hilling potatoes & permaculture rockstars

well to be honest, I'm not sure if I've EVER felt this tired. I think it's a combination of sun, not quite enough water, not quite enough sleep last night, my recent whirlwind of travel, and, most of all - the fact that I worked my butt off today.

I'm super ready to shower and fall asleep on the couch, but first, let me tell you a few things:

-- my weekend in Florida rocked my socks off. The train was sooooo awesome, and being in my own house and seeing my old friends (who have known me for life) was so special. And you know what else? I think I'm exactly where I need to be right now, and that feels really, really good.

-- today I tilled up the area around the three sisters garden rows (it's a garden that uses corn, pole beans, and squash to complement one another - the corn acts as a trellis for the pole beans, which is turn fix nitrogen into the soil for the nutrient hungry corn, and the squash act as a shading agent, delaying the growth of weeds. It's an old native american tradition that I'm uber excited to be trying!) with this awesome new manual tiller I bought (it has a handle like a shovel, but then at the end has kind of a spiral of 4 spikes that you kick down and then twist to break up the soil. This is especially important when you have hard clay soil the way we do). Then I planted winter squash :). Next I hilled potatoes with Leland, mulched the 3 sisters garden, hand watered the new bean rows that are beginning to germinate, helped Leland bag greens, and watered the greenhouse periodically throughout the day. All in all, I very long, very great day.

-- Will Hooker, who is this lovely professor from NC State the specializes in permaculture came out to the farm today to help our friend Eric Henry look at the land next door. He also came and took at my gardens and was very helpful and complementary. I think he's a really great example of someone who pairs knowledge with humility and kindness in a really incredible and effective way. <3

Well... off to clean my body, and rest my soul. G'night!