One Week for Camp Moore

We've been in the Camper on the Farm for one week! While it has had it's bumps in the road, Camp Moore has been really fantastic. 


I've been able to help in the gardens here and there as time allowed. I helped Ian dig up invading yellow dock out of the garlic bed and helped Hannah pick radishes for market. Hannah and I also cleaned up trimmed branches from the fruit trees (enjoyable) and completed the first after winter cleaning of the chicken coop (less enjoyable). The fun part about the trimmings is that they are not cut up and burned at Mad Farmer's Garden. They are piled all together to make a habitat for the local quails. Ian and Hannah are both really fantastic and gracious teachers, for which I am grateful. I feel like I know some stuff, but really, I have very little knowledge of gardening and the like. Jared was able to go back to work on Thursday and Friday, thankfully. 

The kids have had their fair share of adventures this week as well. They've investigated many parts of the farm. Viven, Ian and Hannah's oldest son (Five years old) is a great tour guide and, as a first born, knows all the rules. There are chickens, turkeys, ducks, bunnies, goats, pigs, cows and one horse. All of which are getting so much attention from these short humans that they're likely confused. It's highly probable that the bunnies have been overfed at this point as well. They don't seem to mind. It's been cold and rainy much of the week, but that has not been a hinderance to this clan. They spent much of the day yesterday digging in a pile of gravel. They even added water to it to make cement and filled in a few holes along the drive way (after some gentle guidance from Ian that probably a giant pile of gravel right in front of Dynamite, the farm truck, wasn't actually helpful.) When it's been too blustery, they've stayed either in the Purple House or in Camp Moore, coloring and playing games. The ladies seem to be adjusting quite well, although Lydia has had her fair share of meltdowns and extra naps. 


Rowdy has had his own acclamations. He's getting used to being friends with the farm dog, Monk (short for Monkey). And Monk is getting used to having a friend, too. He comes to Camp Moore and barks his giant Greater Swiss Mountain Dog bark in the morning, asking for Rowdy to come play (or maybe just to be fed, either way). This was endearing for the first few days. Rowdy has found his fair share of hides (maybe goat, maybe deer...) and hooves (see previous). He's VERY interested in some of the farm animals - pigs (bacon) and cows (steak) and goats (makes a good roast). We haven't really decided if he's interested in dinner or just interested in general. Either way, he's very stressful for some of them, so sometimes he gets tied up at Camp Moore to give them a break. 

Tacos!

We're all getting used to living in a VERY small space. It's truly delightful most of the time. Times when it's difficult include trying to leave the camper (especially due to the rain) and getting ready for bed time. Meal time hasn't been too big of an issue, yet. Many eggs are eaten. Ian and Hannah just happen to have some outdoor kitchen equipment (including a burner and even a three basin sink!) that we have talked about setting up. Again with the rain thwarting our plans. Camp Moore does have a leak, right above Jared's bedside table. Interestingly, his first sleep here was obstructed by reoccurring nightmares about this. It's a slow drip. Ian put a sheet of plywood on top as a temporary solution until things dry up and a more permanent solution can be made. 

coloring

We officially closed on the old house on Thursday, everything went off without a hitch so they say. It's interesting that I did have sadness those last few weeks, but having to go back this week to clean up little odds and ends, clean the bathrooms and do the final walk through was more irritating than it probably should have been. So I was happy to say, "see ya, sucker," to the place we brought our first two children home to and I birthed our last one into. We continue the house hunt, but not having a mortgage or the other bills that come along with it is very nice in the mean time. 

In closing, I think it appropriate to share the poem from which the Mad Farmer's Garden draws it's name. It brings me great joy. It is called "Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front" by Wendell Berry.

Love the quick profit, the annual raise,
vacation with pay. Want more
of everything ready-made. Be afraid
to know your neighbors and to die.
And you will have a window in your head.
Not even your future will be a mystery
any more. Your mind will be punched in a card
and shut away in a little drawer.
When they want you to buy something
they will call you. When they want you
to die for profit they will let you know.

