Day One - Empty Space

Today is day one of a 30 day project.

Reclaiming space and establishing freedom. What does it mean to establish freedom within ourselves?
By creating a space to empower ourselves, we can begin to establish freedom and abundance for ourselves and our communities. Letting go of the unnecessary - possessions, fears, ideas - to create space for radical and innovative solutions. This week, I am clearing out the frivolous and making space.

In seeking to challenge myself, explore venues for communication, and consider ideas on bringing to light a world beyond corporate domination - I am seizing this day.

Nothing

in the world

is usual today.

This is

the first morning.

Izumi Shikibu

Reclaiming Space

In the spirit of revolution, in the spirit of creating, I am reclaiming this space.

Here I will share my perspective on homesteading, healing, creating, community, the world that is possible beyond our crumbling institutions, the world I want to contribute to - the world that I want to reclaim - for good, not evil - for beauty, for love, for all of us.

Sure, I’ve done farming. I’ve envisioned, planned, and planted gardens in three different states in the past year and a half. I've planted, weeded, watered, transplanted, harvested, preserved, fermented, prepared, and shared. I’ve also sought to engage my community in a variety of ways. The way I move through spaces, the ways in which I occupy space. I continue in this quest to re-imagine and re-configure my relationship to my community. I’m realizing that it’s not so much what we do, but how we do it. So, I ask myself, how can I contribute to my community in a meaningful way?

( ( ( ( (Reclaiming this space) ) ) ) )

transitioning!

So, how can I best explain my transition to all you lovelies whom I adore? First, I want to say how much I appreciate all of the support, comments, and interest in visiting me in my homeland. I feel so loved! Which is probably the reason why I find myself in the place I do now. My Madison and farming adventure has taken an unexpected twist and I will be moving onto new adventures sooner than I anticipated. Although it has not played out how I thought it would, this is been an incredible and worthwile experience for me - allowing me to gain insight about myself, my needs, and what I need to be happy in a working relationship.

So, I am leaving an incompatible environment (details can be shared over drinks, if desired), embracing my liberty, and moving in a new direction for myself. I feel wonderful, I feel empowered - I am a woman of my own destiny! and it's exhilarating! You should try it. :)

What next you say? Well, for the past weekend I have been thoroughly enjoying the lifestyle of a Madison East sider. How shall I describe this life? Bicycles, local beer, superb espresso, gardens, delicious food, wonderful friends. That pretty much sums it up. It's delightful.

Tomorrow I will be venturing in a northernly direction to Viroqua, Wisconsin - to visit a farm and a friend. Followed by a reunion and birthday celebration with some beautiful friends in La Crosse, Wisconsin.

Saturday, I will again traverse the state to find myself in the Milwaukee area, and will celebrating with my little Bride-to-be the only way that makes sense - with endless margaritas & taco bar, of course.

My journey will commence in Port Washington, Wisconsin, the literal place of my birth. It is here where I will be living and working for a yet to be determined amount of time. Thanks to the help of my wonderful cousin, (I love you, cousin!) I have a barista job all lined up at the Java Dock in Port. I am super excited to immerse myself here and see what community looks like here these days. I know there are lots of wonderful people to meet and caffeinate.

As for the farmer in me, I plan on expressing my desire to grow food, care for earth&people, and practice permaculture on various projects at the Wisinski Homestead with my Dad, install a garden for the (soon to be) newlyweds, and help other friends and family on projects as needed.

So, there's my update! Weren't expecting that one, were ya? I will add a note on visitors to this great land...you are all still welcome to visit! Location has changed, but I am sure that if you decide to make the trek to Southeastern Wisconsin you will be pleasantly surprised at its appeal! My parents have lots of space for tents in their yard, beach access, AND a hot tub. So. Think about it!

Much, much love to all of you. I hope that your own life adventures find you in as high of spirits as mine find me. And if not, I implore you, if you are sitting in a place you don't love and don't want to deal with, then take a new direction and embrace the adventures that await you!

destroying the garlic mustard.

This post is dedicated to Terri - my lovely friend whose wedding I am playing the role of MOH (as she says) this June. This weekend, as I was picking her up for her bridal shower, I walked into her backyard to see - No, it couldn't be! the pervasive GARLIC MUSTARD! I immediately began plucking it out of the ground and told Terri frantically "We must destroy this!"

So, you might have been like me until only recently and have no idea what this invasive weed was all about. That all ended for me my first week on the farm, when I spent hours walking the wooded trails at the farm, stalking the wild garlic mustard. So now, I share the good word with you.

The Wisconsin DNR has a great webpage dedicated to the plant. It was introduced to North America from early European settlers who were cultivating it for medicinal and cooking purposes. Yes, it's edible! If you start pulling it up you will definitely smell garlicky greens too. I haven't tried it personally, so let me know if you get adventurous.

Garlic Mustard is a biennial plant, producing small leaves close to the ground in its first year, and a 1-2 ft. flowering plant in its second year. The plant blooms from May - early June, so now is the time to get it before it disseminates the hundreds of seeds that each plant produces.

