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.

It was sunny outside recently so I took the opportunity to take some pictures.

Turnips. After Emily and I picked a whole wheel-barrow full of these we had to trim them up before they were ready to go into the kitchen. We cut off the roots to avoid bringing in a ton of dirt and cut off the leaves to use for cooking. Once we got everything trimmed up I realized how beautiful the colors were. The combination of green and purple is one of my favorites already but when found in nature I find it incredible.

There are so many lambs being born! There was even one born ON my birthday. The sheep have come to be my favorite animals here on the farm. They are used as natural lawnmowers quite a bit so I have really enjoyed learning how to move them (and the fence). It's such an awesome sight when you let them out into their new feeding area and there is just so much yummy grass waiting for them.

This was taken right after my short nap with Little Bear in the warm sunshine. I was helping Nashua build a structure outside one of the greenhouses to provide a shaded area for small trees until they get strong enough to be safely planted around the farm. We also hung a swing which has been nice to have.

Nashua.

The bamboo was a great idea for the top. Nice addition of color! Was glad to have been able to help him on the project. I'm learning so much here and its really been great.

I've really been enjoying all the time I'm able to spend outside. It's so life-giving.

My birthday has come and gone. Another year! What will 23 be like? When I woke up last Friday morning there was this cake, a dart board and a day full of wonderful adventure waiting for me. Thank you to everyone who made it special! (side note - these flowers are a product of my first dumpster-diving escapade. Can't get much better than that!)

I got to meet Jimmy Carter. He attends/preaches at a church in Plains, GA which is only about 9 miles from the farm. He spoke a little about the involvement he still has in trying to maintain peace internationally which was really inspiring. It was cool to see how lively and involved someone can still be at that age.

This is a really awesome family that has been staying on the farm for the past few weeks. They live in the bus pictured below. They are on an educational tour of the United States; teaching everything from self defense, to justice and peace activism, to permaculture. They are really leaving a positive impression.

This is my work mentor, Brendan. (Those are pig ears right before they were thrown in a pot to be apart of homemade dog food)

The last of the dog food. Look close, you can see the cooked ears!

We picked up some tile that was donated by a friend of Koinonia. It was great. We not only filled up the flat-bed but also the back of another truck. Next step, sort and organize it back at the farm!

This guy was hanging out in the pile of tile we picked up. Mother Earth sure is creative.

We had a lovely afternoon of snow awhile back. Best snowball fight ever! Ida (the little one coming after me there in the front) was ruthless when it came to packing that snow. What a ton of laughter we all enjoyed!

Adam made snow-cream. I'd never heard of this. Basically it is fresh snow, sugar, and milk. So yummy! (And once it gets a little old it makes for a great make-shift root beer float)

Other things that have been going on include:

- Emily and I picked a wheelbarrow full of turnips. Half of them we diced and froze; the other half are being made into turnip sauerkraut.

- Have been pruning the grapevines like crazy! Got to get them done before it starts to really warm up.

- Continue to move the sheep/cows throughout the farm to trim the clover and grass.

- Am drinking a TON of coffee

- Started taking piano lessons. (Well, have had one.. and we'll see how the rest go)

- Have been playing a lot of Spades late at night. Good game for sure.

- Propagated fig trees.

- Best of all, am watching seeds I planted in the greenhouse awhile back start to sprout!

All in all, things are going great. Some days I'm pretty tired; both physically and emotionally. I'd have to say I'm learning a lot. Both about myself AND about farming. Can't ask for much more. Thanks for your support.

Would love to hear from you.

Hope all is well.

A few days ago I went to pick up a WWOOF'er from the Grey Hound station. (If you're unfamiliar with what a wwoofer is check it out here, http://www.wwoof.org/) Basically it's an individual who volunteers themselves on organic farms in return for various amenities thru an organization called World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms.

The station was about 30-40 minutes away. I left about an hour early so I could have time to stop and take pictures along the way.

(It was extremely relaxing and a ton of fun)

This is what I got:

"The word "permaculture" was coined in 1978 by Bill Mollison, an Australian ecologist, and one of his students, David Holmgren. It is a contraction of "permanent agriculture" or "permanent culture."

Permaculture is about designing ecological human habitats and food production systems. It is a land use and community building movement which strives for the harmonious integration of human dwellings, microclimate, annual and perennial plants, animals, soils, and water into stable, productive communities. The focus is not on these elements themselves, but rather on the relationships created among them by the way we place them in the landscape. This synergy is further enhanced by mimicking patterns found in nature.

A central theme in permaculture is the design of ecological landscapes that produce food. Emphasis is placed on multi-use plants, cultural practices such as sheet mulching and trellising, and the integration of animals to recycle nutrients and graze weeds."

- quote taken from the National Sustainable Agriculture Information SErvices websitehttp://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/perma.html - check out the site for more great information!

This is what Koinonia is striving for. Currently there is a two week permaculture class being held here. They have partnered with Koinonia in order to have a place to not only come and learn but be able to do demonstrations. The above quote mentioned sheet mulching. This is one demonstration that was conducted a few days ago in front of the library.

Sheet mulching is a method used to create nutrient rich beds (in our case around a few fruit trees) that will naturally suppress grass and weed growth without using pesticides or fertilizers. The layers used in this case (in order) were nutrient rich soil that had been composting for some time along with food scraps, cardboard (to suppress weeds and grass) with holes for the vegetable and other desired plants we wanted, hay, and decaying pecan shells. Those fruit trees are going to be so happy and healthy!

The closest building is the library and the farther one is Jubilee where I live!

Trailer with all the cardboard we used.

Iris that were inserted around the base of the tree as extra protection against weeds.

One of the teachers inserting a blueberry bush.