So, friends, every day do something
that won’t compute. Love the Lord.
Love the world. Work for nothing.
Take all that you have and be poor.
Love someone who does not deserve it.
Denounce the government and embrace
the flag. Hope to live in that free
republic for which it stands.
Give your approval to all you cannot
understand. Praise ignorance, for what man
has not encountered he has not destroyed.

Ask the questions that have no answers.
Invest in the millennium. Plant sequoias.
Say that your main crop is the forest
that you did not plant,
that you will not live to harvest.
Say that the leaves are harvested
when they have rotted into the mold.
Call that profit. Prophesy such returns.

Put your faith in the two inches of humus
that will build under the trees
every thousand years.
Listen to carrion – put your ear
close, and hear the faint chattering
of the songs that are to come.
Expect the end of the world. Laugh.
Laughter is immeasurable. Be joyful
though you have considered all the facts.
So long as women do not go cheap
for power, please women more than men.
Ask yourself: Will this satisfy
a woman satisfied to bear a child?
Will this disturb the sleep
of a woman near to giving birth?

Go with your love to the fields.
Lie down in the shade. Rest your head
in her lap. Swear allegiance
to what is nighest your thoughts.
As soon as the generals and the politicos
can predict the motions of your mind,
lose it. Leave it as a sign
to mark the false trail, the way
you didn’t go. Be like the fox
who makes more tracks than necessary,
some in the wrong direction.
Practice resurrection.

No House? Will Camp!

Long story short: we sold our house. Five days after putting it on the market, in fact. We decided on a six week closing to allow some time for us (husband, three daughters, yellow lab, me) to find a new house. We searched. And searched. And searched. We just didn't find anything we loved and made a commitment to ourselves to not buy anything we weren't in love with. 

It very quickly became apparent that even if we did find a house, we would still have to have a space for our family while we wait for our purchase closing to happen. We weighed all the options that would does (family, friends, rent, under a bridge...). It dawned on us we would inevitably storing most of our stuff somewhere and living out of suitcases somewhere and really didn't like that idea. We had been joking about buying or borrowing a camper and parking it somewhere. We had joked that somewhere would be our friends' farm (Mad Farmer's Garden to be exact). Little did we know, they were joking about it, too!!

So Jared (husband) called the Farm. Hannah (Farm mama) answered and, with delight, accepted our offer to squat on their land. We very quickly found a camper that would work well for our family and that we could tow with our pick up. Ian (Farm dad) and Jared scouted some locations on the farm. Very suddenly, this was happening! We had two weeks to get the camper set, finish packing the house, and move into our camper. 

The Mad Farmer's Garden is a truly magical place. Many memories, good and bad, have been made here - by all who have passed through. Our friends are really simply amazing and lovely people. Ian and Hannah have two boys - Viven (5) and Kahlil (I wanna say 10 months, but my memory is really quite terrible). I have more thoughts on the MFG and the "people in the purple house" as we've taken to calling them. Maybe another post...

The best-laid plans of mice and men oft go astray. Don't we all know that? Well, our pick up wouldn't pull the camper. Well, maybe it would have, but it REALLY didn't like it. Luckily, our brother in law came to the rescue with a friend's giant pick up that would literally tow anything. Once they got the camper to the Farm, they decided the spot we picked out wouldn't actually work for a variety of reasons. Really, as it turns out, our new location is so much better! 

We've had a bit of a rough go at it this first week. Also, let me remind you it's only Wednesday. Here's a brief run down, in no particular order.
- Esther has strep
- Jared has strep
- Ian was sick for a day in there somewhere (and actually I just got word Hannah is not feeling great!)
- Abigail got a nail in her foot
- It's been cold for two days, raining pretty bad today
- There's a drip in the camper roof 

I know, it looks bad. It looks real bad. I'm not one to wallow, sometimes you just have to accept your situation and do what you can or what you have to do get through it. I'm right there in survival mode. Ian asked me if I was regretting our decision. Really, without even considering, I am not. I love this farm and these people so much! 

Well, you all wanted a blog. So here ya go! Don't expect anything too fancy...