one week later....and home!

So I'm home for the first time in......a couple weeks. I tried to take a short cut on the way home only to land myself somewhere in Toronto/Richmond Hills area I had never been in before watching my ride drive away as I realized the buses and trains didn't run to this location on weekends - which would explain the completely deserted parking lot. For a minute I thought I was going to cry before I asked myself, "I have been to Paris and London and both times when I got lost I never felt like crying" and I spent some time realizing that in those cases I was with other people and not relying completely on myself. I saw a city bus go by and walked towards the closest bus stop where I found the bus company number and gave them a call. They were very helpful. In my panic I had forgotten the GO train station was just across from the city bus terminal. I hopped on the next bus to Finch where I caught the subway and from the subway onto the GO train and got home at 5pm - as I had originally planned. The subway was kinda freaky this guy kept looking at me and then he got off at my stop and sorta followed behind me for a bit and then finally departed. Other than that though - everything was pretty good and normal.

Dinner took me two hours to eat because I was talking so much and answering questions and I was a little late for my friends birthday party. It was so good to see them again. It's great to sorta fall back into your little comfortable niche amongst (sp?) familiar people - where you have a role and you don't feel like you have to talk non-stop but instead just sorta sit and listen to the conversation, laugh and add a comment here and there.

Market

I helped out at the Saturday Market yesterday. I had to get up at 4:45 in order to be ready to go at 5:15. J and M (the farmers) were up much earlier doing some morning chores and packing the van. It was ready to go when I came down. I was feeling kind of anxious on the drive down. I'm not very good at math and I haven't practiced math on a regular basis over the past three or so years when I last had a math class. My multiplication and addition are decent (in my opinion though slow) but subtraction and division were going to be the death of me. J, M, and V (V = the other intern) showed me a way to give out change that involved adding as opposed to subtraction. That made my life a lot easier!! However, the hour and a half-ish drive down into the city I was nervous and feeling a little queasy to my stomach. I had the same sensation I normally have before I fly and wished I had a gravol just to settle it a bit. We got there a lot earlier than J normally would because he wanted to show me the ropes, introduce me to the other venders and how to set up the tables. I helped the first customer with J there helping me along. For the first two or three customers I'd freeze because we weigh the apples, lettuce and spinach and I couldn't remember what to punch into the calculator for a 1/4 pound or some other fraction. I did eventually find a routine though and I was able to help the customers in a fairly orderly fashion.

It was a good day and a pretty good experience. I like the market they go to. The vendor's aren't pushy. I went to the Peterborough market once and it was so quiet and unless there was someone standing at their stall no one would approach them. Then if you did approach the stall the vendors there were eager to make a sale and started advertising their wares and trying to get you to buy - which is a huge turn off for me. If I want to know about your product I'll ask. If I want to buy the product I will. I don't like it when people try to push me into a buy. These people were all good though and friendly. It's a lovely market. I'll be going next week too!

camera and C.R.A.F.T day

My camera is unfortunately broken...I turned it on the other day and it won't focus to take a picture. The lense zooms in and out a bit and then it says to turn it off and on again. I've had it for five years!! It's so out of date (according to technology) I hope I can fix it. I don't want a new one.

The other day we visited another farm to learn about tractors. Part of the program I'm in C.R.A.F.T (which stands for some ridiculous long name I don't remember) is that each of the farmers in your quadrant host a day of learning on their farm and everyone visits. The one my farmers are connected with unfortunately aren't doing anything so we joined with another. I saw how hay used to be cut (with a 1950's ish tractor and attachments) and then I got to rake the hay with a tractor attachment. It was a pretty good day, I learned some new things. The most fascinating thing I saw was on any tractor or tractor attachment there is an oil valve thing. So instead of taking your machine apart to oil and grease it you can just squeeze some oil into the little valve and it oils that whole mechanical part. I was also able to talk to the other interns about agricultural courses and I found out there's lots of opportunities to get onto farms and rent land from farmers for really cheap prices. It was a good experience!

fears a.k.a. spiders

So part of coming here to the farm was to challenge myself, take risks (the risk was actually sending out applications and hopefully getting accepting - I don't plan on many more), and face my fears. One of my more irrational fears is about spiders. I just don't like them. They're scary looking and I can't tell where they're going, they have no behaviour traits I recognize - they're unpredictable! I don't like it. However, spiders eat pests and I'm on an organic farm, so I've told myself, "As scary as spiders are Maddie, they must stay, you cannot kill them. There's also ten spiders in every foot of space in the barn and if you don't suck it up you won't be able to play with the kittens or chicks in the barn." So I will proudly say that while gardening I have seen many spiders and only once did I avoid it - but that was because it was a big black hairy spider I had never seen before and I went to the opposite end to give it time to hide before I got back there. So I still faced the fear! I even grabbed a spider in a handful of dirt (accidentally).

