Yesterday was my first day volunteering at Wind Rose Farm. I woke up so grateful for the sun because I had a cold and sleepless night. I don’t know that I’ve ever been consciously grateful for the sun, but there I lay watching the world go from grey and black to gold and green and found myself a little weepy over the grace of morning.
Bill and Barbara Spencer are the organic farmers here and they know so much about the earth I feel like such robot. Like I’m this piece of machine that lives in between concrete walls and am never human enough to touch the earth. When I was wrapping bundles of rose scented geranium - which will be used to make rose ice cream at a restaurant in Santa Monica - Barbara asked me what I was looking for in my time at the farm. I didn’t really have an answer except I knew I wanted to experience something new and develop an appreciation for nature and thus God. Her response, “well, a little dirt should help you get there”. Dirt. Yes of Course.
Together Barbara and I bounced around from one greenhouse to another and then on to other gardens. We were bundling lettuce, thyme, rosemary, sage blossoms, Sicilian oregano, arugula blossoms, chocolate geranium, Portuguese kale, apple mint and so much more. I’ve never been so aware of scent and how many rich smells can come from the earth. I’ve never been so aware of my ears and the silence or the sound of wind in the trees and infinity birds. I’ve also never been so aware of how much my body could hurt, it feels good to work hard and sleep hard, but also I should probably do a little yoga in the morning.
What must it be like to be such a genius like God, making things that smell like arugula - and little bushes that taste like thyme - and red ladybugs that protect lettuce leaves? This whole system relies on the system and it works when we let it. Concrete and gushers are such a sad imitation.
Barbara talks to her plants sometimes and I’m obsessed. “So these arugula blossoms can be used in a salad with the leaves and – oh hello there mustard, we need to have a talk you are much to big.” I’m into it. If I lived, worked with and loved plants every day I probably would too.
I was invited into their home for a spinach and egg frittata in which all the items were sourced from the farm or from surrounding farms that they had direct relationship with. Butter, eggs, flower, roasted garlic, feta cheese, spinach all from a couple mile radius. Bill made a comment about the farming industry and politicians chief concern being cheap food “but with the disease and health risks that go with this industrial farming we really have the most expensive food in the world” - word.
In other news I bottle fed a little lamb. And if your question is, could I possibly get more hippie than this post, it’s too soon to tell…but probably, yes.