Twin Brooks to Longview, WA

while at twin brooks farm i had some time to relax, cook meals, engage in important conversations, and pitch in on some projects. the first day i helped build a brush pile as habitat in a stand of fir trees that was planted twenty years ago. the stand is right next to a stream and used to be pasture. another of my jobs that day was to pick pie cherries from one tree that had been netted. the next day i harvested and washed some beets, removed the netting from that cherry tree, picked blueberries, and made lunch and dinner. the white bean and vegetable soup came out really good. it is great to have some vegetables right from the garden!

two WWOOFers were there during my visit and i connected with both of them over the similarities of our interests and paths in life. Yossi has been WWOOFing for two years and, like me, sometimes imagines being a subsistence farmer working in cooperation with a property owner for mutual benefit. we meditated together the first night. my arrival was an omen for him to sign up for a vipassana course. Ginger is on a mission to learn skills that will help her live the subsistence lifestyle, in which she wishes to harmonize with the deva's (spirits, elemental, divine beings). it was very affirming for me to come in contact with these people i could relate to so strongly.
i was also overjoyed to have an outhouse to deposit my valuable humanure in while at the farm.

after these couple wonderful days and restful nights i rode off on my way to longview. in this area south of chehalis there are lots of farms and ranches mixed in with homes with big lawns and patches of forest. this time of year there is a lot of hay in various stages of harvest. used to be that bringing in the hay was something a whole community did together. now, with the use of machines, it's more often a one-man job.
in winlock there is a library where i stopped to use the internet. very pleasant to sit in the cool library on a hot afternoon. i met the nicest young cyclist there who started up conversation and chatted with me for a while as i muched on some food. she said she loves her town of winlock. she's trying to get in shape for soccer. she was so friendly! i'm finding nice people everywhere i go and this day i really noted it.

i got water along the way at a park, two gas stations, the library, and a bar. it would be nice to have a public fountain in the middle of each town that cyclists could utilize. many towns in italy have them.




















it took me about five hours to ride the nearly fifty miles to longview and up the big hill to my host's house. these are my first hosts i found on this hospitality site called warmshowers. they have been the most gracious of hosts. here i was able to help out just a little in the garden by picking blueberries from one very bountiful bush and thinning a couple rows of carrots.