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!

Welcome to 2015, the year of the goat!

Do you have any idea how excited I was to learn that February 19, 2015 marks the start of the Chinese year of the goat?

(Do you know me in even the slightest bit, and/or do you ever read this blog? If you answered "yes" or even "maybe" to one or both of those questions, you probably have quite the idea how excited I was to learn this.)

First things first. We've seen references to the "year of the goat, also known as year of the sheep, ram."

Now, we mean absolutely no offense to our Chinese friends - it's YOUR culture, it's YOUR year, interpret it however you want.

But for the record - THIS is a goat:

smarter than your average bear

(the goat, not Patrick.. actually, Patrick too)

This? NOT A GOAT:

dumb as a box of nails

(the sheep, not Patrick)

Okay, now that we've cleared that up, we hereby bring you GOATS OF THE WORLD! Enjoy.

cheerleader goat

(Eagle Hill, Alberta, Canada)

regal goat

(Quebec City, Canada)

sweetest goat EVAH in the history of all goats

(Wakefield, Quebec, Canada)

adorable plum-eating goats

(Nemcicky, Czech Republic)

curious goats

(Picos de Europa, Spain)

tree-climbing goats

(Essaouria, Morocco)

shy goats

(Phong Nha, Vietnam)

"whatever, I'm eating" goat

(Sapa, Vietnam)

focused goat

(Luang Prabang, Lao)

headbutting goats

(Pai, Thailand)

goat TV

(Mae Sariang, Thailand)

baby goats

(Pratchum Khiri Khan, Thailand)

first Nepalese goats

(Annapurna Circuit, Nepal)

second Nepalese goats

(Annapurna Circuit, Nepal)

third Nepalese goats

(Annapurna Circuit, Nepal)

fourth Nepalese goats

(Annapurna Circuit, Nepal)

fifth Nepalese goats

(Annapurna Circuit, Nepal)

sixth Nepalese goats

(Annapurna Circuit, Nepal)

seventh Nepalese goats

(Annapurna Circuit, Nepal)

pygmy goats

(Waikoloa, Big Island, Hawaii)

smiley goat
(South Point, Big Island, Hawaii)

Goats were strangely absent from our photos from Portugal, Turkey, Cambodia and Australia. That clearly means that we need to go back to those countries and spread the goat love...

Happy 2015!

Friday five: organic winery WWOOFing... yeah, it really sucks to be us sometimes.

Around this time last year we were in the Czech Republic helping Richard and his family with their fall grape harvest.  We had a great time there and knew we wanted to understand more about the different types of seasonal vineyard work.  What better opportunity than Australia or New Zealand's spring and summer months for a little more vineyard WWOOFing?

While we were in Bangkok we ran across a March 2013 blog post that exactly summed up why we have had such a great time WWOOFing over the past 18 months.  Duncan's vineyard coincidentally happened to be just outside of Perth, our first Australian stop, and spring down under is the new autumn.  The Universe was speaking - so once again we listened, reached out to Duncan, and arranged a two-week stay at Harris Organic Wines in October. 

our view for 14 days

Duncan's approach to winemaking turned out to be similar to Richard's (totally organic, hands-on, quality-driven, and a bit mad-scientisty) but more suited to larger-scale production.  While we worked he patiently explained each step of the process and filled in the gaps on steps that went on behind the scenes. 

behind the scenes science experiment:

adding acid makes flat French wine taste better

We enjoyed all the work but we especially liked the peaceful, sunny days we spent weaving up and down rows of vines amongst roaming chickens and playful cats.  (And pesky flies.  Sooooo many pesky flies!)  Finishing a row of vine maintenance always took longer than we expected, but it provided such a sense of accomplishment.

Duncan's little helpers

Here are five things we learned, in no particular order and in our own very-uneducated-about-winemaking words... 

1.  Air flow is key.  We spent a few days clearing the trunks of stray growth and thinning the vines of large leaves that might restrict air flow and enable moisture buildup near the fruit. (Moisture = BAD.)

one row for us: about an hour

one row for Duncan: 15 minutes

before thinning

after thinning

2.  Wires are a vintner's friend.  Wire trellises keep the vines growing in an upward motion.  This keeps the rows clear, allowing the tractor easy access to plow weeds and spray organic materials like sulphur and copper which reduce the risk of mildew on the fruit.

managing the stragglers

before wire maintenance

after wire maintenance

3.  Trunks should be straight. Proper training of the vines helps create balance for the plant and eases the burden of hand-harvesting for the pickers.  Training vines is like training tomatoes - tie them to a stick and make sure they keep growing up, instead of out.

stronger than they look

(the trunks, not the guys)

makes a lovely view from the winery roof

4.  Grafting is really cool.  Take a hearty root stock, add your favorite grape variety, and viola!  (Well, it's probably not that simple, but it's simpler than we thought.)

splice ...

... tape ...

... a bandage and a few "Hail Mary"s ...

... and hope Wendy the Chook keeps the cutworms away

5.  Bottling, corking and capping is much easier when assisted by heavy machinery.  Not to say there's not value in traditional methods - it was just great to be able to experience both sides of the coin.

at Richard's

at Duncan's

the filtration setup

getting the measurements just right

manning the screw cap machine

(an exception for this batch -

usually organic cork is used)

500 bottles later, "ta-da!"

the finished product

Duncan and Deborah were warm, welcoming and generous with their stories, their delicious food - especially Duncan's tasty wood-fired pizza and Deborah's awesome desserts - and of course, their amazing wines.  During our stay we also enjoyed the company of their friends and a fun Quiz Night with the local Toastmasters group.  (We didn't know any of the answers to the questions about Australia but apparently our Canada knowledge knows no bounds...  Go figure, eh?)

shop talk after work one day

2004 - a very good year

The Harris menagerie were just as friendly and we definitely enjoyed some quality time with them too...

playful Rosie

quiet Arthur

bosslady Lola

rambunctious KC

sweet Shep

little Lucy

The main thing we learned during our short stay is that we have a lot more to learn.  Two weeks isn't enough time to learn much about anything, but with everything we want to see in this giant country it's all we could do under the constraints of our 90-day visa.  Suffice to say our interest in trying this at home (on a very small scale to start) has definitely increased... especially because after tasting so much great wine it will be hard to go back to Three Buck Chuck.

People interested in wine usually head south to Margaret River.  We're glad we stayed in Swan Valley instead and we highly recommend this area for anyone visiting Perth.  (If you go, be sure to stop by Duncan's for a case of the only organic wine in the Valley!)

Thank you, Duncan and Deborah, for a memorable two weeks!  We look forward to seeing what the season and the coming years bring for Harris Organic Wines, and we hope to see you in Portland someday for a tour of the Willamette Valley.  Who knows, we may even have a few vines of our own by that time...

cheers!