is very hot and humid, but I think I must be adjusting well because it really doesn't bother me too much. I am drenched in sweat after 5 minutes outside, but I don't feel like I am overheating or anything. The forecast says high 80's, then rain this weekend. I think tomorrow I might jump in the pool no matter how hot or cold I feel. I think it will be fun and a nice way to cool off. The pool is not heated, so it is still very cold from the winter. It will probably warm up by the end of summer, but I won't be here so I have to jump in a lot while I am here.
Today Bobbett and I weeded a few more raspberry rows, redid some wire to keep the bushes up because they have long arms that fall down on the ground if they aren't secured, and weeded a few more rows of her garlic crop. If the berry bushes fall on the ground, the animals will come and eat all the berries before we can pick them, so we have to keep all the bushes tied up high on the wires that support them. The animals don't go after strawberries, and we have those under a mesh net anyway, so we are just waiting for them to ripen up. They should be ready to pick by next week or the week after. Today we went over to the Martin's, who are a very large Mennonite family with a ton of land, and bought some fresh strawberries. One of the older daughters was there while her younger siblings were at the schoolhouse. She sold us the berries, and they had a few extra baskets full, so we bought them too because I LOVE strawberries. I already ate a few and they were so delicious! It is so nice to be able to eat fresh, organic fruit that was picked from your neighbor's backyard that morning. I think it was fairly priced as well; $12 for a gallon of berries. But when ours are ripe, we can eat all we want!
Usually we work for about an hour around 12pm, then we take a break, then work for just a little longer. Then we come in during the hottest part of the afternoon or lounge by the pool, or I sit under shade trees and read. Then we wait until about 4 or 5 and go back out to finish working when it has cooled off a bit. Then we come inside and make dinner. I usually eat a big salad every night because there is so much organic lettuce growing that I can eat all I want and still have more left, and all the salad that I make is all organic and natural from the garden. It is really good. Sometimes I sautee spinach from the garden with fresh garlic from the garden, or I make asparagus that we picked that day. I have all the garlic I want as well. And there is an entire freezer full of frozen fruit from Bobbett's crops last year, so I eat raspberries, blackberries, elderberries, and all kinds of fruit.
I really am enjoying myself here and there is always something fun to do. It is very hot, but it feels good to be outside working in the sun. I feel like I have accomplished something at the end of the day.
This weekend when it rains, Bobbett and I are going into town to do more grocery shopping, antique shopping and I think we are going to see a movie. Movies here are only $4, and those are the new ones! It is so different living in a small town in the middle of nowhere. Everything is much slower paced, everyone is nicer, and things are more peaceful. I hear birds, crickets and frogs every night outside my windows, and I have beautiful views of the forest and fields from my upstairs window. Plus, I can go in the jacuzzi after dark and look up and see billions of stars in the sky. There are no lights around from cars or the city or other houses, so there is no light pollution. Plus there are completely clear skies here, so stars are visible. We also have bats at night, and frogs and birds that come out to eat the bugs. Birds are great pest control for crops, so almost everyone around town here has bird houses made out of gourds to encourage birds to live in their fields and eat the bugs.
Tomorrow I will do some more weeding, and we have nothing else planned after that. The days pass by slow, but it is all moving so fast at the same time. I will be leaving here in a couple weeks, but I feel like I just got here. It is kind of nice not knowing what day it is or what time it is. I get to just focus on the scenery and nature. I still need to go exploring some more and find rivers and ponds to walk through. I will do that another day, but I have to wear pants because poison ivy is everywhere here! I haven't touched it yet, and I am determined to stay away from it!
Gotta go now, Bobbett is making homemade lemon ice- like sorbetto- and we are going to make tortillas from scratch later.
Love you all, stay cool for me!
-Sam
It was in the high 80's today, but still no rain. It is very hot and humid, but I think I must be adjusting well because it really doesn't bother me too much. I am drenched in sweat after 5 minutes outside, but I don't feel like I am overheating or anything. The forecast says high 80's, then rain this weekend. I think tomorrow I might jump in the pool no matter how hot or cold I feel. I think it will be fun and a nice way to cool off. The pool is not heated, so it is still very cold from the winter. It will probably warm up by the end of summer, but I won't be here so I have to jump in a lot while I am here.
Today Bobbett and I weeded a few more raspberry rows, redid some wire to keep the bushes up because they have long arms that fall down on the ground if they aren't secured, and weeded a few more rows of her garlic crop. If the berry bushes fall on the ground, the animals will come and eat all the berries before we can pick them, so we have to keep all the bushes tied up high on the wires that support them. The animals don't go after strawberries, and we have those under a mesh net anyway, so we are just waiting for them to ripen up. They should be ready to pick by next week or the week after. Today we went over to the Martin's, who are a very large Mennonite family with a ton of land, and bought some fresh strawberries. One of the older daughters was there while her younger siblings were at the schoolhouse. She sold us the berries, and they had a few extra baskets full, so we bought them too because I LOVE strawberries. I already ate a few and they were so delicious! It is so nice to be able to eat fresh, organic fruit that was picked from your neighbor's backyard that morning. I think it was fairly priced as well; $12 for a gallon of berries. But when ours are ripe, we can eat all we want!
Usually we work for about an hour around 12pm, then we take a break, then work for just a little longer. Then we come in during the hottest part of the afternoon or lounge by the pool, or I sit under shade trees and read. Then we wait until about 4 or 5 and go back out to finish working when it has cooled off a bit. Then we come inside and make dinner. I usually eat a big salad every night because there is so much organic lettuce growing that I can eat all I want and still have more left, and all the salad that I make is all organic and natural from the garden. It is really good. Sometimes I sautee spinach from the garden with fresh garlic from the garden, or I make asparagus that we picked that day. I have all the garlic I want as well. And there is an entire freezer full of frozen fruit from Bobbett's crops last year, so I eat raspberries, blackberries, elderberries, and all kinds of fruit.
I really am enjoying myself here and there is always something fun to do. It is very hot, but it feels good to be outside working in the sun. I feel like I have accomplished something at the end of the day.
This weekend when it rains, Bobbett and I are going into town to do more grocery shopping, antique shopping and I think we are going to see a movie. Movies here are only $4, and those are the new ones! It is so different living in a small town in the middle of nowhere. Everything is much slower paced, everyone is nicer, and things are more peaceful. I hear birds, crickets and frogs every night outside my windows, and I have beautiful views of the forest and fields from my upstairs window. Plus, I can go in the jacuzzi after dark and look up and see billions of stars in the sky. There are no lights around from cars or the city or other houses, so there is no light pollution. Plus there are completely clear skies here, so stars are visible. We also have bats at night, and frogs and birds that come out to eat the bugs. Birds are great pest control for crops, so almost everyone around town here has bird houses made out of gourds to encourage birds to live in their fields and eat the bugs.
Tomorrow I will do some more weeding, and we have nothing else planned after that. The days pass by slow, but it is all moving so fast at the same time. I will be leaving here in a couple weeks, but I feel like I just got here. It is kind of nice not knowing what day it is or what time it is. I get to just focus on the scenery and nature. I still need to go exploring some more and find rivers and ponds to walk through. I will do that another day, but I have to wear pants because poison ivy is everywhere here! I haven't touched it yet, and I am determined to stay away from it!
Gotta go now, Bobbett is making homemade lemon ice- like sorbetto- and we are going to make tortillas from scratch later.
Love you all, stay cool for me!
-Sam
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