Tonight we say goodbye to Crazy View Farm's first short-term WWOOFer of the season, Kelsey, whose time with us flew by too quickly. Kelsey joined us about a month ago and tomorrow she sets off to another farm in Taos, New Mexico. Before she departed, we asked her to share a little bit about her experience at Crazy View.
What drew you to WWOOF at Crazy View Farm (CVF)?
I chose to WWOOF at Crazy View Farm for multiple reasons… or, rather, I chose to apply to WWOOF here for multiple reasons. Firstly, I felt drawn to the farm description on the WWOOF site. I seem to remember references to the fact that Laurie and Billy are both artists and musicians, and I know that I feel more at home when there is a lot of music, and music appreciation, in my life. There were also some great reviews from past WWOOFers on the site, so I figured it was worth a shot… which it was! I also applied to work at another farm in Wilsall, Cloud Nine Farm, and I thought it would be great to stay in this area for a good chunk of time, while still experiencing multiple farms. Thankfully, that’s just how it worked out!
Did your experience live up to your expectations?
Absolutely. My experience exceeded my expectations, in fact! I am grateful to have met so many intelligent, passionate, and hard-working people. I am also grateful to have been immersed a bit more into the community of Wilsall than I was during my first two weeks in the area, before I came to Crazy View. I learned so much that I’m certain will be incredibly valuable to me as I continue my travels, and beyond.
What was your favorite on-the-job experience? And off-the-job?
One of my favorite tasks on the farm has been weeding, specifically micro-weeding. I know that it might sound strange, but I enjoy the meditative aspect of it. After you spend a few hours weeding a specific plant, and become accustomed to the weeds surrounding it, the process becomes almost mechanical! This type of works offers me an opportunity to be with myself in my mind, which I enjoy. It is also great to weed alongside another worker and have a real conversation. Once, Sara and I weeded a single bed of dill and cilantro for an entire day – probably six hours total! We had a memorable conversation, learning so much about one another, and laughing a lot too.
I also love market prep days, whether the farmers’ market is that day or the next. I enjoy the excitement, even though it comes along with a decent amount of stress. Not knowing if we will have enough to pick, not knowing how much we are even capable of picking, not knowing if everything we pick will end up being sold… there are so many unknowns! But I feel like we finally got into a groove a few days ago, on the last prep day in my time here. We became a well-oiled machine and everyone played their role wonderfully.
In a non-work related context, I really enjoyed accompanying Billy, Dave and Liz to Muddy Creek Ranch to meet the 8-hour-old foal and to bottle-feed the calf. It was an abundance of baby animals, and in my opinion there can never be too many of those! I also liked the couple of times when the four of us WWOOFers went on little adventures, such as soaking in the hot springs, watching The Merchant of Venice in Bozeman, and… cheating on the cleanse together with gas station candy bars!!! Hehe.
What was your most challenging day on the farm?
The first few weeks of my stay at Crazy View involved lots of tempestuous weather, specifically rain! It was either my second or third day on the farm when we were planting out and covering beds in Garden 2 during a typical rainstorm. That was pretty tricky, and an intense introduction to the potential difficulties of farm work here at CVF! The level of clay in the soil of Garden 2 is so high that, when combined with rain water, it basically turns into play-doh. We all had plenty of difficulty just figuring out how to walk in that sludge, because the clay-soil was getting stuck to our footwear… remember when both of Liz’s shoes become completely lodged in the soil and she had to walk back to the trailer in her socks?!?!? Oh my goodness.
The other major issue for me that morning was with rock collecting for the hoop coverings: in addition to the rain, it was pretty chilly out, and cold fingers are so sensitive that it was quite painful to pick up and transfer all of those cold, jagged rocks. All in all, it was sort of a miserable little while before Laurie told us to escape the craziness… but luckily, it was not indicative of the way the remainder of my stay here would go! And honestly, even if it had been: oh well! That’s the way it goes with farming, and I knew what I was getting myself into. I truthfully appreciate all of the varying weather I’ve been able to experience during my stay in Montana, and even when certain aspects are painful, I always feel an underlying sense of wonder at the power and beauty of nature here.
What was your proudest moment at CVF?
