Core Values on the Farm

Here are a few of the principles that shape the daily activities on the farm. Permaculture - The brief description: Models natural ecosystems to create a sustainable agriculture and living system that helps to develop a more productive farm. An example on the farm: We plant our fruit trees in the back of horseshoe shaped garden and rocks in the front to capture sun and heat for the plants in between, such as onions and strawberries which are planted close together so the onions repel bugs that would otherwise eat the strawberries. The opposite of planting a single veggie in a long row. Biodynamic Agriculture - The interrelationship between soil, plants and animals that creates a self-sustaining system. POOP! We use donkey poop, chicken poop, sheep poop, goat poop and our poop to create compost and healthy soil. This combined with deep-bed mulching and Rebecca's vast knowledge of composting systems is why we have piles and piles everywhere of different mixes of poop, wood chips, saw dust, leaves, native soil and more poop to create an ecological farm cycle. There are more to come but these are some of the big ones.

Logging Work Hours

What counts as work when you're hanging out with your friends all day and playing outside? Or what counts as play when you're slaving away in the garden weeding and shoveling poop? I've been trying to sift through this poop puzzle as it is now my job to log my work hours for the farm. Is unscheduled time spent working on productive things actually work, or is it only work if it's scheduled on the to-do list? These are questions that we are asking ourselves but if you read between the lines you can see that even though the days are busy, I'm having a blast being able to hang out with friends and contribute to a larger vision. Letters are awesome, so here's our address: 155 Lindsey Lane Port Townsend WA 98368 I built a flat bed trailer for the bikes today and tested it out by having A-mac ride me into town on it. Worked like a charm. I also found my way to Port Townsend brewing company today and was pleasantly surprised. It's not Upslope but I'm sure I'll be back there. Jah Love

I made it!

Port Townsend. The bus ride up here was a breeze and only took 3 hrs and $3. Not bad at all. I even found a guy who told me all about the ghosts who live in Shelton for an hour. His friend had to grab his shirt and drag him off the bus when they got to their stop cause he would have kept talking all day. I met Amac at a bus station close to Earlwood and got some buckets, strapped all my stuff to the bike and made the 4 mile trek to farm.
I won't divulge too much about the farm yet until I can get some pictures to accompany my words but it is amazing and everyone is doing really well. Had my morning coffee so I'm off to poop in a bucket, humanure!

Olympia

A-D2 in Olympia. Had to go see Hunger Games again because it's awesome, and yes it's still awesome. Then Nadeeka and I went on a casual bike ride through Olympia.









We found a NW paradise trail in the middle of no where and decided to lock the bikes and trek down it.









We were immersed in think forests and woods almost immediately with the house quickly falling out of view above the steep gully walls. It may have been because of the movie but I was ready to climb a tree and strap myself in for the night. Deeks spotted a rope swing so I had to test it out.









Steady now,

We got to the end of the trail and were right on the water of the Budd Inlet of the Puget Sound.









And we had a glorious view of the capitol.

And only a little sprinkle of rain.



I also have to say I just cleared my odometer from Boulder and I rode 368 miles since I put it on Bubbleyum 4 months ago, and that's just one of 4 bikes I ride!
I'll let you know when this trip gets to 1k miles.

The Euro Blog is now Made in the USA

I've decided to use the same blog from my Eurotrip to keep blogging trash from crashing into satellites.
It's A-D1 (adventure-day 1) and it's been pretty awesome. I spent the last few days before leaving deciding when to leave, being nervous and then being really excited. The excited part was good. With all the anxiety out of the way, my first stop on the West Coast tour is Olympia to see my buddy Nadeeka. He graciously picked me up from Sea-Tac so I didn't have to try to assemble Big Red (my bicycle) on the sidewalk of the airport and ride to the bus station. Unfortunately the bike box was too big for the back seat so we did some unpacking and assembling on the sidewalk anyway. Yes I know you're all worried and yes Big Red made it and she is doing wheely well. Deeks and I got to take her for a test ride to the campus of The Evergreen State University to check out the campus and play some ball.
Next stop Port Townsend to see the farm in all it's glory. Pictures to come.

Stay tuned.