Hello again friendies! We are writing from the public library in Santa Fe NM! Probably contrary to what you think, it's kind of cold up here! There is snow on the ground--though nothing like what's going on back East. Lizzy and Alexa are working at the Santa Cruz Farm and Greenhouse in Espanola, NM--about 45 minutes north of Santa Fe and a little bit more towards the mountains. It's a 3-acre farm with three really really big greenhouses. And the land has been in the farmer Don Bustos' family for 400 years. We actually still haven't met the famed Don Bustos, and apparantly he's a really big deal around here. He has worked to get Santa Fe public schools eating organic vegatables from farms in the area including the one were at. We've been working with a couple that manages the farm Roni and Jorge who are oh so sweet.
On Monday on the farm we added compost and tilled and then built up three big beds in one of the greenhouses and then planted lettuce seeds. And Tuesday we helped another long-term volunteer Serafina transplant so many plantitas!!! Adorbale baby plants--tomato, basil, broccoli, jalapeno, onion--all very adorable--into bigger containers in the greenhouse. We were aided by Don's grandaughter Alexis, 5 years old and the coolest lady. ALSO--Alexa drove the tractor! Soon Lizzy will learn how to drive stick-shift by driving the tractor. (Roni told her she had to).
We guess we should back up a little since it's been so long (sorrrrry!)We have been in Memphis staying with J-Dub,a sweet friend of Lizzy's brother. A highlight of that adventure was going to the civil rights museum in the Loraine Motel. It was intense and not without fault, but a pretty amazing experience.
Next we stopped over for two days in Blountsville, Alabama with a couple from the Directory for Traveling Quakers. Turns out Sara and Daryl live on a coooool intentional community and we got to have dinner and Meeting with their very small group of Friends. The house is solar-powered and we slept in a bed on stilts that were at least 8 feet high! We got to walk around Birmingham and see some historic places from the civil rights movement, which was very moving. on the way back, we saw our first armadillo!
Then we went to Biloxi, Miss (Home of Biloxi the Dog! Kind of) and worked with an organization called HOPE Community DEvelopment Agency. Being in Biolxi was weird for a lot of reasons, one of which is that we lived at a Church wtih a group of evangelical folks (from York, PA! Home of Marcy Seitel) there on a mission trip. That was definitly the most scared some of this party has ever been to be..different. Mostly gay. It was funny that the group was from "up north", just to teach us that not just people from MS can be conservative Chirstians. By the end of our stay though we had made some friendly acquantinces of the York people and became pretty close with director of the camp and his family. At one point when we were helping to clean the church he told us he really appreciated our relationship, that he could see we really took care of eachother and stuck together. it was sweet. did he know? Another reason it was hard to be in Biloxi is that the town is still totally devestated from Katrina and there are empty lots all over. But tanks got the Casinos are already built!!
Next was New Orleans, but an hour away! We stayed with our dear friend and ex-landlord Mac! He showed us around that amazing and magical place, and then we volunteered for about a week on a community garden/alternative school in the Lower 9th Ward. Being at the garden/school was the first place we got to learn a lot about what's going on in NOLA.
Oh now e're out of INternet time! More later!
LOVE Y'ALL!
