Feeling blessed

In the last few weeks I have gone from being unemployed to being back at an old job that was near and dear to me....from just 'knowing' that I was pregnant to feeling our baby move, seeing the little one on ultrasound (and find out that everything is as it should be), and starting a childbirth class... and from being uninsured and un-insurable  to having full medical coverage (starting Dec. 1st!!) that will completely cover the pregnancy and delivery! Wow- much has changed that I am very thankful for...not to mention that coming up next week is Thanksgiving, which, by the way, is also my mom's birthday. How apropos is that to celebrate the birth of the woman who gave me life on the day of thanks...

I guess all I can say is that I feel blessed.

It's alive!!!

Well, at first I thought it was gas...but no, those little flutters I've been feeling in my tummy are proof that this little peanut is real and that I have a living human being inside me! I really noticed the first movements on Monday, which was the day I turned 19 weeks and once I realized what I was feeling I was pretty sure that I had been feeling it for a few days before that. Next week I'll have the first ultrasound, so we'll get a chance to actually see this little guy or girl and make sure all of it's parts are as they should be...but we'll wait until he/she comes out to find out what the sex is...so....don't ask 'cause we won't know ;)

Fall in Utah

We managed to have an actual fall (you know, the season between summer and winter) in Utah! It only lasted about 3 weeks but it was great to enjoy. I love fall; the changing colors of leaves, crunching through them on the sidewalk, the crispness in the air, and the energy of the upcoming holidays. The past couple of days have cooled off and become rainy and windy and snow is expected tomorrow, so we may be done with the warm fall and on to the cold. We managed to make it up to the cabin last weekend, and the weather was perfect! We'll try to make it up there this winter if I can waddle up that far...

Last night was the 2nd annual Hickenlooper Halloween Party at Jake's brother's house. We dressed up as zombies this year...and if I may say so myself...looked pretty convincing!

The dogs and Sandy have settled into our new place pretty well, enjoying every bit of sunshine they can- even if that means sharing the same area!

I'm still job hunting and have had 1 interview...still trying to figure out how everyone else makes ends meet while still having time for family... guess we'll see what happens. :)

Slipping through the cracks

There are a lot of cracks in our 'system' and it seems that we are all averting cracks as we go through our lives...most of us stay out for most of the time, but being the imperfect 'system' that it is those of us who do fall through the cracks do so at the most inopportune time.
I spent the time that we were in Oregon working with the system; filling out paperwork, proving that we didn't work and didn't earn money, standing in lines and waiting on hold for calls I made and calls I received, watching an hour long video on nutrition to get a $10 fruit and vegetable voucher...and so on. Now that we are in Utah and contributing to society (well, at least Jake is at this point- hopefully I will be soon) we've been kicked out of the system. Not only are we not allowed to take back some of what we've put in from all of our years working but we're also denied to be let back into the working people's club (by not being able to get insurance since pregnancy is a pre-existing condition). So, to sum things up, we were rewarded...no, let me rephrase that...rewarded handsomely for being unemployed and living off the gainful employment of others, but the moment we were able to jump back into the 'gainfully employed' sector every one brushed their hands of us making it well known that we were no longer their responsibility. Now, I'm not saying that we should still remain covered under medicaid for all of our medical expenses or that some insurance company should welcome us with open arms...but it seems like there should be something out there that is available to those who fall in the cracks. As was stated repeatedly during the debate, healthcare is not a political issue, it is a moral one...

Settling in

We've been back in Utah for little over a week now and have been lucky to have family to help us along the way. We found an apartment in the avenues while still in Oregon, were able to look at it the day after we got back, and moved in a couple days later! It is a nice feeling to get settled somewhere...as much as I'd like to think I'm an adventurous traveler, I really like having a home base and being able to know where 'home' is. Jake is back at his old job, getting into the old routine while I keep searching and applying for jobs near us. We're still trying to figure out the world of health insurance but are otherwise just being our boring old selves. :)

New look, new name, same blog

 Closing the circle

We started the new year living in downtown Salt Lake City, planning our adventurous year ahead. Little did we know that we would end up back in SLC; Jake back at his old job and me...well, pregnant. From SLC -> Leiter, WY -> Portland -> and back...it's been a year full of traveling and since we haven't made it back to SLC yet, there's still a long trip ahead. We gave it a try (albeit a short one) to make a go in Portland but after hearing time and time again of how bad the job market is here in PDX and not hearing back from any of the places we submitted applications/resumes I started getting antsy. I wanted some stability, a place that was ours, and a way of supporting ourselves... and it didn't look like that was going to happen any time soon so we decided to start looking into jobs in SLC as well as Portland. As soon as Jake's old work heard that he was looking into Salt Lake they had a job available for him. Although we were just starting to get used to Oregon and were enjoying being around my sister and her kids, finally hearing a job offer was something we couldn't turn down. So...here we are, moving back to Utah this weekend, and closing the circle of our journeys this year...as far as we know...

