Home again, Home again

Our feet are back on American soil! We made it back in one piece, didn’t have our identities stolen, and were never even kidnapped! Not even once!



Our final week in Zirajuen mostly consisted of spring-time activities. Clearing flower beds, planting bulbs, and preparing Easter feasts. We even got a little Easter Surprise that delighted Julia immensely. After over a month of sitting, one of the ducks on the farm hatched 8 little ducklings! They were bright yellow, and fluffy as can be. We created a private little apartment for “Mommy” and provided her with all the necessities. Julia loved to just sit and fawn over them. And so did other barnyard friends! As we watched the yellow mound grow in size, a little barn mouse arrived to see what all the commotion was. He sat and investigated for a while, and I agreed when Julia said it felt kinda like Charlotte’s Web.

Monday morning we departed, said our farewells, and took a bus out of Uruapan. It was only a 4 hour bus ride, but I will readily admit my joy at never being forced to watch a Spanish dubbed “Shrek 3” again. The movies they force you to listen to on the “first class” busses are not my cup of tea.

We spent two days in the costal town of Zihuatanejo. It was a clean, picturesque beach city with cantinas on every corner and tourists on every sidewalk. We like it much better than Puerto Vallarta. Our Hostel was the Rincon de Viajero, just five minutes from the bay. We enjoyed a relaxing day at the beach for our final day in Mexico. We snorkeled, drank pina coladas, and had dinner at a beautiful restaurant as the sun set. In the morning we packed our belongings, walked across the windy tarmac and completed our long, wonderful, exhausting journey.

Our Mexican travels are finally at a close. We were there for 82 days. We’ve spent time in 5 states, and 11 cities! It’s been an amazing journey, and it’s been great to have you along with us. Sharing our photos, our stories, and our experiences with you has been a vital part of this time. Until our next adventure, Vaya con Dios!

Mucho amor, felicidades, y salud,
Philip & Julia

Death & Taxes

We are now on the final leg of our journey. Only eight more days in Mexico! We’re getting a bit weary and homesick, but we haven’t slowed down in our adventures. The past week was one of water and molten metal – and where we learned that the old adage about “Death and Taxes” isn’t such a clean cut rule.

The main project Julia and I worked on was sowing 300 feet worth of bright-red fingerling potatoes into weedy grass-choked soil. After days of pick axing, shoveling, turning, measuring, aligning and planting, the result was a beautiful thing to behold. The whole thing got covered in a straw-mulch, fenced off, and the result is what you see before you. We also planted just as many feet of peas, though that was less labor intensive because of soft soil and a lack of rows. There were also the mandatory picking days, in which we picked mountains of lettuces, arugulas, root plants and herbs for a restaurant.

As you might imagine, life on a farm can get repetitive and predictable. We won’t bore you by going into the details of things already mentioned. Still, over time one notices new things in their familiar surroundings that they didn’t before. For example, Julia has fallen in (mutual) love with PorqueNo, the half-wolf pet of the Sheppards. Whenever we drive anywhere, she plays Wolf-Queen with a regal and peaceful wolf perched on her lap. She loves to have long discussions with PorqueNo, as well as with Peep-Peep, the adolescent gosling, Peepers, the baby gosling, and all the loving cats that prowl the property; Tzin, Tzan, Tzun, and Sweetie Cat. I have probably become the most tan I’ve ever been in my life. I’ve acquired a taste for eggs in the morning, and (to Julia’s amazement) cookies in the evening! We also decided to take a count, and after Julia learned how to make granola from scratch on Sunday, we were amazed to find we’ve acquired recipes over 40 new dishes during our stay in Mexico! If that’s not something valuable to take home with you, I don’t know what is.

On our day off, we visited lovely Uruapan. We enjoyed a nice wi-fi spot, a delectable steak lunch (with chips and tortillas…!? Only in Mexico.) We then went to the Parque Nacional, a gorgeous shaded park with acres and acres of fountains, waterfalls, streams, and pools. It was a much-deserved relaxation after our hard work week. We spent our afternoon there until they kicked us out for closing.

