A Sunny Saturday

     So I decided not to go away this weekend... good life choice. Anyways, today was my first Saturday on the farm! I got to experience the volunteer extravaganza. There were so many people haha, Steve and Claire handled the chaos with such calm leadership- I love it. There were two separate volunteer groups and lots going on. I was put in charge of the group of middle and high schoolers from a church in Henrico county. They were a great group of people and I really enjoyed working and chatting with them. Get this: one girl (a senior at JMU named Taylor) is in my good friend Leigh Bishard's small group at JMU through IV (a christian campus ministry). When we made that connection I thought it was so random and cool. So back to the farm... my group weeded. Like a lot a lot of weeds. We weeded the blueberry bed forever and still didn't quite finish. We also took weeding breaks to harvest squash and zucchini. I would say that overall it was a successful morning. 
     I got back to my cabin around 12:45 and decided to go to the camp lake. Oh my goodness was it a fabulous day! Crisp blue sky, fluffy white clouds, and a big shinning sun. I laid on the "beach," read, listened to music, took a few swims, did a mini workout haha- typical Kels. It was very enjoyable! After a few hours there I decided I needed to give myself a break from the sun. I had to put the chickens up before I headed to the city so I went to the farm to do that real quick and then put some nice (non farm) clothes on and headed to short pump to run some errands and get some wifi. Short pump is nice and I enjoy all it has going on, but it is also overwhelming! So many stores! 
     Some things I have learned so far: 1) to grow a potato you plant a whole potato in the ground 2) to grow a sweet potato you plant the stem that grows off the side of sweet potatoes 3) carrots are a hard crop to ensure germination... so you can cover them asap after planting to lock in moisture 4) chickens will eat anything 5) spiders are good! so good for farms! why? because they eat other insects that are not so kind to our crops 6) bees ROCK and I'm so not scared of them anymore 7) deer's eyes are on the side of their head and they have really bad depth perception 8) crows are EVIL but very smart and they nom on our tomatoes when we leave the farm like it's their job... we are still working on keeping them out 9) I am not easily scared but am very easily bored 10) the less effort I put into hygiene/ looking good the easier it becomes to have clear skin, healthy hair, and look "good" with little to zero effort.. why am I just now realizing this? yet part of me always knew it but our society makes it hard to practice /believe this 10) farming is hard but satisfying work... there is so much more BUT I know I lost y'all at five anyways, so why keep going:) 
     Love always,
Kels in a Cabin

**OHHH and for my dad: Happy Father's Day Dad (one day premature but I doubt I'll have wifi tomorrow). I love you so much and am super appreciative for the man of character and love that you are and for the dedicated Father that you are for your children. There should be something in the mail... may be 1-2 days late. Have a great Sunday! Love you much!