Monday roots

Things I am feeling grateful for on this gloriously sunny Monday:

1. My volunteer work on the farm, and the opportunity to learn from and with children and youth outside while growing and harvesting organic food.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

2. My partner at crime on the farm, Guy. He is the director of education at Soil Born, and I not only enjoy working with him, I have learned an amazing amount about teaching kids and youth from him over the past seven and a half months.

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.

3. Writing dates with my dear friend and fellow writer, Ahava, who is a creativity and loving inquiry mentor in British Columbia, Canada. You can check her work out here.

4. Artwork. Our house usually has beautiful artwork on all the walls. Since we moved into this new place last summer we had not taken the time to hang all our artwork, and so the house just did not really feel like a home. This past weekend my mother and I fixed this by getting out a hammer and some nails and hanging colour all over our walls. The painting over the fireplace and the one by itself between the two chairs are both the work of my dear friend Louise Mould, back on Prince Edward Island. Aren't they gorgeous?

5. The Mary Oliver poetry reading I went to on Friday. There were close to 600 people there. She is getting rather frail, but once she made it to the podium she was all humour and stories, and inspired us all with her deep enjoyment of the process of sharing her poetry with her audience. She received a standing ovation from us at the end, and had the threatre raise the lights so that she could see all our faces and blow kisses to us. There is something extremely profound about seeing the impact that a writer like Mary Oliver has had on so many lives at this point in her career. It was deeply moving.

6. The grape vineyards of Napa Valley are all making the transition into Fall, the leaves all just starting to tinge red and orange at the edges. Unfortunately I was driving, and my designated photographer had some technical difficulties, but the rolling hills and patchwork quilt of vineyards in the fall were breathtaking.

This morning I woke up and wrote a short little poem as I began my day. I am grateful for the poem, the day, and looking forward to the evening, and the last golden rays that are leaning in my window at an angle now as I type. I will leave you with my little poem. What are you feeling grateful for today, friends?
 

There is something daring about morning sunlight--

The way it blazes unselfconsciously

Full of joy

Down through the layers of Fall leaves, setting every vein on fire,

through windows left unshaded,

its whisper calling out in sing-song tones, asking

What will you create today?

Day on the farm

This photograph is the property of Ariana Salvo. May not be reprinted without consent.

Yesterday I spent the morning on Soil Born Farm assisting with a field trip of 25 second graders. I love that age group. They are so inquisitive and pure-hearted--so full of joy and excitement for life. Before the kids arrived we chopped up carrots and peppers from the garden to use in lettuce wraps that we were going to have the kids dip in humus.

At the appointed time the yellow school bus rumbled down the driveway onto the farm, and the kids tumbled out. They were accompanied by their teacher and four chaperones, and the enthusiastic bus driver ended up joining us as well!

We started the day as we always do -- getting to know the kids and then having them come up with a list of safety agreements that we write up on a whiteboard while the kids sit in a semi-circle around us on hay bales. Once we had our agreements, we headed off for a tour of the farm, stopping to visit the pigs, and watch them roll in the mud to cool down, the chickens that were pecking around their mobile enclosure, the cows and the sheep. Once we had visited all the animals we headed over to the youth garden and divided up into two groups. Guy planted cover crop in small peat cups with half the group, and the other half came to learn about peppers with me, and to make carrot and pepper wraps that they got to eat sitting on tree stumps that we have sitting in a circle at the far end of the garden.

The kids saw a real baby rabbit that was jumping around the garden, and got to harvest some vegetables (some, for the first time ever). They also got to learn about all the different varieties of peppers and tomatoes we grow in the garden. I was incredibly impressed with their ability to remember all the names of the peppers by the time they got back on the school bus. For some of the kids this was also the first time they had eaten lettuce wraps. Watching kids taste fresh vegetables in the garden in which they were grown is something special. For a generation of kids most of whom have no idea where their food comes from, taking a field trip to a farm like Soil Born can be life-changing.

This photograph is the property of Ariana Salvo. May not be reprinted without consent

At the end of the day we walked the kids down to the river to learn about the importance of river water to successful farming and healthy eating. We had to cross the bike path on the way to the river, which has professional cyclists whooshing past every few minutes at very high speeds, so the kids got a lesson in crossing a bike path! Although most of these kids live with 30 minutes of the American River, many of them had never actually visited it before. Seeing so much water rushing past is a really exciting experience if you have never done it before. The kids wanted to put their hands in the cold water, find frogs hiding along the banks of the river, and chase lizards. Watching them reminded me once again how vital regular exposure to the natural world from a young age is in shaping a person's life and values. I am curious to see how the experience of visiting the farm as children influences these kids' eating habits in the future, and whether they nurture a strong relationship between their own children and the natural world. 

This photograph is the property of Ariana Salvo. May not be reprinted without consent.

At the end of the day we discussed what everyone had enjoyed most about being on the farm. Even after only a little over three hours, the kids were making connections--between the farm animals and the fertile soil; between healthy soil and healthy crops; and between clean water and successful agriculture. I'd say it was a successful day, and though I felt exhausted from being out in the heat under the sun for three hours straight and keeping up with that many kids, I felt really excited to have been a part of their learning experience. And to have learned from them. I am looking forward to being back out on the farm with another great group of second graders next Thursday!

This week has gone by incredibly fast. I am amazed that it is already Friday afternoon. I am really looking forward to the weekend ahead--to yoga in the park tomorrow morning with a mystery guest teacher, to devotions with friends this evening, to catching up with two close friends who just got back from a trip to Italy and Paris, and to plenty of quality time with the pile of books that keeps getting taller next to my bed.

I hope you have a truly wonderful weekend, friends! See you on Monday!