We also got an extra evening off to travel to Santa Clara with a friend of the Sheppards. Juan (whom we met and served at the dinner party) invited us to tour his copper-works and shop in the nearby Santa Clara. He even took the 30 minute drive to come pick us up. We got the tour of the shop, a chance to hammer red-hot copper, and marveled at the incredible craftsmanship. We definitely ended up taking home more copper art than we intended to for friends and loved ones.

As I mentioned, we’re still chased by IRS even in Mexico. We attempted to file for an extension with the help of my family in Austin. Regrettably, we’re missing one W2 and that throws everything off-balance. It’s a tricky thing trying to get your life in order when your life is in a storage unit and you’re isolated on a farm in the middle of the forest. The internet here is quite slow, and often doesn’t work at all. Our phones are unable to get reception. Nevertheless, taxes are inevitable and we’ll need to find some way to appease Uncle Sam.

All this thinking about taxes eventually led me to think about the other inevitable thing. And, interestingly enough, death seems to be a little less inevitable here than we had thought! Upon our arrival here, I immediately began work on a smokehouse. The plan was that Bertie would be going to that green pasture in the sky two weeks later. Well, that date has come and gone, yet Bertie’s still here eating and eating! Remember that duck rodeo two weeks back? The day after the rodeo the ducks were scheduled to be shipped off to slaughter. But if I go check the stall, I’ll definitely see 12 bored, blank duck faces staring right back at me. It’s kind of funny, really. If I had to guess, I would’ve thought it would be harder to get a new lease on life than to get a tax extension. Shows what I know.

(See if you can find little Peepers running with the flock above.)

Until our final Mexican update, take care, enjoy the spring sunshine (or snow) and finish filing those taxes!

Love,
Philip

The Rural Life

This week started off with style. That’s right… duck rodeo!

Sunday morning we headed down to the corral with Lisa, Corinne, and Ariel. We then attempted to catch all 51 ducks and geese without injuring them. It started out easily enough. Julia managed to catch six ducks, and so did Arial. But then they started to suspect that something was up. They started running and fighting harder if you touched them. They got faster, worked as a group, and darted between the bamboos for cover. With their sharp talons, beating wings, and pecking beaks, soon I was the only one that could keep a hold of them. Corinne banded them, Ariel was “secretary” with a pad to record the info, Lisa sexed them (resulting in a face full of goose poop on one occasion) and Julia and I wrangled them. We eventually got a system down – Julia would back them into a corner and edge closer until their only route of escape was right past me. Crouched low, I waited until they got desperate enough, then lunged at them like a fumbled football. I landed in mud, barbed wire, and bamboo on many occasions. About 15 male ducks got put in a separate pen for slaughter later in the week, and the rest got set free. It took almost three hours, and by the time we were done, we’d about called it quits for the day. After all that crouching and diving my legs were wobbly for days.

The days speed by to the sound of birds warbling and wind in the pine trees. We only get one day off a week from work, with the rest spent entirely on the grounds. In Nayarit our days were not as full, and we got more time off. Hence, it feels like Nayarit was more of a “Mexico” experience, while Michoacan is more of a “farming” experience. We’re doing a lot more and learning a lot more in the way of farming, yet we’re almost completely cut off from the local Mexican culture. I see it as a great counterbalance to our farm last month, and I’m grateful for both opportunities. There seems to always be a pot of fresh coffee or tea for the taking. If you need a moment of rest you can just grab a warm cup of your favorite drink, and plop down with one of the dogs on the couch. Even better, Lisa usually has one of her 400+ DVD’s playing in the background, so it’s great for a quick refresher.

