Little hands & lettuce

Today I reorganized my creative space a little. I cannot tell you how good it feels to have a space that is clean and more open feeling. Something about change outside (the trees, the breeze that is blowing through my open window as I write, and now the shift in my space, and the elimination of whole bunch of clutter) to invite other kinds of change. It feels really good to be in this space now. Instead of avoiding the room unless I have to go to bed, I find myself walking by the open door and being drawn in.

It is late Friday afternoon as I type this. Outside I can hear lawnmowers, traffic, and the sound of the wind in the trees. It is a blue, sunny day (yes, again), and the combination of cool breeze and sunny day is truly gorgeous. I have had the back door into the garden open all day, inviting the air through the house, and the sounds of the garden filter into the back hall and the kitchen.

In a couple of hours I will be heading out to a devotional gathering with friends. I am really looking forward to sitting and praying with friends -- and just letting go of everything the week has brought rushing in. I am also looking forward to walking over to the park after the devotional to enjoy the Italian film festival under the starry sky with a whole bunch of friends. It is going to be a great night!

Yesterday I was volunteering at Soil Born. We had a whole bunch of second graders come visit the farm on a field trip.

This photograph is the property of Ariana Salvo. May not be reproduced without permission.

They started the day by visiting the pig, the newly born calf (it was born Wednesday night at 8pm) and learning about chickens. Chickens create manure, but they are also great lawnmowers. They eat insects and grass, and fertilize the soil. The chicken coop is mobile, and only stays in any given place for couple of days before being moved to its next site. That way the weeds are kept down all over the farm, and the soil keeps getting richer. It is a great system. The only problem with the chickens seems to be keeping them alive. Hawks see the coop as a chicken buffet, and between them swooping down and grabbing the chicks and the coyotes that manage to get others, many have been lost this year to predators.

After some time with the animals the a couple of the kids got to harvest their first head of lettuce.

This photograph is the property of Ariana Salvo. May not be reproduced without permission.

Add captionThis photograph is the property of Ariana Salvo. May not be reproduced without permission. 

This photograph is the property of Ariana Salvo. May not be reproduced without permission.

This photograph is the property of Ariana Salvo. May not be reproduced without permission.

It was a great group of kids, and their enthusiasm at getting to harvest food straight from the earth was infectious. We headed over to the youth garden after seeing the fully grown lettuce and split up into three groups.

This photograph is the property of Ariana Salvo. May not be reproduced without permission.

One group mixed soil and planted cover crop (to fix nitrogen in the soil); a second group made lettuce tacos filled with carrots and peppers from the garden (dipped in hummus), and a third group planted lettuce with me. I love planting with kids. Most of them are so excited to be out there and getting their hands in the soil. Our groups switched off, so we planted a lot of lettuce. The kids were mighty pleased with their work.

This photograph is the property of Ariana Salvo. May not be reproduced without permission.

Before the kids climbed back onto the school bus we took a walk down to the river to cool off. Just like last week, most of the kids had never actually been to the river before. The river that runs right through the middle of the city they are growing up in. Their experience of growing up is so different from my own. I struggle to imagine being seven or eight years old and having so few opportunities to interact with the natural world. Makes me think of the book The Geography of Childhood: Why Children Need Wild Places, by Gary Nabhan and Stephen Trimble. Soil Born is indeed a blessing in these kids' lives. I think they had a good day. I don't know. What do you think?

This photograph is the property of Ariana Salvo. May not be reproduced without permission.

Awesome bunch of kids, eh?

When was the last time you were out on farmland experiencing where your food is grown? When was the last time you were out in the natural world period?

I hope you have an incredible weekend (and that you manage to get outside)! It is apple season -- perfect reason to go explore local farms in your area if you live in the northern hemisphere! I will be at Yoga Aid tomorrow -- a fundraiser for yoga projects in Africa. A large number of people will be congregating at one of the local parks to attempt to do 108 sun salutations in a row. I know. Hopefully I will be able to move my fingers for my post on Monday! I am volunteering to help organize the event as well as taking part, so I have to be there at 7.30am. No lazy Saturday morning for me!

I hope you have a superb weekend, friends! See you back here for the start of a new week!