Moving Day

Today is moving day.

The transitions have come fast and furious.  I put my house on the market in May...it sold with dizzying speed.  Which meant that I had to move out in June and sublet an apartment for the summer.

I left my heart on Stanford Street

My sweet cat Samantha died in June.  I adopted her the week I started medical school sixteen years ago, and she had been my constant companion all through my training and into practice.  Interesting that she chose to leave at this time in my life!  Almost as if she felt that her task of taking care of me through all these doctorin' years was complete. Boy I miss her and her lovely, loyal, sometimes cantankerous nature.

Thursday was my last day of work.  I didn't think I would cry, but I walked into my office to find my desk completely covered with gifts and cards, and the waterworks commenced.

And Holyoke!  I've made some amazing friends there.  It's a place that I've fallen in love with, and I'll miss it dearly.

So today I head off to my new diggs in Athol.  I don't know a soul there, but I know that I soon will.  New challenges...new experiences...vámanos!

Farming 101

Pinch me.  Am I really doing this?  Am I really leaving my medical practice for an organic farming apprenticeship?  Yes.  Do I know what I'm getting myself into?  Sort of.  Am I having any second thoughts?  Nope.

How, might you ask, am I preparing for farm life?   I have a summer reading list: "The Dirty Life" by Kristin Kimball; "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" by Barbara Kingsolver; and "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan.  And a whole list of resources that people have been enthusiastically providing me since I announced my intentions.  Plus a pair of wellies.  All of this should adequately prepare me for the farm, right?  Right.

When I say "Farming 101" I am not kidding.  The extent of my farming experience consists of raised beds of tomatoes, herbs and wildflowers in my backyard in the 'burbs of Holyoke:

My biggest worry, of all things, is being cold.  I don't like being cold.  But, I take solace in the words of a friend: "There's no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing."  I intend to take this piece of information to heart and buy out the fleece-lined outerwear inventory at the Duluth Trading Company.  Oh, and I admit that I'm a little anxious about chopping wood.  My brother tried to teach me to use an axe last year.  I timidly brought it down on a piece of firewood, only to have it bounce off and hit me in the shin.  Never fear, I wasn't maimed, just bruised and a tad embarrassed.

Here we go!

The Farm School: http://www.farmschool.org/index.html