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22 December 2010
We’ve evaded the forecast for another rainfree day of Winter Wonderfarm 2010! I awoke to a joyous text message this morning from fellow Garden Wizard Lindsey- ‘Sunrise and Epic Skies to the East!’ The skies were indeed luminous as day two set forth with the positive energy of the Winter Solstice.
Our young farmers arrived on-site at 9am and rushed to Mulch Mountain to pick-up where they had left off on Monday afternoon. Kids are so imaginative! To most adults, a pile of mulch isn’t much more than a stockpile of wood chips. But to our campers, Mulch Mountain is the house of hot tubs, hot chairs, and volcano eruptions. You see, our campers have discovered that mulch, when piled high, begins to decompose and heat itself from the inside out.
Day two was deemed Homemade Creativity, a look into homesteading, veggie prints, and Andy Goldsworthy. Our first activity was to make wrapping paper from edible stamps. We used cross-sections of vegetables like celery and onions to stamp multicolored prints on recycled paper. Our participants expanded their mediums by stamping calendula, eucalyptus, and fingertips on their papers. The wrapping papers turned out to be beautiful manifestations of Wonderfarm creativity.
Our 10:30am snacktime treat was a homemade gift from Garden Wizard Vanessa. We enjoyed cinnamon apple sauce with chunks of fruit and loads of love. We moved from snacktime to a Winter Solstice planting activity, wherein we honored the solstice, the lunar eclipse, and the moon planting calendar which recommends root maintenance for a waning moon.
By 11:30am, our expert of the day arrived- Brian the Brewmaster. Brian led a hands-on demonstration of root beer brewing, an activity that many of our campers recounted as their most meaningful memory of the day. The rootbeer base was concocted with sarsaparilla and sugar in a cauldron on an outdoor stove. The brew needs several days to fully carbonate, so Brian will return this Thursday for the first ever Hayes Valley Farm homemade root beer tasting.
After our brownbag lunch session in the outdoor classroom, we steeped mint and lavender leaves in hot water to make homemade tea. We drank our delightful tea as parents arrived to pick-up morning campers from the farm. The remainder of the day was spent examining the creations of Andy Goldsworthy, a brilliant artist who composes artistic pieces in nature with objects found nearby. We paid homage to his work by thoughtfully selecting a site on the farm and compiling flowers, branches, and mushrooms in a mandala formation of our own.
I look forward to Day Three at the farm, a day that beats to the drum of Connection.
Photo by Janelle Fitzpatrick, December 21, 2010
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