Three Roods Farm

Columbiaville, Michigan - It's on the east side of the state, north of Detroit, east of Flint, this is where I am.
I arrived Tuesday afternoon to the lovely Three Roods Farm, http://www.threeroodsfarm.com/, my first official WWOOF visit. If you are unfamiliar with wwoof, worldwide opportunitites on organic farms, you can check out the USA site, http://www.wwoofusa.org/ It's a super great opportunity for unemployed people like me to travel around the country, gain experiences on really diverse farms, and work in exchange for food and lodging. I think it's a grand idea and it has blown my mind the number of people that will open their operations up to random people to come and share life together. So great.

So Three Roods Farm is a small 23 acrea farm made up of gardens, chickens, sheep, bees, small orchard, and a reforestation project. It's been fun to see the diverse amount of activity going on here even as the owners, Greg and Robin, both have outside jobs. They have a 6 person CSA this year and have had to deal with a rather cool summer. Things so far have great.

A few highlights of my time:

1. Chickens are so fun! Fresh eggs to pick each day. I also think I could watch chickens peck and scratch at the ground for hours.
2. I get to sleep in a loft of a big huge barn! So neat. I'm thinking too bad my dad burned down our barn at home because I just might be moving out there. It's a bit chilly at night, I sleep with 5 blankets pulled over my nose but it definitely puts a whole new meaning to getting dressed in the cold. Last night was the first frost, definitely a bit north of home.
3. Greg reminds me of my father and his passion for trees. My tour of the reforestation project was complete with a few tree identification questions that I definitely failed. I need to pay more attention.
4. Robin is super sweet and has a great life story to tell at all times. We've had much time together in the kitchen these couple of days and she is so helpful and willing to share her wisdom.
5. The house is so stocked full of awesome food. It kind of reminds me of a bulk foods store complete with everything my heart desires for baking, cooking, and eating an intense bowl of oatmeal. I might have to sneak out the flour mill with me when I leave.
6. We have completed the process of building a tipi. Tomorrow there will be a tipi dedication ceremony to make it official. So fun to be a part of the new experience for everyone.
7. Saturday the farm will be on a county farm tour. We will each hang out at stations and get to tell visitors about the diverse farm and opportunities to take part in community supported agriculture.
8. There is also another intern here named Julie, she is from New York and has been such a blessing to getting into the swing of things. We laugh together a lot also.
9. We share all meals together.
10. The Shetland Sheep are a smaller breed that are quite adorable. They are on a rotational grazing system and eat grass all their happy lives. There are two sheep wool hides in the tipi presently that make really great costumes......