Fly Away in the Morning - A Eulogy for Helen

Sometimes with being away for a long time comes the difficult loss of a loved one at home. Yesterday we learned that one of our chickens, Helen, passed away, and we are sorry to have not been at home to take care of her.

Helen came to us with her sister Sarah in November last year as a pair of hens in need of refuge from a flock of overzealous roosters at their previous home. We were glad to take them in as two young layers amongst our flock of old and hardly laying hens.

Helen, Sarah, and the hens moved home with me after graduating from St. Mary's and currently live in Sharpsburg with my parents, happily situated under the apple tree and with bountiful access to the bugs and weeds of a former garden.

My Mom, who has served as primary care-taker for the chickens since leaving for the apprenticeship, informed me that Helen had fallen ill, but that Sarah was staying close by her side as a devoted companion. But one morning this weekend my parents opened the coop to find that Helen had passed in the night, and they buried her along the hedgerow between the yard and the neighboring hayfield.

Like I said before, it is never easy to learn about the passing of a loved one when you are the one who is far away, but our new friends here have been wonderfully supportive and kind. After learning of the news of Helen's passing yesterday our very own bluegrass trio played "Fly Away" as a tribute to Helen. I've included a link to the song here and a few pictures of Helen below so that we can all remember her and her beautiful nature.

Guy

Week One

So far, SO GOOD. We have stacks of books and articles, shiny new tools (sanded, oiled, and sharpened ourselves), and about 45 new friends! Guy jokingly calls them such beautiful people. But really, the goodwill and motivation of each individual involved with this apprenticeship is something for which we already have a deep, mutual reverence. We come from a variety of locations and backgrounds, yet share a common purpose: that all should be nourished well – people and planet – by maintaining natural balances. Food is beautiful, and the processes involved in its creation should be no less so.

We are here to learn. The staff and second-year apprentices (seven folks who help us navigate both work and community life) have made it quite clear that our first priority should be to gain knowledge and skills while taking good care of our bodies. I have found it a relief to switch gears after a few years of high-pressure labor at Even’ Star Farm, though it’s taking a bit of mental rewiring.

Here is a sample day’s schedule:

6:45 AM – Breakfast (Ex: butternut squash quick bread, scrambled eggs, sautéed swiss chard and onions)

8:00 AM-12:00 PM – Morning work session or lecture & demonstration

12:00 PM – Lunch (Ex: yellow daal, curried spinach, whole wheat chapattis, and yogurt) and chores

2:00-6:00 PM – Afternoon work session in the field or garden

6:30 PM – Dinner (Ex: brown rice, chili, salad with meyer lemon and tahini dressing, and cornbread)

If there was a trace of doubt in anyone’s mind about whether they are in the right place, then Friday afternoon surely expelled it. After hours of chopping cover crop with spades, layering it with horse manure and food scraps into six 125-cubic foot lasagnas of compost, the 4:00 Cookie Fairy came around with a tray full of homemade baklava (because it’s layered like a compost cube!). Talk about a morale booster. Not that spirits were low to begin with…everyone seems pretty happy here all the time. When is it my turn to be cookie fairy?!

Mer

Arrival in Santa Cruz/Pre-Apprenticeship Vacation

We’ve said our goodbyes many times over the last few weeks, and this morning we said our very last as Mer’s daddy saw us to our final destination for the next six months. And here we are sitting in the Farm Center, facing the Pacific Ocean, three bowls of avocados on the table beside us.

But the past few days have been an adventure unto itself—airports and hotels aside, we’ve been greatly enjoying the wonderful food of Santa Cruz and the company of one very enthusiastic chaperone. Tacos, Thai food, and sushi just aren’t the same back East and we have certainly kept our bellies full with the best. The gleeful expression of a man with a fish taco fix made us both chuckle, but the shizam sushi roll was no laughing matter. The divine experience of macadamia, mango, avocado, cream cheese—deep-fried with a sweet sauce on top—made our eyes swell and left our mouths silent. Did we mention the wine?!

Moving in was a breeze, with only the few bags that we could bring on the plane. The tent cabins appear to make great digs with beautiful wooden interior walls and pleasant canvas exteriors to give us the sense of living outdoors. The pictures will prove that these shacks are not too shabby, and the views from our respective flats are astounding. Ocean to the left, redwood forest to the right!

Yes, it seems that life will be good out here on the West Coast and we are eager to start learning. Apprenticing begins tomorrow. Love to all.

Mer and Guy