July 26
Olmsted County, MN
Today I am saying goodbye to the last stop on my summer farm tour. Restoration Gardens, near Kasson, MN is a unique place. Headed by two women, Pernell and Erin, and there three adopted children Jessi, Jacob, and Maria, and nestled away on a few acres in the middle of Minnesota farmland. There were also two interns there, Brittany and Hannah, whom I enjoyed working with. It had been pretty rainy here so we didn't get much gardening done, but we did do some weeding and mulching, as well as building a sawbuck and cutting some firewood. Today my carpentry skills were called upon as I was asked to repair a floor in a travel trailer they had recently purchased. It brought back memories of Christian Appalachian Project home repairs on dilapidated trailers and sagging houses. The floor in question was so rotted it would have caused CAP crew leader Kevin B. to exclaim..."Well"...
It's been a while since I've been around children. Being the youngest in the family most of my nieces and nephews are grown, so it was fun to toss a baseball with Jacob, and playing tag and cops and robbers with all the of the young hooligans. I was arrested several times on trumped up charges ranging from "stealing groceries" to "smashing a car". I plead innocent, but my cries fell on deaf ears. I was tied up with jump rope and blindfolded with my own bandanna. Minnesota justice is swift and harsh.
My journey has taken a new turn as the lure of gainful employment has caused me to take a job and attempt to settle. You're probably thinking my days of gypsy (we prefer the term vagabond) wanderings are through, but fear not all of ye who choose to live vicariously through me, I still may have an adventure or two left in me. But as for now I will be moving tomorrow to Lakeville, MN, a suburb of Minneapolis/St. Paul where I will begin work at Tigli Tan and Skin Spa practicing my art of massage therapy. Hopefully I will have enough free time to explore the North land, and Canada is not too far away... should I wish to exact vengeance upon them! Let it be known that although I now live in the heart of Viking territory I proudly remain a Bears fan.
I shall continue this blog for a while letting you know how things turn out.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
County Fair Time
July 21
Houston County, MN
I'm working at the Kara Kahl farm this week. Doug and Mary are a semi-retired couple that enjoy gardening and raising champion milk goats. I join
ed
current WWOOFer Justin here. He's an engineer looking for work in the area like myself. He kind of reminds me of my old housing partner at CAP, Kevin D, but he does a poor T Rex imitation. The fact that he's an engineer also reminds me of my other housing partner, UBS Man, but not really. We went to the La Crosse County Fair in WI on Saturday afternoon. In one of the livestock barns we came upon the " Draft Horse Queen". Justin quizzed her on the difference in horsepower between a draft horse and a regular horse. She could not provide a satisfactory answer. The rest of the evening was spent searching for other "queens". We looked for a "goat queen", a "pig queen", and a "rabbit queen", but were unsuccessful. Not even a "bee queen", or a "dairy queen", - although we did have a couple of root beer floats. It was an interesting evening. Big changes coming soon...stay tuned!
ed
current WWOOFer Justin here. He's an engineer looking for work in the area like myself. He kind of reminds me of my old housing partner at CAP, Kevin D, but he does a poor T Rex imitation. The fact that he's an engineer also reminds me of my other housing partner, UBS Man, but not really. We went to the La Crosse County Fair in WI on Saturday afternoon. In one of the livestock barns we came upon the " Draft Horse Queen". Justin quizzed her on the difference in horsepower between a draft horse and a regular horse. She could not provide a satisfactory answer. The rest of the evening was spent searching for other "queens". We looked for a "goat queen", a "pig queen", and a "rabbit queen", but were unsuccessful. Not even a "bee queen", or a "dairy queen", - although we did have a couple of root beer floats. It was an interesting evening. Big changes coming soon...stay tuned!Friday, July 16, 2010
Bad Lands
July 13 Badlands National Park
I stopped at Badlands National Park today and I must say it's not at the top of my list of places to see. It's mostly grasslands, cliffs, and rock formations; much like the state of WY, which you can see for free. It's my theory that our national government needed an easy way to generate revenue so they just took some wasteland that they hadn't already used for Indian reservations, and made a national park of it, charging a fee to unsuspecting tourists who thought they might see something interesting. Actually my review of the place probably wouldn't be so bad if I hadn't arrived there in the mid-day heat, and I'm sure the early morning or late evening sun w
ould create some interesting shadows across the rocky outcroppings.
