Somewhere Out There

After a 12 hour bus ride, a short train, and a shorter drive, I arrived late in the evening at my first Wwoof Farm. I was welcomed by my hosts, a very nice family who immigrated from England a few years back, and promptly went to bed. When I woke up, I laughed out loud in wonder. It's breathtaking here. We're nestled in between huge rolling hills - some grassy and inviting, others densely populated by native trees, that seem to have golden rod shooting up from them. There's a rushing river (rushing stream), waterfalls (small but beautiful) and today it's capped with a blue Blue sky. Yesterday was my first day of work, and I feel pretty accomplished - I built a plank stair into a slope, fed an eel (eek!), cleaned and filled a birdfeeder, collected eggs and mended the threshold in the coop (roosters a much scarier up close), composted a bit, mucked out a small outbuilding - I could continue with some other odd jobs, but I've made my point. So to all you doubters out there, I too can be handy. Granted, it's not my usual modus operandi, or even preferred, but anythings possible. Honestly, it's challenging, but that seems to be the theme of this trip. Last night I was invited by proxy to a pot luck, and met a very cool local band family who will be going on a quasi-tour/vacation in the US and Canada next year. Vanya, a band member and surrogate family member, is a really gifted piano player, and Sean, the father has a beautiful singing voice. The Mother and other singer of the group loaned me her flute, and they encouraged me to play a little with them. I don't think I've picked up my flute for years, but I went for it, and had a blast. Between Newtown in Auckland, and this lot, I might be inspired to have some band practices when I get home - any takers?