2022-01-25
Fun & Productive

FUN & PRODUCTIVE

If I had to summarize this past weekend rolling into this magnificent Monday in two words, I’d have to say it was “Fun & Productive” (ampersands don’t count).

On Saturday, Chelsea and I were lucky enough to be invited by Rich & Sarah to Winter Brew 2022 to sample beers, kambuchas and ciders from 14 different New Mexican breweries.

In addition to sampling and savoring a wonderful rainbow of fermentation, there was much ado about nothing while we laughed and indulged a loopy conversation with our neighbors, Mike & Amanda, about extracting essential oils and then making brownies fit for astronauts with enhanced butter.

Come Sunday, Chelsea assembled a goat milking station and MadZo spread another shitload of composted soil (something like 26 cubic yards worth) on the planting field at 48-B, while I put together a couple of extra large bins to place two weeks worth of garbage and recycling bags intended for our bi-weekly sojourn to the dump.

And today, it all came together in a special way. Not only did we accomplish the usual long list of things to get the week started off right, including working a full day at the virtual NYC office, getting the kids through another day at school-at-home and Chelsea cooking a delicious dinner for the extended family - but we also had our first all-farm-staff meeting that included our prospective new assistant farm manager, Connor.

In addition, we all attended an online orientation for WOOFer (WorldWide Opportunities in Organic Farming) Hosts; Enzo and Maddy made their first attempt at milking our mother goat Luisa; and we also had a planning meeting with our fabulous land conservation consultant, Jan-Willem Jensens.

While the grandparents and the kids gathered around the table for meatloaf, butternut squash and potatoes au gratin, I ended a very long work day with a two-hour Turquoise Trail Charter School Governance Council meeting from 5:30-7:30. We all worked hard to update one another on the progress for various initiatives, and I was sincerely impressed by the dedication of the teacher reps and staff in attendance.

Thankfully, after sitting down to eat a late dinner, I had the chance for some more fun, when Milo and I decided to learn and play a new game that Santa brought him and Olivia Luz - Chickapig, the farm-to-table board game. Surprisingly, it exceeded my expectations and required good concentration and a bit of strategy.

It’s a little after 11 now, so although I’d love to read a few pages, I’m resigning myself to exhaustion and the need to recuperate, so that we may do it all over again tomorrow. I’ll sleep well, simply knowing that the last three days have been so funtastik and evident that things are all coming together here at Hacienda Dominguez & Chelenzo Farms.