Our last blog post on Connor and Claire Live on the Prairie was in September
of 2015 before our wedding in Illinois.
We had finished our home’s exterior and a fair majority of the interior,
our garden was starting to wane after a summer of bountiful harvest, and our
jobs had come to an end. We had made
money by planting trees and monitoring wetland easements for the Conservation
District in Clark County. The tiny home had cost us a little under $5000 to
build and we did not have enough money for a trailer, so the home sits waiting
patiently for us on the South Dakota prairie.
After a month long honeymoon across the country, we moved to Avon,
Colorado and became ski lift operators at Beaver Creek. The winter was spent learning how to ski,
snowshoe, and navigate the mountains. As
lift operators we were on the mountain seven days a week. Our days off were spent skiing with friends,
exploring the snowshoe trails in McCoy Park, and obviously cooking and
baking. A good dent was put in the
enormous mountain of dried beans our Aunt Amy gave us, crockpot meals became
common once again, and many loaves of John Fischer's foolproof bread were baked.
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| Our wedding at the Morton Arboretum |
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| Operating Lift 8 at Beaver Creek Ski Resort |
We had
fallen in love with growing plants the previous summer and wanted to try our
hand at organic farming. After searching
and applying to a number of farms we accepted internships at Rain Crow Farm in
Paonia, Colorado. Beneath the watchful gaze of the West Elk Mountains and nestled in the North Fork of the Gunnison River valley, Paonia flourishes in its agriculture. The land is scattered with apple, peach, and pear orchards, organic farms, and
ranches. Rain Crow Farm is located about
a mile outside of downtown Paonia and is run by Kerry and her husband
Jason. Kerry, having farmed for most of her life in different places around the country, has a rich background in growing food, while Jason is an ornithologist for the Bird Conservation of the Rockies. Both have been farming at Rain Crow since 2005. They farm about four acres
of land but grow an incredibly diverse amount of plants and use their
space wisely. Within the farm are five greenhouses, three outdoor fields, goats, chickens and a bee hive. The farm
specializes in salad greens, cooking greens, and cut flowers, but also grows a wide variety of vegetables and herbs. The namesake of the the farm is the Yellow-billed Cuckoo (the Rain Crow), which inhabits the area. The acres that aren't being farmed contain willow and cottonwood groves for bird and insect habitat, and a lush riparian zone along the Gunnison River.
We now live in an octagon cabin on the back corner of
the farm. The cabin is nestled in a
grove of cottonwoods along the Gunnison River. A goat pasture and five greenhouses separate us from Kerry and Jason’s
home and farm, giving us complete privacy (except occasionally from the goats!) The cabin is small but cozy and uses space efficiently. It hosts a loveseat, a dresser, a table, a
propane stove, a decent sized kitchen, a wood burning stove, and a loft. A wooden porch wraps around half the cabin
housing our composting toilet, solar shower, hammocks and armchairs. After dreaming of off grid living we finally have it! A small solar panel charges a car battery
which powers two lights in the cabin, and on cloudy days we have lanterns and candles; other than that there is no
electricity. Electrical outlets,
refrigeration, and water all come from the barn, and internet comes from Kerry and Jason's porch or in town. It’s a short walk over a bridge and around
the goat pasture, and we use a wagon for hauling heavy loads. After a long day of working on the farm we
retire to our cabin, and the work continues. Water must be fetched, an outdoor (sometimes chillingly cold) shower is
taken, a fire is stoked and food is prepared. It adds work and occasionally stress to our
evening but it is gratifying and comforting to know that our first world
comforts do not come easily. We fall
asleep to the sound of rushing water and wake to a chorus of song birds and
frogs. The natural world surrounds use
constantly and brings peace to our minds.
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| Our cabin! |
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| The cabin's interior, Connor at the propane stove. |
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| Three of Rain Crow's five greenhouses, alongside an irrigation ditch |
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Goat pasture
Rain Crow Farm in the Early Spring
Every day on the farm is unique in its rhythm and tasks, but
at this time of year we can be sure to find ourselves in the prop house bumping
up baby tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, chards, and tiny clusters of herbs into larger
cells. These plants were all seeded back in February and March. In the
propagation house baby plants are aided by a propane heater and constant
moisture until they are large enough to be transplanted into a greenhouse or
outdoor field. In the evenings Claire and Kerry frequently end up back here to
plant tiny flower and grass seeds (often accompanied by a beer!) The tasks to complete on the farm never end, and the days pass in "Paonia Time" - so fast that we're left wondering where the day went!
In the other greenhouses we weed, transplant cabbages, choi, chards, herbs, and flowers, and fork through tangled jungles of undesirable bindwind and thistle. Outside, we've been prepping beds for planting by scattering mulch and tilling, and direct seeding spinach, radishes, peas, turnips, and herbs. |
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| Kerry and Claire bumping seedlings in the prop house |
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| Red Chard in the prop house |
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| Forking beds for transplanting cabbage amongst some overwintered kale |
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| Early plantings of salad greens, some transplants, and overwintered flowers |
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| Maximizing on space - peas and radishes planted between greenhouses |
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| In one of the fields: garlic, spinach, peas, radishes and more |
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| Trellising peas, with turnips and radishes bordering them. More early plantings of salad greens. |
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| Claire transplants herbs: thyme, oregano, mint, lemon balm, and chives |
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| Spreading mulch onto a field |
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| Tilling a mulched field |
In the beginning of April a fifth greenhouse joined the others, a new rolling greenhouse called the gypsy tunnel that we assisted in securing the plastic sheeting around. Inside, new beds were tilled (by tractor and by hand), raked, seeded with salad greens and radishes, and dug to hold red and green chard transplants.
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| Jason and Connor secure plastic onto the greenhouse frame with wire |
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| Transplanting chard into the new tunnel |
During most of April and in previous months all five greenhouses and two outdoor fields were watered daily using one hose. Moving one hose to all these locations usually took 8-10 hours every day! Everyone was thrilled when it was time for Jason and Connor to burn out the irrigation ditch and watch as precious water flowed freely through the channels that supply Rain Crow.
One rainy morning we watched one of the goats give birth to twins, a surreal experience in that neither of us had ever witnessed anything being born before! In 30 minutes the two babies were licked dry by their mom and were hobbling around on shaky legs in the barn. Within a week the rest of the goats had given birth as well, with one goat carrying triplets! Birthing goats are much like people in that some bellow their pain while others carry on quietly, completely focused on the task.
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| Twyla with a day-old goat |
On some days we harvest, filling out small orders for the community. Spinach, nettle, salad greens, cooking greens, choi, radishes, turnips, potatoes, onions, carrots, chives and flowers make up the bulk of an early spring harvest, as well as eggs and Jason's chevre cheese made from goats milk. These foods also make up the bulk of our current diet!
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| Spinach harvest |
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| Washing salad greens and spinach |
We are so happy to be in this beautiful place with Kerry, Jason, and their family, learning about food and farming and exploring the rich (and active!) community.
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| Connor in the tulips |
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| Horses and a Rainbow |
