will work for food

prior to arriving at the appelfabriken, i was sure that during our wwoofing experience, alex and i would certainly shed a few pounds. this doesn't seem to be the case yet, as we literally are always working for food. and it's not just any food. it's decadent and delicious, and non-stop with desserts, cheese, and lots and lots of butter and bread. but, besides the whole belly thing, i think it's really great - this working for the simple, yet necessary and happy thing - food. because after a long (well, it's not really long, only 6 hours) day, there's nothing like sitting down for a cake break in the kafe. and somehow, it's better than that old bi-weekly paycheck (at least while the savings account is still in okay shape).

but before there's food, there's "work". and today we had our hands in earthworm-rich dirt, pulling weeds and on the constant prowl for slugs. weeds are funny things. they are unwanted by some, because they intrude on other plant's ground and make a controlled garden seem overgrown and imperfect. i have a bit of a different outlook.

some "weeds", like dandelion, do indeed grow like weeds in this area (the picture from yesterday makes that obvious). but i can't help but feel bad as i rip up roots of plants, just because they wandered over into a bed of mint. and i especially feel bad because i know how pricey some green things sell for in new york farmer's markets - green things like dandelion, which i happened to buy last summer. so, what's come out of today's weeding is that when i have my own garden i'm going to make it "wild". and let weeds be what they really should be called - plants. i'll embrace them. i'll eat them. and i'll let them travel to lands frequented by others. i also happen to like that aesthetic better anyhow - a mish mash of greeness. it leaves you more to discover...

but, until i have my own garden, i'll pull weeds and put them in the compost for the worms to enjoy.

pictured: me yanking on a dandelion // the harvest // alex gets down to the root of weeds

and the reward of seeing your fully weeded garden is complemented by the kafe's leftovers - yummy sweet treats.

pictured: our plates // my favorite treat

another reward today was seeing the shelves alex and i sawed/installed being used in full. they looked pretty nice, but it really hadn't anything to do with what we did. they look good because big oak trees make nice wood, and wood looks best when it isn't trimmed square on all sides so the bark can be exposed and appreciated.

pictured: shelf #1 behind the table - plus check out those baseboards! // shelf #2