the simple life

So the journey continues. I suppose you could say we are still wayfaring north, but this time we are settling in. After hiking the trail, our mindset on living has changed. The desire to live a more simple, peaceful, and purposeful life has caused us to seek for something new. Kevin and I both decided that learning to grow our own food is very important to us. To feel connected to what we are putting into our bodies, to know the work that goes into growing and the satisfaction of harvesting our labor is what we want to experience.

 Through researching Organic Agriculture websites we found many intern positions on organic farms. On February 19th, we came to visit Willowood Farm on Whidbey Island. We met Georgie Smith, the owner of the farm and worked with her for the day. It didn't take long to decide that this was the place for us. We will be helping to farm 8 acres of a variety of organic vegetables including potatoes, onions, shallots, leeks, garlic, lettuce, kale, broccoli, cabbage, corn, carrots, pumpkins, beans, and much more. We will be helping Georgie sell at three farmer's markets on the island and to local restaurants.  

So here I am. I moved in March 1st with Kevin's help. (He unfortunately is committed to coach until March 14th, so will not be out until then.) We took a day to settle in and explore Coupeville, the town we are in. It's beautiful here and I have no doubt this will be a wonderful experience. We would like to share our happenings with you, so will try to post pictures often, and please feel free to share with us and come visit!

Coupeville, WA, located in Central Whidbey, a small town with a lot of character. 

The Coupeville Pier at Penn Cove

overlook at Fort Casey State Park- the fort was built at the turn of the century as part of the "triangle of fire" designed to guard the entrance to Puget Sound

an auxiliary structure at Fort Casey

 Admiralty Head Lighthouse- built to help guide ships into Puget Sound

Keystone ferry to Port Townsend

Enjoying the tour while enduring the strong winds!

On to Willowood Farm:

The farm is part of Ebey's Landing National Historic Reserve- created by congress in 1978 "to preserve and protect a rural community which provides an unbroken historic record from 19th century exploration and settlement in Puget Sound to the present time."

view of barn in back of house

The interns live upstairs in Georgie's parents house....just happens to be a Historic Site!

This is our beautiful Victorian home for the next 8 months!

Here's where we get wood for the stove to heat our living room

After my first day of work I decided to ride my bike down to the beach

what a great way to end the day!

cool looking kelp

nice spot to catch a sunset

road home

view of the farm heading back from the beach-

interestingly enough, if you look up Ebey's Landing you'll most likely see this picture of the farm and house- we've seen it in several guide books and brochures!