To rid your site of the garlic mustard: pull up the second year flowering plants, shove them in a garbage bag, and dispose of them offsite. Put it on the curb! Check out the DNR's website for more in depth info if you're interested.

So, get to it kids! Happy garlic mustard picking, invasive plant destroying days!

loving the farm life.

Two weeks in and there's much to love about my farming escapade so far. So to update...ten reasons I love my job:

It's low-key and low stress.
I roll out of bed, throw on any old clothes, make coffee, eat breakfast and am at work. Also, since I am at home, lunch is a great time for baking breads or hanging laundry out to dry.

I hang out with plant friends.
What wonderful friends they are. and cute. and tasty. I'm especially excited for the microgreens we've got sprouting up! They're so so lovely. They will be a wonderful addition to our market next weekend.

microgreens!

lettuce, basil, parsley, spinach, radish, clover

radish! mmmm, spicy.

I grow delicious food! and eat delicious food!
Right now it's asparagus, rhubarb, spinach, lettuce mix, green garlic - plus fresh eggs every day. I have so many recipes I am excited to try out - what with my lovely friend Suzanne's new food blog, Food with Fervor, my newly discovered SmittenKitchen (thank's Melissa!), and The Garden of Vegan cookbook from the library. Last weekend I made leek and spinach quiche with green garlic, gouda, and organic herbs de provence (thanks to Herbs&Spice in Cincy). It's a quick and easy breakfast to get me going in the morning, not to mention tasty and satisfying.

garden greens, quiche, and local wild rice bread from Honey Bee Bakery

almond rhubarb coffee cake

I go to the farmer's market every Sunday morning.
I just can't get over this! I love going to the farmer's market and now I get to be on the other side of the table. It's such a vibrant community scene! I love talking to everyone about food while I drink my coffee in the sunshine.

I recruit - and it's fun!
I am privileged to recruit locals for buying a share in this farm. i.e. engaging in a farmer/consumer partnership. I want to be your farmer. :)

It's in Wisconsin. !!!
Need i say more? No, but I will anyway. I'm grateful to be living in a place I have visited many times, but never dwelled in. I look forward to experiencing and exploring Wisconsin's capitol city. It's also wonderful being less than 90 miles from home and family. <3

I am participating in building local, sustainable food systems.
And that my friends, is bad ass. It's such a crucial, crucial endeavor to be part of. I LOVE it.

It's weather dependent.
Everything, everything is linked to the weather, the season - it's all about watching the patterns. Some days we work in the sunshine, other days (like today) we are stompin' around in the mud.

I'm outside all day.
Fresh air, sunshine, warmth, breezy trees. It's delightful. Farming in a tube top even. Okay, this is to appease Terri and her need to have strapless bridesmaid's dresses, but still...it's fun!

It's active!
My body is working, moving, stretching, sitting, standing, bending, kneeling, crawling (in the dirt). My body works! It's good to be alive!

Needs lovin'.

The only thing that could be better about my job would be if all my loves were here with me. Cincy, Nashville, Montpelier, Florida, etc., etc.

SO...

If you think you need some lovin' then come to the farm! Some farm lovin' with tasty, fresh eggs for breakfast and lots of pleasantries await you.

livin' the farm life.

Welcome to my life - in past and present tense on the futurenet. In order to document my experience living and working on a small farm near Madison, I've decided to do what all future guys and gals would do: make a blog about it. Now, I'm not too fancy when it comes to these devices, but I'm going to give it a whirl. I'll add it to the list of things I've never before done, but will do here in the next few months.

I'm a 25-year-old who, like many in my age demographic, went and spent a bunch of money I didn't have for a diploma I am not currently using. But that's okay! 'Cause now I get to go out into the world and seek out my informal education. One of the many skills I hope to acquire during this quest is growing my own food. In search of finding someone to make me a farmer, I happily found a way back to my dearly loved homeland - Wisconsin. Since graduating two years ago, the winds took me through Nashville and then Cincinnati, and now I happily find myself here at Equinox Community Farm - a small, sustainable CSA and market farm just outside of Madison, Wisconsin. The farm is in it's second year of production as a CSA - that's Community Supported Agriculture, and took on an intern (me) to help with their expansion from about 18 to 30 shares.

Now let's do a little farm tour:


the house from the southwest.


chickens! about 50 chicks. come July, they will be laying eggs.




my little red truck in it's new home.

small garden to the west of the house. home to green and purple asparagus, rhubarb, everbearing raspberries, lettuce greens, spinach, and cilantro.


sweet smelling lilacs outside my window.

@ Northside Farmer's Market with John - the farmer. FJ.

from the north side of the house. yea, there's a hot tub.

So, this is my new home back in the homeland of all places! Stay tuned for more adventures as the growing season carries on. Or just come visit me! Guests are always welcome AND there are bunk beds! Who's takin' top bunk?