Today the sky is bright blue with snow on the mountains. The air is crisp and clear. The horses roam free munching grass and fertilizing. Eight new chix were born to the hen who nests in the barn. She diligently teaches them scratch for bugs and seeds and gathers them under her wings for a nap. I rescued the stragglers left behind in the woodpile and hope for the best for all.
Thursday, January 17, 2013
Greens, Sky and new chix
Picked fresh green dandelion leaves and large lamb's quarter. Excellent salad.
Today the sky is bright blue with snow on the mountains. The air is crisp and clear. The horses roam free munching grass and fertilizing. Eight new chix were born to the hen who nests in the barn. She diligently teaches them scratch for bugs and seeds and gathers them under her wings for a nap. I rescued the stragglers left behind in the woodpile and hope for the best for all.
Today the sky is bright blue with snow on the mountains. The air is crisp and clear. The horses roam free munching grass and fertilizing. Eight new chix were born to the hen who nests in the barn. She diligently teaches them scratch for bugs and seeds and gathers them under her wings for a nap. I rescued the stragglers left behind in the woodpile and hope for the best for all.
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Harmony Hill 2013- Wwoofers we have known and loved.
Wwoofers we have known and loved.
Allen and I have hosted 225 Wwoofers on our small farm since January 2008.
Daniel Glass our first visitor, might have spoiled us and set the bar high for those who followed.
Handsome, intelligent and hardworking. He had an open curious mind and had no problem forking manure or pulling weeds. He had finished 16 successful years in academia and wanted contrast before starting grad school and a job. He reveled in being outside. We loved having him. He loved to cook and laugh and was making a guitar with the help of my neighbor a retired Dentist with time on his hands and a workshop full of ever imaginable tool.
Daniel had a car and got a part time job helping a Russian friend improve her English.
He went with us to concerts and parties, met all of our friends and was part of our family.
The next two Wwoofers taught us some difficult lessons about boundaries and trust and the kind of questions we needed to ask before bringing new members into our family even for a short time.
I developed a questionnaire, because so many potential Wwoofers have different reasons for contacting us. It became important to learn why they wanted to come to our small farm, what they wanted to learn and what their goals were for the visit. Some Wwoofers who have couch surfed, were not prepared to work six hours in exchange for room and board. Some came with fantasies about harvesting and plucking fresh fruit from the trees year round. Living in California this is almost a reality, different fruit with different seasons. Citrus available all but two months.
It is best to communicate as much as possible as to what they can expect and find out what they hope to do and discover.
Arnaud was an adventurer from France, Nelly also from France arrived about the same time. We enjoyed them both and the cultural exchange especially centering around food. Nelly always made her own salad dressing and they both turned up their noses and sneered at Peanut Butter.
Every day at 1pm when the work day ended, Nelly would get a phone call from her father in France.
We laughed to hear her sing "Hallo Papa" and then sit out by the pool in sun for an hour regaling him with stories of her adventures. Her father visited us at Thanksgiving which we enjoyed immensely. Our table hosted mostly French speakers, only 3 English speakers out of 9.
Will write again of the many wonderful visitors who graced Harmony Hill before I started Blogging. There are pictures of some of them on the Harmony Hill Facebook page.
Allen and I have hosted 225 Wwoofers on our small farm since January 2008.
Daniel Glass our first visitor, might have spoiled us and set the bar high for those who followed.
"I LOVE THIS PLACE," were his first words. He had driven across the country from Jackson Ms and gotten lost in the last 1/4 mile before the entrance.
Handsome, intelligent and hardworking. He had an open curious mind and had no problem forking manure or pulling weeds. He had finished 16 successful years in academia and wanted contrast before starting grad school and a job. He reveled in being outside. We loved having him. He loved to cook and laugh and was making a guitar with the help of my neighbor a retired Dentist with time on his hands and a workshop full of ever imaginable tool.
Daniel had a car and got a part time job helping a Russian friend improve her English.
He went with us to concerts and parties, met all of our friends and was part of our family.
The next two Wwoofers taught us some difficult lessons about boundaries and trust and the kind of questions we needed to ask before bringing new members into our family even for a short time.
I developed a questionnaire, because so many potential Wwoofers have different reasons for contacting us. It became important to learn why they wanted to come to our small farm, what they wanted to learn and what their goals were for the visit. Some Wwoofers who have couch surfed, were not prepared to work six hours in exchange for room and board. Some came with fantasies about harvesting and plucking fresh fruit from the trees year round. Living in California this is almost a reality, different fruit with different seasons. Citrus available all but two months.
It is best to communicate as much as possible as to what they can expect and find out what they hope to do and discover.
Arnaud was an adventurer from France, Nelly also from France arrived about the same time. We enjoyed them both and the cultural exchange especially centering around food. Nelly always made her own salad dressing and they both turned up their noses and sneered at Peanut Butter.
Every day at 1pm when the work day ended, Nelly would get a phone call from her father in France.
We laughed to hear her sing "Hallo Papa" and then sit out by the pool in sun for an hour regaling him with stories of her adventures. Her father visited us at Thanksgiving which we enjoyed immensely. Our table hosted mostly French speakers, only 3 English speakers out of 9.
Will write again of the many wonderful visitors who graced Harmony Hill before I started Blogging. There are pictures of some of them on the Harmony Hill Facebook page.
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