Thursday, July 19, 2007
Hitchin' to Dawson,etc.
I'll be out of touch for just over a week (most likely)... we're hitching to Dawson City for their music festival (www.dcmf.com)! Then we're "somehow" going to get to Inuvik, NWT to visit with my cousin for a few days before "somehow" getting home. Should be quite an adventure, I hope to have content for an interesting post or two when I return :)
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Thank God I'm a Country Boy
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So what's a day like on the farm here? Well, I generally get up pretty late, everything's on Yukon summer time here, so sometime around 9 or 9:30 I roll out of bed. There's a set of chores to do every morning and evening, which is basically feeding the animals. We mix up the pig feed with water or weigh and feed the pigs. Man are pigs ever appropriately named.
Before and After...
So I wrote this post a while ago, and didn't realize that I hadn't published it. A lot has changed since I wrote it. Like, I'm not working on the farm...
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I think that's the only country song that I know (...is Cash country?), but I find myself singing it almost daily as I'm out in the garden weeding or feeding the animals.
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I think that's the only country song that I know (...is Cash country?), but I find myself singing it almost daily as I'm out in the garden weeding or feeding the animals.
So what's a day like on the farm here? Well, I generally get up pretty late, everything's on Yukon summer time here, so sometime around 9 or 9:30 I roll out of bed. There's a set of chores to do every morning and evening, which is basically feeding the animals. We mix up the pig feed with water or weigh and feed the pigs. Man are pigs ever appropriately named. 
This farm isn't "certified organic," but it is essentially an organic farm. They use no herbicides or pesticides on the garden. The livestock is not fed organic feed (the grains come from a local farm, about 10 minutes away, but that farm uses minimal *icides in their growing). Feeding the livestock a mixture of grains is less cost effective than feeding them corn and soy, but it keeps the animals happy and gives the meat/eggs a different (and more healthy) chemical makeup. The feed is slightly different for each type of animal. For example, the laying hens have ground oyster shells in their feed because the calcium is good for the eggs.
You are what you eat, quite literally. I'm just starting to learn the importance of the input of the meat that we eat, and how it affects us.
You are what you eat, quite literally. I'm just starting to learn the importance of the input of the meat that we eat, and how it affects us.
Yep, so we feed the animals.
In the afternoon we usually weed the garden for a while, take a nap, catch up on emails, and stay out of the direct sun. There's a lot of daylight here, so you're not constantly racing against the clock. I really enjoy the laid back life on the farm here. It's not like you're not doing anything.
Before and After...
Tonight we harvest the garden for the market tomorrow. Unfortunately, I won't be here tomorrow, because I'm hitchhiking to Dawson City for a music festival, and then on up to Inuvik, NWT, to visit my cousin. I'll be out of touch for a while, but the post-return blog entry should be pretty interesting :)
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Using RSS: Get automatic blog updates!
As much as I'm sure you love the distraction from whatever it is you're doing to see if I've posted some new content on the blog, there IS an easier way! RSS! Don't be scared, it's really simple, and I'll explain in detail what RSS is and how to use it. If you don't understand it, it's probably my oversight: please comment and I'll do my best to clarify (or google for somebody who already has :) ).
RSS stands for "Really Simple Syndication". It even has simple in the definition. RSS allows you to get updates from whatever sites you choose (that have RSS 'feeds'), in one central location, which is updated automatically whenever new content is posted to those sites. The Google Reader (more to come on this) tour calls it an "inbox for the web." This makes it ideal for getting blog updates, among other things.
Why would I want this? Well, for one, it will save you time, and what's more important than your time? Let's pretend that the post office didn't exist. To check if you had mail, you'd have to go to everybody's houses that you could possibly get mail from. Not possible. Instead, there's a central place where you go to send and receive mail, the post office. I suppose I could've used a less antiquitous example, like email and your inbox, but it's the same thing. A centralized place where you get information. In the case of RSS, that information is content from the web, that you've asked for.