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Sitting, waiting, watching

After a summer full of working I sure have been doing a lot of sitting in the past few weeks...and doing a lot of waiting. Waiting to regain some energy and a somewhat normal appetite, waiting to hear back on job applications, waiting for approval on health insurance so I can wait to get an appointment with a midwife...waiting is so much fun!

We did get a little escape from our normal day to day waiting by going to the coast on Wednesday. It was a great day weather-wise, but a not so great day nausea-wise and I initiated our arrival on the coast with a trip to the porcelain throne (luckily I made it to the public restroom though). The rest of the time I hung out on the beach laying around on a blanket while Deborah, Jake, and the kids played around in the ocean.

For all of you women out there who worked a normal job during your first trimester, I salute you! I seriously don't know how I could/would have done it while feeling the way I have... I guess there is good reason why pregnancy is usually left to 'younger' women ;)

Fertile ground

So... we've been in Oregon for a couple of weeks now and despite my desire to explore the area I've spent a majority of our time here either in bed or hanging out on my sister's couch.

I knew that getting back to the earth by working in the dirt would be good for my soul, but I'm not sure that we realized that working in fertile soil would make me more fertile :) Unfortunately the combination of pregnancy hormones, nausea, heat, an infestation of grasshoppers, and hard manual labor weren't working well for me so it was at that point that we decided it was time to leave the farm. As much as we were enjoying our experience there...I was done. I started getting antsy wondering where we were going to live, when I would be able to see a Dr., where we would get jobs, if we would have insurance, etc, etc...and when Jake started feeling that way as well we knew it was time to set some roots down somewhere. Although we love our friends and family in Utah we thought that if we were ever going to live somewhere else now was the time to do it- so after visiting our family for a few days after leaving the farm we packed the van and drove up to Oregon. We've both been job hunting, though my 'hunt' has been less than energetic since I have the motivation of a sloth and am nauseous 9/10th's of the day. And after having been insured for my entire life (until quitting our jobs in March) I am now in need of insurance more than ever...so, I've applied for Oregon's medicaid program (which, since we are both unemployed I should qualify for with no problem). Hopefully I will get approved within the next week so I can get an appointment to be seen to make sure everything is as it should be. And hopefully I'll start feeling more human again before too long, it'll sure be nice to be able to think of food without wanting to puke.

It's kinda funny that when we started out at the first of the year...when we rolled the dice to see where we'd end up...having a baby was one of the things we had as an option. Little did we know that we would end up doing both.


Hopefully the next picture I post will be of a perfect little embryo hanging out in my belly!

Quick Update

We've been in Portland a week now and are in job hunting mode. My sister Deborah is putting us up at her house in Beaverton while we're ...unemployed... We really like the area so far but do miss our friends and family in Utah. I'll post more when we have pictures and more info.

The times, they are a changing

This year has been full of many changes and July has been no exception. As the last day of July I figure it is pretty safe to say that this month has been pretty eventful. We started out the month with a rainy, cold 4th of July weekend and were greeted by our first set of WWOOF'er roommates. Adam and Jessica, a couple from Oregon, stayed on the farm for about two weeks (one of which was while we were visiting SLC). They did most of the work on the new, extra fancy chicken coop then when Jake and I got back from our vacation Jake did the finishing touches including the roof, roosts, nesting boxes, trim, and put the back wall up.

 Working on the nesting boxes for the upcoming egg production...

 Jake is so proud of his farmer's tan :)









Our second set of WWOOFer roomies came into town from Colorado on Wednesday. Chris and Allison are WWOOFing to find a place they want to buy land and experience organic farms along the way. I have been extremely lazy and drained from the heat since we got back last week so my contributions have been pretty minimal...which brings us to our next change...and the reason for us leaving the farm this week. Our plans were to stay until the end of August/first part of September, but as the title states, "times are changing". We will be driving back to SLC with the intention to stay there for a few days, determine what we want to keep or toss, then move up to Portland by next week or so.

We have defiantly learned and experienced a lot in our time here on the farm. It is been an opportunity that I wish more people could experience...

