Slide Ranch

I spent my morning on a real life farm! Well, sort of. It's an educational ranch near Stinson Beach, and part of the Golden Gate National Park system. It's the most picturesque setting...

And they have goats!

I was the only volunteer, aside from 72 kindergartners vising the farm, so I got to pick the brain of the garden director while we pulled weeds and transplanted strawberry plants. Fun farm fact: those delicious eggs with bright orange yolks comes from feeding the chickens greens and bugs, alternative to the typical grain pellets in commercial farms. The aminos in the food yield the bright color, and extra nutrients.

After reading Dan Barber's The Third Plate, I've had a fascination with farming. In particular organic, sustainable farming, and why it's important for the future of farming. I had an itch to get out there, so I took matters into my own hands and googled "organic farms in the Bay Area where you can volunteer." Success.

Honestly, it felt pretty satisfying digging my hands (in gloves, obv) into the dirt and pull the crap out of some weeds. My fingers are SORE and I may have ruined another pair of sneakers, but it was a huge breath of fresh air to spend some time with the vegetables I eat all of the time, in their natural habitat. I rescued over 20 strawberry plants from a potentially chilly winter in the ground.

I topped off this amazing mini-getaway with a taco salad from one of Mill Valley's incredible organic grocery store, Good Earth Natural Foods. 'Twas a delightful nachos / salad hybrid. 

The half day of blissful, cellphone service-less, manual labor was totally worth the onslaught of emails when I got back to civilization. I'll definitely be doing that again!