A Busy Few Weeks

The past few weeks have been a whirlwind of activity both on the farm and in my personal life... leaving little time for blogging. However, often while I'm weeding or harvesting in the fields, I'm brooding about all the things I should be writing down to convey what I'm learning this summer about farming, living in a community, and myself.

First off, I'd like to say that the concept of having time off in the middle of the season somehow seems wrong to me. I've taken most of my mandatory 10 days off in the last couple weeks and although I thoroughly enjoyed my week hiking in the Adirondacks and a long weekend in Maine, I felt very non-farmerly taking off while the weeds were growing and crops ripening. The time off was wonderful for both my sanity and my body, but I can't imagine making mid-summer vacations a lifelong habit. I guess I'll just have to get used to taking time off in the winter and change hiking out for cross-country skiing and get better at pacing myself so a season doesn't wear me out so much.

We've had some very interesting discussions on the farm recently about the work we've been doing, especially related to our human powered agriculture system. Kenneth asked all us farm hands what we thought of the efficiency and practicality of using very little fossil fuel, and only some animal power, to get things done on the farm, and I must say that I am a little surprised at how much I've taken to the idea of human powered agriculture. I came into this internship with a very strong desire to learn how to work with the oxen and thought that that would be my main area of focus for the summer, but I've found myself much preferring our handy human powered tools and intrigued by bicycle tractors and lasagna beds. I feel as though, if done right, human powered agriculture can be a highly efficient system. I have found that when I'm planting, cultivating, and harvesting by hand (with the aid of well designed tools) we can plant more intensively and more precisely and better monitor what's going on at a much deeper ecological level.

This is not to say that I've lost interest in other kinds of power, such as oxen, horse, or tractor, just that I have a much greater appreciation of what can be accomplished by human strength, ingenuity, and perseverance alone.

Another thing I've been thinking a lot about these past few weeks is my own personal efficiency. I'm always so impressed by Tasha, the super-hero farmer who moves four times as fast as I can even think. I've been trying to work on my speed all summer because I want to feel confident in my ability to earn my keep as a farm worker/intern/whatever on the next farm I end up at. It's been a tough battle balancing my obsessive need to do things thoroughly and my desire to move quicker and accomplish more in my 7 short hours of work each day. I definitely think I'm making progress, but I've still got a long way to go before I reach Tasha speed.

I suppose that's all for now. Tomorrow I get my second turn at market and I can't wait.