I'm Leaving.

Goodbye everyone!!!

I will try to update soon. 

Or maybe some of my friends and siblings will be kind enough to write a little ditty once in a while. 

 

Things I'm Going to Miss.

Let me say first and foremost that I am DAMN excited to adventure into the land of the unknown in less than 48 hours. 

Damn excited, I say.

Now that I got that out in the open, comes the REAL reason that I wrote this blog post:

My sister asked me the other day (after I had been home for a whopping six hours) if I had to choose between leaving the Capay Valley forever or having to stay in the Capay Valley forever, what I would pick.

 If you had asked me two years ago I would answered honestly in a heart beat, 

'get me as far away from this place as possible. I don't want to ever come back.' 

Harsh. Yes. I know. 

But when you live close to something for so long you start to despise everything about it. 

Especially when that place has annoying siblings, high school memories and chickens. 

Yet, the other day when my sister asked me that question I actually said that I would stay. 

STAY, I SAY!! 

Crazy. I know. 

But the truth is,

I love the people here.

 I love the community and the way that everyone knows everyone. 

I love that we all share a connection and passion for food and learning. 

And yes, I understand that staying here forever would mean missing out on a lot of adventures, but if I can't be surrounded by the people that I love I don't want to experience any of it. 

I love sharing my life with the folk of Full Belly Farm and the Capay Valley... and even Eugene Oregon.

 I can't picture my life with out those people and as I travel to distant places and experience new things that becomes much more clear. 

So, in memory of those times, friends and family members that I am going to miss a whole heck'of'a'lot when I am away I give you this:

 A list (in no particular order) of some fun times that I am going to cherish no matter when in the world I am.

The Roommate. Pretzel Price.

I hate to say this, but I actually think I will miss studying for classes. Yeah. Wow.

Good friends and great study parties.

Sunshine in Eugene.

Well, the Urban Farm o'course.

Walking to classes.

The kind of beautiful place I call home.

These folks. They're pretty swell.

Best friends.

Drinking wine with the family. (Ignore the wine teeth.)

Sunshine with the siblings in Lake Tahoe.

My sister....

The sillyness and giggles.

The romance.

Do you think that they have Frozen Yogurt in New Zealand?

Half-drunk and fully silly photo sessions with the Roommate.

Well, it's been fun ya'll and I know I'll be back soon... maybe then I actually WILL stay in one place forever. 

As of now... Ta'ta and see you on the other side.

xoxox

Farmer Girl.

Life is Good.

I am leaving in two days for Australia. 

TWO days. 

I hope you all understand the lack of consistent blogging these days. 

The only thing that is consistent at this moment is a sense of panic. 

And a sense of "Eeeeekkkkk"

I have a To Do List about as long as myself....

 I have an ever growing backpack that looks mighty small compared to all of my supplies lying on my bed and a room that looks like a tornado just ripped through it.

But, life is good. 

Life. Is. Good. 

(I think I may be spending a littttttle too much time at REI.)

I have been home for almost a week, feeding baby animals, painting toe nails, laughing uncontrollably, eating incredibly good food and I just got my term grades back with a whopping 4.0. 

I told you folks. 

Life is good.

I can not wait for my adventure, it will be the grandest and funnest I am sure. 

But, as of now the idea of getting on a 14 hour plane ride to a country I know nothing about and figuring it all out on my own...

Well,  it just seems a little daunting that's all. 

I hope to do at least one more blog post before I head out for two and a half months. 

I don't know what the internet and blogging ritual will be like on my trip.

But I am going to keep a daily journal.

And take PLENTY of photos

And I will have an email list hopefully.

If you would like to be included in the list of emails I send to...

PLEASE feel free to leave a comment below. 

<3

My Old Room

I am home for one week. 

I have pictures to upload from my trip home with my mom and sister and my crazy packing experience...

 I have SO much to do in this one week before Australia. 

SO MUCH. 

But right now? 

I am sitting at my dad's computer searching through old pictures from my high school years. 

One thing that I came across was this bad haircut:

Taken on photobooth of course. Push up bra and all. Classy Hannah. Classy.

Another gem I came across was my old bedroom. 

I have NO idea how I convinced my mom and dad to let me do this to my room in high school... 

But somehow I did. 

And looking at the writing NOW brings back some memories that are almost as bad as my old hair cut.

Thank goodness I have a little better sense about these things now...

A little. 

It's also

A good thing I was so pretty back then. 

Yeah. 

These old pictures are PURE GOLD. 

Uggh. 

Bye. 

I'm off to delete these pictures so they will NEVER be used for blackmail. 

Hunger Games Gold Wedding.

So, as you all SHOULD know, The Hunger Games movie is coming out in less than a week and I seriously can not wait. 

