This is all very interesting.

A farm...yes this is what is happening right now. Atlas Peak farms is going to be my home for the month of august. I have to tell you I am nervous as hell. I want to say that I have no idea what I am doing but that is not entirely true. I mean the waking up at 7 to feed chickens and ilk goats followed by harvesting of fruits and vegetables is something that is completely foreign to me, and quite frankly.... frightening. I do know that this experience I am about to embark on is going to add a little shine to my life. I am lucky to be able to take on this opportunity that’s for sure!
Ok so the deal is this, I am going to be working on farm...specifically a goat farm, located just outside of Napa Valley, Ca. Atlas Peak Farms I am going to be making different types of goats milk cheeses, jams bread all that good stuff.
My mom and I went on a mission to find appropriate farm attire...ok so here is the thing, I have no idea what that really entails, so this day was littered with some interesting conversations... me "these are the ugliest boots i have ever put on my feet." Mom, "You're just going to be walking through goat and chicken poo." Ahhh yes I have always waited for these words to be spoken to me.

I have different fantasies of how farm life will be...I am standing on a hill overlooking a surrounding vineyard, throwing the chicken feed that is in my wicker basket on the ground for baby chicks to follow, wind blowing through my hair, little squirrels nibbling at the food by my feet, smiling..,, Scenario 2: in a chicken coup, attempting to feed the animals, all the while being chased by crazed chickens and getting pecked in the back of the leg... and me, being the, let's be real, not one with nature gal, attempting to avoid stepping in chicken shit...Screaming.

I am just so excited to learn some new things...I really am...I love food...I love what goes into making a dish...I love the stories behind a recipe...I love the feeling when someone likes my food...I love to see the passion behind the person who has created a meal for me. Not it is time to see where it all begins

Day 1, August 1, 2010

What to say about this day... Well my fellow wwoofer and I decided to do a little exploring. We chose to walk down the main road from the farm. Apparently this road is a huge bicycle route. Bikers were whipping by us at speeds that were faster than most cars. As they would come down the road you would hear them scream “Pedestrian” Whooooosh, fly by us.

Soon an ATV with an old dude came riding by us, spraying pesticide off the side of the road, “you kids just come back from Milliken falls?” Falls? What falls? It was getting really hot so the idea of flowing water made our mouths salivate. This is when a wave of regret just came over this old guys face. He just let the cat out of the bag. He goes on to explain to us that kids go down to these so-called falls and litter the ground with empty beer bottles and cigarette butts and he has to go down there to clean them all up. We of course asked right away...how do you get there??

“Well you gotta walk back up the hill two addresses, then you’ll see a do not trespass sign...Well ya tresspass...and there is a path that leads you there.” The whole time he is telling us this, he has this enormous laughter like “Aw shit I can’t believe I am telling these kids where this is, now they are going to screw the whole thing up....oooh wellll.”

So we walk to this no trespassing sign, enter, and we begin our hike. We’re walking and we’re walking...see some fox poop here...coyote poop there (which is white because of all the bones that they eat), and come across rocks that look like an area where water does flow free...if there was any water in sight...So we keep saying “that guy didn’t know what he was talking about,” but we decide to keep going further.

Becky (fellow wwoofer) is leading the way...at this point we have given up on any falls. She suggested we just keep walking so we did. As we were walking we came across the most amazing cliff overlooking a deep valley with such a wide almost infinite landscape. We sat on the edge of the cliff and ate an orange that we had picked back at the farm. So we continue walking, and I have to say, I have never hiked on a path like this...At times it felt like were scaling the side of a huge mountain. I was pretty freaked out...but didn’t say anything...

All of a sudden about 20 min into walking, we heard something that both sounded like water or the wind blowing through the pines...we kept walking, down steep rocks, sliding on our butts and there it was... beautiful waterfalls, and big pools of water. I have never just come across something like this...at least in California. I mean this just exists; no one was around, it felt like we had discovered it for the first time.

Well, we did what any other person would do. Took off our cloths and jumped on in! Hopefully there were no creepy lurkers...The water was freezing, but so damn refreshing.... We climbed back after a little while, got a ride up the hill by our neighbor Doug, and I laid on my bed, passed out.

Doug and his brother Dane live on a house on the property, so after dinner Becky and I drank Budweiser, listened to country music and played pool. Let me just say this, Dane is a professional arm wrestler...yes this is true...he had just gotten back from a tournament on Venice Beach. They are some interesting characters and I am sure we will hear some great stories form them in the coming weeks.
Day 1 complete...tomorrow August 2, is going to be my first day on the job...fingers crossed.