A Very Full Day Off

Well, today was my day off, and what a day it was!  I slept in this morning until a gloriously late 9 a.m.  Then I made myself some buckwheat pancakes and waited on my friend Meghan to arrive.  Meghan, who is one of my best friends in the whole wide world, was my roommate when I lived in Albuquerque.  She had to come to Albany for work this week, and when she realized she was going to finish a day early, she rented a car and drove down to see me for a few hours!  I was so excited to see her and catch up - it's been almost 2 years since my last visit out west.  I lent her some boots and we tromped around in the pastures, chasing sheep and horses.  We managed to catch one little lamb who was very patient and cuddly while we passed her around.  Then we went to the Three Bears Inn, which is an inn with a restaurant in nearby Marathon, for lunch.  We had yummy sandwiches and some sweet chilled wine called  - Labrusca? Lambrusco? I'm not sure which - for lunch - Megs is a fan, but the locals supposedly think it is a terrible substitute for wine.  Apparently the grapes are not very high quality.  It was a little sweet for my taste, but if I thought about it like juice, it was kind of nice!

After Meghan left to go catch her flight, I decided to go to Ithaca to explore.  Well, the first place that I went was the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.  This magical place is the home of fantastic bird research, and they have a great website with all kinds of resources on birds and bird songs.  I've used their recordings of bird audio at home when I'm trying to identify a new bird, and I use their eBird application to record birds I see around the house.  When I realized how close they are, I almost started jumping up and down.  It's 35 minutes from my door to the visitor center.  When I got there, I felt like a pilgrim arriving at Mecca.  I just wandered around with my mouth open for a while :)  I told the receptionist that I just moved here from Georgia and I was so excited to be there, and she was really friendly and helpful.  When I asked her about a bumper sticker I had seen in the parking lot (it said "Do you eBird?"), she called 3 people until she found someone to go track one down for me and bring it down to the lobby!  There's a sanctuary there called Sapsucker Woods, and there are lots of trails through it.  Unfortunately, I got there kind of close to closing time.  I know where I'm going to be bright and early on my next day off!  I almost couldn't resist the pull of that trailhead...  Apparently they also have a sound lab where you can play with audio tools, and they have a few webcams on nests that are right there in Sapsucker Woods - I saw the herons in person! (http://www.allaboutbirds.org/page.aspx?pid=2433).  I got a CD in the gift shop, and I tried to buy Jon Young's new book that just came out, What the Robin Knows, but they didn't have it in stock yet.

After that I wandered around downtown Ithaca, which is a cute little town.  I played around in a music store, went to the health food co-op and bought all kinds of yummy stuff that I probably didn't really need, and drove around near the lake.  Looks like there are some really nice hiking spots around here, so I'm going to have to check them out too.  Overall, I had an awesome day.  I feel very blessed to have good friends and to be in such a beautiful, culturally and naturally rich area.  Hope you guys are well...

Love,
Aura

Rain, Rain, Go Away

Well, it rained most of the day yesterday, and it looks like that's going to continue on today and maybe tomorrow. It felt nice yesterday, but now it's getting a little old! We were supposed to have a group of kids come yesterday, but they canceled because of the weather. We can't really work the horses when the ground is wet. They are stuck inside too and looking a little restless. Yesterday I worked on some harnesses and then ran a bunch of town errands. "Town" is Cortland, about 10 miles away. It's a pretty good size, and I managed to get to the bank, post office, library, Tractor Supply, etc. I finally caved and bought some okay gloves at the Tractor Supply. I have been looking and looking for some decent reenforced gloves for working in. Here's the problem: the men's gloves are too big for my hands, and the women's gloves are not very heavy duty. In fact, that's an understatement - they're mostly pink and frilly looking! I lucked out yesterday and found a small pair of men's medium duty hidden in the bottom of a bin, and I decided that might be the best I was going to get. I'd already looked at about a half a dozen stores on the way up here. For some reason, they only stock the heavy duty gloves in L and XL. Surely there are some men with small hands out there!

I mailed a few letters at the post office, including a letter to Joanna Macy and a letter to a blogger that I like and sometimes follow named Dan Pearce (Single Dad Laughing). What a weird thing it is to write a letter, particularly to someone you don't know! I'm exploring what it's like - it feels way more personal than an email, and a part of me hopes that I might get responses because of that. Of course, I wouldn't be that surprised if the one I wrote to Mrs. Macy never even makes it into her hands. She is a busy woman, after all. But that's okay - I'm not attached to outcome with my letter writing - I think of it more as a gift, a small token sent out into the world on its own.

Yesterday afternoon I pulled out the riding tack to take inventory and clean it up. Looks like I'll be able to get up a full set of English tack, as soon as we track down some reins. Whenever it stops raining and I have some free time, I'm going to tack up Lady and see if she remembers how to ride! She's the only one who has any saddle training - if it goes well with her, maybe I'll get to work with some of the others later in the summer. I'd like to put a saddle on Guy - he's a giant Percheron gelding that I have a big crush on. He's an interesting horse - his mom is here too, and he's really attached to her. He'd never had any training until last year, and he's 9 now, so he's quite a bit behind the other horses. He reminds me of an 8 year old kid - big and goofy, but sweet. If I have time for it later in the summer, I think saddle training might be good for him.

