i DROVE a tractor!

we woke up this morning and were outside by 6ish, as usual. jesus took today off because he went rafting, so ivan had to milk the goats instead. we began the day by hanging out with ivan and helping him with the goats. he really didn't need our help, so we mostly observed and played with the goaties. they were very friendly this morning so we did lots of petting. many of the goats got very close to my face, which was a rather funny feeling, and several licked my sunglasses. i feel the goats and i have reached a new level of intimacy.

perhaps the funniest part of the morning was when ivan was finished milking and putting the goats back out into their pasture. the goats have gotten used to jesus, as he milks them twice a day, and so i think they were acting a little frisky with ivan and testing limits a little. one of the goats reached its long neck up and somehow grabbed a hold of ivan's straw hat (ivan is over 6 feet tall, by the way), and began gnawing on it. ivan tried to grab it back but it was too late; there was already a huge bite torn out of it. absolutely hilarious.

the one goat i like a lot is named brownie. she's very laid back and is what i imagine a buddha would be like. whereas some goats are jumpy and wild, brownie is very calm and serene. the photo you see here of me and a goat head is me and brownie's head.

the other photo is of me and a nameless goat. she is very pretty and looks a lot like a deer (as most goats do). i wonder if they're related somehow.

after the milking and hat-eating, emily and i were off to snip oregano. we did this for the remainder of the day. it started out as really cool out, but then got progressively warmer and more humid. by noon, we were ready to be done for the day. since we only work till noon on saturdays, it was perfect timing.

so we came in and relaxed. john swirled in later and told us that he was going to show us how to drive a tractor, and i was super excited. we geared up and he told us that we would be rototilling some new beds for planting. i can't explain how complex the inside of a tractor is. there's a clutch, two brake pedals, a wheel, both a gas pedal and a hand gas pedal, two separate gear shifters, and four controllers for the rototiller attachment. oh my! just looking at it is intimidating. but after watching john a couple of times, i managed to learn relatively quickly. its really satisfying to drive up and down the rows as the machine tills new soil for planting. i remember a couple of years ago, when i was trying to do this in my backyard to plant just a few tomatoes and some basil, i had to use a hand-held rototiller that took out about 8 inches at a time. it took us forever to till just 15 square feet!

so anyway, i guess its official: i'm a real country farm girl now. never in my life did i think i would actually drive a tractor, but today - june 28, 2008 - it happened. what could be next?