I will try to keep this blog updated with the continuation of our adventures, wherever they may be :)

Summer in the (Salt Lake) City

Whew...we made it back from a week long 'vacation' to Utah to visit family and friends. All together it felt like a fast and furious trip but it was great to see everyone and eat lots of good food! My sister and her kids, who live in Portland, were visiting Utah at the same time so we were able to visit and have a picnic for my side of the family...then had a dinner with old work friends...then picked up Jake's sis, bro-n-law, and their baby from the airport and visit with them, and finally we ended the visit with a camp-out with Jake's side of the family.

We ended up leaving Eli with my sister and her kids (who took him back to Oregon with them) since he isn't enjoying the Wyoming heat too well and also since we will most likely be moving there after our time on the farm is done. It was a sad moment to see him go, but I know he's in great hands... Happy on the other hand wore herself out this week and took a nice 9 hour nap on the way home.

Rusty nails and cow bones

This past week we have been working on the de-construction of an old barn which Mona was hoping to make into a chicken coop. After looking over the condition of the building/supports/rotting wood Adam, another WWOOFer/carpenter decided it would be better to tear it down and rebuild using the existing, salvageable wood. So...it was the boys job to take down the barn and the girls job (mine and Jessica) to take remove the old, deformed, rusty nails out of the wood so it could be re-used. Lemmie tell you, it was pretty exciting ;)

Oh, and there were all sorts of random animal bones under the barn...hmm...

 Starting the new foundation.









Today the foundation was completed. That is after we mixed (by hand) 24 bags (80 lbs each) of concrete. Whew, that was fun...I'm pretty sure I did the least amount of work out of everyone though so....I can't complain too much.

The adventures just don't end

It's almost 10 PM and I've been up since about 5:30...it's been a long day. So, here's how it went...well, in reverse.

Now- go to bed, I'm tired.

10 PM start talking to Jeannie online, start blogging

8:30 PM Go on bike ride with our new WWOOFer roomies Adam and Jessica.

7:30 PM Eat (cow from the farm) Steak, dill potatoes, and fresh garden salad made by the roomies (we alternate nights to cook :) )

6:30'ish Build a make-shift fenced area for the 4 turkeys (who are getting pretty plump) and 7 chickens. Herd chickens in, chase them around a bit, grab turkeys and get them tucked away for the night and hope that the raccoons can't get to them. Finally get home from working...talk to Wendy while our dinner is prepared.

1:30 to the end of the work day... The guys decide to tear down and rebuild rather than try to remodel old building for chicken coop. We begin taking boards down and getting the nails out of them when Mona comes over to tell us Steve is ready to take the coop across the creek....here it goes:

attaching chains and realizing that the coop is just too big to pick up and move.

Dragging it works..

and it floats pretty well too

Jake navigates us over on the boat

and we finally get it set up for the guinea hens. Yah!!!









Noon'ish- LUNCH...yum! Chat with Jen and find out they'll be in SLC for the annual campout- yea!!

10 AM- noon  Babysit Guinea hens across the creek since they escaped last time we took them over...oh, and weed a bit. Try to wade across the creek since the boys took the boat and left us stranded...water is too high and swift for my liking so I try starting an old 4-wheeler that I have yet to get started...magically it starts and we drive over to a point where we can yell across the creek and get Jake's attention...

9-10 AM Clip Guinea hen wings... 3 simple words sound so easy -but- have you ever clipped a wild bird's wing?? Catching them was the first challenge, luckily they were still in the coop but they are still ridiculously difficult to catch, then when you do catch them the freak out and make so much noise that you'd think you were killing them...then after that comes the clipping part, then getting them into a box, then getting them across the creek in a boat...

7-9 AM pick, wash, and pack tomatoes, onions, lettuce for the Buffalo CSA. 

5:30 AM I'm awake, and ready to get up...usually this is too early for me, way too early but I need to get some breakfast and coffee in me...it's going to be a long day.

 

Well, we are just about 3 months into our Wyoming adventure, which puts us halfway through our season here on the farm. Jake and I were talking while weeding this morning about what we’ve learned and how we’ve changed in the short time that we have been here...well, here’s what we came up with:

•     Wherever we live has to have trees...as much fun as it is to scald in the sun all day I’d much prefer the availability of shade

•     Farming defiantly isn’t the simple life; although it’s true that things are simpler here (less materialistic, more concerned about things that actually matter, etc) this is not a lifestyle for someone looking for quick money or an easy job

•     Weather plays an immense roll in farming life...living in the city you take that for granted (yes, you do...until you’ve run out to cover crops in a freak blizzard or save a 100 ft. tunnel in near tornado winds you take it for granted).

