I’m not going to write the whole travel journal about wwoofing at the blueberry farm. I already did that once, last time around. Those are still the most read posts on my blog, with at least one view a week – proof that Duckworth Farm is a really popular place to go wwoofing. And to a large extent, life at the farm is more or less the same. We got up in the morning, let out the horses, had breakfast and went picking.
There are more rows of bushes now, and the bushes are bigger, but we were also more than twice as many wwoofers. There was no weeding this late in the season, and there was netting to keep the birds away.
We did not clean the berries around Lorri’s kitchen table as three years ago, but down in one of the barns with the help of this big machine, here done by Bri and Anna.
We didn’t pick every day, though. We also built a fence. Planted some trees. Pruned some others. Greg taught me how to drive a tractor. A little bit of this and that, things that always need to be done on a farm.
After lunch, I sometimes took a nap in the airy tent.
We showered in the shower house down by the tents. Very rustic and charming.
And in the afternoons, there was of course a lot of cooking and baking in the new cookhouse.
But there wasn’t only blueberries and cooking on the daily schedule. There were many more guys wwoofing at the farm this time around (not hard to accomplish, considering there were no guys at all when I was there last). I don’t know if there is a correlation, but much more wwoofer time was spent in Oscar’s workshop tinkering with engines and tools. I definitely preferred the cookhouse, the stables and the loom room, but Oscar decided I had to learn how to ride a motorcycle. And I did. Well, I guess it was more of a vespa. I don’t know the right terminology. But the riding was quite enjoyable, I like anything fast. But I must admit, I will not buy a motorbike. I much prefer bicycle or train as means of transportation. Or even better, horseback.
I think the best part for me of spending time in Oscar’s workshop, though, was all the cool stuff he had in there. So much to look at.
The guys were lovely, though. The other wwoofers. The way Harry wanted to learn all my recipes, having found his new passion of cooking at the farm. Max, whose musings about the world and the future and how he fit into it all I could recognize from myself at eighteen too. Joe, who was also looking for his place in the world, who could be annoying as hell with his teasing, but as soon as he picked up his guitar everything was forgiven. The way he sang Damien Rice. And all the others. I felt old, and that was awkward at times, but it was also nice to be reminded of that place. The early twenties. Who I was then. And see the contrast with who I am now. Truly wonderful people, the ones Lorri had chosen to welcome to her farm.
And then there were the dogs. So wonderful, sincere. The newest addition to the family, Dot, was a real charmer. Last time I was at the farm, I realized I actually wanted a dog (which was quite surprising for me, because I had always considered myself a cat person before – but honestly, it’s useless with those kinds of dichotomies, I love both!). But I want a dog in a place where it can run freely, like at the farm, where it has a purpose. I want a farm dog, not a city dog. So, I’ll simply have to wait and see if my road ever takes me to a life on a farm.
In the evenings, we sometimes watched a movie in the loom room. We went to the open mike night at a bar in Sebastopol once. We went rollerblading in Rohnert Park one night, and had all-you-can-eat sushi another. A couple of nights we lit a fire down by the pond. Most nights, though, we just had dinner, talked, and went to bed. Just as last time, I’ve rarely slept as well as when wwoofing. I crashed into bed every night, and don’t even remember dreaming.
Yes. That was it. I cooked a lot. I read a lot (fiction!). I tried to write a little, but didn’t produce much. Most of all, I got a break from my busy academics life, having strict routines without stress in a beautiful setting. Some might find it a weird way to spend your holiday, but I think it was quite exactly what I needed. Once it was time for me to leave, I felt ready to get back to my databases, statistical analyses and conceptual labyrinths. The Duckworths really know how to treat you to a full wwoofing experience.
Katja Malmborg 