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!