I read the book a long time ago... ( A sophomore in high school?) and fell in love.

 I have gotten inspired to do a farmish, gold hunger games wedding post for some time now. 

So, here it is. :) Enjoy and please watch the movie. 

But more importantly, read the books. 

I got all of the pictures off of pintrest.

Things I've Learned from Having Farm Animals.

When you have 300 acres as your back yard you learn a lot of things. 

When you have four siblings you learn a good amount...

But, 

When you have 250 sheep you learn even more. 

The title of this blog sums up what I want to talk about today and that, my dear readers, is the life experiences and well-learned lessons that I have received by simply having animals prevalent in my (already crazy) childhood. 

When I tell people that I live on a farm, I usually get one of two questions first:

1. "What do you grow on your farm?"

2. "So, do you guys have animals too?"

The first question is actually not as simple as it seems, seeing as how the majority of people that go to college here don't even know what a rutabaga is, nor care to... and saying that 'we are a diversified farm that grows over 80 different varieties of fruits and vegetables' usually just gets greeted with more questions or blank stares. So, I usually just end up saying. 'Well, we grow a lot of things, watermelons and tomatoes and corn and such.' 

Yeah. I know. Not the best answer in the world but it's really all the same to the questioners. 

The second question is actually a funny one. 

Mostly, I have come to the conclusion that students believe that by living on a farm means that you have three types of animals. Cows, chickens and horses. 

But, for some odd reason, people always ask me about the horses first. Which, leads me to have to say: "No, our only horse died a while ago." (Yeah, I know, not the best icebreaker in the world.) They feel bad, I feel... Well, not bad because I hate horses anyway. Yeah. I know. Its a strange thing to hate. But, they are big, mean and I am pretty sure could kill me in a second. I'll stick with docile cows, thanks.

 

Anyway...

What I love to do is list off numbers. That way, the questioners know that our farm isn't just some "hobby" farm that dicks around. We don't dick around. Ever. 

I start by listing off the number of animals that we have.

(Now, I'll admit, I don' know the exact number right now because I haven't been home in a while.. but it's something like...)

5 Dogs.  

4 Pigs

8 cows.

15 goats.

200 Sheeps.

1000 Chickens...

You get the point. By the time that I state the number of sheep their eyes get wide and start exclaiming and swearing. Yeah. I told you fools. We don't dick around. 

Living on a farm you grow accustomed to different set of chores. Instead of (or besides) cleaning the windows, you take compost to the chickens. 

Which, by the way is one of the most horrible jobs in the world. 

It actually has been deemed that title by the institute of farmers children. 

I mean, besides the heavy and stinky compost bucket that you must carry across the yard. 

There's the total ick factor of compost back-splash as you turn the bucket over to the hungry mungry chickens.

 Yeah. It's sick.

 I am going to do this in the only way I know how to write these days....

Lists.

 I write so many lists it's really unnecessary.

 I make sub-lists of my to-do lists. I make to do lists of my to do lists. But, my unorganized brain somehow basks in the neatness of lists, so here's another one for ya'. 

Things That I've Learned from Having Farm Animals.
I grew up around crowing roosters, snorting pigs, bully billy goats and the smallest brained sheep you will ever meet. They have taught me many things. 

1. Goats are out to get you. Always. 

Okay, the truth is, I only say this because I have been head butted by a goat and it is one of the LEAST fun things in the world. My friends would actually tell you differently, one of my best friends actually had two goats that she would put on leashes and take for runs... That is, until they got too big for her and started dragging her behind them. True Story. The time I got head-butted is not as fun of a story to tell, I was moving the goats to a new pasture, they hated me for that. I bent down to pick something up off the ground and a billy goat ran full sprint at the back of my head and knocked me out cold. I hate billy goats. They are mean and grumpy and smelly and foul. Baby goats are the only ones that I can handle. 

2. When collecting eggs. Always wear protection. 

I mean gloves of course. But for real. Bring a stick, or an extra egg carton or an unsuspecting camper that will willingly stick their small hands into a nesting box for the whole "farming experience"... Really anything that will lesson the pecks given out by moody mother hens. 

3. Baby pigs are cute. But then they get ugly and fat and mean...

The good news is that eating them is an option. So I'm not too worried about it. I love pigs. They are delicious. :) 

4. It's the circle of life yo. 

Some people get freaked out about the fact that I have witnessed the slaughtering of hundreds of animals. And yes, when I walk outside and see a mountain of sheep heads and guts it can be a little overwhelming and unexpected. Not to mention when I go into a cooler looking for food and get shocked to DEATH when I see a hanging pig corpse. But, I have grown up with it. I know that the animals on my farm have had a pretty amazing life. I know that we use almost all of the parts of the animals that we kill and that those animals will serve as our delightful dinner. I have lived and grown up around deaths, loss, babies and poop and I know it all connects. It's the circle of life and if you have a problem with it, you shouldn't be eating nameless meat. Sassyness. I know. 

