I've been reading a lot here and staying on this farm in particular has brought a whole new level of awareness to how much waste goes on in the world. People leaving lights on, electronics on standby mode, using way too much water than is needed for showers and washing dishes, not recycling, etc. And I don't know if I'll ever be this intense, like having earth toilets and a wind turbine and filtered rainwater, but it's inspiring how simple life is here and how beautiful sustainable living is. Imagine how much energy we could save if we all just brought a drop of awareness to conserving energy where we can. And I can hear the thought right now in my head of people reading about this sort of thing and thinking, oh what a bunch of hippies, going green, saving the planet, not using plastic, etc. I say to that, what ignorance! To think that the choices you make don't affect the whole of the system, nature, and humanity. That's the challenge though, when something like electricity or water is usually in abundance, like in America, it's harder to bring awareness to it because well what does it matter if I take two long showers a day or keep the water running when I rinse the dishes? Let's all do what we can to protect, not destroy, this beautiful planet.
Because they don't have too much water we get a real shower once a week, and then other than that we do it the old school way of taking a bucket of warm water and giving ourselves a little splashy splash out in nature. Real showers are luxurious when that time comes each week.
Planted a row of trees, which will help to protect the garden from storms and give them more privacy.
The manliest of jobs, and quite peaceful with the surrounding view.
One of the jobs we did, was to clean up this whole area, trim the trees and bushes around it, and clean the drainage out. This is what keeps their yard and home from flooding. And to the left you see bottles of the best apple juice ever.... or human urine.
A little bit about a day in the life here. At 9:00am for breakfast we have bread with butter, peanut butter, and an assortment of homemade jams. Black currant, strawberry elderflower, and rosehip (freakin amazing). And then 11:00am comes around and it's tea time! A nice 30 minute break and they always have a little snack as well. 1:00pm we have lunch which is always homemade. Linda usually cooks but Vincent does as well. The food is awesome. Always some goodies from the garden. Linda made the best pancakes I've ever had, with apples in the pancakes, and then a reduction of berries for over the top. The texture blew my mind. Perfect fluff/chewiness. Also, roasted vegetables with flavor that is impeccable. After lunch we have an hour break and then work for two more hours. A lot of times after work I'd walk down to the beach and take a nice cold swim and meditate lying in the sand. Heavenly. Nights are spent playing cards, reading, and enjoying each others company.
Having all this time to travel inwards has sparked so many ideas for what I want to do. One of them is to have my own restaurant, where the food is primarily from the garden I create (or collaborate with a few others) or locally sourced. A small place, with maybe 8-12 tables if that. Open maybe 3-4 days a week. The menu would change constantly, weekly or even daily. And I would simply cook what I want to cook, and share my bliss. I can't imagine myself cooking at some normal restaurant where I'm told what to cook. That doesn't sound fun at all. This place would be unique. I'd give it my own flare by bringing the food out myself, giving it a personal touch. I can imagine that would be a fun culinary experience for others, getting to meet the farmer and the chef. So that's an idea, be a holistic practitioner and a chef/farmer on the side. Good times be a comin'.
One night I was in the front picking some pineapple mint for tea and I saw what looked like a volcano erupting! I quickly grabbed my camera to capture this unreal view.
Last meal that I chose to have. Roasted vegetables. Everything from the garden.
For the one meal I got to cook I made my banana muffins (and instead of the marscapone I failed to get, used cream instead), and it seems like I always get a comment like "wow these are the best muffins I've ever had" and sure enough I did!
The time at this farm has been so rewarding and satisfying, and it was so nice to learn more about the regulations of being a certified organic farm, and to explore arguably the most beautiful part of Ireland. Thank you Linda and Vincent!
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