I have no idea where to begin!! what a journey!!
We got to Norway and had to trek across the whole entire country practically!! But what views! If it wasnt for the crazy winters, I might never come back. Its beautiful!!!
We didnt get into Øyvinds house (the guy we are farming with) until 24:00 practically and we had to search through the woods for it! It was kinda scary but so much fun! We had flashlights and we were in the middle of nowhere!
He welcomed us and gave us herb tea with fresh herbs he had picked in the woods that day! We all sat up late talking about gardening and plants and living in the wild. He is the perfect host, and gave us a lovely room with wool blankets from the sheep close by!
The next morning we awoke to a note from him saying he was building a fence in the garden and to come find him….we found him literrally treking through the woods with sticks of wood he had cut down to build the fence! He gave us a tour of the garden to show us what he was growing, how he practices his methods, traditonal of course….then he showed us the chickens!! Baby ones too!!
The next day was our first work day. My first duty was to feed the 5 day old baby chickens!!
We awoke at around 10ish and walked into the woods on the mountains to collect branches and sticks to build a structure for the peas to grow up. We used saws and axes, and it felt great to be outdoors. The scenery is like a movie, similar to Lord of the Rings, it is indescribable! We ate fresh herbs growing on the mountains and he told us about them, where they came from, what they are used for….
Then we carried the goods back to the garden and constructed the structure for the peas and it looked really awesome…i felt so satisfied having made something with my hands and from nature…NO HOME DEPOT! ha! Then we sewed the peas and picked fresh herbs, danilion greens, dandilion flowers , and garlic from the nature around for our lunch. we ate fresh bread that Øyvind had baked the night before, with butter and herbs and cheese on top. A salad with fresh herbs and flowers from the wild, homemade dressing i made and leftover pasta i made last night. Then we had tea!
The weather was superb, it rained a bit but was absolutely beautiful as we watched it come in from the fjords on the sea, and pass over the hill we stood on!
yesterday we rode our bikes to the sea…it was a 20 mile ride around lakes and up mountains and it was so strenuous…a real challenge! I felt so accomplished having done it. we saw so much nature! I saw a swans nest!! and the swan hissed at us over her giant egg that she was protecting! we also saw sheep, squirrels ( different than ours and way cuter), and deer. We went to the sea to plant potatoes– basically guerrilla gardening by the sea! we used the seaweed as compost mulch and covered them. Then we hung out with the sheep that grazed about, and Øyvind showed us this old grave made of stones that you had to crawl into, but it was so awesome…like an old viking hide-a-away!!
Honestly words can not describe. Maybe once I get a chance to put pictures up it will help.
I dont know what else to say but that i feel really healthy and im happy to have this experience!!
Off for another days work in the garden!
