Life on the Farm

Wake up, climb down from my loft bedroom, go feed the sheep and let them out to pasture, set up the electric fence, feed the stray cats, (delicious!) breakfast with all the folks, hike/farm chores/hike some more/identify plants/goof off with the other naturalists, (delicious!) lunch with all the folks, lesson planning/hiking some more/learnin' stuff at museums and such, lure the sheep back to the barn/feed the cats, (delicious!) dinner with all the folks, jam session/star gazing/movie watching/start a fire in the stove, shower off the poison oak, pass out exhausted.

That's been a basic day for me during the past two weeks. The property here is gorgeous, the food delicious, the people laid-back and hardworking (and very musical--everyone plays at least one instrument!), our little community forming, the soil starting to get tilled and plants transplanted.

The farm is an inspiring place--the Adams family has been running it for the past 35 years, after buying it from a family that had started the property as a retreat farm and homestead in the early 1900s. Tam, the owner, is an incredible woman. Her two sons, Buffalo and Malanyon, with their wives Claudine and Sarah are in charge of facilities, the garden, and the office management, while she invents amazingly delicious food in the kitchen, and oversees everything with laughter and a smile (I don't think I can emphasize enough times how good the food is). It's located right on the bank of the scenic Eel River (one of the few rivers in this country that hasn't been damm(n)ed), which I can hear flowing constantly right outside my bedroom. The farm also has a lake on property and we get our drinking water straight from a stream that flows right from the source down the hill through the pipes to our taps. Everything is organized but flexible at the same time, and our group of 16 employees forms a small family; probably the most admirable way I could think of running a place like this.

Emandal is located about 40 minutes along a windy dirt road outside of Willits, a town of about 5,000 people, which is part of Mendocino County--known for its hippies and rednecks living in a symbiotic relationship. At least, most of the time they are, as there has been quite some hubbub about all of the elusive marijuana farms that squat either on private or State property, huddle deep in the woods, and then steal irrigation sources from the local farmers. With these and the meth labs, Mendocino has gotten a rather bad rap--but I've been quite a fan of it so far, especially after the first day arriving at the gas station and spotting a man hitching up his horse in the Safeway parking lot. They also have some great local museums that are worth checking out.

Last weekend a few of us went on a little adventure to the Solar Living Center in Hopland, and of course we had to sample a few of the beers from California's oldest Brewpub (post-prohibition), Hopland Brewery (in case you were wondering, hops are no longer grown in Hopland). This past weekend, we went contra dancing in Ukiah, which was an immensely enjoyable and wholesome activity, with a live group called "The Skeltons" playing and a caller. Just about as Americana as you'll get in Northern California. And probably just as creepy, considering you have to look into your partner's eyes as you swing around to keep from getting dizzy...and the selection of partners is pretty slim pickin's--if you're looking for a male younger than 50, or at least with all of their teeth and sanity intact.

Between snow last week and intense heat and sun this week, Spring keeps evading this little valley tucked between the mountains. Wildflowers have started to perk up, trees blossoming, and even the bees and insects started to come out more in the past few days. With more rain and sun to come, watching Spring unfold herself is an everyday joy.

I've been spending most of my time with the other Naturalists: Karin, Monika, Wren, and Samm. We all live together and work together, which has worked out pretty well so far, since our personalities are fairly diverse and we're from the four corners of the country, but we all have some things in common: a love for good books, good music, good tea, and a good skinny dip in the river.

The rest of the staff is pretty awesome--Jay and Melissa create in the kitchen, Drew and Hava help Malanyon out in the garden, and Dorian and Leilani help out Buffalo and Claudine with facilities stuff.

Each one of us has gotten the chance to develop our own lesson plans as Naturalists, which has been pretty neat. I'll be teaching folk dancing on Monday nights, followed by a couple days of teaching the "Adaptations" class to rotating groups (basic ecology with some experiments and hiking thrown in), a day hike, and I'll be teaching Astronomy as well on Wednesday nights. After four weeks, I'll switch classes with Wren and start teaching "Living off the Land." Monika is teaching "Pioneer Tools" and Samm is teaching "Seed to Table" (organic gardening 101). And, of course, we all have our farm chores as well--I get to be the pied piper of sheep and stray cats (they live in the barn and the garage, we keep 'em around to eat the mice), Monika is befriending the new Jersey cow and preparing to milk her, Samm is the wrangler of 150 chickens, Karin feeds the goats and ostriches, and Wren gets to teach the kids how to make bread from scratch. Oh, and I've learned a fantastic rendition of The Troggs' "Wild Thing" (teaching about the food chain) to sing at the campfire, along with the John Denver, Bob Dylan and classic folk songs that are probably quintessential tunes for singing outdoors around a fire.

The kids arrive tomorrow. 57 total, 1st-6th graders from Bay Area private schools that we get to "introduce to nature." Crossing my fingers that everything goes well!

Here's the link to the first batch of pictures that I've taken so far: http://picasaweb.google.com/109026254315451451844/Emandal2010#