Despite all this success I always put up my hood and scrunch my shoulders together and stare intently at the air in front of me when I go onto the second floor of the barn. There's an archway I have to walk under that is covered in cobwebs and I have forced myself not to examine the cobwebs as I would at the museum. My fear of spiders has progressed to the point where when I'm in a place where I know there's a lot of spiders I must inspect doorways at least twice before walking through and I look at the doorknobs before I grab it. Life has taught me that the only predictable thing about spiders is that they always drop down from the ceiling right in front of you, that when working in the garden do not stay still very long or stand close to large piles of organic material because spiders will climb on you. The museum has taught me that spiders, particularly big ones, like to live on or around door handles and sometimes even under doors (and that the ones who live under doors always run at you - not away (contrary to popular belief).

So today I had some success. I went to check on the chicks and noticed something hang in the air and lo-and-behold a rather large spider was hanging in the air right where I was going to walk. I managed to get in and out of that room multiple times today after doing some thorough inspections. I came across many daddy-long-legs in the green house and I worked right beside them (didn't even flinch - I was concentrating on counting too much and trying my hardest to be as quick and efficient as possible). I can deal with spiders in these situations (for the most part) however, another thing the museum taught me is that spiders like to hang around toilets (especially really big daddy-long-legs).

he looks small, but I can assure you he's probably the size of two or three twoonies!

I know they're harmless (don't they have the most poisonous venom but their bite is so small it's uneffective?) and happy where he is and doesn't want to come near me - but there is no stinkin' way I'm sitting on a toilet right beside that freakish thing!

Early, stormy, kinda hectic day

We had some storms today. I couldn't get pictures of the first one coming because I was closing everything and making sure things were battened down. They didn't last very long but the winds and thunder were impressive. Today was also the first day of the Summer CSA. We had people coming to the farm to pick up vegetables and we had to be up for 6 in the morning in order to have everything packed and ready to go. I got to feed the horses some watermelon in the evening. Normally the farmers are with me when I do but this time I did it by myself! They came when I called - but I think they figured out I had food. I was a little too nervous to hold out the watermelon with my fingers so I set it in the palm of my hand and even then my hand would end up in their mouths. They're really nice and gentle horses though and none of them chomped on my fingers (though they did get a lot of goopy, green (from the melon rinds), saliva all over my hand). The last highlight to the day was playing with the kittens. One I think got caught in the rain and was all wet. I then went to find my favourite (the one with the black spot on her chin). It was decided in jest to call her Howie Mandell because of the position of the black spot so I call her Howie. Whenever she sits in my lap she's never still, she's usually crawling across my stomach, back, over my shoulder, grabbing my hands and then chewing or licking my fingers. I picked her up as I headed to feed the chickens dinner and she climbed onto my shoulder and sat there all the way to the house (where I sought in vain to show someone how cool Howie is). She jumped off by the wood bins and landed on her face - so much for cats always landing on their feet. Oh! One last thing. I think Frankie purposely played a prank/power play on Louie. Frankie sat and watched Louie until he closed his eyes, then pounced and scared the poor cat.

Normally you can see the next farm, but the cloud cover and rain was too thick.

You can barely make out the end of the second greenhouse - mostly because it's a similar colour to the sky - but cool nonetheless!

This was the second storm where I just caught it coming over. 

It wasn't as bright as this picture makes you think. It was fairly dark with those storm clouds. The wind really tussled the birch tree.

Another cool shot of the clouds spreading towards...whatever town lies over there

Cloud formation before the rain started

It's pretty hard to make out but there was a fine mist shooting off of the top of the van  (you can see a bit of it in the black of the window) with the force of the rain and wind.