•    Just because your working on a farm does not mean that you’ll lose weight...I did for the first month or so but have gained it all back...damn that licorice and ice cream

•    There is a natural order to things, a delicate balance in nature and everything we do to the land has immeasurable consequences, so the less impact we have on the land, the better

•     The difference between one’s ideals and reality often comes down to money, which, is a sad truth

•     Our dogs can be naughty puppies when left to their own device in the country

•    We actually like working together, despite the occasional day of annoying each other we get along pretty well

• It is almost impossible to keep a trailer or house spotless (or even ‘clean’) when your working in dirt, mud, and plants all day.

Guess that's about it for now...

To weed or not to weed...

...that is the question. Do we expend hours and hours of precious energy hand weeding each bed of a 700 X 300 foot garden to give the little plants every fighting chance---or---will it end up as a grasshopper wipeout like it did for Mona last year? She said the day after they weeded the carrots, they were gone. The grasshoppers needed food and since there were no weeds to munch on they moved on to the carrots. Not a good thing to see after spending money, time, and hard work on something. The weeds are getting absolutely out of control though...so do we 'selectively' weed?? Not weed at all?? Weed it all and hope that the grasshoppers leave our plants alone?

Hmmmm....the dilemmas of working in grasshopper country.

The little buggers are all over the place to the point that it sounds like a rainstorm when you walk through the field...they're jumping everywhere and just looking for crops to destroy...

The turkeys, guinea hens, and chickens are doing a pretty good job at controlling the areas where they are, but there are only a few of them and thousands upon thousands of the little hoppers...not a very fair fight. We still haven't been able to get them across the creek to the big garden because of the creek being so high still but we did get the poultry fencing up today so that once the creek does go down we'll be able to haul the coop and the guineas over.

Ok, that's all for my grasshopper rant for the moment...

Oh, and it's really hot...

Ahhh...the joy of food

The joy of food, REAL food is one that can only be enhanced by company to share it with. It is extremely easy to forget; and for some unfortunate people to never have even experienced the pure pleasure of biting into your first taste of a meal prepared with much anticipated ingredients, ones whose arrival you have been awaiting for months. A ripe, juicy red tomato bursting with flavor- yes, actual flavor (not to be confused with those imitations you find at the grocery store) and a tangy pesto made with freshly picked arugula, organic garlic from the neighbor, and rich olive oil make for a dinner you have to just sit back and enjoy each flavorful bite.

We have all become so accustomed to being able to eat any kind of food at any time in the season that we have lost the patience for that first fresh red tomato of the season, instead we just buy flavorless, nutrition poor look-alikes year round because we are a society of immediacy- we want what we want now...we don’t want to wait for the real thing.
I am reading a book, A Thousand Days in Tuscany by Marlena de Blasi, which describes in great detail the amazing locally grown, seasonal foods they eat each day...freshly pressed olive oil, artesian bread still oven warmed, hand rolled ropes of pasta, wine from the vineyard...and best of all company to savor each bite with. How have we gotten so far away from the celebration that eating should be? A victory of yet another day with fresh food, good friends and family, and a way to reflect on the effort that went into making each flavor come together on your plate; the land who nurtured the seed, farmer who toiled away to grow the vegetable, and the cook who brought it all together with love and their own artistic flare. Instead it seems that most of us pop in a frozen dinner or open unidentifiable ingredients from a can just to fill our stomachs and empty hearts while eating alone.
I hope that if nothing else this summer I will learn again the joy of eating real food, to see the entire process that goes into it, from seed to table, and to enjoy the company of others while savoring each bite. (This is where my shameless plug comes in for you to visit- see, we’ll even cook for you!!!)

Oh yes, and we have lots of weeding to do...by hand...so come on up and join us!!! :)

All in a day's weather

Seriously...I know weather can be strange and that this year has been a bit more unusual for everyone but... really...

 The storm rolling in...

 The hail and rainbow pictures were taken by Bob LeResche, after the sun decided to come out for a few minutes.

All of these were taken within a 6 hour period...

...gotta love Wyoming

Mini Coop

Jake's latest creation, the mini coop, is a portable chicken coop for keeping the chickens safe at night while also allowing us to move them around for grasshopper control. He is getting pretty talented with the design and construction (but don't tell him or it might go to his head ;)

 The wheels came off of some antique farm equipment.