I stopped at Badlands National Park today and I must say it's not at the top of my list of places to see. It's mostly grasslands, cliffs, and rock formations; much like the state of WY, which you can see for free. It's my theory that our national government needed an easy way to generate revenue so they just took some wasteland that they hadn't already used for Indian reservations, and made a national park of it, charging a fee to unsuspecting tourists who thought they might see something interesting. Actually my review of the place probably wouldn't be so bad if I hadn't arrived there in the mid-day heat, and I'm sure the early morning or late evening sun w
ould create some interesting shadows across the rocky outcroppings. ( Acid rain and erosion have really affected Mt. Rushmore:)
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Craters
July 11
Teton County, ID
Saturday afternoon I visited Crater Lake in OR. There was still some snow in the higher elevations. That night I slept in the open on the high desert of eastern OR. I fell asleep before complete darkness and awoke a little later to be amazed at the brightness of the stars. With a new moon, and no light pollution for hundreds of miles, it was as if I could reach up and take a bite out of the Milky Way. In the morning I woke up to the sound of coyotes howling in the distance. They were well-fed on the plentiful jack-rabbits. Sunday, in keeping the crater theme going, I drove through ID to Craters of the Moon National Monument. It didn't look at all what I expected the moon to look like (but then again I've never been to the moon have I.) As I mentioned earlier I'm traveling toward the east, back to MN to be exact. There's something about the rolling bluff country of the SE corner of the state that's calling me back. I'll be staying at a farm with goats, a garden, and a small vineyard about 20 miles west of La Crosse WI - but not before making a few more stops along the way.
Teton County, ID
Saturday afternoon I visited Crater Lake in OR. There was still some snow in the higher elevations. That night I slept in the open on the high desert of eastern OR. I fell asleep before complete darkness and awoke a little later to be amazed at the brightness of the stars. With a new moon, and no light pollution for hundreds of miles, it was as if I could reach up and take a bite out of the Milky Way. In the morning I woke up to the sound of coyotes howling in the distance. They were well-fed on the plentiful jack-rabbits. Sunday, in keeping the crater theme going, I drove through ID to Craters of the Moon National Monument. It didn't look at all what I expected the moon to look like (but then again I've never been to the moon have I.) As I mentioned earlier I'm traveling toward the east, back to MN to be exact. There's something about the rolling bluff country of the SE corner of the state that's calling me back. I'll be staying at a farm with goats, a garden, and a small vineyard about 20 miles west of La Crosse WI - but not before making a few more stops along the way.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Goodbye Oregon
July 10
Lone Mountain, OR
Today I said my goodbyes to Hazel, Myk, and Travis. It's been hot here in the 90's, but we usually finished our work before the heat of the day. Mon. and Tues. we poured floors that we mixed from about equal parts of screened clay and rock, and straw and water to taste. Wed. we fashioned a shaded area for a screen tent with poles and bamboo, and Thur. and Fri. we built a wooden platform on poles connected to a big oak, to be used by future guests as a tent site. Travis and I made a good team, tackling every project assigned to us with creativity and precision. Thur. also brought the visit of my friend Kaitlin, and her traveling mate Belinda. They were on there way to the hippie festival... um, I mean the Oregon Country Fair, and then on to WA to WWOOF on a goat dairy. They invited me to come to the fair over the weekend, and although tempted, I opted for another route. We went to Cave Junction that evening to a pizza joint/micro brewery that Myk and Hazel had introduced to me the previous night. Fri. afternoon Travis and I took a tour of the Oregon Caves, and that evening I dusted off my guitar and Myk brought out his drum and we had a little jam session in the screen tent. I'm starting my way back East. More on that later...
Lone Mountain, OR
Today I said my goodbyes to Hazel, Myk, and Travis. It's been hot here in the 90's, but we usually finished our work before the heat of the day. Mon. and Tues. we poured floors that we mixed from about equal parts of screened clay and rock, and straw and water to taste. Wed. we fashioned a shaded area for a screen tent with poles and bamboo, and Thur. and Fri. we built a wooden platform on poles connected to a big oak, to be used by future guests as a tent site. Travis and I made a good team, tackling every project assigned to us with creativity and precision. Thur. also brought the visit of my friend Kaitlin, and her traveling mate Belinda. They were on there way to the hippie festival... um, I mean the Oregon Country Fair, and then on to WA to WWOOF on a goat dairy. They invited me to come to the fair over the weekend, and although tempted, I opted for another route. We went to Cave Junction that evening to a pizza joint/micro brewery that Myk and Hazel had introduced to me the previous night. Fri. afternoon Travis and I took a tour of the Oregon Caves, and that evening I dusted off my guitar and Myk brought out his drum and we had a little jam session in the screen tent. I'm starting my way back East. More on that later...
