A week ago, Charlie taught Rachel and me to extract honey. First, we removed the wax cap which covers the honey combs, and then spinned the extractor to wonder at the honey flowing into the jar. I found it deeply satisfying to produce honey or milk. There is something very gratifying about witnessing the whole process and being able to extract the final product. I find myself grateful to the bees and the goats for their work and enjoy their production all the more.
Since I can’t pick up the phone any time I want to talk to my friends, I am writing down, before going to bed, the thoughts that come up on the subject that preoccupies me at a given time. That’s what I did regarding my ‘latest crisis’ and it seems to help a lot. And getting the afternoon to myself and calling my friend Sonora helped a lot too!
After over 10 days on the farm, I am getting comfortable with the lifestyle, the work, and the people and starting to truly enjoy all I'm learning about milking, cheese making, bees, life in the mountains, etc. I love feeling that my body is getting stronger and that my spirit is getting stronger too from the experience.
My relationship with Charlie and Rachel is getting stronger too. They are very straightforward and easygoing. So, I am learning to define my own needs instead of feeling weird for not loving it unconditionally up there or for not being a vegetarian like they are. This is not the environment where you have to be PC or play games. So, I’m learning to take a clear stance, take responsibility for my needs, and think of myself before others when necessary.
Right now, I'm truly enjoying being on the web in a coffee shop after starting laundry. Feels great to be part of civilization again!!! Hope to do it again soon.
Charlie and Rachel brought back four boxes of bees yesterday and we’re going to move them to the hives today. Very exciting! I hope to post pictures next.
One reason for which I decided to try the ‘organic farm life’ experience was to face my ‘old stuff’ that I want to let go off and definitely turn that page. Maybe because this current situation on the Big Sur farm is fairly extreme, what’s coming up is also is a little tougher. Namely learning not to take things personally and not blend into others' needs. After my first week here, this lesson is definitely coming up: The farmer here has very definite ways about doing things, including dishes, and I easily lose my ground and fall into a stress pattern of doing things right I know very well. Charlie being Italian, there’s a sense of drama to it too!
In addition, he has developed a strong friendship with the other volunteer and I feel sometimes that I have to find my place in this triangle. I wish I could just pick up the phone and share what’s going with my friends but because there’s only one landline and calling times are defined by the milking schedule, it has been tricky.
The fact that the skies have decided to throw a raging hail and rain storm tonight as I am trying to warm up the yurt with a woodstove fire is not helping me relax and get perspective on the whole thing!!! Hopefully, my socks, hooded sweater, and gloves will help… May the Force be with me!
You will understand that I didn’t have the opportunity to post new entries since I arrived on April 12!
For the first week, the most challenging part has been the actual milking of the goats. One, because I had to learn the technique of literally pulling the milk out the adder, and two, because I have to do so squatting for about 15 min. to milk one of the goats. Fortunately, the Alexander Technique has helped me survive this intense experience and after a week, my back can now take it! I’ll put that on my list of achievements!
Hardly awake, I stumble out of my room at 6am to face someone waiting for me silently in the dark. I jump with surprise and Alex laughs at my reaction, the root beer float kit sitting on the table in front of him. I love the fact that this late sleeper set his alarm at 6am to honor the dare we have made at midnight the night before.
He pours the root beer in two short glasses and adds the vanilla ice cream. We clink our glasses and proceed to empty our floats as dawn has not yet broken. I realize that it will be the only breakfast I will have that day and soda and ice cream might just do the trick.
After this great gesture of friendship, Alex and I say goodbye and Robin and I drive off to the airport. See you soon, Robin, and all the best until then!
I try to catch up on sleep during the eventless flight and on arrival to sunny San Francisco treat myself to a Chai tea for the BART ride to my friend Xuan’s house. At her empty house, I take a shower and have a snack. Having nothing to do for the first time in a month, I realize how tired I am and treat myself to a nap.
I already miss Robin and Alex, the cats and dog, and the freedom of nature. I go out to explore the neighborhood around Lake Merritt, do some shopping at Trader Joe’s for dinner. Back to ‘civilization’, I find that I am not missing anything particular but that the bustle of the city tires me very fast. A nice homemade dinner with my friend will be just what I need to transition.
Today is my last day at the Light Center in Kansas. I want to savor every minute of it. It starts with a trip to Lawrence to get a fence someone is giving away! Just what we were looking for!!!Alex, the 18-year old new Woofer, Robin and I squeeze into the old truck, and some unscrewing and sawing later, triumphantly drive our trophy back and generously high-five each other for the great find.
The afternoon goes by fast and ends with a great potluck with the local neighbors and closest friends of Robin’s I have met this past month. As we share the delicious food everyone has made, we feel like a nice little tribe connected around Robin. I will miss them all, even those I just met.
Tonight is the night Alex introduces me to S’Mores which I have never had yet! Another rite of passage as a new American! While I pack, Alex and Trish, the new weekend volunteer, make a bonfire outside the barn. When I come out, Robin and the two of them are comfortably chatting around the roaring fire while Ali, the dog, is curled up nearby.
Alex hands me the munitions: A sharpened stick and a marshmallow. He explains the art of roasting marshmallows. I watch mine expand like a nuked mushroom. At the perfect moment, Alex catches it between two Graham crackers and a piece of chocolate and I bite into it. I enjoy the novelty of the experience more than the taste but discover that roasted marshmallows alone taste like crunchy meringue. Not bad!
I savor my last evening in Kansas chatting around the comforting fire as the temperature slowly drops. The subject of the conversation moves to sodas and ends with Alex daring me to have my first root beer float first thing tomorrow morning as a sure way to wake my system up before heading to the airport at 6:30am. This dare makes me feel like a teenager again and I giddily accept under the condition that he has one too, which he gladly agrees to.
As I go to bed, my stuffed is packed and I cuddle with Buzzy, the drooling cat. I am full of gratitude for what I have experienced this past month at the Light Center. My goal was to face my ‘old stuff’ in order to turn the heavy page of my past and my stay has presented me with the perfect opportunities to clean up, open up, face up, and let go. Only I could do it but I definitely could not do it alone, and I got the perfect help and more in Kansas.
Thank you.
