deer isle to north branch farm

i spent the late morning at deer isle hostel helping a little bit around the place. i sawed off more spruce branches, a vigorous upper body workout, and then worked with dennis on cleaning and oiling some tools. he has done a great job maintaining his tools through many years of hard use. this was a great lesson for me, to see the results of this kind of care. i was grateful he had chosen a task we could work on together while chatting. i told him about some of the places i had been to and places i was excited about ahead of me. we shared our thoughts on the topic of 'the value of old ways'. dennis believes in using the best tools and techniques, old or new.

i caught one shorter ride from the town on deer isle and then a longer ride with a very nice lobsterman on his way up near belfast. i'd been waiting for quite a while by this store south of blue hill, and when he pulled in to the store parking lot i got the impulse to go up and ask him. i've learned to follow these impulses, as making a connection with someone face to face can help something happen. sometimes we have to make an effort to bridge that gap. i think a lot of people would help another person out, but might not feel comfortable making the first move.

after visiting belfast once more to use the computer at the library and pick up some food at the coop i got back out on the road. i hitched up 114, hoping i could get to north branch farm in time to bless dinner. one of the rides i got was with another lobsterman. the second short ride was with a nice old man, nicknamed kit, who i felt very encouraged by.

i missed the blessing, but was received and given some food as dinner was in progress. after dinner i helped a little with cleaning the kitchen, enjoyed their deluxe outdoor shower, and played a game of cribbage with a couple folks. i was given a bed on which i spread a layer of their fluffy sheep skins to make it super comfy.

kerstin, one of the apprentices here, completed the localmotive bike tour in astoria, oregon just after i passed near there on my way down to green string farm. after taking it kind of easy on account of a lingering headache in the morning i joined her and two other apprentices in the farm work. we removed what was surely more than a ton of manure and urine soaked bedding from one of the animal pens in the barn. the smell was intense, and we sweated buckets as the sheep did their best to stay out of the way of the sharp-pointed forks. the material was added to the huge pile of composting manure, where it will become beautiful compost and be returned to the soil some day.