This morning I was really excited. You see, I had been sort-of looking for a farm ride - my car was not made to be driving through pastures and it is not a good hauler for feed, etc. I found the perfect truck about 18 times yesterday and I was going to look at one this morning. While I was there and getting ready to leave, a man named Pastor David pulled into the yard. He was picking up some cherry trees for his place. We started talking a bit and I handed him a card with our blog info on it. He looked at me and said this was really neat and that he and his wife had been trying to live off the land themselves. I was curious just like always and started asking question after question. Like all the other farmers, growers, and producers, I was intrigued by what I was hearing. I want to see his place. I am in Sandy Cross, GA and I really don't know that I have ever been here before or will have the chance to come back soon. I ask how far his place is from where we are, and it's just five minutes up the road. BINGO!
We pull into the driveway and this place is gorgeous. Lush greenery everywhere and the crowing of a rooster adds to the whole farm feel. David and his wife have just enough hens for their personal use of eggs and they have built a really cool little coop that I forgot to take a photo of. We head out to the garden. It is pretty big and already thriving with little green patches. We talk about weed control and the time it takes to keep the weeds at bay in the spring when young plants are at their most vulnerable state. Seems there is no big secret about weeding. I have been hopeful that someone would have the answer I have been looking for, but so far it seems that most of my evenings will be spent . . . . weeding.
We walk over to a black tank at the edge of the garden. He explains that the tank is just an old water heater painted black. This tank is next to his watering source for the garden. A hose goes into the tank and he explains that the water goes into this tank and throughout the course of the day, because it is painted black it absorbs the sunbeams and heats the water to about 85 - 90 degrees.
I am curious where he is going with this....I'm thinking there must be a secret about watering your garden with hot water... he then points down to the ground and shows me a hose that is coming from the tank. I follow it to the corner of the garden where there is a ......... SHOWER!!
How freakin' cool?? What a great idea! He gets up early, takes a change of clothes and towel out, hangs in the shower stall, works in the garden getting filthy, and then takes a shower OUTSIDE with warm water! Genius!
Next stop - an old cattle milking station. He doesn't have his dairy cow anymore, but he explains to me how he milked her, etc. We walk a little further and he has this big machine with a big chute on it...not sure what this is. He starts explaining what it does....it is a feed grinder thing...you can place your old grains, corn, etc. and make your own feed with this!!! And it is from Sears Roebuck!!
Well, I have had a very spur of the moment surprise educational lesson and it was super fun until the rain came in and forced me to leave. Thanks Pastor David!! I can't wait to come back out for a few more lessons.
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