Birthday Photos

For my birthday my farm friends threw me an awesome birthday in Menemsha. We ate yummy veggies and a macaroni salad, we even had a farm fresh pie!!!

Morning Glory Farm

Here is a link to the farm's website:
http://www.morninggloryfarm.com/

Day Off

Today was my first full day off. To make the most out of an overcast, Portland-esque day, I hopped on my bike and headed to Oak Bluffs. Oak Bluffs is another town about 7.3 miles away from Edgartown. On my way there, I stopped at a small coffee shop had a delicious bagel with cream cheese and lox, and a iced chai coffee (I am getting addicted to iced coffee and tea drinks here because they always have a huge free vat for employees to help themselves). After devouring my breakfast I biked from Edgartown to OB. Along the way I stopped at a small bridge and watched some fishermen. Before long I made friends with two families with kids. I even got to help one of the girls pull in her fish. My legs were itching! Uncle Boo needs to get here already! As I rested on the bridge I was able to read some of my book, and enjoy the beautiful scenery. On one side was a small lagoon and on the other side was the ocean. Even though it wasn't the prettiest day I appreciated the spectacular landscape. Along the ride I had wonderful views of the ocean and could smell the salt water as I peddled by. Eventually I arrived in OB and had lunch in a small park. I packed a sandwich (sandwichito for Nicol) some pretzels (for dad), and an apple. In the park I relaxed, read my book and spoke to a few people on the phone. After I commenced my lunch I locked up my bike and walked around Oak Bluffs (OB). By this time I was really thirsty and of course had to go to the bathroom. So off I went to the first ice cream shop hoping that if I bought an ice cream they would let me go to the bathroom. But of course there was no bathroom and instead I was left with a huge "small ice cream." After eating literally two spoonfuls I threw the ice cream away and ventured towards the public bathroom. From there I biked home, stopping briefly at a small roadside cart selling small-normal small iced lemonade. On my way home I passed by a bike shop replaced a small stopper for my handlebars and headed home. Once home I jumped in the outdoor shower and changed my clothes, ready for the rest of my night! Tonight is Frisbee Friday at a nearby elementary school, other than that I have no idea what I am doing!!!! Love you all!

Farming Photos

Tomatoe Tar is not fun! Band-aid from cutting myself with pruning knife!

Cabbage

Here are some photos from my day in the field yesterday. Snap pea picking, shelling pea picking, tomato pruning...cabbage, broccoli!!!.... Farmer Molly here we come!

Fourth of July Photos

BBQ

Carrots

Green Onions

Field of Green Onions

Fourth of July Photos

Me kicking it with our bountiful harvest!

Lettuce!

Picking strawberries

Fourth of July

Yesterday I started my fourth of July celebration by working from 7:30 in the morning until 12:30, in the Farm Stand. Imagine what the last minute rush for fourth of July barbecue and family dinner, ingredients was like! The stand usually opens at 9, but at 8:40 some anxious customer pushed open our front door and before we knew it the store was open, and over 40 people were inside. One week after learning how to work the register system I was on register 5 checking hundreds of frantic fourth of July customers out. My favorite part about working the register is the small talk you get to make with the customers. However, my constant search for the buttons of bizarre fruits and vegetables on the register screen often prevent me from doing much more than searching for the item they are buying. The register system is crazy, I have to take a picture of it for you all sometime, but honestly it has 1 million colored buttons with little to no relation to one another!!! Anywhooo, so after checking customers out for 4 hours, the stand closed and we were all free to enjoy our day! I ran back to my tent, changed my clothes, and jumped in the back of one of my fellow farm companions pickup trucks. Off to the beach we went! The beach we went to was a private beach near South Beach, a nice public beach off of Katama rd. It was the beach of one of the girls who works in the flower stand. At the beach was the entire Morning Glory crew, sitting on beach towels, swimming in the water and snacking on a wide range of fourth of July treats. I was surprised by how many bags of chips there were, I figured these kids would only be eating trail mix or flax seed crackers, not potato chips, but oh well! After hanging out on the beach for a few hours my car headed to the Stop and Shop to get some groceries for a BBQ. We got some veggie burgers, hamburger buns and some condiments. But that was all.... we didnt need to buy any vegetables, for we have an entire farm at our disposal! So after stopping by the store we made some detours at some of the fields and picked strawberries, green onions, carrots, lettuce and beets! NOT BAD! Then we headed back to the farm and enjoyed a wonderful BBQ with the rest of the Morning Glory staff outside of what is known as the Blueberry house. The Blueberry house is right near my tent platform and features a small room with two windows, a sink, a mini fridge, and a bed. Outside of it is a small deck, a clothes for hanging your clothes on, a small hammock and a few yards away, the outdoor shower I use every morning! It was nice sitting on the porch, feasting on farm fresh veggies, and observing my new companions and surroundings!