I’ve had a few lovely moments of pride while selling at farmers’ markets in Bozeman, because interacting with people from the community who appreciate our work and our product is extremely gratifying. During my first few days here, I picked a lot of lettuce mix, and I remember thinking a few times, “I’m making someone’s salad!” When I tagged along with Laurie to the Tuesday Bozeman Farmers’ Market the following week, there was one customer in particular who complimented the lettuce mix she had purchased the prior Tuesday… lettuce mix I had picked! That was the first time I really felt a complete connection between the labor I was performing and the end goal of providing healthful, vibrant food to the community. It was wonderful – I really had picked someone’s salad… and she liked it!
I also feel proud when I see the flats I seeded shooting up their little seedlings… even the one that has the rogue cucumber! I am sad that I won’t get to see them grow, but I hope they continue to do so, and thrive after I am gone!
What advice would you give to future CVF WWOOFers?
Well, one thing that I sometimes wish I had done differently when planning my WWOOFing adventure is extending my farm stays. Crazy View is the third farm I’ve visited, and I am now headed down to New Mexico where I’ll make my way to three additional farms! It is a whirlwind tour! I love the fact that I’ve been able to meet so many people, learn so much, and experience so many differing farming methods… but to be perfectly honest, I am quite envious of season-long WWOOFers such as Dave, Liz and Sara. The opportunity to stay with one farm from the beginning of the process to the end is absolutely amazing, in terms of the actual farm work, and in terms of building relationships!
For this reason, one piece of advice I would offer to future WWOOFers would be: plan to stay at the farm/s for a minimum of one month! That is the amount of time I’ve been here at CVF, although all of my other stays have been (and will be) only two weeks. I’m so grateful that Laurie encouraged me, when I was in the initial planning stage, to stay for at least a month… but sincerely, I wish I could stay even longer.
Oh, one other piece of advice I would give to those WWOOFing here at Crazy View specifically is: be a dog lover! There are lots of canine friends around, and I will really miss them when I leave. Especially Jane. Not to pick favorites… but… well… she’s my favorite. Her silly whine/moan when you come inside, like she simply cannot contain her love and excitement, and the way she rolls over onto her back as soon as you get within two feet of her! What a goober. But truly, I will miss them all, and would definitely recommend Crazy View to dog lovers!
How does WWOOFing fit into your career/life direction or goals?
We-eee-elll… I am hesitant to answer this question because I am still so unsure of myself, but I do have a dream of being involved in urban farming endeavors after I move to Chicago this fall. I am very interested in issues of social justice, and my educational background is in Ethnic Studies. I would love to combine my newfound interest in farming with my desire to make the world a healthier place for people of all backgrounds. I recently watched the documentary film Fresh which featured an amazing man, Will Allen, and his urban farm in Milwauke, Growing Power (http://www.growingpower.org/)
And finally… a question I came up with all on my own! What were your top five meals at Crazy View Farm?
5. Baked apples! So simple but such a great idea.
4. Sara’s many stir-fries/veggie concoctions. I can’t choose one, but they were all yummy, simple and unique. I remember one in particular that had cauliflower and was seasoned with fennel.
3. Quesadillas the night before we began The Cleanse… I think they had cream cheese in them, so yummy! And there was guacamole too.
2. The many incarnations of spring rolls with rice paper, rice noodles, veggies, almond butter, ginger, basil, etc. etc. etc. stuffed inside. I could eat this meal every single day! I love how creative Dave got, wrapping curry veggies (and spaghetti?!?!?) in rice paper!
1. The fried rice, kale, and pea dish seasoned with ginger that Laurie made for lunch yesterday. Maybe it’s number one because it’s so recent in my memory, but it was just delectable!
I want to thank everyone at Crazy View Farm for being so hospitable and helping to bring me out of my shell. Laurie and Billy are awe-inspiring in countless ways, both personally and in terms of the work they do… and they chose amazing season-long WWOOFers, all with very similar qualities! I also want to thank Dave and Liz for maintaining this awesome blog. I’ll definitely be keeping up with it and checking in on everyone.
Kelsey, it's been a pleasure working next to you in the fields, listening to you sing one line of a song again and again, devouring your spicy spaghetti sauce, getting to know what makes you tick and becoming fast friends. You will be missed.
PS. Kelsey's Dad: We hope you'll still be a regular reader even without Kelsey around.
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