Hello from Dartmouth, Massachusetts!! Today was a day filled with fun, laughter, hard work, and support. We began the day by eating breakfast together, which consisted of delicious homemade bread. During breakfast, everyone talked and Jorge, the group leader of the day, shared the itinerary for today. The morning was peaceful as after breakfast we journaled outside in the foggy weather. We then shared our refections and divided up into two groups. Celia, Vivian, and Fer went to the kitchen to prepare lunch while Jorge, Holt, Sydney, John Stephen and I went to work on the farm. Working on the farm consisted of mixing and molding cement and then starting the process of picking weeds from the asparagus patch. These morning activities were enjoyable as the weather was nice and everyone was happy to be contributing. The farming group joined the lunch crew for an amazing lunch that they had prepared. Vivian made fresh biscuits, Celia made beet noodles and Fer made a potato salad. Lunch was nice as everyone shared about their morning and just laughed. After wrapping up lunch, everyone went to work on the farm. Together we helped to finish the process of pulling the weeds out of the asparagus patch. This task at times felt neverending as it felt like there were thousands of weeds some of which has thorns, but with teamwork, we were able to complete it. The time went by fast as everyone was just talking and helping one another out. During the weed picking process, people went in sets of two with Haley (a worker) to go visit the bees. This was an incredible experience as we were able to see beeswax and fresh honey. I was also lucky enough to see the queen bee. All of the weeds we had picked in the morning and afternoon we took to feed to the pigs. The pigs were excited that we not only came to visit but also brought food. We raced in the wheelbarrows as we made our way back to the asparagus crops. After we began the process of mulching the area in between the rows of asparagus. This process included laying down cardboard, having people wheelbarrow wood chips, and then raking the wood chips evenly over the cardboard. After a hard day’s work, we head back to the classroom to learn about bees. This was really fascinating as we got to learn about bee harvesting and how queen bees are developed. Then we had a break where people napped, showered, talked, and journaled. This break was definitely needed after a labor-intensive day. We had a lovely dinner where we all just talked and ate. It is really fun as everyone in the group is getting along. We watched a great movie about permaculture. At the end of the day, we are all just snacking, playing cards, and talking. This was an incredible day and I am looking forward to tomorrow!
Day Two: Round the Bend Farm
Author
Olivia H
21st of July, 2022
Category
Dartmouth '22