Sailing on the Apprenticeship

Hallowe'en was magical and glorious. I borrowed a costume at the last minute and went as a barbarian, which was pretty convincing. I kept looking around at all my friends together in the midst of a totally crazy party and realising just how lucky I am. I felt like Hallowe'en chose me.

Now we are on Vancouver Island visiting my family and checking out farms to work on next season. I will be so great to be close to my family next summer and share the bounty that we will grow.

Last year we really just jumped headfirst into our apprenticeship. We didn't have a good idea about what we wanted to learn or what was out there. Looking back over the season, I have no regrets. We learned so much, so fast and our experience at Sapo Bravo has put us in a great position to expand our skills and specialize further. Now we are an asset to whomever hires us because we need less training and have our own know-how to bring to the table.

If you are considering doing an organic farming apprenticeship I highly recommend going through Soil Apprenticeships. They are incredibly helpful and well informed about most of the farms in the program. Ask questions! Lots! Never assume anything. It's hard to explain to someone just how hard operating a farm can be and just how much and how hard you have to work.

Oftentimes you will be living closely with the farm family and it really helps to go visit a farm well beforehand to get a feel for how they operate and interact. Every farm is so different and there are dozens of ways to accomplish the same goals.

I'm really looking forward to learning about animals and bees this coming season and putting our knowledge of different ground crops to the test. We haven't confirmed our placement yet but we just visited these two amazing places: ALM Farm and Tugwell Creek Honey Farm in Sooke on Vancouver Island. Beautiful farms and people to be sure!

Life without power; Powerful life

One day off a week never seems like enough time to do all the things I want to do. I guess I just push myself to be productive and after traveling for so long it is wonderful to have a space to call my own and I just want to take advantage of that.

But I have realised after five weeks into this apprenticeship, that this is enough. It is enough to be completely immersed in farming. To give myself over to this is such a challenge because I forever want to be writing, drawing and painting but I simply don't have the time here. I don't even have the time to keep up with my 365 photo project.

We work until 6pm and before we know it it's 9:30 and the light is fading and there is only so much you can do by candlelight. Besides, I am in bed by 10:30 every night or the next morning isn't so great.

There is something to be said for this lifestyle though. We are oriented in a north-south river valley, the Fraser Canyon. I never see the sun rise or set, only the sun up over the mountain and the sun down over the other mountain. I see the rain clouds come up the valley and send sentinels of mist ahead, breaking news of a shower coming. I hear the wind and see its movements before I feel it on my skin. I notice every day the growth of the plants and the fruits on the many trees. I hear the birds and we look everywhere to see if we can find who is singing that song and when we do, we rush to the birdbook and seek her name.

I am trying so hard to take it all in and let my memory wrap around it, embrace it, integrate it into my being. I want to be a part of this and for this place to be a part of me. My fingers are callousing, slowly and now when my hands are clean they still look dirty. I'm taking pride in that and taking pride in my sore back and tight muscles.

It has been a difficult transition but not for the reasons that you might think. Living without power and modern amenities is not the challenge, even living in isolation from the people and things I know and love has not been so hard. It is the peace, the stillness and serenity that opens me to the depths of my being and allows all the passions and pains to rush back up. I am flooded with remembrance and emotions. The deluge stirring in me so powerfully that I cannot see my reflection in it. I know not who I am in this white water.

My challenge is to build a berm, with quiet strength and meditation through the hardest work I've ever done, a containing wall to pool my effusiveness and see my reflection again. By the end of this season, I think that my harvest will be great! A new peace mind to go with all of these new skills. I can't just hope, I can strive and push and work and everything will come.

Sapo Bravo and East Van

We went to the farm a few days ago and it was everything we had imagined and more! Tucked into the side of a mountain up in the Fraser River Valley, the fruit trees were heavy with pink and white blossoms and the spring wildflowers were everywhere. Can't wait 'til peach time!

The farm is 60 acres split between three families. There are various houses, cabins, sheds and a large greenhouse. Curving rows of already growing garlic stretch out in terraces around the mountain slope. Commercial certified organic crops include garlic, onions, basil, 50 varieties of heirloom tomatoes, peaches, plums, and apricots. Not to mention a full family garden with everything from potatoes to kale to herbs.

Our cabin is adorable.

Here is Jay in the outdoor kitchen.

One room plus a loft bedroom, a huge deck and a little balcony. We have cold running water but no power (other than our trusty power pack and solar panel) and a squat toilet :).

We have an amazing view of the Fraser River from our deck.

We both can't wait to get out there and start growing things. We even have our own garden that is 4 times the size of our old garden at Glam Haus. There are already many herbs and flowers coming up as well as garlic and broccoli from the apprentices last year. We still have to decide what else to plant!

Now we are back in the city enjoying bike rides (I didn't realise how much I missed my bike until I was on it again!) and spending time with friends. I did my taxes yesterday... Jay is passing Elwood (our intrepid van) on to his new home today, which happens to be with folks who live in our old haus. Happy times.

Next on the block is to buy a used truck for the summer. We go to Calgary on the 1st of May for family visits and Edmonton on the 6th for Jay's little brother's wedding. And after that we go pretty much directly to Sapo Bravo with a short stop in Vancouver.

Life is full and busy. I can't complain.

City to Farm

I was just updating my flickr with some new 365 photos. I feel like I've been pretty crappy at that project because I've missed so many days and amazing opportunities for photos. I'm going to put more work into it this summer. I promise! And I am going to continue to use this here weblog to document my/our apprenticeship at Sapo Bravo. There are many more radventures to come on this road I travel.

I am elated to be back in Vancouver. Ironically, I'm so happy about it because I don't have to stay here for very long. I don't have to get a crappy apartment and go back to my job, which made me rather depressed before we left. I am going to continue to miss my dear friends but I'll be able to see them every week at the Farmer's Market at least.

The future looks bright, and green! Today we are going to the farm to solidify our "contract" and see where we will be living and working. I can't wait to go back to rural life. I love certain things about the city and I love my friends here but I think that the next part of my life is the transition from city to farm.

And moving to the country is a lot harder than moving to the city. Fewer jobs, you need a vehicle, isolation, etc. But the rewards will be worth it, eventually.