Life at Safan Ranch

Hey y'all hope y'all is doin' jus' fine. I've spent the past week on the farm so I'm trying to speak like a farmer. Though, that is more of a southern thing I just did. You know what I mean. Shut up!

I don't even know where to begin in telling you what's going on here. So much has happened and the days have been go by so fast it's almost too much to organize into a flowing, coherent narrative. I'll just do some stream of consciousness writing, how's that?

First thing that comes to mind: I'm learning a hell of a lot. I started from scratch, almost, when it comes to gardening, so pretty much everything I've seen here has improved my knowledge on that front... what arugula leaves look like, what basil and sage plants look like, what are weeds in the garden and what non-vegetable producing plants keep the pests away. I know when a tomatillo is ripe and when to harvest all forms of squash. I've also picked up a lot of cooking tips from Steve, the head honcho here. He is a foodie and knows so much about how to cook good food it's insane. I plan on making some of my own ricotta cheese when I get back because of him, that's for sure. And it's not even that hard!

I've also learned about various animals. I know the various functions of having guinea fowl on a farm. I know what purpose chickens serve besides the obvious functions of eggs and meat. I know how to milk goats and what to feed pigs (everything!). I know the different calls of the various fowls and what they mean. Fascinating stuff. Seriously.

So it has been an informational binge, so to speak. It's also been really nice to be in one place for more than a few days. It's a rather large property here on Safan Ranch. I have my own trailer complete with a "bed" and a seating area.

I don't know how to describe this place. It's a farm/ranch, no doubt. There is a chicken coop, a couple of large gardens, a pig pen, pasture for the goats, etc. But it's also an art gallery, believe it or not. The head guy here Steve is really into art and lets artists come here and do whatever they please to the land. Especially urban artists (i.e. graffitists). All of the residential trailers on the property are completely covered in artsy-style graffiti. The barn is covered in graffiti. The house is covered in graffiti. Various wood sculptures are carved into trees. It's really cool. You'll have to see the pictures to know what I'm talking about. Unfortunately I can't upload them at the moment since there is limited bandwidth here on the ranch, but you'll see.

And also, I should say, there is much drama going on here. The two people who run the ranch have been a monogamous couple for the past 14 years, but have recently split up (within the past month, from what I hear). Apparently, from what I hear through the grapevine, the guy Steve started seeing this woman on the side without letting Angela (his official girlfriend/companion) know. It all was revealed at some point a month or so ago and it has been, more or less, chaos since. They bicker over everything, but it's mainly Angela who picks the fights it seems. But after finding out your partner of 14 years is suddenly seeing another woman, I can understand the frustration and even the visceral anger she seems to have for him. I can't even begin to fathom what she must be feeling towards him. 14 years is a long time.

So that story has been going on. There also has been some drama amongst the other WOOFers here. A WOOFer is a volunteer here at the farm, like myself. There are 4 or 5 of us here now, with people coming and going all the time. I'm getting along with everyone pretty well. I've been pretty quiet most of the time. I seem to talk very little when I'm in a new environment I've noticed. Brain overload from new things being learned? Who knows.

But anyway there has been some drama between Anna and Johnnie. Apparently they hooked up one night and it has been weird between them ever since. Sex tends to do that to people sometimes.

So yeah, it's been a very strange time here so far. I don't quite know how to categorize it yet. Or maybe I shouldn't. I feel the experience of living here is its own category.

I finally got the day off today and went on a wine tour! No, not in Napa or Sonoma. I went to a few of the wineries here in the area in Amador County. They've got some great wines here! Lots of excellent Zinfadels and Barberas that are harder to find on the east coast. I bought a case of wine from various places here so anyone who wants to try some I can hook you up.

I've got another week here and my thinking is that it should go extremely fast. Between my daily chores and the 10 hours of sleep I've been getting daily, I'll be out of here in no time! Ready for my canoe trip in Moab! Mooooooaaaaaabbbb!

Peace.