Autumntime has swept in and greets us with auburn leaves and frosty mornings. Since September 1st, Isaac and I are living on a biodynamic produce farm called Three Springs Community Farm, down a country road next to the town of Bodega, CA.
I work about 30 hours a week in exchange for our tiny home parking (out in a fallow field with a view of the hills), all the fresh produce we can handle, pantry goods, and community kitchen and bathroom access. I am mostly working on the produce field, where we are transitioning from summer abundance to the hardiness of winter produce. Along with animal chores to take care of the pigs, goats, donkey, dog, cats, and chickens, most of my time is spent turning the soil, planting, weeding, tending, harvesting, managing irrigation, managing the greenhouse seedlings, and cleaning up the area. Some days are absolutely exhausting physically, but I love to get into the routine of things and reward myself with a shower in the evenings.
Waldorf school kids have visited a few times and had overnight field trips, and it has (unsurprisingly) been a highlight of my time to teach them about where their food comes from, sustainability, and how a farm works. Harvesting and packing the CSA boxes (community supported agriculture program - it’s basically farmer to table direct produce) take a significant amount of time each week, but it is so rewarding to see the produce all in one place, presented nicely and ready to nourish other folks. Isaac contributes by working about 5 hours on Saturdays, when he helps do forest management by clearing brush and felling small trees in the redwood forest lands that surround the farm fields. The farm is settled in a beautiful valley, complete with an 1800s farm house, rustic barn and barnyard buildings, redwood forests, heritage apple trees, clean springs we drink from everyday, and views positioned west to face the oncoming marine fog that rolls in every twilight. We are just farming about 1 acre of the land currently because of a drought, with plans to increase this number again when the new well is finished being built. The 88 acres of land is cooperatively owned by a few committed families, and the day-to-day team is just 5-7 of us who work a range of hours.
Everyday, I see a new bug I have yet to see before, and everyday, I eat more vegetables than I ever have. The simplicity of listening to the birds and farm animals as I work, getting my hands muddy day after day, noticing problems and effectively resolving them, humming to the seedlings in the greenhouse, harvesting an abundance of tomatoes, petting the barn cat (named “Barney”)…the joys are endless and fill me with gratitude and curiosity.
Isaac and I have taken day adventures around the area and have found that there is much to do in and between these tiny towns of kind rural folk. Isaac’s family flew in for a weekend and we had a good time showing them around to some must-see spots, like the Charles Shultz Museum, Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Preserve, Cafe Aquatica for clam chowder, and Goat Rock Beach in Jenner. Redwood walks, historic restaurants, tide pool exploration, night market live music, fresh oysters and local cheese, beach combing for mother of pearl, unlimited supply of fruit from the neighbors… we feel at peace in this place and welcomed in the community. As Bodega is just about an hour north of San Francisco, we are relatively close to city life, the airport, and family even if we live down a country road a whole 25 minutes away from a Taco Bell and any suburban sprawl.
We hope to return and continue working on this land in Springtime, after we take a few month to travel south for the winter.
Big Takeaways:
- food stamps are a game changer
- there are endless ways to farm
- is it such a treat to collect fresh chicken eggs
- express gratitude to the things, places, and people who you care for
- cooking with an oven and hot water is a really lovely luxury
- take your time to do it right
- talk to the animals, and they will respond in their own way!