Maryrose and I managed to turn and plant quite a bit of the garden earlier in the week, so the rain will be good for that at least! Hopefully when the sun comes back out we'll have plants coming up. I'm a little silly when it comes to gardening - I like to walk by all the time and look for the little sprouts coming up...starting about 8 hours after I plant them! What can I say - I'm an optimist :)

Hope you are all well...

Sheep in Costa Rica

Good morning friends! I'm making breakfast and getting ready go pick dandelions for some dandelion mead I'm planning on making this week. Today, I was thinking about the first time I worked with sheep at a farm in Costa Rica. What a hilarious experience that was! In case you weren't following the blog at that point, here's the link to the story: Soap and Sheep You'd think after that experience I would have given up on sheep, but my selective memory totally blocked it out. BZ just reminded me last night :) Remind me to tell this to you in person sometime - I'll act it out and you'll laugh your butt off!

Photos!

I'm farm-tending today! Lot's of little animal chores, and I'm about to go plant our spring/summer garden. Maryrose turned all the beds yesterday, so hopefully I can get them smooth enough to plant in. Here are a few pictures of the farm...

Driving, sheep, and a Barn Raising!

Well, I feel like I need to write every day here!  So much is happening, and I am learning so much information so fast that I think if I don’t write it down I will forget what it was like. 

Yesterday morning Donn and I did some horse work even though it was still kind of wet.  We cleaned out the barn, I practiced harnessing, and we took two horses out with a forecart and the manure spreader.  Donn drove them out to the field, and after the spreader was empty he let me try driving them back in to get the next load.  What a rush!  It was really fun, so we did it a couple more times :)  I really liked driving, but I realized that I don’t quite have the instinct/quick reflexes that I have when riding – when one of the horses spooked a little, I hesitated a few seconds too long because I wasn’t quite sure what to do.  In fact, the first time one of the horses just balked a little (I wasn’t driving) I noticed myself having this weird urge to bail – just jump off the wagon!  That, of course, is not the appropriate instinct, and my brain quickly realized that.  I could feel the connections starting to form, so I think with some practice it won’t be hard to get my reaction time into a good range.  The horses settled after the first time around, and it was smooth, although I also need some practice driving something so large – it’s a little like driving a truck and a trailer, which I am not so good at. 

It was cold and blustery and sprinkling yesterday.  I think I should have brought a few more warm clothes!  In the afternoon we spent some time indoors and I helped Donn with some stuff in his shop.  He does welding and mower repair, and he showed me how to use the blow torch to heat and bend metal.  It was cool, but a little intimidating.  I was amused at how much more scared I am of fire than 1500 lb. horses.  I didn’t watch the welding, but he explained how it worked, and I’ll probably get to watch at some point once we find another hood.

Last evening I went into the town of Cortland to pick up a couple of things and explore a bit.  I found a grocery store, library, wine store, and a big Salvation Army.  I’m pretty much set for the summer!  I went for wine and chocolate and came back with wine, chocolate, olives, fruit and a pint of Ben and Jerry’s.  So much for the no sugar resolution!  I’ll just head in that direction and get there eventually, I suppose…

Today, we got up and did chores and Maryrose gave me a little lesson in looking at the sheep and pasture to determine when to move them.  It’s going to take some time to get the intricacies, but I think it’s really interesting to think about.  I had a big breakfast that included a slice of homemade honey-sweetened rhubarb pie (rhubarb from the garden).  Donn made it, and I have to say, it was pretty incredible.  Might be the best pie I’ve ever had.  Afterwards, I decided to go down the road to our Amish neighbors’ house with Donn.  They were having a barn raising, and he was going to help.  I was a little nervous – I didn’t know if it would be okay for me to help, or if I should hang out with the women, or if I would just be standing around.  But I wanted to at least go see it, and I figured I could walk home if I got bored.

I ended up staying all day.  They let me work right along with the men, and it was absolutely fascinating.  We raised the walls.  I carried TONS of boards in from the cutting area, because that was an easy task that I could see how to do.  I started a bunch of nails in siding.  I talked to some of the men – a few of them were really friendly.  They fed us a HUGE lunch.  I did try to meet some of the women once, but they were young, and I clearly made them uncomfortable, so I just went back to working.  By the time we left, the barn was mostly finished, roof on, doors on.  It was probably 3500 sq. ft., and two stories, although the bottom level was mostly done ahead of time.  It is something to behold.  I can’t even describe what it was like, really.  Everything just flowed and worked, and we built this huge amazing structure!  It was really beautiful.

Now I’m home and I am beat.  I’m covered in pine pitch from carrying all those boards, my brain is mush from trying to deduce what was going on all day with the pieces of the barn and stay alert so I didn’t get a board dropped on my head, and I am physically exhausted.  I might have the energy for a shower.  And another piece of rhubarb pie.  Then I’m going to bed!