Now, you can't just have every page on the internet sending information to a central server that you go to and check. You'd spend years just doing through a day's worth of content. Enter RSS. RSS uses what are called "feeds" (or "web feeds") to allow people to get automatic content updates from whatever sites offer them on the web.; for example, this blog (*hint hint*). All you have to do is subscribe to the 'feed' from a particular site, using an RSS client.
RSS clients come in many shapes and sizes. Explaining them in detail is beyond the scope of this blog entry, and has been done countless times (just search for RSS client in google if you want to know about them). I've only ever used one, because I only use it to get updates from a few blogs, and it does exactly what I need it to do. Google reader. It's free, fast, simple to use, and it's google, so it's not going anywhere. I didn't even need to "sign up" to use it, because I already have a google account (which you do too if you use gmail, and tsk tsk if you don't). I just simply went to the site (http://reader.google.com/) and started adding feeds from the sites I wanted to get updates from (ie/ http://jonathanbeer.blogspot.com/). It took me less than 30 seconds to get started. You can do it!
Now, I just go to that site, and I see all of the new content from all of the sites that I'm interested in. Brilliant. Of course, you could go one step further, and use a web portal (customizable home page displaying exactly what I want), so that you can have google.com (where most of us have our homepage set to :)) and the weather, and wikipedia, and google feeder, and your great aunts weaving webpage, or whatever you want, all displayed on the one page. But that's a whole other topic :)
After you start using RSS, you'll never go back.
Hope this helps.
Start today! Sign up for the RSS feed from my blog, so you can always get the latest updated content.
Step by step instructions on getting started with RSS using Google Reader
This 'tutorial' assumes you have a google account (most likely because you use gmail). If not, either sign up for one, or use another client.
RSS stands for "Really Simple Syndication". It even has simple in the definition. RSS allows you to get updates from whatever sites you choose (that have RSS 'feeds'), in one central location, which is updated automatically whenever new content is posted to those sites. The Google Reader (more to come on this) tour calls it an "inbox for the web." This makes it ideal for getting blog updates, among other things.
Why would I want this? Well, for one, it will save you time, and what's more important than your time? Let's pretend that the post office didn't exist. To check if you had mail, you'd have to go to everybody's houses that you could possibly get mail from. Not possible. Instead, there's a central place where you go to send and receive mail, the post office. I suppose I could've used a less antiquitous example, like email and your inbox, but it's the same thing. A centralized place where you get information. In the case of RSS, that information is content from the web, that you've asked for.
Now, you can't just have every page on the internet sending information to a central server that you go to and check. You'd spend years just doing through a day's worth of content. Enter RSS. RSS uses what are called "feeds" (or "web feeds") to allow people to get automatic content updates from whatever sites offer them on the web.; for example, this blog (*hint hint*). All you have to do is subscribe to the 'feed' from a particular site, using an RSS client.
RSS clients come in many shapes and sizes. Explaining them in detail is beyond the scope of this blog entry, and has been done countless times (just search for RSS client in google if you want to know about them). I've only ever used one, because I only use it to get updates from a few blogs, and it does exactly what I need it to do. Google reader. It's free, fast, simple to use, and it's google, so it's not going anywhere. I didn't even need to "sign up" to use it, because I already have a google account (which you do too if you use gmail, and tsk tsk if you don't). I just simply went to the site (http://reader.google.com/) and started adding feeds from the sites I wanted to get updates from (ie/ http://jonathanbeer.blogspot.com/). It took me less than 30 seconds to get started. You can do it!
Now, I just go to that site, and I see all of the new content from all of the sites that I'm interested in. Brilliant. Of course, you could go one step further, and use a web portal (customizable home page displaying exactly what I want), so that you can have google.com (where most of us have our homepage set to :)) and the weather, and wikipedia, and google feeder, and your great aunts weaving webpage, or whatever you want, all displayed on the one page. But that's a whole other topic :)
After you start using RSS, you'll never go back.
Hope this helps.
Start today! Sign up for the RSS feed from my blog, so you can always get the latest updated content.
