#farmer v

Kayaking through the gentle salty waves of the eastern Gulf of Thailand was a dreamlike experience.
.
We were surrounded by shallow cerulean waters abundant with coral, sea urchins, and small schools of luminescent fish.
.
There was nothing but the sound of lapping waves, our paddles in the sea, and some of our favorite old time tunes.

Despite the frigid mornings & frozen fingers, I find myself missing this recent farm season unlike any before. The friendships I built, the language I learned, and the growth I underwent have left me astonished by the beauty of this world.

I miss harvesting turnips, bunching herbs, hoeing lettuce in the high tunnels and singing songs en español. I miss the sweet smiles of my hardworking compañeras when they greeted me at the beginning of another work day. I miss Monday night mead after work, and building the bus on our days off. I miss all our friends, and our endless inside jokes, and our long talks about life, in the mist of Oregon fog.

I miss it all so much it hurts, but we will return soon. We are on to new adventures (but change takes so much time & discomfort). Oregon was comfortable, cozy, and homey. We always push ourselves into new situations just as we finally settle into a place. We hit the road right after we found real community… and I’ll be honest: sometimes I question why.

Our tiny school bus kitchen is an amazing place to cook nearly every meal We will soon even have recipes & cooking videos filmed right here on the black walnut live edge countertop.

In other news, Farmer V is set for a HUGE blog revamp in the New Year! This will include more organized content, regular posts, how-tos and infographics. It may also entail a new host (no longer Tumblr) and a completely new look.

Any thoughts, ideas, or feedback? Post it in the comments or email me at [email protected]

Can y’all believe how far we’ve come on Magpie the Bus?! We are hitting the road in 2 weeks headed south!

Fog, rain & cold can’t bring us down! A lot of people are constantly complaining about the weather, so when we became travelers & farmers (who live & work outside daily), we decided to break the mold. .
.
We remind ourselves everyday to focus on things you have control over: ya can’t change the weather, but you can change your attitude! .
.
Hope y’all are having a beautiful end to October.

Farming is all about patience, attentiveness and care. The harvests come quick & abundant. Our hands & knees move at a rapid speed through 300 ft high tunnels of fruiting tomato plants, trellised to the ceiling. Nearby, pepper plants are heavy with juicy green shishitos; zucchini plants grown over the pathways with bees pollinating their furry yellow flowers in a nectar-craving frenzy. Farm trucks loaded with hundreds of pounds of tomatillos, nearly a thousand bunches of carrots, or twenty tubs of cucumbers.

Yet sometimes I have to go out to one of the fields after work and enjoy a slower harvest to bring home with us. Striking a balance between the fast pace of production farming and the slower enjoyment of subsistence gardening is so important to me. Those Sunday afternoons in the shishito pepper greenhouse let me return to that meditative feeling of growing plants just for fun.

Just a few of our late July harvests: ‘Lacinato’ black kale, tomatillos, jalapenos, heirloom tomatoes, shishito peppers, and leek flowers!