We had to get the sheep back in because it was supposed to be cold and rainy for the next 4 days. The only problem was that Jen was supposed to be leaving for Brad's band concert and it is really a 2 person job. Getting the ewes in isn't a problem, they know what to do. But the little lambs are a different story altogether. They run away, down the manure pile and into the pasture, and you have to come at them from both sides to even have any hope of getting them in the door. And sometimes this is not enough and they slip through your fingers, right back down the manure pile and right back to where you started. Before we were able to get them all in Jen decided that she really had to leave so that Brad wouldn't be late. We would have to get them in after she got back. Jen and Brad left and I walked into the barn feeling a little defeated, despite it not really being my fault that we couldn't get the lambs in quickly enough. The barn was complete chaos. The ewes and their babies screaming many notches above their usual din, trying to find each other, the ones they belong to. I finished feeding the rest of the animals and then went up to the farmhouse to take a shower. Twenty minutes later, I walked downstairs and saw that the van was back, Jen in the barn for sure, trying to get the little lammies in. I put on my coat and walked to the barn. When I made it to the bottom of the stairs I saw Jen standing at the grain bin, hitting it with a crowbar, trying to get the grain to spill out into the barrel. Her face, hair, and clothes were chalk white, covered in grain soot. The grain bin was malfunctioning and we had been attempting to fix it for the past few days. I guess when life hands you lemons it's nice to have a grain bin to bang on. She smiled and yelled that I should go upstairs so that I didn't get dirty. She was yelling because the sheep were still in chaos mode, screaming uncontrollably. I felt bad, wishing there was something I could do, but I had just showered, and there was nothing I could've done anyways.
Jen missed Brad's concert, had him sing the songs to her while she drove him to the school.
That was Thursday night. On Tuesday night I went with Jen, Kyle, and Brad to see a movie premiere at the Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park in Woodstock, VT. The movie was about the incredible, groundbreaking work going on at the park. The woodland is the first in the country to be sustainably managed and received the Forest Stewardship Council certification from the Rainforest Alliance, making it the first national park and only the second U.S. federal land to receive such certification. Also noteworthy about the park is that they are regularly bringing school children in for outdoor educational experiences. They learn about the history of the park and of conservation, they take tree cores to figure out how old the trees are, look at larvae under microscopes and much, much more. I've always believed that this sort of education is important but working on the farm has definitely reinforced that. I spend my days digging in the soil, constantly coming across really fascinating worms, bugs, and slugs. I feed the animals, watch them grow bigger everyday, and sometimes see them die and buried in the ground. Just today the cows were brought outside for the first time since last fall. It was quite a sight to behold! The minute the cows ran outside into the sun they began to run and jump and play and carry on in utter and complete excitement and joy! They had not seen light in 5 months, hadn't been able to move more than a few inches, hadn't been able to scratch themselves or clean their behinds. And now here they were, free from bondage, able to do what they do naturally. I have seen a chicken sense the presence of a hawk and go into panic mode. I have seen crops turn yellow and have learned that can mean a number of different things..it needs more water, more nitrogen, or it has gotten burned by the sun. I didn't understand propagation until I saw it happening in nature. A plant shooting out into the soil in a few different spots and breaking off to become new plants. Mostly, when you spend every day outside, you learn to pay attention to things that you wouldn't normally notice. You notice the leaves getting bigger everyday instead of wondering how they got there when they're already fully grown. You discover new creatures everyday. You see the stars. Watch the cycle of the moon. You see the wild leeks, or ramps, food growing unassisted in nature, you harvest them, sell them, cook them, and eat them. You realize that nature is chaos but that there must be some hidden design plan holding it all together. And just when you think you might have it mastered, there are many more surprises just around the corner. Animals and plants, just like humans are breathtakingly resilient. They want to survive. They have so many built-in mechanisms that have been evolving and perfecting over millions of years. And to think that humans could bring it all to a crashing halt is so ludicrous, it becomes harder for me to believe every single day. But the reality says that we can't bring order to the chaos and that the chaos really is order, if we could only see the order in all the chaos. We aren't looking hard enough and most of us don't take the time to look or aren't even given the opportunity.
I am so blessed to have this opportunity to work on this one small farm in this one small town in tiny Vermont. But there are so many people and especially children that have never left the city, never seen all things I try not to take for granted, and they have no clue where their food comes from. We, as a society, are denying ourselves so many pleasures. Someone told me the other day that digging in the soil increases serotonin levels. And yet, our kids spend their days learning science indoors. The facts have no meaning when they are empty words on the page, when you can't see it happening right in front of you. I think there is hope, I have never felt so optimistic. I think if everyone spent more time outside, exploring the wonders of nature, forming a connection with the very thing that sustains us, we would be able to make incredible things happens. The potential is there. So...
"Come and find me. Let's go exploring. There is so much to see and enjoy. I challenge you. Stop watching this, turn off your computer, and go outside. I'll meet you out there."
But before you do, vote for Jenny O'Connell for the Best Internship on Earth: http://www.sierraclub.org/bestinternship/finalists/finalist11.aspx#comments