Animals and the Farm

Lily having a nap

Frankie - one of the most handsome cats I've ever seen

Patches - excellent mother and matriarch

Lily again

One of the kittens available for adoption

One of the barn bunnies: Bun-Bun

One of the kittens - she's a fiesty one

Ricky looked much like this rooster except bigger and more handsome

One of the calves

Farm from the edge of their hay field

The farmhouse, greenhouses, and shed

The barn

The first row I've ever hoed (the one on the far left)

Ricky the Rooster

I was warned about one of their roosters: Ricky. I was told two things about him - one that he starts crowing around 4-4:30 in the morning and second he's been known to jump at people. He didn't like one of their helpers last year and every time she went in there he would pin her in a corner. So I was told if he jumps or flies at me give him a good kick or bring a broom with me and give him a swat and he'll leave me alone. First day or two of collecting eggs went fairly well. I was just beginning to calm down around the chickens when there was a sudden flutter at my feet. I look down and I'm unsure if Ricky has just flown at me or if I've stepped on him. Next day he actually flies at me, but I'm wearing jeans and he doesn't hurt me, but really startles me, so I kick him and he backs off for a bit. It goes on similarly for the next day or so. After being continuously attacked by a rooster my nerves are pretty raw every time I go into the coop because nothing I do will deter him. I thought the dog was bothering him so I made sure she stayed inside while I collected the eggs. I walked in with a purpose instead of quaking at the sight of a tiny, beautifully feathered Araucana rooster (who would puff out his neck feathers threateningly after I kicked him - which was surprisingly scary). For such a little thing he was pretty intimidating and every time I walked away I'd hear him crow as if he was taunting me. Then on Friday I went in to collect the eggs again and he flew at me, so I kicked him and instead of backing off he came right back for more. So I kicked him again and hurried out of the coop. The farmer happened to be walking by at the time with the other intern and we went and got a broom while we explained our woes about this jerk of a rooster. The farmer stepped in, the rooster came at him (for the first time in the roosters life), so he gave him a good swat and the rooster came right on back. That evening it was decided we would take him for a one way drive and leave him on a frequently travelled road so he would have a chance to be picked up (he wouldn't make very good eating). He wasn't removed that night which meant Saturday morning I had to face him again.

It was a quiet morning because the farmer and intern had left for Market early that morning, so the farmer's wife and I had a quiet breakfast and I set out to take care of the chickens just as it started to rain. We could hear the rumble of thunder in the distance as she chuckled at my large yellow poncho and rubber boots. Plan was to go and get the eggs from Ricky's coop first before I lost my nerve. Unfortunately for me, my nerve petered out after refilling their water and food. I told myself I'd come back after I looked after the other hens. So I moved on, collected eggs from the second (roosterless) coop, fed and watered them, got to the house and decided to wash eggs and go back out when the storm subsides for a bit.

I notice the storm going so I get everything on and I head on out to the coop with an empty metal egg basket. I get to the gate and look in at the Ricky - who was standing guard - and keep on walking to the barn. I set down the egg basket and tell myself I'll come back when the eggs are done being washed. As I wash the eggs guilt is eating away at me. I was letting a little rooster have too much power over me, the farmers expected me to collet all the eggs, I was letting my fear of a flippin' chicken get out of control. Guilt eating away at me I go out in the middle of stormy winds and pouring rain (the rain and lightning kept coming in waves), stand at the gate and glare at Ricky before departing to the sound of his crow. I'm in the kitchen again scrubbing angrily away at the eggs before I go back out and with the basket put my hand on the hook to the gate and walk back to put the basket away.

At this point I was almost in tears of frustration and failure because I couldn't conquer this fear of Ricky. I trudge back inside, sopping wet, miserable, feeling an outright failure. I struggle off my boots and want to chuck them at the wall, but let them fall where I managed to get them off. I go to my room to put on dry clothes and stand there for a minute, fuming at Ricky and glaring at his coop through my window before I march downstairs, put everything back on, grab the basket, step into the coop, and I start to collect the eggs. Ricky is there, cocking his head back and forth fluffing his feathers as thunder rolls in the distance and I'm shakily bending down to collect the eggs on the floor and worried he might attack my face. The first eggs collected I now have to boot out the hens or I won't be able to get their eggs. Booting them out of their nests in front of Ricky always made me nervous - I thought it would make him mad. At some point I began to worry that if he attacked me what if the other three roosters joined in on the attack. There was no way to fend off four frenzied, angry roosters at the same time.

Egg colletion went well, but with a bitter taste of only half success - particularly when I looked at the time. It took me about two hours to wash and collect all the eggs. I began to try and think of the number of other things I could have done in that span of time that would have been more useful. I admitted my issues to the farmer's wife and tried to make it sound like a joke. That night he was taken away for a one way drive and I'm told he chased after the van. They kept one or two of his tail feathers and I wish I took a photo of him. I hope he finds a better life...but to be honest I'm glad I can collect eggs in peace!