Here are some photos taken while on the trip. It has just been great.

We took a few back roads in Texas when we were headed to Palo Duro Canyon and ended up making a wrong turn. It only put us 10 minutes out of the way before I realized what had happened but in the process had passed this scene. When I passed it originally I regretted not stopping to snap a photo. Lucky for me, we had to drive back past it in order to get back on track.

Here is Palo Duro Canyon in North Texas near Amarillo. The first night we arrived pretty late so had to camp in the 'late night arrival' area which wasn't so impressive. The next day was beautiful and all clear skies so it was really nice to explore the canyon and then spend one more night there down near the river.

Here was our camp site for the evening. The truck has worked out great for sleeping and everything fits perfectly up top. We ended up accidentally taking another persons site but he was real nice about it and actually invited us to visit him in South Africa some time on his MASSIVE ranch. He even said we could go there without him and stay as long as we'd like!

Beautiful Texas skies. I had never really heard of Palo Duro Canyon before this trip. It was beautiful; would definitely recommend making it a stop if you're ever near Amarillo.

Iconic Texas.

Cadillac Ranch. It was so windy when we arrived! It was fun though seeing so many years of spray paint coated all over those cars.

In order to break up the drive between Palo Duro Canyon and Albuquerque we made a stop at a fish hatchery. This is one of the places where the state parks in New Mexico receive their trout for their lakes.

Thursday evening we went to Ojo Caliente Mineral Springs near Santa Fe and then camped at Abiquiu Dam. The hot springs were great. I couldn't have felt more relaxed after, and the great thing about the Abiquiu camping site is that it was all free because they had closed for the season. The gates were still open, there was just no running water or electricity. Since we got there after dark it was pretty wonderful waking up to this view in the morning.

Here we had just passed into Colorado and was seeing snow for the first time on our trip.

Once in Colorado we headed to Durango where Nick has an old friend, Jim. We have been here for a few days enjoying the mountains. This shot was while we were hiking yesterday. It was a bit chilly but really not back at all!

Also taken while hiking.

This was taken today. Lets just say it snowed a bit last night! This is Lillie, Jim's sweet dog. She is so playful in the snow! She doesn't seem to get cold at all.

As you can see, the snow is almost up to my knees. This isn't even the deepest of it! As most of you know, I've never really seen much snow, just the tad that falls in Texas, so this is great! It's amazing how when there's snow to be impressed by, the air doesn't seem so cold.

Hi there!

I know, I know; it's been awhile. I got into a pretty solid routine at the farm and never really got around to writing an update. Sorry about that.

I've left the farm though and after a lovely month spent in Dallas am about to hit the road again. This time I'm headed to Washington (Whidbey Island specifically). It will be awhile before I arrive there though. I plan to be on the road for quite some time.

I suppose that's all for now really, until the real adventure begins. Tonight I'll be spending the evening in Denton (my old college town) and will head towards Amarillo, TX tomorrow morning!

Until next time.

- peace

Hello hello! It's been a few weeks since my last update. I took some time away from the farm to visit friends and family back home and didn't ever get around to an update while I was there.

I'm back on the farm now and have been for about a week. It took a few days to really get settled in and back into a good routine. I miss my family and my beautiful friends. Thank you to everyone who showed me hospitality, had a cup of coffee with me, laughed with me, fed me (you're incredible Abigail), or shared a wonderful conversation with me. As always, I'd love to keep in touch with anyone and everyone. If you'd like to be pen-pals let me know! Here is the address here if you'd like to start;

1324 Georgia Highway 49 South

Americus, GA 31719

As far as a farm update, I've taken some pictures of my first project. The kale has exploded and is at the point of needing a massive harvest. Nathan and I spent most of Wednesday working on this. We barely made a dent but I'm expecting to really knock it out this next week.

Here is the bed of kale we were working with.

After being cut back.

Out work station. Black tub for kale, blue bucket for sitting, and white bucket for scraps (or rabbit food rather!).

At this point we headed towards the kitchen.

Once we had finished harvesting we headed towards the kitchen to finish the project. We did a final rinse and then blanched the kale. (This is where you boil something for 1-2 minutes, then immediately place it in cold water to stop the cooking.) This helps preserve the nutrients in the vegetable and also makes defrosting easier if freezing.

Its incredible how much use we have had from these plants. Early on they produced lovely, sweet leaves that were great in a fresh salad. Now that the leaves are larger, tougher, and more bitter they can be cooked just a tad and still have a great flavor and are full of tons of great nutrients!

