E-I-E-I-Ooooooooo...

Yesterday Facebook reminded me that May 5, 2013 was the two-year anniversary of the last day of our very first WWOOF (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms) gig.

Which means that basically, two years and two weeks ago, we showed up on a fairly random doorstep on Gabriola Island, British Columbia, and two strangers welcomed us into their home (or in this case, their RV) and started teaching us about farming... And we never turned back.

We'd done our research and exchanged emails with this first couple a few times so we thought it would be fine. Free food and lodging for 5-6 hours of work a day for a few weeks - what could go wrong?

It turned out to be AMAZING. We absolutely could not have asked for a better intro to WWOOFing and we are eternally grateful to our hosts Linda and Peter; their lovely sheep Thelma, Louisa, Maiden Marian and her fellow lambs; their adorable Kune Kunes Tane, Kyra and Moana (who have since had babies!); and all those beautiful chickens!

Big Roo finding worms for his girlfriend

ladykiller Tane

and let's not forget nature's lawnmowers

We learned so much from this first experience alone. We really had no idea what we were getting into with this whole WWOOF thing but after our time with Peter and Linda we were so excited about what was to come...

Canada's and Australia's WWOOF programs were well worth the annual membership cost, and the international work exchange web site HelpX helped us find some additional awesome learning opportunities around the world.  Two years and more than a dozen farms later, we have so many fond memories:

Just Another Weed Patch -

our intro to nut trees,

chicken tractors and bees

Buffalo Horn Ranch

where these gentle, amazing bison roamed

Apple Road Nubians

where our love (/obsession) for goats was forged

Earth's Harvest -
inspiration beyond belief

Richard's vineyard in the Czech Republic

where we stomped grapes by foot 
and made the best plum jam on the planet

 John and Yuki's farm and homestay near Chiang Mai
where almost everything comes straight from the land

Chittering Acres, home to eco-friendly lessons galore and

the coolest RV we will probably ever stay in 

Harris Organic Wines where we learned grapevine tending

and wine bottling from master vintner Duncan

Humpty Doo Apiaries, where Tas taught us
beekeeping skills, honey extraction and knot-tying

Julia and Dylan's self-sustaining farm in Lorrina, Tasmania 
featuring some of our favorite chooks

permaculturist and landscape architect Stuart

who taught us so much about designing our own home

Earth Matters farmer Greg, our first Hawaiian WWOOF host

with absolutely the most - we hope to see you again soon!

and Kula Mana Farms 
featuring "Kona snow" and all the mac nuts you care to eat

Hours (and hours of hours) of amazing experiences and farm-fresh meals intermixed with lots (and lots and lots) of tedious weeding/planting/harvesting/mulching/fence-mending later, we are still so eternally grateful to all our wonderful hosts. We look forward to adding more experiences to our WWOOF and HelpX resumes soon. (Can anyone teach us to make cheese? Will work for food and lodging, just sayin'...)

In the meantime, we hope that our extended families, barnyard friends and gardens are prospering this spring, and we really look forward to seeing everyone again someday!