Step by step instructions on getting started with RSS using Google Reader
This 'tutorial' assumes you have a google account (most likely because you use gmail). If not, either sign up for one, or use another client.
- Go to http://reader.google.com/
- Sign in.
- Click "Add subscription"
- Enter "jonathanbeer.blogspot.com" in the popup window.
That's it. Using RSS for only a single blog isn't that useful, you could just go to the blog whenever you wanted to see if there was new content. RSS starts to save you time when you are checking multiple sources. So, to make this useful, you might want to enter another blog or website that you frequent to check for new information. I entered my sister's blog, http://angebeer.blogspot.com/ to check for new updates there too, as she's always got some crazy new story about her adventure in Indonesia (shameless plug, sure ;)) I simply go to http://reader.google.com/ (which of course I have bookmarked and placed on my google toolbar in Firefox and *shudder* Internet Explorer) and it shows me any new content (and old too!).
Now that you are 'in the know' about RSS, you'll start seeing the RSS feeds and seeing RSS icon on webpages; welcome to a new age of information syndication!
Hope this helps.Sunday, July 15, 2007
How'd I Get Here?
A number of people have asked how I've arrived where I am today.
It all starts with horny parents. Errr, sorry mom & dad.
It all starts with a girl (that's not my mom). Heck ya! Now that's better. Kickin' back PG-13 styles.
There's this girl, a real cutie, who went to the Yukon. Originally my summer plans were to fly to Vancouver and cycle my way home, leisurely, over the course of the summer. Well, as life would have it, a wrench was thrown into the plans when said cutie and I started spending lots of time together. She was going to the Yukon. "The Yukon, eh?" I thought during the 10-day Vipassana mediation retreat I did last month (I'll post a link). "I've never been there. Sounds groovy."
So when I got home, I started looking into volunteer opportunities in and around the Whitehorse area. I wasn't having much luck, so I started to narrow my focus. If I was going to work or volunteer, I wanted to work outside, and close to the earth, close to my food. Farming was the natural choice.
Enter my good friend serendipity! Luck would have it that I stumbled upon an Organic Foods Yukon website, while looking for WWOOFing opportunities in the Yukon (I am not sure where I originally heard of this concept, probably one of my hippy friends). On the site, they had listed a number of farms that participate in the organic farming initiative in the Yukon, but only three had websites listed. So I checked them out. Where I write you from now, based on my very crude estimates using google maps, looked to be at least in the same general direction as the place where said cutie was working. I wrote them an email.
Before I knew what I was going to be doing when I arrived, I'd booked my bus ticket. There's a significant discount ($171 vs $411) if you book 7-days in advance, and a slightly bigger discount if you book 14-days in advance. A few days before I was scheduled to leave, I received an email back from the one and only place that I'd contacted, saying that they'd happily open their home to me for the time that I was in/around Whitehorse.
Since then, I've learned that they were thinking, at about the same time as I was, that they could really use some help. When they came home that night, there was an email, from me, offering help. It's a beautiful life. Manifest what you want.
Of course, there are much more traditional routes also. There's a book that you can buy for approximately $45 (depending on your location) that lists all of the farms that have registered with WWOOF Canada as accepting WOOFers (I'll post a link). I simply didn't have time to go that route, as it takes a few weeks to ship the booklet, or you need to be in a location that you can pick it up (and surprisingly, there wasn't a distribution centre in Madoc). If I had, I wouldn't be here, because this place isn't listed in the book.
Okay, I've spent enough time on the computer for one day. Take care, be happy :)
It all starts with horny parents. Errr, sorry mom & dad.
It all starts with a girl (that's not my mom). Heck ya! Now that's better. Kickin' back PG-13 styles.
There's this girl, a real cutie, who went to the Yukon. Originally my summer plans were to fly to Vancouver and cycle my way home, leisurely, over the course of the summer. Well, as life would have it, a wrench was thrown into the plans when said cutie and I started spending lots of time together. She was going to the Yukon. "The Yukon, eh?" I thought during the 10-day Vipassana mediation retreat I did last month (I'll post a link). "I've never been there. Sounds groovy."