Well, thats all for now but be expecting more updates from the farm! Would love to hear from you. How are things in your life? Shoot me an email, leave me a comment here, or send me a letter. I promise I'll write you back.

Take care.

I can't believe it! It's already time to head back to Texas. My internship was officially over on the 1st but it has taken a few extra days to arrange my travels home. I will be sharing a ride with someone I found on Craigslist thru Rideshare. I'm excited to be able to save a little cash by splitting the gas and am looking forward to really utilizing the DART system and my bicycle for transportation once I get home.

I'm really glad to have spent the last three months here. It wasn't always easy but I'm thankful for that. I've learned so much. (Not only about farming and community life but also about myself.) I have a whole journey ahead of me and I'm looking forward to every aspect of it. For those of you who haven't heard, my plans are to return here to Koinonia after a few weeks in Dallas. I know there is more here for me and instead of running to the next place I want to come back to see what that is.

I've heard the heat here is ridiculously humid so I'm sure I'll be missing those dry Texas summers but I'm looking forward to seeing the farm throughout all the seasons. I'm heading home Tuesday and will be there until May 24th so feel free to contact me if you'd like to get coffee, share a meal or play outside!

Thanks for all your support. Its been real nice to have so much encouragement back home.

Here are a few more pictures of the place before I leave. I just know when I get back that everything will look so different. How fast things grow!

The weather here lately has been so lovely! Super sunny all the time and cool in the evenings. Not only does it make work really enjoyable but it also means spring has arrived and its time to start planting in the garden! We have been doing a ton of work getting all the garden beds ready. I'll be posting some pictures soon to show our progress.

Guess what though... I learned to drive the tractor yesterday! The cows here at the farm get rotated throughout the orchards, and main field, in order to keep everything evenly grazed. This process involves the tractor because along with the cows, over 100 gallons of water also has to be moved. Currently Brendan is the only one who can do the whole process on his own. He is wanting some one else to also know the full routine so that when he isn't available he knows the cows will be taken care of. I had a short lesson early in the morning and once it came time to move the cows, I was put to the wheel! It went pretty well. I kept it slow and I only had to go in a straight line so there really weren't any obstacles but it was still a lot of fun. Can't wait for my next lesson!

Here is a picture of the one I drove:

A few days ago I got the opportunity to work in the bakery. A group of us spent the afternoon experimenting with a few different blueberry jam recipes. The first one we made was considered 'low sugar' and the second was 'no sugar'. (We made the second with grape juice instead) The taste of the first batch came out a bit closer to what we were looking for.

Although, if we used apple juice instead of grape juice, I have the feeling it would turn out just right.

We'll have to see how that little experiment goes next week.

It's been such a wonderful experience eating so much fresh food. We have recently been working in the blueberry orchard getting everything ready for spring time. The combination of working with the blueberry plants, AND making yummy jam from last years harvest was one worth having. Can't wait to see those little berries start to grow!

Adam, Brandon, and Mary looking over the instructions before we get started.

Frozen blueberries from last years harvest.

Mary; smashing the blueberries before we start cooking.

Finished jam being sealed for cooling and storage.

Just a little recap:

Here is a photo from the first few weeks I was here when Norris and Craig let me shake the pecan tree. This is the machine that is used during harvest season. The long arm extents out towards the tree and grabs the main part of the trunk. Then it makes really small, quick shakes and all the pecans come falling down. It was a really fun experience

This is just a photo of a house in Americus that I found interesting. This was taken with morning sun which I think is just super pretty.

Here are two of the male cows. The one on the left is a Brahman and is the breeding male. His breed is from India so they are naturally very heat tolerant. This is why Koinonia chose him so that the cows in the future will have a higher tolerance for the hot Georgia summers.

Last night a few of us went camping out along the Peace Trail. I pulled my camera out to take some pictures but the battery was dead. I was a bit disappointed but there is always next time. Here is a photo of where we stayed that I took a few weeks ago. This is the meditation gazebo with a fire pit just to the right of it.

We took the tracker with a trailer hooked to the back with all the tents, sleeping bags, firewood, food, and water we needed. It was a nice little ride out there and Ida was super cute sitting in the back with all the blankets and pillows. We had a lovely evening of yummy Koinonia raised pork and smo'res. We had three drums that got a lot of use (including mine!). I really enjoyed that time. I've been waiting for an opportunity to play with some other people and I couldn't have asked for a better setting. Some people left once it got late but Brendan, Ida, Brandon, Mary, Nashua and I stuck around. It got pretty cold but we survived and definitely appreciated the warm fire in the morning.
It was a great Saturday evening and I can't wait to do it again once it warms up a bit more.