I've made cheese once and dulce de leche - that thick caramel common in Argentina...that I brought back with me in the form of about 15 extra (glorious) pounds.
I've been going for long walks, watching birds, playing with the goats, experimenting with various arts and crafts... and discovering a new-found affection for tractors.
When I got here I kind of liked the idea of knowing how to drive a tractor, but had little to no interest in ever using one on my own operation...and definitely no hint of genuine interest in the whole machine-side... you know... like, how they actually work. But, dude. Tractors are kind of awesome. :)
I first drove the Kubota across the yard a week or two ago, and with the help of a couple interns, removed the front wheels, turned them around and adjusted the width of the axle thing in front so they lined up-ish with the back tires. Then I drove it back across the yard. Woot! Friday, however, I got to drive the Kubota with the transplanter attachment...with people on the back...over freshly spaded beds. This might not sound very exciting to most of you...but it was a pretty big deal. Especially since nobody was injured.
And my rows aren't too bad.
The seedlings are getting bigger and happier by the day...we're getting loads of things out into the field - most of the squash - summer and winter - today, tomatoes, most of the direct seeding stuff, lettuce, kohlrabi, broccoli, beets, fennel, herbs... it's endless. :) And delightful. The trees are filling out with leaves and the fields are sprouting up. We ate fresh asparagus yesterday, and I almost cried I was so happy to eat them.
One evening last week we all sat out on the front porch and watched a storm come through. It was spectacular. I didn't even miss not watching Glee. :P
Pear tree = most spectacularly fragrant tree of all time. Smitten.
I have some more cute olive pictures. I might just make a separate blog post later with those. <3
Hope you're all well.