We have a terrific group here, and we all enjoy spending time together. Whether it be watching a movie over popcorn on our laptop, or sifting through rotted vegetables, there’s always a good vibe in the air. We’ve all kind of fallen into our specified roles. Kim is the leader and manager (designated by Lisa and Ian because she’s here for 5 months), Julia is the clutter-organizer and cook (though she enjoys helping me outside sometimes). I’m the only male WWOOFer here, so I plan and execute the heavier projects. Anna, seeking to defy gender roles, likes to help me with the more physically demanding tasks (and she’s bean-thin, so it’s funny having the two scrawniest WWOOFers being the muscle on the ranch). Corinne and Ariel, having studied permaculture back home, can usually be found working in the vegetable gardens or the green houses. “Picking Day” supersedes all other tasks, as we prepare the large orders of vegetables for restaurants or hotels when they order them.

Julia loves cooking for the group, and has received Lisa’s blessing to do so. She’s cooked us a beautiful frittata, savory curry (the powder made from scratch!), and delicious desserts. When she’s not doing that, she loves to work with the animals, especially the newborns. While she’s busy in the kitchen or the corral, I’m usually outside getting dirty. Earlier this week, I undertook a project to build a smokehouse for smoking…..Bertie. Working alone from a hand-drawn diagram, I dug a huge fire pit underground connected to a twelve-foot diagonal chimney. The chimney, constructed of crimped 5 lb. aluminum cans, lays underground at a slope of about 1/10. At the other end of a chimney, I dug another similar pit, ringed it with a 2-foot tall wall of bricks, and placed a huge barrel on top. I finished by covering the wall and the bottom of the barrel with dirt (so no smoke will escape) about 3 feet high, compacting it, and assembling a staircase of concrete at the base. The idea is that it will get all the smoke from the fire, but very little of the heat. Anna and I have taken several excursions into the forest to haul immense 100-300 lb. tree trunks up from the ravine, and then process them into firewood. We also have begun the ambitious endeavor of doubling the size of the chicken pen. I put my hard-earned pick axing skills to use again, building long trenches and deep holes. Hauling the massive “posts”, i.e. tree trunks, up the hill by hand was no picnic either.

For a bit of a break to the routine, Lisa and Ian hosted a barbecue on Sunday. There were 16 of us in all, and Julia, Lisa, and I ended up doing all the cooking…and boy did we cook! For over six hours I slaved over mounds of guacamole, bowls of homemade fire-roasted salsa. I butchered, marinated, and grilled three whole chickens, created salad dressings, and flavored focaccia breads. Julia whipped up a gorgeous tray of cookies and lemon bars that had everyone drooling. Around here, even a party means plenty of work. Once everyone had eaten, all six of us WWOOFers headed back into the kitchen for another hour of cleaning while the older folks enjoyed coffee and dessert. It wasn’t a day off, but it was nice to get a break from swinging that pick-axe!

Julia and I love it here. But we’re counting the days until we get to come back to Texas. We miss everyone back home, and I have an inexplicable craving for some American fast food and my own bed. Most of all, we’re eager and excited about beginning our new lives in a new state. Every day as we work we talk about agencies, different states, a new home, and life as struggling artists. We bought our plane tickets, and we’ll be arriving in Houston on the 15th of April. We’ll spend a few days in Texas then immediately depart again to Albuquerque, NM. I for one will miss Mexico immensely, yet I can’t help but feeling we’re going to be taking a bit of this land back with us. Julia’s sense of adventure and daring has really blossomed during our time here. We’ve both gotten fitter, stronger, and more lighthearted. I believe we’ll be surprised how much more energy we have than we did 3 months ago, when all we had to do is sit and stand all day. We’ve made some terrific friendships, learned to love a culture, and learned new languages (the Spanish language, the language of bartering, the language of Mexican streets, and most of all the language of compromise). Today we’re in Uruapan enjoying our day off, and then tomorrow it’s back to farm life. We’re looking forward to tomorrow evening, when some guests at the party promised to take us on an excursion. They’re the oldest copper-working family in the region, and they’ll be taking all six of us to their smithy.

Until next week, we miss and love every one of you reading this,
Philip