Houses in Oak Bluffs

Visit

On Wednesday I got a text message from my cousin Maria, who lives in Upstate New York, that she was going to be on the Cape and wanted to visit me. So Friday morning after working a half day in the field, I biked to downtown Edgartown and met up with Maria and her friend Amanda. We had a wonderful meal at a restaurant called the Atlantic on Uncle Mike. I ate a huge hamburger, french fries and a yummy Arnold Palmer! After lunch we explored downtown Edgartown, a small ritzy beach town, and got some ice cream. Edgartown is an interesting place, it is very New England, the houses are almost all painted white with shutters and white picket fences. I will have to go photograph downtown to show you all. But needless to say it is a very touristy place during these summer months, touristy yet beautiful. From the farm it is a 15 minute bike ride, so I will be able to spend more time exploring the town in the coming days. After ice cream we walked to the farm and got some fresh strawberries, a Pluot which these Easterners have never heard of before (of course us cultured Californians have!), and a nectarine. Outside of the stand we devoured what Maria claimed to be "the best strawberries" she had ever had! I responded by saying, "they better be! I have been on my knees picking them all morning!" After feasting on good local produce we walked to my home and I gave them the grand tour which took all of 5 minutes! Next I showed them the outdoor shower! and the farm house! After we concluded the tour we decided to walk back to Edgartown to catch a bus to take us on a scenic route of the beaches. On our way out of the farm Renee and Peter, my aunt and uncle from NY-not Maria's parents, saw us walking down the street and picked us up! They took us to the beach, then for an amazing boat ride to Oak Bluffs. In Oak Bluffs we had a wonderful dinner, I got lobster in honor of Aunt Nat, and observed the OB demographic. OB is completely different than Edgartown, to me it has the feel of Miami Beach, and has a lot less people wearing polo shirts, and a lot more wearing jerseys. Needless to say it had some great people watching!!! After dinner we walked around, dropped the girls off at the ferry back to Wood's Hole and took the boat back home. Renee and Peter were nice enough to let me spend the night in their guest bedroom, and for the first time in two weeks I slept in a bed, happy as could be!!!!

First full week

Wow! Its been kinda a long time since I last posted. I have been doing well, experiencing the ups and downs of camping outside! Ups: you wake up to the sounds of birds chirping and experience the simplicity of living with very few things. Downs: you wake up earlier than you want, thank you birds! Your back sometimes hurts more after a night's sleep then after working in the field, and lastly, it is not so fun to walk home in the dark, well probably only if your me, lol. Despite the ups and downs I am really enjoying my wooden platform, outdoor shower and occasional indoor shower.
Work has been going well. I am working Monday, Tuesday, Thursday in the stand and Wednesdays and Saturdays in the field. In the stand I am working from 10 a.m until 7 p.m with a one hour break from 2-3, and on Wednesdays in the field I work from 7:30-5, and on Saturdays from 6:30-4. In the stand I have been stocking vegetables and fruits, you see a lack of yellow peppers, then you go back to the front cooler, a large refrigerated room that is stocked with almost every vegetable and fruit you can imagine, and get some more yellow peppers to put out in the farm stand. I do stocking from 10-11, then am on the register from 11-2, lunch, then stock from 3-7. The register is a wonderful break from the monotonous job of stocking, but is often a little overwhelming. There are thousands of buttons and procedures I need to learn, and am in the process of remembering... Slowly I am catching on, but fourth of July weekend was definitely not conducive to my learning curve! In the field I have been picking mostly strawberries, two types of cucumbers, picklers and slicers, yellow squash, patty-pan squash, crook-neck squash, and have been weeding lettuce fields. Not too shabby! My favorite part about working in the field is that while working everyone is hanging out and talking. It makes the hours past quickly and also adds a really enjoyable element to the manual labor. Overall my first week has been great! I wish I was in the field more days so that I could meet more people, but as the days pass I am sure I will be able to spend time with my new farm companions.

