Farm day is basically an open house for the citizens of Waco to come and visit out farm to see what it is we do as well as have a chance to buy wears from friends of the farm. It was a very intense day. We had 900+ people come by.
We started setup at 8 AM and went until 4 PM. We had a petting zoo, milking demonstrations, 
farm tours, lunch (made by us), camels, hay rides, childrens musical time (A La Ryan Pickop), and a stage with bands constantly playing. 
The day started slow with a few farm friends at the beginning. We all had jobs that we were in charge of doing. I got picked for town crier in the afternoon (I was in charge of walking around and telling people before tours, hay rides, and milking demonstrations started). 
By about 10 we had a good amount of people wandering the premises, hay rides were already backing up, and the days heat was just getting started. We had vendors selling headbands, herbal remedies, knives, magnetic bracelets (the kind that cleanse your body), herb transplants, bread, and natural dies. We also had several groups that came out of or are supported by the farm including the Heart of Texas Urban Garden Coalition and the McLennan County Hunger Coalition.
The pets were bust being molested at the petting zoo (our goats managed to get into the rabbit manure) and the bands were playing. I had tabbed up Hey Jude and I'm a Believer (by Smashmouth) before hand but didn't think I had anyone that would want to play with me. Jessie Miller (the farm executive directors son) is going to the University of North Texas for music and agreed to play with me for each song.
It was the first time that I had played in front of an audience ...it was exhilarating. After playing a wrong note or two you just go with the flow and have a good time. It was a pleasant surprise, even to myself, for the day.For lunch we had burritos and cookies. the cookies started being made 2 weeks before the event! We had about 400 cookies made. I was in charge of making 12 batches of zucchini bread muffins for breakfast. We had left overs of both bread and cookies which was most welcomed by most people. One of our farm friends brought all sorts of mini bread loafs. Some of the flavors included apple sauce, banana nut, and chocolate pecan. We got leftovers a few days later and they were all delicious.I had a good time being town crier. Part of the job includes being obnoxious to get people to pay attention to you. I was just that. After farm day we always go to Bangkok Royale,a local Thai restaurant. It was a nice way to end the day. We had about 30 farm folk there and had a friend of the farm serving us. It's pretty amazing to see how much of an impact we have on the local community. I saw some of our neighbors I never expected to see come out and see what we're about.
Two weekends ago I attended Spring Commencement at UofM and finally concluded my undergrad degree. I'm glad that I waited to come back as our speaker was President O'Bama. The whole weekend was a crazy blur. Sitting in the Big House listening to the President speak was a once in a lifetime opportunity. As much as some people may hate him, he is a damn good orator. He spoke about the current state of politics among other things. From the second that I stepped on campus I had friends by my side. It was as if I'd never left. I ran into people that came to the farm with me and ASB people that were at the farm only a few months ago. I'm feeling good about my choice to go back in the Fall.
Something that has happened is that I'm in charge of everything cute on the farm: rabbits and chicks. One of our rabbits gave birth on farm day and another gave birth 2 days later.
We currently have 4 rabbit kits (baby rabbits) alive and kicking in the cages. One of the does has 11 kids....this usually leads to many deaths. Most rabbits can handle 4-5 kids at a time. The kids feed once a day and can't eat any greens for a few weeks. Only recently have our kits started to eat grass. They fit in the palm of my hand at this age and are very VERY soft. I've decided that I'm keeping one and bringing it to Michigan as a keepsake of the farm. I'll post a picture of the one I choose on the next post. Something to note when dealing with chickens is if you have 5 hens to every rooster, there is an 80 - 90% chance that the eggs will be fertile. We gave a number of eggs to local schools and had them incubate them. We recently received them and had about 79 chicks. I volunteered to take care of them. 
They're turned out fine so far. We're down to about 55 now due to 2 deaths and about 20 being picked up. If you keep chickens in a coop for 3 days you can let them out during the day and they'll know to return at sun down. I recently moved them into a larger coop (they're about 5 weeks old now) and am currently waiting to let them out once they know where they sleep. It's pretty interesting being in charge of all of these animals to see what each one needs, how independent they are, and how fast they grow. I can now say I feel ready to take on the farming world!Brad and I recently expanded our garden. We now have tomatoes, corn, chickpeas, lentils, and peppers planted. It's a race against the clock if I will get to eat anything that's been planted. Our CSA shares are going crazy. We have 65 members now and the best garden anyone has seen around here.
Hannah and Kelly have done an amazing job of keeping our garden in check. Kelly recently left but I'm sure the quality will remain the same.A lot of random stuff has happened in the past month. I have finished my work with the Census but will be working for the farm a little bit. I will be participating in our after school gardening program. Neal Curran, a recent intern at the farm, is getting married this weekend so a lot of the farm is leaving. This is where I come in. We go to several middle and elementary schools and help them maintain a garden. With everyone gone, I will be taking some people's places. The NASST group from UofM (the same group I cam with last year) is on the farm.
This means this week is my one year anniversary of first coming to the farm. I can remember my first impression of the farm as we saw the WHRI sign lit up off of Spring Lake and pulled up to the ed building with Swathi wandering over, on Cinco de Mayo, to give us a quick tour. Everyone here loves the UMich groups, I know why. They always take initiative and seem to be very outgoing.I have one more month here on the farm. If you haven't come to visit, this is your last chance. There's plenty of room to sleep and we have food for you to cook with. My last day is June 12th. Catch me if you can!
