Author: Arianna Perez-Wolfe – May 25th
Today was our first full day at the Hart Family Farm! We each got to sign up for our chores this week, AM chores and food crew. I signed up for AM chores the first day, so today I woke up bright and early to help our host Greg with morning farm chores. Annie, Riley, Delaney, and I went out on his 4-wheeler accompanied by the amazing herd dog in the back, Seb (short for Sebastian) and little doggo Pippi in the front seat. The roads were filled with cattle as we drove down the gravel path. Greg opened the electric fence that kept the sheep separated from the cattle and then chaos ensued. Sheep were running everywhere, cows mooed and dashed away from the 4-wheeler. It was a somewhat comical sight. However, with a solid whistle from Greg, Seb immediately went into herding mode. He sprinted around the sheep, forcing them to tightly group up and run towards the gate leading to the other pasture. If a sheep was out of line, Seb raced up to it and got it back in the group. I had never seen a herd dog at work in person, so I was amazed. All my group members and I could think was WOW! That’s one smart dog!!
After Seb performed his duty magnificently, Greg rounded up the cows and chased them into a different field with his 4-wheeler. There was one cow casualty that made it past our human fence while we guided them through the fence on foot, but Seb quickly ran around the cow and drove it back towards the gate. Indeed, that dog is a good boy.
After herding the cows and sheep, we went out to feed the pigs. We each grabbed pumpkins and smashed them on the ground as Greg filled the troughs with feed. There is a pregnant mama pig ready to pop any day now in one pen and a mama pig with 7 piglets in the other. They were absolutely adorable and it was a fun time smashing the pumpkins to feed them.
We then drove over to feed the chickens and collect eggs. The masses of chickens flocked to the seed as we poured their food in the food containers. Greg told us we could actually feed the chickens by hand, so I took a handful of seed and walked into the middle of the chicken horde. Soon enough, four chickens meandered their way over to me and pecked away like there was no tomorrow. A couple of times they took a good peck at my fingers, but no serious injuries were sustained. We walked to the egg trailer and used a hand-powered belt that brought eggs upon eggs to us.
After collecting the eggs in a carton, we went back in the 4-wheeler and Greg started his scenic route around his 1500 acres of land. We drove all over creation, Delaney carefully holding on to the eggs for dear life as Greg zoomed down tall hills and off-roaded through bumpy terrain. He drove up to the top of one hill where we could see for miles and the view was spectacular. It was 9 AM so the sun was shining bright and there was clear blue sky all around. It felt serene. Greg then proceeded to zoom down the hill and take us back to the lodge.
Our next activity was to visit a food forest farm focused on permaculture. Permaculture is “permanent agriculture,” a closed-loop system of agriculture that sustains itself. We toured the farm seeing permaculture principles put into practice. The owner of the farm, Jo, explained how she structured her farm to mimic a forest with multiple layers that each have their function, like “chop and drop” plants that would be seen as mere weeds but actually serve to recycle nutrients and form mulch for other plants once cut down as well as nitrogen fixing trees that put nutrients into the soil for medicinal plants nearby to take up. Grazing animals are also important parts of this system such as chickens and ducks that eat pests like snails and goats that put nutrients back in to the system by eating plants and creating nutrient-rich manure.
After the tour we were put to work and helped implement permaculture principles by planting shrubs and plants on a bermnext to a trench and planting trees on the other side of the trench. This structure collects the water in the trench and encourages it to taken up by the plants on the berm,ensuring the plants get the water they need and encouraging flourishing growth. I had the grueling task of digging up the rooted grasses in order to plant the trees as well as digging holes to plant the trees in. It was quite reminiscent of the work I do back home with Friends of Trees, although the dirt was near impossible to dig up because it was so incredibly dry; it took a good 5-10 minutes to dig one small hole necessary for planting our trees. However, after planting we all felt pretty accomplished (and ready for a shower).
I’m excited for the future of the plants everyone helped plant today, and I know that in the future it will be a flourishing area like the rest of the farm. Seeing the various permaculture strategies implemented inspired me to do some of my own gardening in the future but also made me realize gardens and farms don’t have to look like the stereotypical neat and structured pictures we typically think of. Jo’s garden looked kind of a mess at a first glance, but once you looked more closely you recognized that each plant has its purpose and even the “ugly” stuff was super important for the whole of the garden to flourish. There doesn’t have to be designated cleared pathways and plants don’t have to be planted alone in the soil. Symbiotic plants planted near each other encourage better growth and yields, and each of the various layers to the garden helped the system as a whole actually function. Sometimes what is pretty isn’t what is necessarily what is most effective and beneficial.
Before my much-needed shower, I decided to go out kayaking with my good pal Allison. We pulled out the two-person kayak and searched for life jackets. Unfortunately, the majority of them were infested with wasps and spiders, so it was a bit of a struggle trying to find one that I was willing to wear. Eventually we each were armed with our gear and pulled the kayak out to the water. One thing that should be noted about this lake is that it is a nature reserve for geese and other birds. As such, goose poop fills the water and mud in which Allison and I had to traverse through in order to get the kayak fully in the water. Trying not to think about it too much, I climbed in and pushed with my paddle to get off shore. We got out about 10 feet, but we were still stuck in the mud. After a good 10 minutes of ugly laughter and scooting the kayak inch by inch through the poop mud, we finally made it to deeper waters where we could paddle to our heart’s content. It was completely serene sitting in the middle of the lake with beautiful sights in every direction we faced. We paddled over to a hill of sheep and then to a huge flock of geese chilling on the water. When they were spooked by our paddling, it sounded as if a train was roaring by as they flew away. No joke, there were tons of geese.
My day ended with a beautiful sunset followed by thousands of stars as the sky darkened completely. I can actually see my Scorpio constellation over here (also known as Maui’s fishhook per the Maori)! I will definitely miss being able to see such a beautiful night sky here in New Zealand, but I have been missing my own starry nights out in the Oregon forests. I am making the most of every day here and am so grateful for these experiences which I will surely be relaying to everyone once I’m back in about a week’s time!
P.S. I miss my friends and family back home who end up reading this! I have so many exciting experiences to share with you as well as cool pictures.
I love and miss you Nathan, and I kept note of permaculture tips for the farm.