Volunteering: Crew volunteer project, Moonrise Farms

CHICKENS!

Fabulous beard

Matt and Brian prepare boards for me to put up inside on the roof

Straw/mud house we helped to build

Mixing some mud

High-powered nail gun to put up the roofing. All recycled wood!

Brian works with one of Roy's kids, Brie, to pack the thick straw/mud mixture in to gaps before we put on the first layer of slick mud.

One of Roy's kids using a special drill bit to blend the slick mud for the first layer

Me working on the roof while Matt saws part of the excess straw around the front door.

     Yesterday I went with my crew to Moonrise Farms near Petrified Forest for our crew volunteer project. Cliff lived and worked there for a year, and is very close with the owners. He spoke with them and planned our volunteer day there. It was AWESOME! We had no idea what we would be doing, we expected to be shoveling manure or working to plant rows of the many vegetables they grow. We arrived at the farm, and discovered we would be helping to build a straw and mud house! At the farm, they typically have four or so people who stay with them during the plant/harvest months, and these people typically live in their tents on the property. However, this year, the owners decided to build a place to house the workers, all with recycled materials. Actually, the place is so awesome, I am going to keep it in mind as a possible place to live/work for a few months down the road. It is a wholesome atmosphere--kind people, happy animals, vegetables everywhere, and plenty of soil. I love it. I feel a new strong pull toward farm life. It made me further question where I want to live in the future. I know I do not want to be in a big city, but would I be happy in a rural area outside of a big city? Maybe. 

     Anyway, the work yesterday was awesome. I finished putting up the ceiling panels with a high-powered nail gun and got to use a deck saw to split and trim wood to the right sizes. I cut the panels in multiples of 16 inches--16, 32 and 48 inches. The final product looks awesome. After finishing the ceiling, I became very, very dirty. Actually, when I got back home last night, Missy looked at me like I was a new disease--a mix of fascination and revulsion. Ha. My clothes were covered with dry, reddish mud, and I had chunks of it throughout my hair and in patches on my face and arms. It was awesome! We used slick mud to coat the straw inside. We got to work with the 3 itinerant workers staying there, as well as the two owners and Roy's 5 kids, the oldest was probably 15 and the youngest probably 5. Roy himself is not very old, I would guess 35. He is one of those men who looks intimidating, but is actually a huge teddy bear with a great beard and wonderfully clear, blue eyes. He reminds me of some of the people from around Bloomington who live in the rural areas. He is one of those people who clearly does everything to the fullest, whether it be eating, working hard, drinking beer, having children, or laughing. I felt an incredible sense of joy around him, as well as around his children.

     Cliff finishes his term of AmeriCorps service after this spike, and will be moving back onto the farm for the next couple of months. Though I've already completed far beyond my required 24 hours of volunteer service, Matt and I have already made plans to head back to Moonrise to work and hang out there. Roy told me that the best time to visit is during pepper season--they make wide array of pickled peppers and salsas. He said that during the couple of weeks when they make these condiments, they sit around huge vats of peppers and drink beer all day. I think I will definitely be going back there to do that. Yesterday  Cliff and I almost ate an entire jar of their serrano hot sauce between the two of us on two burritos. Ha. Totally awesome volunteer day, I learned a ton. I cannot believe how lucky I have been since my move to Arizona!