Thursday, September 10, 2015

Why I Travel









Travel isn't about the destination, it's about the people you meet along the way.

Tuesday, September 8, 2015

Wherein, I Get to Pretend to Be A Farmer (in Middle Earth, No Less)


First full day on the farm, and I've got my feet wet - as well as the rest of me. While making a (so I thought) clear leap for it across part of the boggy, wet ground by the pond I -splat!- fell right flat on my stomach into the mucky water. Quite a way to make a splash.




I also today had the most shocking experience of my life yet: leaning in too close to the electric fence. Not bad for my first day's work. 


I'm at Clare and Donald's farm in Northland on the west coast (and, yes, you can see the coast from the hill on a clear day.) They raise beef cattle, which in New Zealand are entirely pasture-raised. On this 500 acre farm, the cattle are routinely moved to a new paddock to graze. 


Also dwelling here are their son Richard, and Monique, who is a WWOOFer from Germany (and my age - most WWOOFers seem to be younger.) She has been in New Zealand for 6 months, twice as long as I'm planning to stay here.


Today, Richard, Monique and I pulled up ragwort and thistles out of one of the lower paddocks, to help control the those weeds and prevent them from overgrowing. 



Then we pitched them in large tanks, where they will decompose and turn into a juice, which is in turn sprayed on the fields to discourage further growth of weeds.  Donald explained a bit about the theory behind why the very juice of weeds would discourage the further growth of weeds. Fascinating. 


(Everything is done as sustainably as possible here, to help promote the health of the soil, which then in turn promotes the health of the cattle, so no synthetic pesticides are used.)



Something I was thrilled to learn about New Zealand: beef and lamb in stores here is pasture raised, without synthetic hormones. So different than the way things are done in the States. Clare and Donald were in shock when I told them a bit about the beef industry, and the CAFOs, back home. 

"Why would they feed them grain?" Clare kept asking me. 

"It's all about the money," I said.


The most incredible part of this farm (besides the fact that I'm going to learn a lot about sustainable agriculture): the views. 


These are million - no, gazillion - dollar views. With every step I take, I am in renewed amazement at what splendor God has created. For miles on end, no matter where you turn, nothing but the green rolling hills and mountains are in sight. 




My camera, of course, failed to adequately capture the majesty. Of course, you can't really imagine how awe-inspiring it all is, until you are actually standing at the top of the hill taking in the valley.




This morning on my walk, as I gazed upon the scene below me, I got the sudden urge to belt out "The Sound of Music." 



I didn't resist.