“It’s been a while since we last communicated, to be honest I had been having trouble sleeping, given the changes that I went through, to settle in a different environment, new faces, with a totally different scenario which might have been a bit overwhelming at first until I started settling in.
Now that I am getting accustomed to this new environment, it seems as if such thoughts are no longer burdening me. Maybe it could be because of the new routine since it is being cut short by those gluttonous little creatures, which indeed might be annoying at times, but at least when the night comes, I am too exhausted to think about anything other than the bed.
Honestly, I am quite surprised how animals in general wake up so early. They start clucking before dawn, and the noises keep on increasing till well, everyone is awake. I do have to say though that I was very surprised when I found out how different their personalities, but they surely do have one thing in common, when it comes to food, there is not much to reason with.
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There is always a sense of communication with the animals, however one must somewhat respect their privacy, given that some might be a bit aggressive and can’t be reasoned with, but at least the process of picking up the eggs and clean their manure is quite straight forward, when not disturbed.
It could be because of my affection for birds in general that I might be showing more appreciation towards the concept of this farming programme, given that sometimes I would rather spend a day with these creatures than with the rest of the community.
There are certain moments however where I just want to isolate myself, I find it quite relaxing sitting by the ditch next to my apartment, looking at the water that separates farms. Nevertheless, I am neither saying that I would rather be alone than surrounded by others.
I quite like the company, even if I don’t necessarily feel like conversing with the rest, I do tend to join them in the common area, and even if I don’t feel like talking, I tend to situate myself close to them, at the same time, there is always going to be a chicken here or there passing by.
Even so, there are some occasions where we tend to host small gatherings between us, which gives me the opportunity to actually get out of my comfort zone. In fact, last weekend my neighbours hosted a barbecue on their terrace and even though it was their idea, everyone else wanted to help out.
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Here you can realise how certain individuals take different stands, while some excel at one thing others are good at another. It was during one of these occasions that I started getting along well with one of the members, given that we seem to have similar beliefs and several things in common, which I believe it to be quite a progress. Nonetheless such common things do not include the love for birds, after all, I do think that I am one of the few members within this community that shows this amount of affection towards chickens.
Having said so, some members prefer doing the walking chores where they walk the flock across the path, to scratch through the soil of other farms whilst fertilising it until they reach the other end of the path where the other community is waiting for the chicken to arrive at their farm for the same process. In the meantime the members like to spend time with the horses and goats that are situated in that farm.
I find it quite intriguing how this community’s programme promotes free range . I believe that such principle allows for my personality to become more open and in a way adventurous since I have to take more responsabilities and somewhat interact even more with the rest.
As might be expected, this fertilising procedure however depends on the seasons, according to which crops are to be harvested at a particular period, where the farmer who was the initial owner and now still lives close by helps us to manage the crops. Here according to the seasons, the movement between the two farms changes, whereas in the previous case, the chickens go across the other farm, in other cases, the horses come by instead.
It’s interesting how the selection of crops seeded and harvested determine the changes in movement. It makes me think about an order that is created within the farms, determined by a constant variable where everything is dependent on it, the season. Which becomes a perpetual cycle that is in harmony with the order in nature, and where the programme of this community relies upon.
I also noticed that such order is also found in the countryside, were through simple observations, I realised that some scenarios which might be regarded as disorganised, still have got a certain reasoning behind which is represented by this unusual order.
Now that I’m writing, I realise why this farm house was programmed in this way. It is as if it starts small, whit a small circle of people, and this circle expands as it goes further. Somewhat becomes a form of preparation to deal with other individuals mainly through the use of the Shop.
Having different systems applied in the farm creates versatility which somewhat makes living in these farms interesting. Nonetheless, I am also starting to feel the satisfaction and appreciation acquired from the sale of the products that I am technically forming part of and where to me at least is the next stepping stone into becoming more comfortable in communicating with the rest of the village.”