Hi you all! My name is Hannah; I’m both the newest intern and the newest Hannah on the farm. After four months at the farm, I don’t know that I can accurately write about the entire intern experience, but I can surely share some of the simple joys that have been adding up in my time here – the easily looked over, sneaky building blocks to a fulfilling life.
An obvious simple joy from this week: biting into the first apriums of the season. I grilled them in some pork fat with a little bit of balsamic, and then topped them with goat cheese and basil. I think Hannah Muller did something pretty similar, so I guess it might be the way to go.
Shearing the sheep with Rye this week was a joy for a lot of reasons. I’m a knitter, although I’ve been feeling relatively uninspired, probably because it is a tough pill to swallow that even my hobbies require effort and work. And an even tougher pill to swallow: the hardest things in life are often the most rewarding. Two days back to back wrangling the sheep into the barn for shearing reminded me of this. And it’s slightly embarrassing to admit, but the colors and the curls of the wool were so beautiful it made me want to cry!
The interns have been going to barbecues and sharing countless tacos with all of the crew members who have taken us in as family. It has been an absolute privilege to not only work alongside everyone on the crew, but to be welcomed into their lives and their homes. My mom is coming next week and I can’t wait for her to meet all of the people who have watched over me in my time here.
Everyone deserves a shoutout, but if I had to choose, it’s the irrigation crew. They’ve been hauling steel pipes around the farm to make sure the plants are getting water as the rain has stopped. And the best part is they wave back at me every time I see them, which is at least five times a day. Chica, a woman who does a number of absolutely essential tasks at the farm, has brought me close to twenty flans and cakes at work in the past few weeks, deserves a shoutout too.
I’m a frequent reader of newsletters, with one of my favorites being From the Desk of Alicia Kennedy. While I don’t agree with all of her stances on eating, I certainly agree with the care and the thought that she reserves for food. I bring this up because I firmly believe that growing and eating food are deeply political acts. Maybe you don’t agree with me here. Maybe, if I’m too tired to start a new knitting project, you are too tired to think about the political ramifications of each meal. All I’m asking is that you are thoughtful.
And finally, thank you for reading. I love writing but haven’t written anything in a while; getting to share some of my week is getting added to the list of simple joys for the week. I hope that you take care and that you have something that you are looking forward to, because we all deserve that.
Hannah O’Leary
