3-8-10

SOMEBODY FOUND A SNAKE

ROWS OF LETTUCE GREENS

INSIDE THE GREENHOUSE

MISSISSIPPI SUNSET OVER OUR NEW HOME


There's no point in beating around the bush. This place is a little crazy. But for every aspect of New Talavan Farms that puts us out of our element, there is a complimentary aspect that makes us quite comfortable.

Upon our arrival, we were lead to a very primitive, very minimalist dwelling. It was a one room building with a double size mattress on the ground. No bathroom. No other furniture. No nothing. Initially we were told the only accommodation would be camping on their grounds, so we figured any shelter was better than no shelter. There was a shared bathroom in easy walking distance, and we decided to make the best of our new arrangement. We barely unpacked our belongings when it was realized there was a vastly better lodging option available. A two bedroom house was vacant, complete with a bathroom, a flush toilet, a kitchen, and even a washer and dryer. Do not misunderstand, this house isn't exactly the lap of luxury. In the entire house, there are zero chairs. We are sleeping on a bunk bed, but it's the type that could sleep 3. The bottom bunk is a full, and the top is a single. We're happy to have the bottom bunk, but worry we may hit our head on the top metal bunk. The house had no toilet paper, no pillows, no sheets, and no mattress when we first came in, but we gathered these items from around the complex and will be quite comfortable in our cozy private home for the next few days.

Hare Krishna. It's what people here practice. It's what they say when you greet them. It's what they say when you leave. It's the only thing anyone is thinking about here. And to be blatantly frank, it's intense. They all preach at us, and in loud voices. They clearly want us to stay here a long time, and clearly want us to join the Hare Krishna movement. They want us to become "enlightened." We respectfully listen to their talks and even attended part of a prayer ceremony this morning which began at 4:30 am. But we left the service after a short while, and are debating whether to attend any other services the remainder of our stay. We engage in conversation and are open minded to learn what this is all about, but we can say with 100% certainty we will leave this place Saturday morning not Hare Krishnas. Residents have given us stacks of books, cds, and dvds to read, listen to, and watch to gain a better understanding of Krishna consciousness. At every other wwoofing stop, we have greedily devoured offered literature. We may peruse some of it, but suspect we will read mostly our own books while here. Again, everyone is super friendly, super nice, but just a little pushy. It's a little much. This is how they recruit people and they want to gain more members but we came here to help in the garden and learn about farming. We hope people will realize we want to learn about gardening and agriculture and not about religion.

Bhakta Blake, the gardener here, is only 24 years old, but he seems to know a great deal about growing. We helped him today water plants, and transplant seedlings from the greenhouse into some raised beds in the garden, and other garden maintenance. There are numerous fruit trees here, including figs, oranges, lemons, pomegranates, pears, and muscadine grapes. Also, there are blackberry and blueberry bushes, and a wide array of vegetables growing both indoor and outdoors. Currently in the outdoor garden, carrots, beets, broccoli, cabbage, lettuce, and kale are growing. In the greenhouse, many varieties of small seedling heirloom tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, and herbs are beginning to sprout. We hope to learn a good deal over the week in the garden, and hope to maybe even learn to milk cows, the sacred animal of the Indian religion.