So when I got home, I started looking into volunteer opportunities in and around the Whitehorse area. I wasn't having much luck, so I started to narrow my focus. If I was going to work or volunteer, I wanted to work outside, and close to the earth, close to my food. Farming was the natural choice.
Enter my good friend serendipity! Luck would have it that I stumbled upon an Organic Foods Yukon website, while looking for WWOOFing opportunities in the Yukon (I am not sure where I originally heard of this concept, probably one of my hippy friends). On the site, they had listed a number of farms that participate in the organic farming initiative in the Yukon, but only three had websites listed. So I checked them out. Where I write you from now, based on my very crude estimates using google maps, looked to be at least in the same general direction as the place where said cutie was working. I wrote them an email.
Before I knew what I was going to be doing when I arrived, I'd booked my bus ticket. There's a significant discount ($171 vs $411) if you book 7-days in advance, and a slightly bigger discount if you book 14-days in advance. A few days before I was scheduled to leave, I received an email back from the one and only place that I'd contacted, saying that they'd happily open their home to me for the time that I was in/around Whitehorse.
Since then, I've learned that they were thinking, at about the same time as I was, that they could really use some help. When they came home that night, there was an email, from me, offering help. It's a beautiful life. Manifest what you want.
Of course, there are much more traditional routes also. There's a book that you can buy for approximately $45 (depending on your location) that lists all of the farms that have registered with WWOOF Canada as accepting WOOFers (I'll post a link). I simply didn't have time to go that route, as it takes a few weeks to ship the booklet, or you need to be in a location that you can pick it up (and surprisingly, there wasn't a distribution centre in Madoc). If I had, I wouldn't be here, because this place isn't listed in the book.
Okay, I've spent enough time on the computer for one day. Take care, be happy :)
WWOOFing around Whitehorse
WWOOF = Willing Workers on Organic Farms
WWOOFer = one who WWOOFs.
WWOOFing = Being a WOOFer.
I'm currently WWOOFing about 40 km outside Whitehorse, on a small organic farm owned and operated by a really nice ~40 year old couple. They've opened their home to me for as long as I'm in the Whitehorse area. They have some livestock (6 pigs, 200 meat chickens, 60 laying hens and a rooster, and about 30 turkeys) which I'm helping to tend to, and a large vegetable garden which I'm helping weed and most likely harvest at market time. The farm is beautiful; the backyard is a mountain which I can climb to watch the sunset over the surrounding mountains. There's a lake at the top of the mountain, but I have yet to climb to the very top.
~~ First Impressions ~~
When I got off the bus in Whitehorse, my friend Katherine surprised me and was there waiting for me at 5:00 AM! Tired, we walked along the Yukon river to Robert Service Campground where we pitched a tent and slept for the majority of the day. We headed back into town around 6, to find that the bus station, where I had left my bags in a locker so that I didn't have to carry them on the hike to the campground, was closed. Whoops. Ah well, off to the market to meet my hosts, and then to the Salvation Army to get some farm clothes. That night I came back here, to the farm, got the tour, and got to know my hosts a little. They're really wonderful people, I feel fortunate that this is all working out so well. I enjoy the company, and I'm enjoying the physical nature of the farm life. Not to mention how good and real the food tastes! Eat local!
WWOOFer = one who WWOOFs.
WWOOFing = Being a WOOFer.
I'm currently WWOOFing about 40 km outside Whitehorse, on a small organic farm owned and operated by a really nice ~40 year old couple. They've opened their home to me for as long as I'm in the Whitehorse area. They have some livestock (6 pigs, 200 meat chickens, 60 laying hens and a rooster, and about 30 turkeys) which I'm helping to tend to, and a large vegetable garden which I'm helping weed and most likely harvest at market time. The farm is beautiful; the backyard is a mountain which I can climb to watch the sunset over the surrounding mountains. There's a lake at the top of the mountain, but I have yet to climb to the very top.