5. Animals are a HUGE responsibility. 

I guess that I learned this the most with cows. My mom has milked a cow non-stop every day, twice a day for the last 25? years of her life. There are no days off, there are no... "It's too cold" or "I don't feel like it right now." The animals are expecting you to care for them. To protect them. To love them. This is why the only pet I plan on having for the next couple years is a fish. 

6. Naming animals is fun. 

We have named many a bummer sheep. Once, we named one Carmen Electra, because she was born on an electric fence. (She walked backwards for the majority of her life) We named another one Fish because it was born in a water bucket. We named another one Aurora Frankenstein. She died.

 

7. Cows have one udder and four teats. 

You would be surprised how many people don't know that. 

 For those people: 

Did you also know that milk comes out warm?

And frothy? 

And delicious?

And that milk you get from the store?

Well, to be honest, it has no flavor.

8. Animals always give birth on the coldest, rainiest, moon-shiniest nights.  

Yeah, I guess that it has to with their birthing cycle and all that... but really? I think they like to mess with the farmers sleeping pattern. 

9. Wild pigs are smarter than they let on. 

Did you know that they will not eat, or go near eggplants or tomatoes because they are in the nightshade family (The botanical name of which is Solanaceae. BAM just dropped some knowledge on your brains)?? They just KNOW! It's crazy the kind of instincts that animals are born with.

And 

10. Dogs will always be the favorite animal on the farm. 

I work at a summer camp and have lead MANY student group tours... EVERY time the kids leave loving our dogs Mister and Salsa the best. Every time.

 

My Future Spouse.

I often find myself thinking about my future spouse. 

Oh, come on! 

Don't even try to tell me you don't do this.

Try to tell me you've never done this, and I'll give you a nickel. Yeah, that's right. A whole nickel. 

Well, for those of you not familiar with my dilemma here is what happens.

(and I'll reward you with your nickel later)

You are lying in your bed in the morning, dreading getting up for the day, trying to remember if you brushed your teeth the night before... and really contemplating wearing your dirty sweatpants for the third day in a row to class... 

That's before you find yourself thinking...

What if today is the day? 

What if, today I meet the person I am going to spend the rest of my life with?  

Shouldn't I look cute for him/her? 

Shouldn't I wash my hair and put on pants that don't have an elastic waist? 

Should I possibly try to look presentable today? 

Maybe put a little extra time into picking out my outfit and pluck that eyebrow hair that I've been meaning to get for a while now?

What if it's a one shot deal? 

What if, I go out into the world and see "the one" but they don't notice me because I look like a zombie girl?

Well, that's where my mind went today.

So, I got up and made some coffee. 

I wore a little make-up and brushed my hair for the first time in two days... 

I spent over ten minutes picking out an outfit and wore my fancy boots that make me look taller than I actually am. 

(Just in case I found out that my future spouse was in to tall girls) 

I did it all for them. 

My future lover. 

And you know what?

I didn't meet anyone new today. 

And no one took any more of an interest in me than when I haven't shaved my legs for a week. 

So what does that tell you?

Well, I don't know what it tells you.

But it tells me that I have to do it all again tomorrow. 

Life sometimes. 

You know?

My roommate says that I need to expect the unexpected. 

She says meeting "the one" is never planned.

Easy for her to say, she always looks cute. 

And doesn't need to wear fancy boots to make herself look taller.
She's already tall. 

Blah. 

Wednesdays.

Eating local.

A Poem

 (sort of)

Define Local:

Local.
To me it’s always been to easy.
Eating food from a hundred mile radius?
Maybe for some…

But
For me it it was something different entirely.

 Local was about eating from one of the farms in my valley,

That way, not only would I know that it was local,
But I would know that it was grown well,
The workers were treated fairly
And the farmers lead good lives.

Eating local was more than about eating local food.
It was about supporting a local economy...

My family,
Making smart decisions about what I was putting in my body,
and
Putting those who I loved first.

Now that I live far away from my family’s farm,
The ideas I had around eating local food are beginning to slip.

Paying for enough food is becoming my first priority.
Convenience is beginning to trump sustainability.
And

It breaks my heart.

Food is becoming yet another thing that I treat with a rushed attitude.

'There is no time to go to the farmers market!' 

 I tell myself.
'Does it really matter if this apple isn’t local?'
I ask myself.

Will it really make a difference?
This one bite?
Does it really matter

If I go for

One meal?

One day?
One week?

One year?

Without thinking about the location my food was grown?


My friends do it all the time!
They buy bananas with out a care!
The munch on strawberries when they want, 

Not a fear in their mind about pesticides.

