VEGA-TABLES

"I'm gonna be 'round my vegetables. I'm gonna chow down my vegetables. I love you most of all, my favorite vegetable. If you brought a big brown bag of them home, I'd jump up and down and hope you'd toss me a carrot. I'm gonna keep well, my vegetables. Cart off and sell my vegetables. I love you most of all, my favorite vegetable"

While it might take a village to raise a child, it takes a lot of people to effectively/efficiently run a farm. Last year Farmer David did the vast majority of the work on his own. Various friends helped out as their time allowed, and their help was essential to the success that Farmer David achieved. This year there is a young man working on a full time basis. There is also a young woman who is working full time as an intern; as an intern she is learning about the trials and tribulations of being a farmer. There is another young woman working part time and two other young women who are volunteering a remarkable number of hours. (Volunteering??? Yes, volunteering!) So, Farmer David does have much more organized help this year in comparison with last year. And since Farmer David is working sun up to sun down on an almost daily basis, the assistance of others is again an essential part of the process. In a future post these wonderful people will be introduced. However, despite Farmer David and his cast of heroes, there are two people without whom there would be no Gravity Hill Farm

Long before there was a Gravity Hill Farm there was a couple who had a dream of owning a farm. Through years of hard work their vision became a reality. Just as farming is about the process of tilling, planting, nurturing, working hard and then finally seeing the growth of your crops, so to with the emergence of the farm. With no further ado, here are David Earling and his wife Maria Nicolo. Without their efforts and commitment, on many different levels, there would be no Gravity Hill Farm.



Here is Maria helping with the planting. Bending over in the heat and direct sun is not for the faint of heart.



While Maria is working in the field, David is busy holding up the farm truck.



David and David contemplating their sanity for being involved in farming. 'And we're doing this because ........? Oh yeah, despite the expense and the hard work we enjoy what we are doing and derive great satisfaction from growing organic produce.'



Maria lecturing Farmer David about the virtues of hard work. Mr. Earling looking on glad it's not him being lectured. (Just kidding. Success can only be achieved through teamwork and cooperation and the team of David, David, and Maria are working diligently towards the goal of great success at Gravity Hill Farm.)



Well, here's looking at you kid. One part of the dream that David and Maria had was to have animals as part of their farm. While the llamas and alpacas were introduced in the previous posting, our furry friend will say good bye for today.

At The Farm

Someone told me, It's all happening at the farm. I do believe it, I do believe it's true. The llamas stand for honesty, alpaca's are insincere, and the chikens are kindly but they're dumb. The dog is skeptical of changes in her routine, and the farm keeper is very fond of rum.
Cats are reactionaries, guinea hens are missionaries, attack geese plot in secrecy, and Pekin ducks turn on frequently. What a gas! You gotta come and see. At the farm. At the farm. At the farm.

While it might not be lions, and tigers, and bears, Oh My, there are now animals at Gravity Hill Farm. Yes, animals. While the chickens are intended to earn their keep by laying eggs, the other animals are there for fun, enjoyment, teaching the responsibility of caring for animals. So, with no additional delay, let's meet our animal friends.

This is Marco the llama.


This is Leo the llama.


This is Gunter the alpaca. (The brown one facing towards the camera.)


This is Enzo the alpaca.


And these are twin llamas, Lisa and Mona. Apparently twin llamas are a rare occurrence. The individual who provided the names for the blog did not know which was Lisa and which was Mona. (It wasn't Farmer David. It wasn't farm owner David's wife Maria.)


Here are the various feathered friends in the animal barn shortly after their arrival.



And here are some pictures of the fowl in their pasture next to the barn.

























































Here's Farmer David with his new kitten, Edward the Gato (gato being the Spanish word for cat). Just as David's dog, Hule, has been a valuable asset to the farm in keeping down the ground hog population, the bane of many a farmer, David has high hopes for Edward the Gato to earn his keep in going after various other critters that tend to populate farms and barns.


OK. Hule isn't new to the farm, but any post about animals at the farm has to include a picture of David's companion, Hule. She is on the scent of something.


No, this is not a farm animal. It is just a really cool looking moth, or some other big winged bug.


Food is continually growing at the farm. Check the official Gravity Hill website for a listing of the different vegetables that are currently available. Long days and pleasant nights to one and all.