The beginning

I still haven't found anything wrong with this internship! Absolutely nothing.

I mean, I wake up around 7:30, which to many may be a downside, but you get used to it really quick. I now wake up on my own around that time anyway, and as long as you go to bed early enough, you won't be too tired.

I don't really have internet…meaning, they have limited streaming, and in being polite, I just don't even bother using it for my computer. It's pretty easy since I still have 3G for my phone, and just check my Facebook and email with that. But the first week I was here, I didn't open my computer at all.

The work is strenuous, but… that just isn't a negative thing. It's all about the attitude here. Sometimes, if it's a really long day, you just have to be optimistic and push through, knowing that you can look forward to eating a wonderful dinner with wonderful people, and then getting a good rest before it all begins again. And you can feel your body getting stronger, pushing it past what you thought it could ever do. That's one of the awesome things about working here–you learn that your body can do so much more than you ever imagined. You just have to keep going.

So day 1 for me was a half day. It was weepy when my mom left, but I immediately began working on picking tomatoes, which was soothing. Jimmy also came over to help with the task, and chatting with him helped me recover a little, too. After lunch, which was Thai food made by Linda (YUM), we sat and cut some beans to stick into a stir fry, and later, Jimmy and I rode on the back of the tractor up the hill to some foresty-area to pick blackberries.
I must say, this was quite an experience. Probably not safe to ride a tractor the way we did, but hey-it sure was exciting!
AND THE VIEW! Oh my god. You haven't seen beauty until you've been here. I'll add some pictures, but it won't convey the awe-inspiring views.
One of my first thoughts when I saw the catskills was: let me go collect all my friends and family, and bring them here, and all will be perfect! Apparently this is a popular idea, since Jimmy had the same thoughts when he first got to Channery Hill farm.

So anyway, I surprised myself by how deep into the brush I went, collecting these blackberries. I became so greedy! I ventured into thicket high above my head, with thorns all around me, but none of that mattered-because I saw one juicy blackberry that I just HAD to harvest.

After about two hours of this, we headed back down to the house, Jimmy and I standing on small pole-like things jutting out of the back of the tractor.

I learned that my evening chore would be to lower the high tunnels (hoop houses), which is a fairly simple job. And then, we went in, relaxed, had dinner, and went to bed. Oh what a new life I live.



This is the tractor, and the second picture is the back. It's kind of fuzzy, but the one on the right that's short is what I stood on. The thing on the left that's a little longer is what Jimmy stood on.