Life on the Farm

I LOVE life on the farm...except there is no wifi :(

But I will be posting pictures soon...in the meantime, my everyday life so far goes something like this:

I am staying in a little log cabin

that is on the side of a mountain.

I have been living and working with an Argentine girl named Julia, who is 27, and we are very much

alike. we joke a lot...in Espanol. I have been speaking 90% of the time in Spanish, about 10% of the time in English with Ellie, the

director of the farm. Julia and I live, together, eat together, deal with all the problems in our little

cabin together. She taught me how to make wheat bread in less than 20 minutes, and it was delicious!

Last night for dinner we had hot bread a la Sarah with butter and honey...mmm, melt in your mouth. We had like half a loaf.

Every morning I wake up to the sound of roosters crowing, cows mooing and sheep baaa-ing. I put my jeans inside my sleeping bag to get them warm, then I get dressed (while still in my sleeping bag) and get up, I sleep really well at night on a mattress with that wonderful wonderful sleeping bag, thank you REI!! So warm!! I gather firewood and make a fire (or attempt to) and try to get the place warmed up. I boil water on the stove and make coffee...and usually try to eat a little desayuno, (breakfast), its usually pan y miel, (bread and honey). the honey here is delicious. Julia has been helping me so much with my Spanish, and it has all come back to me! We communicate very well! She speaks no English at all, so i've been teaching her some English. I made her breakfast this morning, eggs with ham and onions with fresh bread and coffee. mmm! We eat well!

The house itself reminds me a lot of Gramaw and Grandpaw's little log cabin in Mississippi...except for this place has the most amazing views..on both sides are the gorgeous Patagonian Andes, peaks with snow...so gorgeous. The lodge and director's house is down below...about a 15 minute hike down a steep road..all of this is situated on a steep incline. We live in a cabin that is near the top, close to all the animals. There is a cow named Sabrina who sits at the top of the hill and moo's at us all the time to bring her hay...she is so precioso...

I pet her everyday around her horns and on her ears...she licks me like crazy with her long tongue...its really coarse and green from all the grass she eats. I love Sabrina and I never thought I'd love being licked by a cow so much. There is also a dog with a hurt leg that lives at our house named Charlie. She is so sweet, and very timid, but warming up to us slowly. I find it very comforting in the mornings and when we get back to house from working to meet Charlie with her tail wagging and head down...always afraid that we will scold her, but my touch is so gentle and she likes me. There are also sheep always grazing...when I look out of my window in the morning there are usually sheep right there! Black faces with thick white coats. Babies come in November...I might have to stay to see a birth!!

The electricity went out the other night, for no reason, which I think is a normal occurence...good thing I brought both headlamps...we went to bed early that night.

Working is a learning experience. We've silted compost, planted flower, lettuce and cabbage seeds, built a canal in a garden with a very steep incline, weeded rasberry bushies and just helped around with normal everyday chores. We've been working a lot in the greenhouse and the gardens. I'm learning so much!

A new person named Marlan from Australia gets here today...I have a feeling I will be a translator because he doesn't speak Spanish...so that should be fun.

We went on a hike today to the Rio Blanco and the Rio Azul...both live up to their names. There are also these tiny little wooden and wire suspensions bridges, big enough for one person, that cross the rivers...crazy, and scary!! The rivers are soooo clear and its water flowing down from the top of the mountains, so its all melted snow and glacier water. I found a place today that will be 'my place' that sits right on the river, with gorgeous blue water flowing over the smooth rocks, the mountains incline steeply from the banks and its a little hidden paradise. There is NO ONE up here...only one family with a farm next door and us..at night it is so quiet and dark; the stars are so bright...Totally different sky than I'm used to staring at.

Well, there will be photos added to this post soon. Probably tomorrow.

In the meantime, I'm going to make some dinner for the new arrival. I think there might be rain soon.