 Or the fact that they are out of season.

So, why must I be burdened with the idea 

That everything I eat is somehow connected

To a bigger picture?

That what I eat is

Somehow going to matter?

But then I remember…

The difference is I KNOW the difference.
I know it does matter.
Every bite matters. 

And 

 I couldn’t truly stop caring if I tried.

The fact that I can’t get a bowl of rice and chicken from Panda Express without wanting to cry…
Makes me realize I will always have a different connection with my food than most of the world.

I know a different way.
I know that it is possible if I try hard enough.
If I care enough.

So, that is my new goal.

Local.
From farms that I know.
Local.
Supporting a local restaurant, grower or baker.
Local.
Where I can feel safe and good about the food that I put in my body.

That is my new definition of local.

And it is one that I hope that I can continue to live by.

Things I've Learned From My Siblings.

I have two older brothers and one older sister. (Two if you include my brothers wife, which I do.)

Wanna meet them? 

Meet Hallie

Meet Rye

Meet Amon and Jenna

Yup.

I am the youngest. 

The baby. 

(Although I did have a dream that my mom was pregnant again. Haha Yeah, that's soooo not happening. Everyone knows parents don't have sex after a certain age... RIGHT?)

Anyway... Yeah. I am the baby.

I am pretty sure I am permanently 12 in most of my family members eyes.

Forever burned in to their mind as a scrawny girl... hair parted down the middle with gap-teeth, acne and braces.  

Cool.

It's really okay though, I wouldn't have it any other way most of the time. 

My siblings are awesome. 

They rock at just being alive. 

They have taught me a lot about the world.  

Including but not limited to:

1. BBQ sauce makes anything taste better. ANYTHING. 

2. Never keep a diary around the house.

3. Never try to have your own pet. Especially a cat. 

4. You can quote any movie anytime. It always applies. It is always relevant.

5.  If you are ever looking for the T.V. cord DO NOT look in mom and dad's closet.

6. Musical instruments are the best form of torture. 

7. If you say "Please" before you stay stop they are actually more likely to stop. Who knew?

8. Pinning someone down and letting Mister (our dog) lick their face NEVER gets old. 

9. Pretending you are dead/dying also never gets old. 

10. You can convince anyone of ANYTHING if you try hard enough.

11. It is never going to be your Golden Year at Christmas. 

It is always moms Golden Year at Christmas. 

No matter who tells you it's going to be your Golden Year. 

Never. 

12. Following Dad around is the best way to find candy at Easter. 

He somehow always know where the Easter bunny laid an egg. 

YOU SNEEAAAKKKYYY DAD!!

13. Dancing while cleaning up the kitchen makes the job go by ten times as fast. 

14. Cleaning the Bathroom is the best chore to sign up for because it is relatively small compared to the rest of the house. 

15. If you talk to dad at the kitchen table long enough after dinner sometimes you can find yourself with out any chores left. 

16. The 2 minute walk to take the compost to the chickens could very well be the longest walk in the world. 

17. Always go shopping with dad two days before Christmas. It's when he's feeling the most generous. 

18. If you EVER need to get on mom's good side clean the pantry or the fridge.

 Or promise Grandchildren.

19. Don't ever get a tattoo. And if you do? Repeat #18 for the rest of your life.

20. Always ask dad to write down his to-do list... or else you are bound to forget at least 12 things. 

Yeah, we're suuuupppperrrr fun.

Marry Me.

As you all should know by now, I am obsessed with weddings. 

But, the sad thing is... being obsessed with weddings is not really socially acceptable when you aren't even dating anyone. 

I know. 

Strange. 

I have come to this conclusion by the awkward look I get when I am talking to a boy and I somehow end up blurting out that I am obsessed with weddings. 

I think that they end up getting the wrong impression. 

Like, I'm one of those crazy ladies who start planning the wedding as soon as she meets a boy... 

Well, I'm not like that.... really! 

I swear. 

I am more the kind of girl who plans other peoples weddings. 

Or, dreams about weddings... 

Or, will spend hours on end looking up wedding sites and ideas on the interweb because they are pretty.
 Or, the kind of of girl who will cry at the simplest wedding videos... 

Or, the kind of girl who has been planning her wedding since she was five. 

The whole obsession thing is weird, seeing how I am not in any hurry to find "the one" and I often have a hard time believing in happy endings. 

Yet, here I am... a college educated feminist with a sweet tooth for weddings and babies. 

WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME, GUYS??

Well, until I figure out the answer to that... 

I have a fever and the only cure is more cow bell...

(Or weddings)

For your listening pleasure: 

For your eyes:

Gosh, I'm strange.

Welp, off to find my future husband.... 

Bye.