Keep on Growing: A Week in the Life ...

Last was busy and productive here at The Funny Farm. The week started on Monday, Martin Luther King Holiday, with a trip to Truly Living Well Wheat St. Organic farm to do some volunteer work. The farm is literally in the shadow of the King Center for Non-Violent Change where there were lots of activities to honor Dr. King that day. After working in the garden my friends and i ate lunch at a nearby restaurant, Noni's, where we had a nice meal featuring locally sourced ingredients. We enjoyed a bloody mary, or 2, garnished with pickled veggies made by our bartender. We returned to the King Center to watch the parade and show our support for Occupy Atlanta which had a large contingent of marchers.

Tuesday i spent the day acquiring the last of the materials i need to finish building the cover over Craven, the cob oven.

Wednesdays are market days for us at the Decatur Farmers Market. We harvested in the morning and headed to the market. In spite of the cold and wind we sold all of our vegetables. When we returned home that evening we were greeted with a surprise package! A box packed full of fruit trees, shrubs and vines from our friends at Johnson Nursery in Ellijay, GA. Woohoo!!!

Thursday i went to Progressive Medical Center for a physical exam, my first in a few years. They practice integrative medicine. They use the latest diagnostic methods to determine the underlying causes of dis-ease and employ the most appropriate methods to restore their clients to optimal health. Their staff includes M.D.'s. naturopaths, dietitians, acupuncturists, massage tharapists and chiropractors. I will be writing more about my journey to restore and heal my body and spirit in future posts.

Thursday afternoon i added to our food forest asian pears, asian persimmons, almond trees, blueberries and muscadines.

Friday morning I spent harvesting for Saturday's market. In the afternoon a young couple came by for a farm tour. Matt had emailed me the week before to ask if he and Melissa could come by on their return journey from Florida to their home in Virginia. We had a nice time discussing the work we do at the Funny Farm and their plans to do something similar in Virginia. I find it very gratifying that people are interested in seeing what we are doing and I love to share our knowledge and experience. Good Luck Matt and Melissa :)

Saturday morning i headed to market where we endured a deluge of rain and some scary lightning. We have some very dedicated customers at our market so we were able to sell a few things before we gave in and called it quits. After i got warm and dry the rain stopped and i went out to the garden to practice with my new camera. I had a great time and produced a few images that made me happy.

Sunday morning i got a lot of seeds planted in flats and into the hoop house. Spring will be here before you know it. In the afternoon i prepared a delicious Bourbon Beef Stew using the grassfed beef i purchased from Tink's Grassfed Beef at the market the day before. Robin and i both agreed it was the best stew we had ever eaten.

Today i am wrapping up a few things before my trip to Arizona. I am so ready to spend some time with my close friends communing with the desert and restoring my mind, body and spirit.

I will holla at y'all next week upon my return.

Oh, and I get to mark a few goals off my list.

Keep on Growing!!!

leekfixer's photostream

leekfixer's photostream on Flickr.

Here are some photographs I made today while learning to use my new camera. Goal #72. Enjoy :)

101 Goals in 1001 Days- Funny Farm Style

I first discovered the meme at the beginning of last year. My friend Lara started her list then and has been steadily completing goals throughout the year and sharing her experiences along the way on her blog Food. Soil. Thread.
She has accomplished some really cool things which has inspired me to start my own list. Making the list was harder than i anticipated. It has taken me 2 weeks to create a meaningful list. I want the goals to be SMART goals for the most part.

• Specific
• Measurable
• Attainable
• Relevant
• Timely

For the most part they are. Some will need more work to make them measurable. I believe they are all attainable and they are certainly relevant to me. The meme itself places the time constraint on their completion.

I consider this a living document, subject to refinement, updates, changes and so forth. It has certainly helped me focus on making the best use of my time and energy so far this year. With regular review i know i will make good progress on completing these goals.

