Here I am helping the team plant peas. My RV roomies and I put up the T-Posts and trellising. Later on the orange stuff got swapped for a more aesthetically pleasing wire fence, which now continues down along the other half of the plot, too. The peas should grab onto this from both sides as they grow. We planted a few more beds with mixed greens, beets, and arugula. Some of it was by hand, some of it with a garden seeder which kind of looks like a toddler's bicycle that you push from behind.
The seeder evenly spaces out seeds as you walk, dropping them from a rotating plate. Fun!
The rain kept trying to tell us to stop being farmers, so at times, I got to do other tasks and learn a bit more about what the planning process is like for starting up a brand-new establishment. For example, I sat in on filling out forms for a Food Safety Plan and contributed a page to it. I walked around outside with a clipboard in order to draw this childish map in which everything is disproportionate to each other, and it is made obvious that I never learned to stay within the lines. :) My RV is the one across the road from the water spigot on the left. (Where you can see that my trailer is clearly smaller than the spigot. I just think water is very important, okay?) Near the bottom left corner of the map, you can see that not pictured is a mafia of numerous frogs which are very loud but have thus far remained mysteriously undetected by my eyes.
Better at drawing than me, is this guy Rawson. He is a funny, world-traveling, really friendly street artist/teacher. Here he is working on one of his shipping container murals. This particular one is on the outside of our break room.
I love talking to Rawson when I get a little break between tasks. He is passionate about his art and it shows. His main process seems to be all about feeling and just going with the flow! It's pretty great. It's also kind of funny to come to Colorado from Hawaii and find him here, spray painting while blasting some island jams outside. You can view his portfolio here: emagnz.com.
Little Things: Here are some notes on a couple aspects of farm life that usually get ignored...
Another roommate. This baby mouse was so tiny and cute, it hurt a little. XD Notice the giant face to rest of body ratio. How does it even walk? This mouse has defied gravity. It is an anime cartoon. After running around on my bed, it paused to rest its tiny paw on my hand. It then realized my hand was connected to a large living being and subsequently freaked out, jumped, then headed toward the bathroom. May it never enter the toilet. Or, may it go live in peace. Somewhere else. Where it won't wake up the three girls who can't bring themselves to kill a rodent.
I thought my hands were in pretty bad shape when I was doing ceramics, but I think "farmer hands" can definitely compete. Ceramics = bloody cracked knuckles, whereas farm = my hands appear to belong to a dried up, dirty corpse. Hmm tough call on which is worse. Haha.
On this adventure there are questions and thoughts, swirling in my head.
All the time, really, but most people won't hear of them because as one friend of mine constantly reminds me, I'm an INFP. It's okay that he does that, since he is of my kind, as well. And if he is reading this right now, then I know he is about to laugh. Especially when he sees the second picture.
It's so true. Haha.
As if I'm getting increasingly addicted to the "newness" of things, I find myself wondering more and more when I'll be able to make myself permanently settle somewhere. I know it's only been 3 weeks, but over-thinking everything is part of the INFP life, I'm pretty sure. Maybe the reason I always feel like I'm itching to be on the move is because I'm not meant to stay anywhere. The problem with this is that it clashes with my need to be productive and my need to feel like I have purpose. Maybe I have ADD.
I sort of expected things to be more difficult than they have been, just in general. I mean, in terms of dealing with the sudden onset of a completely different lifestyle, and heading out into uncharted territory on my own, I kind of thought... it would be a little scarier, I guess? Don't get me wrong, I'm not wishing it was scarier, and there are certain things that are difficult to deal with even if I'm not necessarily afraid of them. I get the feeling that all this just means I was sooooo ready for something, anything, to change. I was desperate, even. Terribly bored with my station in life. I've become incredibly comfortable with the constant process of further simplifying my life and replacing familiar, tangible luxuries with new memories instead. Once one realizes how much stuff or how many things one doesn't really need, one is able to make room for more meaningful experiences. Sure, one day I would like to live in my own home, decorate it just the way I want, and get a sense of security... but right now, I wouldn't change a thing. I can't believe how little money I've spent in the past few weeks, with the exception of dining out. I live out of a few bags, periodically sleep on the floor, and I'm kind of a loner at times. To someone else that probably sounds horrible, but for me it's working out pretty well. The less I need, the more free I feel.
I'm glad I decided to do this thing that some would consider a little crazy. You know, packing up some bags and leaving the only place I've ever called home, with a one-way ticket, and a loose set of plans. I do miss my friends back home, but I have friends here, too. Really, it's not that crazy. Crazy is settling for a life that deep down inside you know you don't want to be stuck in forever.
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