It's timeless here at this time of year. The sun is setting around 11:30 pm, but it depends on where you are in relation to the mountains. The days are so long, I absolutely love it. It's 1:00 AM before you even realize it, becuase it's still not quite dark.
~~ First Impressions ~~
When I got off the bus in Whitehorse, my friend Katherine surprised me and was there waiting for me at 5:00 AM! Tired, we walked along the Yukon river to Robert Service Campground where we pitched a tent and slept for the majority of the day. We headed back into town around 6, to find that the bus station, where I had left my bags in a locker so that I didn't have to carry them on the hike to the campground, was closed. Whoops. Ah well, off to the market to meet my hosts, and then to the Salvation Army to get some farm clothes. That night I came back here, to the farm, got the tour, and got to know my hosts a little. They're really wonderful people, I feel fortunate that this is all working out so well. I enjoy the company, and I'm enjoying the physical nature of the farm life. Not to mention how good and real the food tastes! Eat local!
4 Days On A Bus
I boarded the bus in Toronto. 4 days later (3d, 19h actually = 91 hours), I'm in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory.
Notes on Canada:
Some hints, if you ever find yourself spending 4 days on a bus:
Notes on Canada:
- Ontario is big. Huge actually. In fact, I went to sleep and woke up in Ontario. Twice. Okay, I went to sleep in Ontario twice, and only woke up once, but just barely. The play by play of northern Ontario goes something like this: "Rocks and trees and trees and trees and rocks and trees and *gasp* a lake! and trees and..." (continue, for 20 hours)
- The prairies are flat. Really flat. Like, "damn, this shit is flat" type of flat. However, seeing the sunset over the prairies was really awe-inspiring, and it left me feeling emotional. Not that I'm emotional. Hell no, I'm a man. More power. Must've been the lack of sleep. Ya, that's it.
- Saskatchewan and Manitoba are boring ass boring. Like, "damn, this shit is boring" type of boring. No no, I'm sure they're lovely. Just not much happening, a calm, peaceful, easy feeling.
- Northern BC and the Yukon are stunning. Mountains, lakes, valleys, wildlife... an unmatched display of natural wonders.
Some hints, if you ever find yourself spending 4 days on a bus:
- Take lots of food . Nuts and berries, bread, peanut butter & jam, fruits, apple sauce, puddings. I wouldn't suggest carrots, mine decomposed.
- Take a pillow, or a makeshift pillow -- I didn't.
- Don't worry about changing (maybe your gitch). Nobody does it.
- Do your neighbours a favour: take deodorant and a toothbrush. Then again, sleeping with an empty seat beside you is more comfortable.
- Talk to people. You'll wig out if you don't.
- Take books. The 's' is important, depending on your personal preferences.
- Take a journal or a notepad.
- Stretch, walk, run, brench press your neighbour, whatever... do something, anything, at every rest opportunity. Vericose veins, as much as I loved my grandparents, are not sexy.
- Never turn your back on a 3 year old. You might get soaked with a hose.
- In relation to #9, take an extra shirt and pants.
Overall assessment: 5/5
- met some great people
- got/gave some awesome massages
- listened to some good music
- read an interesting book on mythology
- saw amazing landsapes and wildlife (some caribou, a moose, a black bear, a herd of bison, a herd of mountain sheep, some deer)
- watched a breathtaking lightning show
- spent quality time with other generations (75+, and a 3 year old)
- put on a concert (there was a guitar, and a captive audience... what else did they have to do?)
- etc
- arrived at my destination
I'd like to share one final observation. Along the way, there were many opportunities to get upset and/or frustrated. Catching the wrong bus and having the wrong tickets until Winnipeg, many delays due to weather and mechanical problems, crying babies, lack of sleep, etc. I saw a number of people reacting to these things, and being miserable. I felt badly for these people: reacting didn't change the situation, and they just made themselves miserable. I would suggest that when you find yourself in this situation, just accept whatever is happening and be aware that it's going to pass, and deal with it, smilingly.
4 days on a bus. Wicked.
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