Amy's Turn:
Three farms in a row, our longest WWOOF stint yet. All started out pretty great with a couple living on 5 (or 10, we can't quite remember) acres in a house they'd built themselves when they were in their early 20s. They had the whole set-up: a cow, goats, sheep, a horse, a pig, fire wood, veggies and fruit, etc. etc. We ate loads from the garden (news flash: parsnips are f'n DELICIOUS), they gave us tons of info about getting on the self-sustainability train and they were just super nice and welcoming people. Unfortunately it seems their efforts are slightly wasted in a community where the neighbours aren't jumping at the idea of trading organic produce or information. The work was quite enjoyable if not quaint: chopping firewood for Dan, cutting grass by hand (!) and weeding for me. I got to talk to the wife a fair bit about her aspirations to teach overseas and the ideas of charities in general and it definitely feels good to be spending my younger years traveling and learning before settling down. She also takes after my own heart when it comes to animals; the cow and horse are well past their useful years but their place has become a sort of retirement home for geriatric farm animals turned pets.
Next farm was the smallest (1 acre) plot in a tiny bay of a pretty darn uninhabited peninsula, one of the more scenic locations we've stayed in yet. Also the warmest ocean water we've swam in thus far, and the best (not unbearably hot or rainy) weather we've had to work in. It was also our longest stay, unfortunately as it turns out. The work was decent but we put in more hours here than any other farm. There was a Spanish WWOOFer who got there the day before us (and didn't seem to understand he only needed to put in 4hrs a day, thus setting the precedent) and there was still plenty to go around. Luckily the food was GREAT and plentiful. Unluckily were the demon spawn that were the couple's 3 and 6 year old children. All I can say is thank goodness we had a private sleep out. I (being the only girl there) of course got suckered into babysitting (yay gender-roles!) and am getting nowhere near changing my mind on the whole having kids thing. Also the mother and father got into monumental screaming matches over the dinner table so I suppose it's for the best they don't have many neighbours.
With relief we were off to our next farm and even got a tour of the rest of the bays courtesy of the local rural mail man. This farm was 5th generation on the guy's side and his partner was from Vancouver Island. 3 kids, one of whom is a "handful", we were informed of over the phone. Again, our own private sleep out with kitchen and bathroom. Not so bad, we thought, except for the banshee screams and whines blowing on the wind from the main house no matter where we were working. I probably felt the most awkward at this house, with the 2 youngest kids simultaneously fighting, begging us to play with them, and trying to "help" us with our work. Unfortunately never got a chance to chat with the woman who had the biggest all-around interest in the farm and a good taste in books. The brand new calf and piglets and lambs were enough to keep my interest for a few days though. Sadly their gardens have seen a fair bit of neglect lately with the house renovations and the woman being called in to work in town more often and all their side projects so we didn't get to learn much about anything other than putting in fence posts.
This will probably be it for WWOOFing for awhile, unless the weather decides to keep pissing us off. We met people from all over doing things that were awesome and that worked and things that seem fairly ridiculous, but all in all it's exciting to think about what we might be able to do once we get back to BC. Still never having kids though.
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