I've also started a blog for the CSA which will give recipes, updates on the garden, and other info...so should you get really bored you can check it out:  Clear Creek Valley Produce

Roots Run Deep

Alfalfa, a crop which was the previous inhabitant of the field where the high tunnel was built, is still a part of our regular weeding. It is a deep rooted perennial which can reach depths of up to twenty feet, so to say to we are fully removing it when we weed would be silly and attempting to do so would be futile. 

I suppose I'm a bit metaphorical. I use what I see in the outside world to understand and justify what is going on in my own life. Sometimes good, sometimes bad...and maybe it's because I have a little too much time to think while planting seed after seed or pulling weed after weed, but I am beginning to see a real parallel between our lives and the lives of plants...both actual and metaphorical. Of course there is birth and death, disease and the ability to thrive, but there is also an individuality that comes with each plant and a status that we ascribe to each kind depending on our use for them...are they beneficial or noxious? Beautiful, luscious plants or ugly obnoxious weeds? And is our judgment of them reality or just our interpretation of their worth? How deep do our roots run? How much do we judge of each other on the surface, not knowing (and not caring) how differently our roots are?

As I knelt on the dirt, pulling away at each weed in front of me I felt like there would be no end...that as soon as I dug one up, twenty more would take it's place... and in this instance I am right. This is why using herbicides and pesticides are sooooo much easier than farming organically (I haven't even started in on the grasshopper issue). It is so much easier to pour out chemicals that will kill these weeds (and pests) than it is to spend hours at a time picking each one by hand... but just because something is easy doesn't mean it's the right thing to do.

Jake has been looking into the practice of permaculture, which despite it's lack of solid definition, is a way of utilizing nature rather than fighting against it in farming/gardening. It is using beneficial plants and cover crops and mimics the relationships found in nature to decrease the amount of weeds, increase the nutrients in soil, and be an overall better solution to the destruction that we are currently causing on our lands.

We met two other WWOOF'ers this week who are staying at Carols; John, a North Dakota native who had been working on an 8,000 acre canola farm; and Sagel, a PhD student taking a week off of her final year of studies. We got a break from planting and did two days of fencing (which, by the way is not my favorite thing to do) which included digging new post holes, digging up old/broken posts, driving the tractor around in a field with 4 foot high weeds, and tightening barbed wire. When we got to the end of the fence line (where there is a cliff that looks onto a bend in the river) we saw 8-10 large turtles. I also saw a blue heron up close which flew away. Jake also started on a new mini coup for the chickens which I helped with a bit. We finished up on the trench for the main irrigation line from the creek which should make watering the tunnels much easier. Oh- and I planted some sunflowers and pumpkins!

We can finally cross the creek to get to the 'other' garden without making it an all day trip!!







Boys working on the coop

now, if they'll just turn red!!

Planting, planting, weeding, and planting

I think that we are finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel as far as planting goes. We've been planting and transplanting throughout the past few weeks inside the high tunnels but have just started planting outside this last week since this spring has been so cold and wet. The garden across the creek currently takes about 30 minutes to reach via the county road (driving) since the 'creek' is too high to cross...thankfully Steve and Mona are getting a boat tomorrow so we should be able to just jump in the boat and motor across to the other side in less than 5 minutes!! :)

Last Sunday and Monday we did some marathon planting days across the creek planting corn, potatoes, peppers, melons, herbs, cucumbers, brussel sprouts, cabbage, broccoli, lettuce, squash, and....other stuff I'm forgetting. It is AMAZING how exhausting planting can be...up, down, squat, up, dig, walk back to get more seed, break up clay...etc, etc...then you add in the sun and whew- what a tiring day!!

Well, apparently I didn't have enough planting because I decided to do a mini garden at the trailer we are staying in... it really is mini though- just 3 tomato plants, one pepper plant, some basil, cilantro, and parsley... I just hope that the grasshoppers don't eat them all!!!

While we were planting today there was a photographer from 'The Sheridan Press' who came out to the farm to take our pictures for an article they are running next week on the decrease of agricultural land in the county. Jake and I were interviewed last week as was Mona and Carol in regards to their CSA (community supported agriculture). It was a little strange being followed around, having photos taken at all angles while planting...I'm sure he ended up with a few cleavage or bum crack shots with all the bending over we were doing (but hopefully he'll leave those out)... geez, who thought I'd be wishing for knee pads in a job...

I'd have to say that I'm getting more and more used to being 'away from it all' out in the country...seeing deer, antelope, birds...breathing clean air...listening to the sounds of nature instead of the sounds of civilization...and seeing amazing rainbows- from end to end.  It should be interesting to see where we end up come September....  (according to the poll Hawaii is in the lead)