steve-wilson.net

Today was a stunner here in Norway. We’ve had some hit-and-miss weather. One day it’ll be rainy, windy and cold. The next it will be sunny and warm and beautiful. Actually the rainy days are quite beautiful too, just not as much as the sunny ones. Things are going well here. We’re getting a lot done. Erik keeps telling us (the wwoofers) that we’re doing a great job and getting a lot done. It’s good to hear and great to be helping him out!

Erik has been telling us some of his history. He’s 31 and has done so much! Biking all over Europe, traveling all over Europe. He did essentially a hitchhiking cross North American continent trip from Toronto to Vancouver down the coast and practically all of Mexico. There’ve been television shows, farms, restaurants and cookbooks in his past. And now, he’s chosen farming and sees farming in his future for at least the next ten years. We share the desire to always live in the country from now on and live and work with nature all around us. We’ve had plenty to talk about and he’s given me some excellent pointers and recommended some excellent books. (Check my Amazon wish list for details …)

One of the things we’ve talked a lot about is appropriate technology. It’s something a lot of people don’t even consider. It’s essentially the broadening of “the right tool for the job.” I had written in a post before about having a tractor. All the tractors I’ve been exposed to so far have been the four-wheel type. I didn’t really know anything about or heard of two-wheel tractors. Erik has one and one of the books he told me about recommends one as well for the small market gardner cultivating around 2 1/2 acres or less. I used Erik’s today to cut the grass. It was quite a job, and gave me a chance to see what a two-wheeled tractor is like, how it handles and such. It was hard work, but it was probably easier than it would have been with a four-wheeled tractor. Mainly because of the size of his land. Some places the four-wheeled tractor wouldn’t fit. And, there are places where the ground is still a bit wet where a heavy machine would have gotten stuck. His tractor fits his land. And, it fits his budget, too. As much as I want a little tractor like the Fiat at Frilund Gård, affording one in the near future is really not gonna happen. So, it has been a great experience to see a different perspective. I think it is probably the perfect solution for the kind of operation I hope to have.

Making breakfast in the morning has been fun. I wake up before everyone else, make myself a cup of coffee (though the coffee supply is dwindling) and take my time preparing things. Granted, I am only making porridge. Last night I gathered wild raspberries to enjoy with the porridge, and last night while socializing, I cracked hazelnuts as well. This morning I pan-toasted the hazelnuts and served them along with the raspberries, oats, kefir and peppermint tea. I don’t exactly see the sun rise, but is a nice hour to be awake. Things are very peaceful and quiet!

I’ve really enjoyed Ytre Lygra, and as always wish I planned a longer stay. At sunset I walked out the front door and lingered a few moment watching the sunset. I feel so alive and have never enjoyed life more than I have in the last year (I quit my job just over one year ago). It is quite a place here. I’ve been sleeping extremely well, the food has been great, the working enjoyable, everyone has been excellent and the experience incredibly worth it, like all the farms I’ve been on.

I leave for Ireland Monday morning and should be at the next farm on the 14th. Right now I’m very tired, and my eyelids are very heavy! I need a shower after working hard and we all have one more day of work until we’re off for the weekend!