a doo wop coop

talk about full circle... today, yes, TODAY, i attached the doo wop sign to the chicken coop. this past saturday found the farm bustling with volunteers who got their hands on some paint and went to town with the coop, the small greenhouse, and our 'stuff' lean-to.

the chickens don't seem to mind the new colors...
they are laying away, about 9 eggs a day!

the gas is always greener...

i baby sat the other week for a couple of members at the farm. one of the families lived in cold spring, a cute little town a few miles away. i wasn't quite sure just how many miles, so i left with plenty of time... and arrived early, so i explored and found this old gas station:

told you it was a cute little town!

NOFA

last weekend (not the one that just passed, we're going a little further back here), i attended the NOFA (northeast organic farming association) conference in Amherst, Ma.

from thursday to sunday over 1700 people gathered to discuss, teach, learn, and celebrate food and farming. people from all walks and professions. from all scales of growing: backyard suburban gardens, roof top urban gardens, 400 acre farms. it was a blast.

i made new friends, and met up with some old ones.
i lived in a tent for three days, and showered in a men's bathroom.
i watched a contra dance, and danced to zydeco.
i learned to felt, to raise bees, to grow wheat, and to eat like a rainbow.

here are some shots from felting and camping, seems as though i was just too too busy filling my head with exciting things to fill my camera...

meeting new farms

i started at Four Winds last week. which is my excuse for such great lapses in posts.
i don't have any photos yet. nor do i have an excuse for that. i will do my best to capture one of the four winds this week...

until september 1-ish, i will be spending my mondays at common ground, and my tuesday-fridays at four winds.

here's a quick breakdown of last week:
tuesday: arrive at farm, weed some carrots, get really sweaty in the newly arrived summer heat, jump in pond to cool off, end day with an inaugural indian buffet supper with fellow interns muriel + kevin.

wednesday: harvest tomatoes (yes! tomatoes), go to woodstock, ny for the afternoon farmer's market.

thursday: weed chard in the rain, harvest tomatoes in the sun

friday: harvest a variety of veggies for market, weed the afore mentioend pond, end day with fish tacos and yerba matte in new paltz with muriel, kevin, + patrick.

stop + eat

also coming full circle are the wheels on the green teens bus!
after a couple of months, come paint, and some RAD decals, the mobile market bus is rockin' and rollin'

full circle

my time at Common Ground came to an end much the way it started: ONIONS!
after roughly 18 weeks in the ground, these beautiful, tear-inducing, bulbish little guys were harvested this week!
they grew from the greenhouse, were planted, then harvested:

final harvest

as some of you know, my internship at Common Ground Farm ended last thursday. this was a planned event, the position was only for 18 weeks and i started early to see the beginning of the season... it's a bummer, but it's a reality. i will be volunteering a bit for the next month, but my official time has ended. yesterday (tuesday) was my final harvest, and we had a sing-along lunch since it would be the last time that we are a full crew.
i will be starting at a new farm for the fall next tuesday: Four Winds Farm in New Paltz. (step back in time to this post) i am very excited to be working with a diversity of animals, a new cultivaton practice, and on the other side of the river!

i have some blogging to catch up on, and i'm going to break them up into individual posts... enjoy!

ulster county fair!

last week, devin, creek, and i went to the ulster county fair in new paltz... it was awesome!

i have a lot to catch up on; the end of my internship, the start of a new one, canoeing down the SACO river in maine, one day:six states.
but that will all have to wait...

until then, enjoy the fair photos here!