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Treesong
July 5
O'Brien, OR
Sat. morning I bid farewell to Greenwood and motored up the coast on Hwy. 1 and then 101. I stopped at Klamath, CA and camped the night there. Sun. morning I made it a goal to get in the ocean, not being certain if I'd get back to the coast again. After several attempts of finding a way down the cliffs I found an easy access at the mouth of the Klamath River. I walked down to the shore and went in the water ( and by "went in " I mean I stood at the shoreline and let several huge waves splash into me just getting my shorts wet.) The water was icy cold, and the waves were big and powerful. I imagined them originating off the coast of Japan, or maybe some island of the Philippines. Sun. evening I checked in at Treesong and met my new hosts Hazel and Myk, as well as two current wwoofers Travis and Eva. I was given a tour, then we had dinner after which a small fire was built in the yard, and we sat around and talked until dark. Treesong is a permaculture inspired place, built of cob construction - a mixture of clay, rock, straw, and water - and using poles from the surrounding forest. It's quite an unusual dwelling.
O'Brien, OR
Sat. morning I bid farewell to Greenwood and motored up the coast on Hwy. 1 and then 101. I stopped at Klamath, CA and camped the night there. Sun. morning I made it a goal to get in the ocean, not being certain if I'd get back to the coast again. After several attempts of finding a way down the cliffs I found an easy access at the mouth of the Klamath River. I walked down to the shore and went in the water ( and by "went in " I mean I stood at the shoreline and let several huge waves splash into me just getting my shorts wet.) The water was icy cold, and the waves were big and powerful. I imagined them originating off the coast of Japan, or maybe some island of the Philippines. Sun. evening I checked in at Treesong and met my new hosts Hazel and Myk, as well as two current wwoofers Travis and Eva. I was given a tour, then we had dinner after which a small fire was built in the yard, and we sat around and talked until dark. Treesong is a permaculture inspired place, built of cob construction - a mixture of clay, rock, straw, and water - and using poles from the surrounding forest. It's quite an unusual dwelling.
Friday, July 2, 2010
Green Woods
July 2
Philo, CA
This w
eek was spent at Greenwood Millworks nestled away in the mountains and forests. David and Michael, a father & son team have been my hosts. They raise a few goats, lambs, chickens, as well as a garden. My quarters was a screen tent in a little clearing. Mosquitoes are a bit pesky in this area. My massage table, which has been riding around in my back seat taking up space, was finally put to good use, serving as my bed for the week. I did, however, retreat to my own tent a couple of nights as the temps. dropped in the low 50's with a cool wind. I did varied things including repairing gates, and composting the garden. One afternoon we did some sustainable logging, thinning out a stand of small redwoods, firs, and tan oaks, and trimming and cutting them to length to be milled at a later date. We also spent a couple of days butchering two of their most troublesome goats. We had some visitors as we went about our tasks, hoards of yellow-jackets, who seemingly have quite an attraction for goat carcasses. Michael used a fly swatter to keep them at bay. I was peaceful toward their kind, commenting that I had never been stung by a yellow-jacket ( and therefore jinxing myself ) for on the second day a rogue yellow-jacket stung the pinky finger of my non knife-bearing hand. It must have sensed my peacefulness to it's species, injecting only a small amount of venom, and after a couple minutes of very minor stinging all was fine. Michael, however, used the incident to exact vengeance upon them for me, wielding the fly swatter with renewed vigor, and took quite a toll on their numbers. I choose the higher road and remained a pacifist - it's all about karma you know. I also took a walk through nearby Hendy Woods State Park viewing some old-growth redwoods, some 6-7 ft. in diameter.
Philo, CA
This w
eek was spent at Greenwood Millworks nestled away in the mountains and forests. David and Michael, a father & son team have been my hosts. They raise a few goats, lambs, chickens, as well as a garden. My quarters was a screen tent in a little clearing. Mosquitoes are a bit pesky in this area. My massage table, which has been riding around in my back seat taking up space, was finally put to good use, serving as my bed for the week. I did, however, retreat to my own tent a couple of nights as the temps. dropped in the low 50's with a cool wind. I did varied things including repairing gates, and composting the garden. One afternoon we did some sustainable logging, thinning out a stand of small redwoods, firs, and tan oaks, and trimming and cutting them to length to be milled at a later date. We also spent a couple of days butchering two of their most troublesome goats. We had some visitors as we went about our tasks, hoards of yellow-jackets, who seemingly have quite an attraction for goat carcasses. Michael used a fly swatter to keep them at bay. I was peaceful toward their kind, commenting that I had never been stung by a yellow-jacket ( and therefore jinxing myself ) for on the second day a rogue yellow-jacket stung the pinky finger of my non knife-bearing hand. It must have sensed my peacefulness to it's species, injecting only a small amount of venom, and after a couple minutes of very minor stinging all was fine. Michael, however, used the incident to exact vengeance upon them for me, wielding the fly swatter with renewed vigor, and took quite a toll on their numbers. I choose the higher road and remained a pacifist - it's all about karma you know. I also took a walk through nearby Hendy Woods State Park viewing some old-growth redwoods, some 6-7 ft. in diameter.
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