adios

fin. goodbye for now bethlehem farm. i really am so blessed to have had this experience- and a job that allows for 2 month vacations. thank you for tanking, economy.

hard to leave

can't believe the summer is over. i will keep this in my mind as i head back to my desk job...

stripey

bounty from the community garden that brent started with loaves & fishes so families can get produce and not just boxed/canned foods during food distribution time. the best tomato i've ever had looks ugly and is called a mr. stripey.

flyrock blues

coal train coming out of the john henry tunnel (yeah, that john henry) on the ride to hinton. there's gotta be a better way.

gertrude

why would anyone ever wallpaper a ceiling? it's just cruel. and to be working in a 100 yr old room haunted by a ghost to boot. what a week of work.

still worth it

brent and i traveled to the pocohantas opera house to see appalachian voices- ben sollee, yim yames (of my morning jacket) & daniel martin moore- play songs from their album- dear companion- which supports mountaintop removal awareness. it was FANTASTIC. the show was incredible. larry gibson spoke about his experience as the keeper of the mountains- and the acts of violence committed against him and his family because of how outspoken he is about preserving the land he & his family have lived on since the civil war. before going to the concert- we got the call asking if we could pick up some hummus & pelligrino for the artists- who were we to say no? after the show- we headed to the one room school house speakeasy- and no shit- the band showed up and we go to hang out it. it was incredible. i had my first taste of moonshine, listened to and participated in some great music....and then got home at 3 am. brent & i had to run a site the next day and both felt like zombies...our mantra was- it was worth it.

somewhere over the rainbow

adult week blew in with a storm- followed by a rainbow. adult week is unlike any other in that anyone over 18 can come for a week at the farm- often bringing together people from all over the country and from all different generations and walks of life. great way to end the summer.

you remind me of the babe

we celebrated ashley's last weekend living at the farm by watching the labyrinth- starring david bowie & muppets and had an evening of imbibing, chatting and loving. it was a great way to spend my last saturday night as well. topped off with a sleepover in the dorm.

baby chicks

we got new chickens from ohio this week- according to laura & ashley- they do not yet know how to be chickens- they have some growing pains. i've seen full chicken life cycle this year- killing six at the beginning of the summer- and welcoming new ones in one of my final weeks here.

rattler

today, in between & during freak thunderstorms, i planted these bush beans. during the planting, i did something dumb and tried to walk over wet t-posts in flip flops- in and effort to not fall, i scraped my arm up against the fence where a barb was and got a nasty nasty rip in my arm- but kept planting in the pouring rain. it looks wicked, hopefully i will have a really bad scar. the subsequent posting of my bandage on facebook accompanied by a caption about being bit by a rattlesnake elicted some concerns...whoops.

fireburning

andy the boy & i spent the day making a new compost bin with some retrieved leaves, our food scraps, used sawdust & manure. it practically cooks to breakdown and make incredibly nutrient rich soil. this bad boy got up to 180 one day. now leveling off at a respectable 150. mighty fine.

homegrown jams

treated to some homegrown jams at our friend anna's house- with a band traveling through the area. great night to sit outside, enjoy some good music & cold beer.

rocky top

the farm is on a mountaintop- surrounded by mountains- i wanted to see what it looked like from another mountain- so joe took us on a tour. here's a view of the farm ( and our next door neighbor's farm) from another mountain. the farm is in wv- and the farm mountains are va. it's pretty breathtaking to look as far as you can and soak in the oldest mountains in the world.

worms

spent the day digging in some compost- refinishing our worm compost bins and giving the worms some new food scraps to eat. our large compost collector is getting full- so the next couple of weeks will be dedicated to building some new compost bins- worms & otherwise.

babs

today, a few of us traveled to barbara kingsolver's restaurant, the harvest table, in meadowview, va- the town near her family farm in virginia- where she lived while writing animal, vegetable, miracle. the most delicious food ever. this is a mural on the wall- same artist that did all of the renderings in the book.

lock down

an overwhelming amount of cucumbers means canning! learned all the ins & outs of canning today- and no accidents. all in all, a win.

garlic is amazing

spent the day harvesting & hanging garlic. garlic is amazing- it has antibodies not found anywhere else in the world. if you feel a cold coming on, just pop some garlic and it should work it's way through your system- and hopefully catch the infection.

wood blocks

one of my favorite murals based on cw woodblocks. a hastily taken photo though...

planting a farm

excited to get into the garden after two weeks on construction sites. sometimes volunteers will talk about what they did while they were at the farm- one time, someone said, "i planted a farm" meaning garden, we think...we are prophets of a future not our own.

sju

saint joe's was one of the first groups to have an immersion trip to the farm after it changed "management" so to speak. they created this mural. at some point, bookshelves were built over the mural. even thought the hawk is covered- he's not dead and it's a nice reminder of home here in wv.

beverages

a hold over sign from catholic worker days. some days you just need a cold one.

iced

it's brent's birthday and two group weeks just ended. lots to celebrate. we headed to the enchanter's garden- basically an exotic (and not to exotic) garden/greenhouse to amy & tony's house. they recently built a composting toilet/outhouse. it is the most beautiful thing i have ever seen. brent gave us a tour of the new digs. upon exiting the restroom, amy iced him. later we set off some thai lanterns & enjoyed life around the bonfire with good company. charmed.

energy fast

every thursday night we have an energy fast. sometimes we play with the oil lanterns if they are left around. ffiiiirreeee

debutante ball

it's margaret's last week on the farm. while serving at the farm- she missed the debutante ball in richmond, va, where she could have been presented to society. so, we had a white table cloth dinner in the barn to celebrate- complete with her favorite meal (fried green tomato sandwiches) from the mason jar- and mason jar lemonade. a great time was had by all. except for the wasps we had to kill.

mom, i joined the circus

one of the groups this week is from wheaton, ill and one of their chaperones was in the college circus at u of illinois. for his group's planned prayer he blew at 12 ft fire ball. it was pretty much the coolest thing ever.

ba donk a donk

there are 3 donkeys on the farm. they are also catholic worker hold overs. they hate people because when they got their hooves filed- it was really traumatic. so i watch from afar- but sometimes they let you get close.

no room at the inn

sometimes there is an issue with gender break downs & rooms- this is one of those weeks- i am bedless- so i will be sleeping on this hammock.

let freedom ring

laura, brent & i traveled to charleston to pick up paul from the airport. he went home to omaha to surprise his parents for their anniversary. after many attempts to get good local foods- we had to abandon all efforts and surrender to chili's- because it was the only thing open on the 4th. we picked up paul who promptly fell asleep in the backseat for the entire 2.5 hours back to the farm. definitely the most unique independence day i've spent in a while...

crash

after a week of being "on" for 15 hours a day- it can really take it out of you- saturdays after group week are characterized by this- everyone sleeping- in one way or another anywhere in the house. this week, we have little rest before the next group arrives on sunday evening.

r&r

this is a series of hammock life. last work day of a group week- ended work early and headed to the river for quick swim. some dinner and relaxing before a bonfire. i am blessed to be living this life.

kitten mittens

i am often joined on the hammock by bj- a farm cat that has been around since it was a catholic worker farm. he loves lounging and purring loudly- which i have to say, pretty much makes him by twin, in the way of cats.