My trip to an organic farm

I have a pretty bad cold, which sprang upon me full force on Friday. It actually came up right in the middle of my visit to an organic farm, and I had to ask them for something to blow my nose with as my nose started practically spraying.


Anyway, I drove out to British Columbia to visit Wildwood Farm, which is operated by a cool couple named Tim and Linda. They have lived on the property for over 32 years and were the first to farm there. They built their log home and all the farm buildings themselves. They operate on solar power, which their son installed for them about 10 years ago. The solar generator powers some lights, a ghetto blaster, a battery charger, and a few other things. Their home is like a cabin, and they do all their cooking and heating using firewood. They even make their own organic beer, picking hops and using organic malt they buy and spring water that they collect on their property.

They are one of the few certified organic farms in the area, but they've been farming organically for years. They have free range chickens, and a market garden, and don't really use any conventional machines, preferring to use horse power and a team of horses to turn their feed mill, plough their feeds, seed etc. They do have a tractor, but don't use it that much.

They have a few milk cows, all kinds of trees and berries, and free range pigs. I had never seen pastured pigs before, and was surprised to see that pigs run! We went out to see them, and the pigs came galloping over the hill, which made me laugh. Their ears flopped up and down and they were very happy to see us.
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Tim and Linda also had a six month old Pyrenese cross mountain dog, who was over 200 pounds. Tim warned me not to pay too much attention to him, because he would jump up on me. Of course, since I'm a huge dog lover, this was REALLY hard for me. Buster still managed to affectionately body check my legs and try to chew on my fingers by sticking my whole hand inside his mouth.
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Tim and Linda decided early on that they wanted to live as sustainably and as simply as possible, and they seem to be accomplishing it. This was one of the more interesting farm visits I've had, and one that has made me think about my own choices and consumption for the past few days.

Writing and reading meme stolen from [Bad username or site: @ livejournal.com]

1. Three authors that have inspired or influenced my writing are:
1. Raymond Carver- I read "Cathedral" and was amazed that a person could tell stories in such a minimalist way. He is one of my favourite writers and I love his work. I love the spaces between the words.
2. Richard Brautigan- My parents had collections of his poetry in the basement. I read his poems and was amazed. I didn't realize you could write poems about chocolate bars, and catfish and little things. It was mindblowing.
3. Sherman Alexie- His work is beautiful, funny and sad. I am also inspired by anyone who is a triple threat- who can do poetry, fiction, non-fiction, novels, short stories, because that's what I aspire to do too. (I could also add Carol Shields, because she writes about small things and has an amazing attention to detail, Richard Russo, Thomas King, Barbara Gowdy because she writes about the weird and bizarre, or so many more... I just tried to pick three)

2. The hardest part of the writing process for me is : There are a bunch of things. Making myself write (but journalism school helped with that). Telling when something I write is good. Plotting.

3. One book I have always intended to read, but I haven’t yet is: How much time do you have?

4. (True or False) I sometimes read non-fiction for pleasure. - True! I read about half non-fiction, and half fiction.

5. (True or False) I came from a family that read a lot.
True! We share books back and forth.
6. My favorite movie adaptation of a book is: - There are a few that I really like- "Like Water for Chocolate", "Bram Stoker's Dracula", "The Joy Luck Club", "Mystic River", "The Princess Bride".

7. The most boring book I ever read all the way through is: I think the Lord of the Rings is boring and I hate Charles Dickens. I tend not to read boring books. I throw them across the room. I also thought "The Architects are here" by Michael Winter was so boring that I couldn't finish it.

8. Poetry: is the first thing I ever wrote. I don't read very much of it any more, but I think it shouldn't be overlooked.

9. My favorite place to read is: in bed.

10. The funniest thing I have read recently is: I actually laughed out lough reading "Regret the Error" by Craig Silverman and "Beijing Confidential" by Jan Wong. I also thought that "Gods Behaving Badly" by Marie Phillips was REALLY funny.

11. The most mind challenging thing I have read recently is: I am definitely challenged when I read classics like Northanger Abbey, or scientific books like "Musicophilia" by Oliver Sacks. I am a very linear person and so I have trouble following non-linear books. I like to read very technical, scientific books sometimes.

12. When I stop by my local library the librarians must think: Hi Alexis! (Most of the librarians know me, and will get my holds the second they see me walk into the library.

(no subject)

Yesterday Debi, Darrell and I went to the movie theatre to watch the Met's video broadcast of "La Boheme." I'm not sure how many of you have heard of this, so I'll just outline. The New York Metropolitan Opera taps some of their performances and then broadcasts them in movie theatres. It's about $20, and you can go and watch the show, which is filmed using multiple cameras so you get a good view of everything that's happening.

"La Boheme" was pretty good, and there were about 40 people in the theatre. In addition to showing you the show, there are also video extras. You get to watch interviews with cast members, tour certain areas backstage, and see clips from other shows. They also let you see backstage when they're moving the sets and putting them into place.

During the intermissions, they film the auditorium at the Met and put a little timer on the screen that lets you know how much longer it is until showtime. Basically, you can stare at the Met audience as they fidget and get in and out of their seats to go to the bathroom.

All in all, it was pretty enjoyable and I'd recommend the experience.

But I have one question for my opera friends. What does toy toy toy or choy choy choy mean? Does this mean good luck? The three of us had no clue.