Okay, so I was totally wrong. I have been apprenticing for almost four weeks now, and the experience has been -- I won't mince words -- almost a dream. I say almost because I don't want a dream (as you may have gathered from previous posts), but we're very nearly there. I have returned to the humble apprentice house each day covered in dust, manure, never-healing cuts, and bruises, and I absolutely LOVE it.
Since enough time has passed, I think it's fair for me to reflect on some of the particularly exciting aspects of working in my position - the final four points of awesome, if you will. Let's enumerate them, shall we?
1. The Food
As an apprentice on a farm that is technically owned by the state, I have virtually unlimited access to every single thing grown on the property. Lettuce? Every day. Blueberries? You betcha. Jerusalem artichokes? Once we get them planted. In addition to the plots that are regularly planted as part of the farm's upkeep, apprentices have their own garden plot to fill as they choose. Much of the week has involved excitedly adding to a monstrous list of edible goodies ranging from banana peppers to beets. Many of my afternoons have involved eating wild onions as I weed or taking a break from shoveling to snack on a few strawberries. As the summer approaches, more crops will be ready to harvest, which only adds to the gastronomic excitement. Today we planted onions, potatoes, peas, and broccoli into one of the main fields.
2. The Staff
Shorlette and Steve, my two supervisors, are probably the most badass people I've ever met. Shorlette works on the community side of farming, connecting vulnerable communities to those who know how to grow to those who want to know how to grow. Today we went to a meeting of the local food initiative to discuss (among other things) how to provide residents of a women's shelter with garden space to grow vegetables. Shorlette has been part of this area since she was born and maintains this enthralling balance of professional, approachable, and humble. And sassy. In short, she's awesome. Steve is incredible in a different direction - he worked a farm with his family for 20 years before coming here and knows everything about how to grow everything. I've picked up on random tidbits of an intriguing past -- including teaching physics at a small college, helping his wife spin their own yarn, and (as he told me today) still being excited to wake up each morning and do his job of growing things.
3. The Surroundings
Thank the powers that be that I came to this place. While my expectations were low, I had completely forgotten what it's like to work on a farm in this very important way: the space. Having been cramped into a narrow street filled with narrow houses, I was ready for wide open spaces. Boy, did I get them! The apprentice house is a five minute walk from the 30-acre farm with forests and streams and amazing things like blankets of cypress knees to explore. I have filled a bottle in my room with something new and budding and springlike every day this week. The Bradford pears (stinky as they may be) have just blossomed out like giant puffball mushrooms, and all sorts of tiny animals are realizing it's almost spring again. It's wonderful to walk ten minutes away and be in total silence and greenery.
4. The Possibilities
My most pressing challenge from the next eight months will be to milk this apprenticeship for all it's worth. Shorlette and Steve have made it perfectly clear that the possibilities for what we can do with our time here are only limited by our imaginations. Today, for instance, I met a wonderful town figure named Dreamweaver who runs one of the farmers' markets in town, and I'm now contemplating how I can help out with the market. Alternatively, a small urban farm is beginning near one of the food-progressive high schools, and they could use help starting up. Also there's the chance to work with Steve more on establishing an apprentice-only biointensive plot on the farm, complete with designing our own vegan diets based off of what we can grow there (this is already being done). Awesome, right? I find it interesting to look at the five people who surround me in this work -- three other apprentices and two supervisors -- and see the split between brown and green (a nerdy planning theory that gets my brain juices flowing like crazy) as they approach this food work.
In short, my job is great. Not only do I get to work outside all the time, but I get to meet really incredible community figures who are doing stuff and knowing stuff and learning stuff and and and ... I'm just overwhelmed with good. I have not taken enough advantage of all that is at my fingertips yet, but I hope to have the discipline and direction to do so soon enough. Upcoming: more discussion of our diet-designed gardens, finishing the planting of collards, and starting up farmers' markets for the glorious stretch of summer ahead!
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