A busy weekend

This weekend was a busy one at Blue Rock Station. On Friday, we sadly said farewell to Beth, an intern who worked hard on the housing chalet. Of course, we had to throw her a party. This year will be an exciting one for Beth – she will be studying a semester in Peru and then will spend another semester studying immigration Tucson, Arizona. Fittingly, we through her a world traveler party equipping her with all she needs in her upcoming adventures: a wand adorned with a compass, a shawl, a bandana, a water bottle and more. She tried on some of her new presents:

 

Then, we ended the night as we often do with some intense matches of badminton. We all wish Beth the best of luck!

On Saturday, we took a group of boy scouts on the tour of the farm. Afterward, our other group learned all about llamas and enjoyed the beauty of the woods on the llama trek. The llamas also enjoy the trek – here, Baxter peers out into the trees during our lemonade break:

Sunday we hosted over forty people at Blue Rock Station. On their tour, they learned about sustainable living, all of the animals, the construction of the Earthship and more. All of the interns discussed their projects, including the garden, the intern chalet, the privy and the rocket stove. Afterward, they ate cookies, drank lemonade and sampled our homemade goat cheese. It was an educational and fun day for all! If you are interested in attending one of the tours or workshops, visit bluerockstation.com for a list of upcoming events.

Independence Day

Every morning the interns wake up hungry and ready for breakfast – a mixture of oats, various seeds, chocolate chips, honey and goat milk. However, on Sundays, we have an extra motivation to jump out of bed: pancakes. It has been a tradition for Jay to cook pancakes every Sunday morning, and today we were especially excited because our pancakes were patriotic – blueberries and blackberries for the blue, yogurt for the white, a raspberry spread for the red and chocolate drizzle for fun. It was the perfect combination of sweet and fresh, and the berries exploded in our mouths like fireworks.

On the fourth of July we celebrate the anniversary of our independence and show our American pride; however here at Blue Rock Station we also celebrate our heritage. After our meal, we went around the table and shared the stories of our ancestors; where they came from, their names and any other interesting stories we had. We come from a wide variety of countries – Italy, France, Canada, Hungary, Wales, Scotland, Norway, Ireland, and Germany to name a few. It gives the day a unique perspective and a deeper understanding as to what it truly means to be American. We are all more connected to each other and to the world than we realize.

We took the day off, so to speak, and many of us caught up on our reading. But what could a day off be without a little competition? We competed in two tournaments. First, the very American game of horseshoes; most of us were pitiful, but team Matt and Jay won all three games. I played with Annie, and we lost all of our matches with style and grace…well, maybe not grace. Intern Marie by far had the most unique throws, hitting bottles of beer cans and throwing the horseshoe halfway down the hill.

 She also had a great throwing technique:

Marie and Beth, after winning their second match:

 Our games spurred our appetite for our very-American dinner of hot dogs and potato salad – normally we do not eat much meat here, but this past week has certainly been an exception. After digestion and chores, and after heat of the of the day had passed, it was time for tournament number two: badminton.

 Anne-Lise and Sara turn on the competition:

Annie and I decided to turn the tables. Our energy was high and our hits were quick. We easily took out two of the teams. As we entered our third match, we were feeling a little tired and worried about our competition: Marie and Beth. They too had been playing well in their games. But with a little luck and some good plays, we beat them. Not so pitiful anymore.

 A fuzzy picture of the winners:

We ended the day with the same excitement as when we woke up – only this time, it was fireworks. We played first with sparklers and snaps, and waited patiently as Beth helped set up the real fireworks. They were more impressive than I had suspected; they were very similar to the more professional one’s, and lit up the dark night’s sky. This was especially thrilling for me. Had we done this in my own back yard, we would have been arrested!

We hope you had a great Independence Day, too!

– posted by Julie Ramaccia