Track 14: Incahoots

People everywhere, I am in heaven. I'm sitting in a booth at Incahoots, a very fine establishment in the booming metropolis of Plymouth, CA (population...um, really small), eating seasoned french fries and drinking beer. Seriously, heaven. This is way better than sitting in my car in front of the post office. Thank you, mysterious internet provider, thank you.

Okay, so...updates. The weather is gor-gee-ous. High 70's, low 80's, sunny, glorious. It wasn't this way last week, mind you, but it's definitely happening this week. Nights are way more comfortable, and because it's almost full moon, I can walk to my trailer without using a flashlight!

We've pulled a lot of weeds and dead plants, planted a LOT of garlic, harvested a lot of arugula, and have been eating a lot lot LOT of tomatoes (my stomach does not like this, but my tastebuds do). Lunch yesterday consisted of tomato-basil-feta sandwiches. Also yesterday, we built a metal roof over part of the chicken yard. It reminded me of Habitat, in that I got to say things like "joist hanger" and "24 inches on center". Today we dug up some very stubborn artichoke plants. The soil around here is clay -- very hard, full of rocks -- and by the time we were done, I was about ready to throw my shovel as far as I could. Which would have been 2 feet.

Last Friday, we drove into Sacramento to see a documentary film about the protection, theft, and destruction of works of art during WWII (it's called The Rape of Europa, and it was very interesting). I didn't get to see much of Sacramento, but before we left, we made a stop to see Mr. Winko, the One Man Band in his Acoustic Sanctuary (www.acousticsanctuary.com -- check it out!). I'm excited to go back to Sac (as they call it around here) on Sunday to see Jake and Debbie, fresh from their Yosemite honeymoon.

Also, next week I get to hang out with Delite, a fellow former Habit-eer and fellow organic volunteer down in Ceres. She's coming up to Fiddletown to see little ol' me. I think we'll take a tour of all the cute little gold rush towns around here. I've driven through a bunch, but I haven't had time to stop and walk around. I will take photos for sure.

Oh, and I've forgotten to mention that I'm out of cell phone range at the ranch. I get service in Plymouth, though, and I have a calling card as well.

A Bedbug Update: After collecting several bedbug bites over the course of last week, I got fed up (and really really creeped out). I took all my clothing, bedding, sleeping bag, etc. to the laundromat on Sunday and washed it all. So, hopefully that's the end of The Bedbug Saga. Keep your fingers crossed.

We also went to a couple of wineries on Saturday for some winetasting. I've confirmed my dislike of Chardonnays and discovered Vignonier, another white that is waaaaay yummy.

I've enjoyed getting e-mails from everyone (I will admit, I've been a bit homesick -- did I mention that in an earlier post?), although I apologize for the slooooooow response time. I hope everyone had a great time at the Pig Roast (did anyone have a tuna melt at Plum's for me?). I miss my peeps! But this experience has been very eye-opening, and I'm trying to make the most of every day. Stay tuned for more Fiddletown epiphanies...