'Tis Finally Summer!

Tuesday night market!

Ohhhh, where to even begin! Life has gotten the best of me the past few weeks, but I suppose that's not something to be sorry for. A full life is a good life, especially when filled with sunny days, lots of laughs, fulfilling work, and a fair amount of play time. Strike that balance!

Learning how to roto-till

With the recent passing of the summer solstice, things are finally in full swing at GVB...and by full swing, I mean 14hr (not a typo) harvest days, where the day only BEGINS with the snipping of 130lbs of lettuce mix. Yeah. We like our greens around here, and so do all of the restaurants, farmer's markets, and CSA members. And when not busting ass on actual harvest days (we essentially harvest four days a week, but Mondays and Thursdays are the big ones), there's still plenty to keep us all busy and working for 10-11hrs on average (some last minute transplanting, tilling, irrigating, seeding...). 

Family Farm Friday - volunteering

Driving the tractor

Sadly, the weeds have taken over most of our beds due to lack of man-power recently, thanks to the "GVB Plague" took us all out, one by one, over the course of two weeks, rendering fewer hands in the field and a lot of things being re-prioritized and pushed further down the to-do list. The plague started with Zachary, Matt and Jacy's 5yr old - upset stomach and bowels (you get the picture), and subsequently knocked us all out slowly but surely. I thought I'd escaped the exposure because the day that Zachary fell ill, I left for a weekend rendezvous in Jackson, WY (more on that later)....but alas, that wasn't the case, and later the following week, I was the final victim. But I'll take a little upset stomach any day over Dean's encounter with Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever...dear God, what a horrible thing! Dean fell sick the same day that Zachary did, so we all just chocked it up to the same stomach virus. But after 6 days with a fever, he was admitted to the hospital for several days until he was finally diagnosed with RMSF.

CSA veggie assembly line 

Nearly 3 weeks later, he's still feeling the affects and has yet to determine whether he'll be able to stick out the summer at the farm, but we're all pulling for him. So yeah, as you might imagine, weeds have been the least of our concern (for now), as we're more or less just treading water to keep our heads afloat amid the growing demands of our harvest with a small crew. The for-hire ads have definitely been posted, as things are just starting to get crazy busy! 

Beer-thirty.

But despite the seemingly crazy atmosphere just depicted, it's actually felt quite the contrary. The days are long (and ever-warmer and buggier...damn mosquitos!), but the songbirds continue to chirp their lovely tunes, the wind continues to grace us with her cool breeze, the kitchen aromas continue to stimulate all of our senses, the view continues to take my breath away, the company I keep continues to provide entertainment, humility and laughter, and the occasional cold beer at the end of sed long day, in addition to all of the aforementioned little pleasures, makes it all feel worth it and do-able, day after day. This place seriously rocks :)

After-work boulder sesh

And speaking of rocks, the pleasantries of farm life have been further enhanced by a handful of climbing outings. From the occasional after-work boulder sesh (sadly, this is becoming less and less frequent due to the long days), to Sunday-Fundays at one of the local crags with a few new friends, to a couple of trips down to Jackson Hole for weekend adventures, it's been a good couple of weeks for finger crimps and toe jams. I managed my first lead since moving to MT on an easy 5.8 at Bear Canyon...I'm definitely still feeling the headiness of climbing above protection, but it was a victory not just in that sense but also because I was climbing with people I'd just met and had to trust as my belay(ers). Little victories!

Boiling springs at Yellowstone

Then, there was a weekend trip to Jackson...twice. The first was a three-day rendezvous to meet up with a few of my Steamboat favs. The plan was to climb and backpack over the course of three days; however, Laraine's first lead-fall-turned-whipper at the end of day one resulted in a gnarly swollen ankle...so we remedied this unfortunate situation (after passing a hefty bottle of Jack around the campfire) with a family-style "roadtrip" to Yellowstone, which turned out to be a pretty sweet Plan B seeing as most of us (myself included) had never been to the Park. 

Men & Fire

Cramming 6 people into a huge red truck ('Merica!!!!), we got up close and personal with good 'Ole Faithful, snapped a few pictures of the roaming bison, tailgated in semi-frigid conditions near one of the bubbling pool pull-offs, took in the sweeping views, played an endless game of "Anal Fiesta" (take the name of the car camper or RV in front of you and put the word anal in front of it...try it...it's hilarious), and enjoyed the company of friends reunited from far and wide. 

Laraine on lead 

Two weeks later, it was back to Jackson for some legit brother-sister climb time. With Graham living in Salt Lake for a summer internship, Jackson was essentially a mid-point for us both. I hadn't seen him since Christmas, and we hadn't climbed together since last summer when he visited me in Steamboat. Needless to say, I was pumped (pun intended) to see him! We snagged an awesome campsite along the river at Hoback Campground, which is situated just a few miles north of The Shield, a popular climbing area (and the same place I'd climbed with my Steamboat gang a few weeks prior). 

Siblings re-united:)

We climbed both days at two different spots, but the heat kept us off the rock by 2pm...97 degrees literally burns the rubber on your feet and doesn't make for very fun climbing. Thankfully, the river, cold beers, home-brewed kombucha, cribbage, delicious camp meals, an evening hike, ice cream and ample conversation provided a welcomed respite from the hot sun and it was an incredibly enjoyable weekend all around. 

Chillaxin' on the farm

There's likely plenty more that I'm forgetting to share, but that's what happens when I let three weeks lapse in blogging. Woops! Blame it on the lack of internet in the Red Dale...probably my only qualm with my living situation right now (that, and the occasional mouse). Not exactly the worst problem to have - something I'm thankful for on a daily basis.

So on that note, may you all be blessed with menial annoyances and not actual problems, may you enjoy as many local flavors that summer has to offer, and may you continue to live happy, healthy and productive lives. I'll be sure to update you on mine again soon(-ish)!

Love to you all, Britni

Walking back to the Red Dale at dusk.