First Day Off Photos

Day Off

Sunday was my first day off. I woke up around 8 showered in the Farm House and then made myself some breakfast, Bob's Red Mill Oatmeal of course! I spent around 4 hours in the Farm House hanging out and chatting with other workers. Then at around 11 I went for a bike ride to the Stop and Shop, a mid-size grocery store on the Island. The bike ride to the shop was extremely easy, throughout Martha's Vineyard there are great bike paths that make getting around painless. In the store I got some pasta, to cook with farm veggies, some rice, some salt, oil and a few other essential cooking items. Then I loaded up my green messenger bag and headed back to the farm. While I was unloading my stuff into the two stuffed refrigerators in the kitchen, some of the other workers invited me to go to the beach. So at around 1:30 or so I headed over to Vineyard haven and to surprise the beach was Kelsey's backyard! After a twenty minute drive we arrived at Kelsey's families gorgeous house and from the house we walked down a narrow path covered with poison ivy! yipee! After a ten minute walk we arrived at a beautiful private beach with no one in sight. I soaked up the sun and began reading book #1 "Open Veins of Latin America." It was a beautiful day and I couldn't have been happier enjoying the beautiful ocean breeze and sunshine. After around 2 hours of sunbathing Kelsey's father called her sister, who was on the beach with us, and invited us to go on his sailboat. So off we went into the beautiful ocean and sailed around!
Not a bad day off!

Love you all!

Farm House photos

Arugula and Farm house

Greenhouses

Herb Garden

First Day

Saturday morning I woke up at 6:30 to rain drizzling on my tarp and tent. Good Morning Martha's vineyard! From my tent I headed off to the farm house ready for my first day. I started my farm work in field S5 by picking red scallions and kale. To pick the red onions, I had to stick my hand into the dirt as to pull it out without breaking the plant. After picking about 10 or so onions I would bunch them with a rubber-band and place them in a box. The kale was much easier to pick. Once the boxes were full of red scallions and kale our work was done in S5. Next I headed back to the farm house,washed the following, and placed them in a refrigerated room where they are labeled by the day they were picked. Then I headed off, first by foot, then by farm van, to the strawberry field. In the strawberry field I kneeled in the wet dirt and picked strawberries, most of which were engorged with water because of the rains. As I kneeled on the ground I moved the leaves of the strawberry bushes around until I found a good hard berry and placed it in a pint box to my left. Perfect berries go to the farm stand, and slightly damaged berries go to the bakery. After filling up approximately 20 pint size boxes, my legs, hands and lower back were killing me. Perfect timing for lunch...3 hours of strawberry picking done. Lunch consisted of little mini fresh baked pizza and yummy salad! After lunch I went to weed some arugula plans and a small herb garden next to the farm house. 3 more hours passed and before I knew it my knees could barely bend and the clock had struck 5 p.m! Off work! As I was walking to my tent, some girls from the farm invited me to the beach. So at around 5:45 off we went to South beach. I immediately jumped in the water, and took a short swim. After a good hour at the beach hanging out with fellow farm-people we headed back to the farm and I made myself some gnocchi fresh squash and zucchini. Not a bad first day!!!