Oh, look! I can mark the first one off my list :)
Goals with red type have been completed. Goals with green type are in progress.

1. Use the word "meme" correctly in a sentence.
2. Build a smoke house.
3. Travel to another country 2 times.
4. Visit the desert 3 times.
5. Set up our vegetable processing station in the basement.
6. Establish a regular yoga practice.
7. Stop smoking cigarettes.
8. Write and publish a book.
9. Publish 3 articles in a national magazine.
10. Set up a grey water system to use to water the garden.
11. Increase our rain water harvesting capacity 3 fold.
12. Get a new roof on the house.
13. Get solar panels on our roof.
14. Clean out and organize the barn.
15. Acquire a ceremonial rattle from a rattle maker.
16. Clear out and organize the basement.
17. Go to an Acres USA conference.
18. Write a blog post at least once a month.
19. Learn to bake good bread in the cob oven.
20. Finish the root cellar.
21. Get a new warm coat.
22. Learn to play my recorder.
23. Go hiking in the mountains 12 times.
24. Get the water in our pond tested.
25. Get hearing aids.
26. Have different friends over for dinner every 2 months.
27. Regularly attend Atlanta Herbalist Guild meetings.
28. See live music at least 4 times a year.
29. Learn to make sausage.
30. Learn to make pasta.
31. Secure the chicken house and get new chickens.
32. Build a top bar bee hive and start a colony.
33. Build a duck house and get ducks.
34. Get a freezer.
35. Get a half of a hog.
36. Host a pig roast.
37. Get a half of a goat.
38. Plant 10 more fruit trees.
39. Learn the identity of 5 new birds.
40. Collect wild chanterelle mushrooms.
41. Make miso.
42. Set up a meditation room in the den.
43. Paint my bedroom.
44. Plant a few Camellia sinensis.
45. Ferment tea leaves from said plant.
46. Make yogurt monthly.
47. Make kim chee 4 times.
48. Move our bank account to a credit union.
49. Get a massage.
50. Participate in a sweat lodge ceremony with a native American tribe.
51. Practice drawing weekly.
52. Build a rocket stove.
53. Build another cob oven somewhere.
54. Build 2 cold frames.
55. Make a hugelkultur bed.
56. Build a grape arbor.
57. Use the bricks I collected to pave the gathering space.
58. Sell the trailer we don't use.
59. Get a physical examination.
60. Organize my tools.
61. Make a video about the funny farm.
62. Get Funny Farm tee shirts made.
63. Get the garage doors fixed.
64. Organize the garage.
65. Get rid of all the stuff I don't need.
66. Eat less salt.
67. Take better care of my health.
68. Get a physical exam yearly.
69. Organize my seeds and keep them organized.
70. Get a new laptop.
71. Learn how to use my new camera well.
72. Develop a new business venture so Robin can work at home.
73. Organize my digital photos.
74. Teach a gardening class for kids.
75. Let go of my anger and live a life full of love, compassion and empathy.
76. Participate in a week long trance dance.
77. Increase our fruit and vegetable production by 10% this year.
78. Recycle all our electronic stuff.
79. Re-read Carlos Castenada's books.
80. Read 3 science fiction novels a year.
81. Make a cheesecake topped with fresh fruit from our garden.
82. Build a structure with a green roof.
83. Get the composting toilet working again.
84. Grow and sell $2500 in flowers at market this season.
85. Hang my Tibetan prayer flags.
86. Get new gutters.
87. Give the clothes I don't wear to someone in need.
88. Take a trip on a bus.
89. Grow comfrey.
90. Plant American lotus in the pond.
91. Practice drumming weekly.
92. Take the Annabel to the mountains.
93. Go to the beach.
94. Take a trip on a train.
95. Do some volunteer work.
96. Start a personal seed bank.
97. Try eating acorns.
98. Take an herbal medicine workshop.
99. Teach a canning and preserving workshop.
100. Build a coldframe.
101. Grow olives.