Thanks to Martha Archer for the great photos
by Andy (and Martha and Yonci)
On Saturday January 29th, a whole collection of Junior High students and parent chaperones descended upon the Land School. Donna and I have been on vacation for the month of January, and this was a great way to welcome us back into the swing of things. All of the Mexican exchange students came, along with their hosts from the Junior High and many of the host parents. It was a lovely time.
After a long string of cold weather, that Saturday was actually warm, which was good because we would be outside all day. The students arrived in the morning and got settled in and had lunch. After lunch we took the students out for Stewardship Work. Some cleaned out the llama pen and some worked on the Chicken Coop. Others stayed at the Homestead and did projects there. My groups were working on the coop and the pen. The problem was that the snow was too deep to run the wheel barrows back and forth to the compost piles. Never fear! By piling the bedding on tarps and dragging the tarps across the snow, we were able to clear a significant amount of poo. The improvement of the animals’ environments was noticeable, and there was general feeling of accomplishment. After work, the students divided up for outdoor activities. Some brave students went to the sledding hill. Others stayed close to the Homestead and played football and a game simply known as “tackle.” These games relied heavily on the massive cushion that the deep snow provided.
It was fun to be here with the Mexican students during the winter. They don’t have snow in Cuernavaca and the exchange students seemed to take incredible delight in the snow. We all know that this winter is special and we have not had this much snow in many years, but for them to arrive during this period of waist-deep snow was just perfect timing. Sort of like us going to Central America and seeing a dormant volcano go off.
After outdoor play, everyone piled into the homestead to play foosball, ping pong, and board games. Dinner was a homemade pizza party, hosted by the Tofflers in honor Jacob’s birthday. Good stuff. The evening brought a movie and a sauna and lots of good social time. Sunday morning we had a pancake feast and cleaned up the Homestead in time for everyone to leave before noon. Thanks everyone!
An additional note from Martha Archer:
Thanks to all the chaperones, Andy & Donna for carving out time in their vacations to host us, the Tofflers for a great party Saturday night, Katy for leading the lights-out campaign & all who assisted with carpools & donated food!
It was a great weekend. The kids worked hard, played hard & slept well! I enjoyed spending the weekend with all of your wonderful kids. I especially took delight in seeing our kids doing farm and kitchen chores with such pride and as one child said 'a sense of duty!' We are so fortunate to have this wonderful place for our kids to live, work and play, and such a wonderful team of guides and role models in Andy, Donna and Katy! Thank you!!
Additional Note by Yonci;
Operation Bienvenidos
And then there were many: Kids, parents, and our guests from Cuernavaca, Mexico. We were here to celebrate our guests, and give them a taste of farm life. Our day started with a great lunch of chili, squash soup, and various sandwich items. We all had a great time learning new words in Spanish, and conversing with one another. Then we started on the work. A group of us went to clean out the sauna, which we would later use that night. Another group helped to prep the kitchen for dinner, and the rest of us went on to do the dirty work. We split in half, so one group piled llama poop onto a tarp and pulled it to the compost and back, while the other piled chicken bedding, and did the same thing. This lasted at least two hours, with various complaints about “my aching back” and such. When the last tarp of llama feces and chicken bedding was pulled, we headed back for fun and games, but not before a hot cup of cocoa. We enjoyed a game called “Tackle.” Basically, you just tackle people at your own leisure. (Note that this is a good way to get revenge without actually hurting someone). We then came in to the homestead and enjoyed homemade pizza and some red-pepper salad. After that, the first group of girls started to go to the sauna. Boy, were we in for a surprise! When we got there, a few of us decided to roll in the snow right when we got there. And, then, when we got into the sauna, we realized that it was colder than the homestead itself! We trudged home in bikinis, disappointed and cold. But, we got it fixed up pretty soon, so when the boys were done, we got to have another go. We settled down, with a Happy Birthday to our dear friend Jacob, who was turning fourteen, and then snuggled into a well-earned rest.
Additional Note by Yonci;
Operation Bienvenidos
And then there were many: Kids, parents, and our guests from Cuernavaca, Mexico. We were here to celebrate our guests, and give them a taste of farm life. Our day started with a great lunch of chili, squash soup, and various sandwich items. We all had a great time learning new words in Spanish, and conversing with one another. Then we started on the work. A group of us went to clean out the sauna, which we would later use that night. Another group helped to prep the kitchen for dinner, and the rest of us went on to do the dirty work. We split in half, so one group piled llama poop onto a tarp and pulled it to the compost and back, while the other piled chicken bedding, and did the same thing. This lasted at least two hours, with various complaints about “my aching back” and such. When the last tarp of llama feces and chicken bedding was pulled, we headed back for fun and games, but not before a hot cup of cocoa. We enjoyed a game called “Tackle.” Basically, you just tackle people at your own leisure. (Note that this is a good way to get revenge without actually hurting someone). We then came in to the homestead and enjoyed homemade pizza and some red-pepper salad. After that, the first group of girls started to go to the sauna. Boy, were we in for a surprise! When we got there, a few of us decided to roll in the snow right when we got there. And, then, when we got into the sauna, we realized that it was colder than the homestead itself! We trudged home in bikinis, disappointed and cold. But, we got it fixed up pretty soon, so when the boys were done, we got to have another go. We settled down, with a Happy Birthday to our dear friend Jacob, who was turning fourteen, and then snuggled into a well-earned rest.
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