Home Sweet Home

Farm

When I got off the ferry at 11:30, Kelsey's father was kindly waiting for me. He drove me to a bike shop to get air put in my tires, and then to the farm. When I arrived at the farm I was immediately struck by its beauty. Everyone was immediately so friendly. I met my bosses and co-workers as I was shown around the Farm Stand and Farm house. After a brief tour I was led to my campsite. I will be sleeping on a wooden platform that is a 5 minute walk from the Farm house and Farm Stand. The wood platform already has a hole in it, and I am sure that over the next few months more will form. Hopefully not underneath my tent! After pitching my tent I unpacked my clothing and began organizing them into piles, work pants, work shirts, non-farm clothes (i.e two shirts and one pair of shorts). Then I went to the Farm Stand, got some food and read my book. As I was walking back to my tent I ran into some of my co-workers and they invited me to come to Frisbee Friday at a nearby school. A half hour later I found myself running (in my vans, no sports bra...what a sight!) to the school. I sat at the field and hung out with some other people I will be working with. They are all so friendly. After an hour or so some girls were heading back and a hitched a ride with them. On the way they stopped in downtown Edgartown and got some food to eat. I cant wait to explore the town more!
Ok, its getting dark outside and I need to walk back to my tent! More posts to come tomorrow! Love you all!

Ferry Pictures

Here is a picture of the Ferry and a map.

From Boston to the Vineyard

What an adventure! Claire and I woke up at around 7:30 to head off to Wood's Hole. After showering and getting dressed, Claire and I headed off on a 20 minute adventure to find her roommates car. Finally, approximately two blocks from Fenway Park we found the silver Camry that would bring us to the ferry. The drive to Wood's Hole was simple, and consisted of good conversation, informative podcasts, and a stop at the East Coast's finest, Dunkin Donuts! With a yummy almond flavored iced coffee in our stomachs we continued our adventure. We made it to Wood's Hole at around 10:20 (my ferry was to leave at 10:45), the last piece of information on our map-quest directions... But where in Woods Hole is the ferry? After a few minutes of wandering around the town we saw a sign for the Steamship Authority building, and of course we pulled right in thinking we could buy a ferry ticket there. Wrong! The old men directing traffic inside did more to confuse us then help us. They were convinced we were trying to drive onto the ferry with Claire's car, and would not let go of the fact that for that we need a reservation. After realizing they were useless we left the Steamship Authority lot, and continued down the road to eventually find the ferry, thank god Wood's Hole is small,. By this time it was 10:35... As we approached the parking lot of the ferry port, I opened the door of the car, and ran to the closest building in sight. Frantically I approached the ticket counter and asked if I could still catch the 10:45 ferry, the ferry that Kelsey's father expected me to be on. "Yes," the girl at the counter said! Wahooo. So at around 10:40 I ran back to the parked car and began pulling out my suitcases, both of which are the weight of a small 10 year old child, and carried them to the ferry entrance. Then I ran back to the car to grab my bike, still in pieces after being transported from Oregon by my friend Jake. After frantically...hysterically, trying to assemble the bike, I just grabbed its pieces, and ran to the boat. Just as I got on board the closed the gate and off the boat went...whew! But there I was with two huge bags and an disassembled bike! Thank god for cute old men! Two old men who work for the ferry company helped me put the bike together, while explaining the basic mechanics of bike wheels etc.... I thanked them profusely and went up the second floor to breathe and enjoy the ride. Part One: Ferry

Arrival in Boston

After 6 long hours of airtime, I arrived safely at Boston's Logan Airport. The shuttle car was waiting for me outside of baggage claim, and on the way over I made friends with a nice old man from Texas. After lugging my huge bags up three flights of stairs I finally made it into Claire's apartment and am resting for the first time in days! wahooo... As I lay here relaxing, I am enjoying the sound of rain outside-- there is nothing quite like being welcomed by rain when you are planning on camping for the summer, is there?! Hopefully my first night in my tent won't consist of trench digging! If so, thanks to Nicol I have a master plan on how to irrigate my campsite! Some good news: I just found out an hour ago that Kelsey's dad will be picking me up from Vineyard Haven tomorrow morning, thank the gods! NO more stress about tugging two 48lb bags and a bike around the island. Maybe I could've hitched a ride with some of the island's elites, say Bill and Hilary, but regardless of such alluring possibilities, I am enthusiastic about meeting Walter Morris! I am off to finish "Fried Green Tomatoes"--thank you Brenda for your suggestion, and Dad's wonderful sandwich! Love!