Three years later

Monday 31 December 2007

One thing I like about living in a place for a while, is getting to see certain dates come more than once. This is a poster advertising the big march yesterday for the people who died in a nightclub fire three years ago. We saw the same big march pound through our neighborhood last year. The poster this year features pictures of all the kids who died, and was up everywhere.

Apple Orchard

Sunday 30 December 2007

Well, we've had a great time on the farm. There have been some frustrating moments, but the overall experience has been a positive one and we learned a lot. Here is the sun rising over the neighbor's apple orchard, my last glimpse of the farm.

Tomato Flowers

Saturday 29 December 2007

A tomato flower. We've been spending most mornings weeding and mulching tomatoes, so this little flower, and the tiny little green tomato bubbles that are popping out on a very few plants, are what we love to see!

The World's Happiest Dog

Friday 28 December 2007

Patch, a fellow volunteer, holding Pacha, making her the World's Happiest Dog. You see, she is Panchito's (the adorable puppy) mom, and gets really jealous when people pay attention to the puppy and not her. She will push him out of the way, shove her head under your hand, even sit on her baby, whining and wagging her tail in pathetic, eager anticipation. So, Patch finally did what she wanted - he picked her up and cuddled her. So, who's the cutest baby in the world?

Green Spider

Thursday 27 December 2007

A not-so-little spider in a bottle.

Paloma

Wednesday 26 December 2007

This is Paloma (whose name means "dove"), the little girl who lives on the farm. She was helping us mud today. Those are some eyes, huh?

Christmas Rainbow

Tuesday 25 December 2007

It rained all day today, which actually helped make it feel more Christmas-y, as it was cooler and you couldn't go outside. But it stopped late afternoon, and we got this magnificent rainbow over the neighbors' apple orchard.

Christmas Eve

Monday 24 December 2007

Here is our big Christmas dinner (they celebrate the night before in Argentina - Christmas day isn't nearly as special.) We had a huge storm tonight, which cut the power. It made for a cozier, more old-fashioned candle-lit Christmas, however, which was nice.

Ah, Sundays . . .

Sunday 23 December 2007

The farm was about a half-hour walk from town, so we basically only went in on weekends. Therefore, weekends became time for internet, beer, and beef. This is a lomito, a wonderful sandwich with steak, eggs, spicy sauce, and all the toppings. Washed down with Andes, the local beer, it is the perfect Sunday dinner after a week of vegetarian/vegan food!

Saturday Market

Saturday 22 December 2007

This is Anna, Azucena's mother, at the market for which we baked all that bread yesterday. She has a farm as well, which is a little more established and productive. They sell greens and veggies, fruit, apple juice, preserves and jams, spices and herbs, and other yummy stuff. All of it fresh and organic. Ryan and I went today to help sell for the farm we are working at, and had a pretty good time.

Baking day

Friday 21 December 2007

This is Azucena, the mother/wife/farm manager/head cook/driving force at the farm. (She is also the founder of an organic bio-cooperative, and a homeopathic doctor.) Every Friday she would bake dozens of loaves of bread to be sold at the market in Mendoza on Saturdays. You can see the oven in the background there, which is an oil drum suspended in a mud oven, powered by firewood. Yet she somehow seems to pull out perfectly browned bread every time. I disagreed with many of her beliefs, but man, she was one amazing woman.

Panchito

Thursday 20 December 2007

This is Panchito (which means "little hot dog"), an adorable puppy new to the farm. When he came a week or two ago, he was tiny and immobile, and I honestly thought he might not make it. Now, with some loving care and mother's milk, he can walk a full two meters before he needs a nap and falls over. Today, I picked him up and he promptly fell asleep. He slept in my arms for hours as I trudged around in the mud pit, mixing. Isn't he so cute???

Making jam

Wednesday 19 December 2007

Ryan and I pitting cherries, preparing to make jam, listening to Radiolab, a science radio program. This was our third, and largest, batch of jam, this one just sour cherry.

Goatito

Tuesday 18 December 2007

These are the goats on the farm. The little one looooves headrubs. (Those horns probably hurt coming in.) I dubbed her "goatito" which in Spanglish means "little goat," although in Spanish it means "little drop."

Kambucha

Monday 17 December 2007

This is kambucha, a live-culture drink we have discovered on the farm. Basically, you take a mother, a piece of this fungus-like thing, put it in some tea, and in a week or two you have a vinegary drink that is supposed to have all kinds of healthy, cleansing properties. It's evidently a big thing in California, in all the health-food stores. I like the taste, and if it's healthy, all the better!

Chuck the Duck

Sunday 16 December 2007

This is Chuck, Chuck the Duck. Paloma, the farm owners' daughter, jokes that when you're here for a month, you get two pets, and when you're here for two months, you get two pets. Well, one of our fellow volunteers, Patch, has been here for two months, and so now has two pets. A white mouse named Sancho Panza, and now a duckling named Chuck. He's absolutely adorable (Chuck, that is) and loves cake. He had trouble sleeping for a while, so Patch put this stuffed animal in with him so he has someone to snuggle with.

Another pretty dandylion

Saturday 15 December 2007

Manteca

Friday 14 December 2007

This is Manteca (which means butter), the farm's mare. She was funny - if you were in her area to collect firewood or pick sour cherries, she would follow you around like a little puppy. She even got to know me and would come and say good morning when we went out to the gardens. Here she is following Ryan and I through some bush that is a little too low and crowded for horses.

Muddy Feet

Thursday 13 December 2007

I am dirty pretty much all of time here on the farm.

Jam! Guida y Mora

Wednesday 12 December 2007

Ryan and I went out the other day and found wild mulberry trees. And then some sour cherry trees. What does this add up to? Jam! Lots of home-made, organic jam from fruit we picked ourselves! It took a long time to make, but was absolutely delicious and did not last long on the breakfast table.