Interview of a Farm Kid —
When I was asked to write this week’s Beet article, I thought it would be fun and fresh to hear about the farm from a 3-foot perspective. So I interviewed my oldest son who is one of the six grandchildren that were born and raised at Full Belly Farm. Waylon Rain Muller will turn 5 in September, and aside from a handful of hours spent at the local preschool every week, he spends his days being a farm kid. “What’s a farm kid?” you might ask. Well, the job description varies depending on the day and the season, but here’s a sample of a day in the life of Waylon. He didn’t ask for this life, but so far he loves it and sure lives it to its fullest…
It starts off with a cup of “warm cocoa” straight from the cow’s udder at dawn. Then a breakfast of hash browns and eggs, or yogurt and fruit – 100% Full Belly ingredients – might be followed by picking peppers or eggplant with the intern crew or harvesting flowers with his aunt, Hannah. When it gets too hot in the field, it’s time to come into the air conditioned egg washing room and help Mama wash a few baskets of eggs and put labels on the egg cartons. When this gets boring, the sand pile outside in the shade is a fun place to be creative and imaginative with his brother, Oakley. After making a sand cake or volcano, Waylon often finds himself wandering over to the packing shed to find a snack: a carrot or a peach or if there’s time, he and Joaquina will pop a paper bag full of our purple popcorn together. Then he might see Judith across the yard and follow her into the office to continue on a drawing or practice taking a produce order with Shannon. Then he’s found by his mama for lunch, or if he’s lucky, he’s not found and he sneaks over to eat lunch with Catalina and Jose behind the crew kitchen. After lunch, he might go driving around with Jan to help bring boxes of vegetables in from the fields, or he might sweep up the stems and leaves on the floor of the flower bunching area. He usually squeezes in a jump on Nana’s trampoline with his cousins before checking on the wheat field or fixing a leaky irrigation pipe with Popops. Or he might spend the whole afternoon on a tractor, slumped over on his papa’s lap, fast asleep.
What’s your favorite place on the farm?
WR: The sand pile next to the egg room. I play with my cousins and Oakley and we make cakes and cupcakes if we can.
What’s your favorite thing to eat from the farm?
WR: Carrots, actually potatoes. Because the potatoes, when you cook them, their skin is so yummy. My favorite fruit is watermelon because it’s so sweet.
Who’s your favorite person to work with at the farm?
WR: Alfonso because I pick shishitos with him and he gives me special treats and he lets me help him work.
What’s your favorite job to do at the farm?
WR: Working on the CSA line because it’s so fun because Alfonso works at the line. I get to go first, Shannon puts the box on and I get to put the first things in the box.
What’s a farmers job?
WR: To help all the plants and vegetables grow!
How do we grow our vegetables at Full Belly?
WR: With water, sun and soil!
What does your papa do at Full Belly Farm?
WR: Papa drives all the tractors to help all the plants, he grinds the wheat into flour and he harvests all the corn with the combine and this is the last thing that’s important – Papa always, always helps with everybody.
What does your mama do at the farm?
WR: Mama washes all the eggs for all the markets and all the CSA boxes so everybody around the world gets their eggs. She also milks the cow everyday and she makes yogurt.
What do you want the farm to look like when you grow up?
WR: I want it to look like all the animals and all the fruits are alive and we’re so thankful for the farm to give all of these vegetables and yummy things that are good for you.
If you could be any farm animal what would you be and why?
WR: I would be a pig because the pigs eat all the old vegetables that we don’t eat and they eat all the grass and swim in the mud.
What do you want to be when you grow up?
WR: I want to be a farmer and hockey player and the last thing I want to be when I get really old is a musician to play rock guitar.
— Becca Muller
Apricot trees (left) and peach trees (right) loaded with fruit ready to be harvested.
