steve-wilson.net

Wow. Time flies. Rob mentioned to the whole family this past Friday that it was the last “official” day of my internship. October 31 got here so fast!

Actually, this year it has flown less than ever. Farming is by far a different way to experience life and the passage of time. It seems like so long ago I was just starting at Plum Forest Farm and we were sowing seeds, preparing new beds and building the garden for the season. Seeing the plants grow from the tiniest seed, through transplanting, tending (weeding and weeding!) and then finally harvesting throughout the year is such a great experience. It totally brings you closer to what is real. I’m going to miss it! And, I’m forever changed by the experience here. Now we’re essentially tearing down the garden to retire it for winter. Removing irrigation systems, weed-barrier pathways, stakes, rocks - everything we need to do to be able to till large areas and sow cover crop seed.

So the deal for me over the next few months - I’ve accepted a winter internship at Sun Island Farm. I’ll be working with them to develop more of their infrastructure. They are a smaller and newer farm than Plum Forest, and they don’t have a farm stand, or a harvest shed, or an all-important deer fence. I’m really hoping that we get to some solar electric and hot-water system work, which is what Joe, the farmer (no pun intended or reference to “Joe the Plumber” - the fake talking head hired by the McCain camp) does in addition to farming. I really want to get involved in solar in a big way and become a proponent of that. It’s go to be part of a new economy going forward.

If it’s not clear to some, this means I’m staying on Vashon Island near Seattle, where I’ve been all year just about. I like it here. I’ll be on the island until April at this point, after which I’m not sure where life will take me. I’m just enjoying where I am for now.

The election

One of the biggest things on my mind lately is the election. I’ve already cast my vote for Obama, which I knew I would do months ago. I’ll stop short by saying here that I really can’t understand why anyone in their right mind would vote for McCain/Palin. It is so obvious to me that McCain/Palin are the absolute wrong leaders at this time for the USA. It fully and completely escapes all comprehension and reasoning of mine why I have people, whom I think of or thought of as friends, who are going to vote for McCain. I just … I don’t know. I can’t even begin to imagine what these people are thinkging, other than they have been made to be very, very fearful and afraid.

Me and farming (again)

I read back over what I wrote last time. I definitely love growing food, and without a doubt, if I casted any in my last post - my internship here at Plum Forest Farm is the best thing I’ve ever done with my life. Second only to taking a year off and traveling. It has changed the way I will live forever and is exactly, exactly, exactly what I wanted to do this year. It has been absolutely great and I wouldn’t trade the experience I’ve had here for anything.

love and life

I continue to be a naive dufus when it comes to women. The good thing is I’ve never had such absolutely amazing women in my life. There are four women that I totally adore and would be lucky to end up with - I just need to figure out and/or find the guts to actually do something about one of them. Silly me. If it’s not obvious to anyone else, find a partner is one of if not the more important thing I think in my life. Now I just have to figure out how to not let it rule my thoughts and cloud my judgement, which it has a tendency to do. I just need to have fun with it, as a good friend has stated more than once. I get to focused on an end goal and I skip over where I am now and I need to enjoy now a bit more … we all do!