Skidding into Northland

Wow. I'm here! What a whirlwind the last couple of weeks have been, continuing on through today. I arrived yesterday evening, and my hosts, Donn and Maryrose, had dinner waiting for me. We chatted and caught up and then I moved all my stuff into the apartment and unpacked, which only really took a couple of hours. Now I feel pretty settled in, with the exception of a somewhat random supply of foodstuffs. There was some stuff left here by the previous tenant, and Maryrose had partially stocked the fridge, so that's good. I had fried eggs and local organic yogurt for breakfast :)  Had sardines and quinoa for lunch, and took some ground pork out of the freezer for dinner.  I'm basically starting from scratch, so I'm going to start out gluten-free and sugar-free and see how I do. It will be good to clean out - my diet has been abysmal the past few weeks.

I spent the morning getting oriented with Donn to the farm and then the horses. I had a great time - he is a good teacher and you can tell he is passionate about what he does. We did some ground work with Polly, which I really appreciated as an exercise, and it was a good way to start to get back into my horse groove. Then we drove her up and down the driveway on foot. I think I'm going to like it! Very similar to riding, but you have to use your eyes and external senses a little more to stay aware since you can't feel the horse underneath you. The lines felt natural in my hands and I didn't have to fumble to find the right amount of pressure. It's the kind of work that has the potential to be meditative - you have to stay aware and alert and focused at all times, but you also need to be calm and mellow.

This afternoon I'll be doing some work with Maryrose and the sheep, I think. I'm really excited about the sheep too! We went and saw the ewes and lambs this morning, and they are about the cutest things I've ever seen. I can't wait to just go sit and watch them in my free time. I mean, my eyes can't get enough. The new flock of yearlings is right out in front of my house, so I'm getting to see them a lot too. What else...the horses stayed in last night underneath me, and I liked hearing their sounds. A little robin lives close by and keeps coming by to sit on my porch and check me out. I heard a towhee in the field this morning. It's beautiful here, I mean really beautiful. I can already see that I will be hard to leave, and I only just got here.

More soon! Love, Aura

Your Life's Work

Hello, friends. I know it's been quite a while since I've written. I've been BUSY in the garden this summer. I guess I should write a post on that. I'll leave that for the next entry - the short version is that I've been farming all summer, started a local farmer's market, and I've been working my butt off to keep up. It's been great so far, and it's finally starting to wind down as the summer ends. I'm also teaching part-time at Georgia Highlands College, which I am really enjoying. But this post is not about that - tonight I'm thinking about what I've been reading, and I feel like reflecting on that a bit.

I re-read "Conversations with God" this week, for the first time in about 15 years. It was both interesting and enlightening, so I'm continuing on with the second and third books in the series, which I don't believe I've ever read. Although when I read books like this I often feel inspired and captivated, I sometimes have trouble applying what I've read and understood to real life situations, so I'm thinking about how actually practice the things I'm reading. I wanted to share a passage from the first book that particularly struck me, probably because of all the thinking I've been doing the past year about how I'd like to spend my time and how I'd like to 'make a living.' Here it is:

"Your life work is a statement of Who You Are. If it is not, then why are you doing it?
Do you imagine that you have to?
You don't have to do anything.
If 'man who supports his family, at all costs, even his own happiness' is Who You Are, then love your work, because it is facilitating your creation of a living statement of Self.
If 'woman who works at job she hates in order to meet responsibilities as she sees them' is Who You Are, then love, love, love your job, for it totally supports your Self image, your Self concept.
Everyone can love everything the moment they understand what they are doing, and why.
No one does anything he doesn't want to do."
--From Conversations With God, Book 1, by Neale Donald Walsch

This passage both spoke to me and made me laugh. It's an honest portrayal of how many of us view our world and our jobs, yet we do it without openly stating it in this way. We might work at our jobs for the exact reasons he gives as examples here, but we might also hate them. And feel miserable about them. And talk about how miserable we are. (Or school, or extra commitments, or whatever). The section of the book that this came from is actually about seeking and finding joy, and being happy with your work and your choices. One way to do that is to take responsibility for them - you do have a choice. You always have a choice. So determine why you are choosing as you do, and then be happy about it. Or, if you determine that your choice does not actually reflect who you want to be, then choose again. At least that's what I took from this :)

Also, it's kind of funny how a lot of books I've read this year seem to say the same things. Conversations with God. Man's Search for Himself. A New Earth. Even the Celestine Prophecy, which I haven't read in a while but would like to read again. I have never been a religious person. I've rarely called myself spiritual, for that matter, but I think a lot of the questions that I am asking and exploring this year are of a spiritual nature, and sometimes it feels like the answers are converging. It will be interesting to see where this goes, I suppose. Sometimes I almost feel like I need a support group for this journey - something like a church, but not a church. Unfortunately, my mental associations with churches are mostly bad. In my experience, they tend to be very dogmatic and judgmental, but that view could be biased from my experiences growing up in the Bible belt. I've felt more comfortable reading Buddhist literature or meditating on my own than I ever have in a church. But we shall see...a discussion group, perhaps? My sister just visited a Unitarian church, which I know nothing about. I'm planning on getting the scoop from her. Anyone else have experience with this?

Hope you are all well.
Aura