Memphis Democrat Column from June 25, 2006

We have been in a celebratory mood recently at Sandhill Farm. Last Tuesday, there was a swimming party at our pond to mark Renay's tenth birthday. Several of her friends attended, along with some of their family members and Sandhill folks. The children had a great time in the water and everyone enjoyed the cold watermelon and other treats.

We had our weekly community potluck that evening and Renay's dad French joined us for supper, along with one of the families who had been with us that afternoon.

We also welcomed our new puppy member that same day. Sammy is a blue heeler/fox terrier cross and Renay chose him from among his litter mates. He's an endearing little fellow and we have all been enjoying getting to know him.

This past Saturday, we joined our friends at Dancing Rabbit for the celebration of Penn and Laura's wedding. The ceremony under a beautiful arbor covered with wildflowers was very sweet. The weather was perfect for the duration of the gathering and we all enjoyed a wonderful meal, entertainment, music and contra dancing.

We have also been celebrating the return of the rain after its absence for a while and we are also enjoying the somewhat cooler temperatures the past few days. Working in the garden is deflnitely more fun when it is like this. I was picking greens this morning and it felt rather spring-like.

A young woman from Portland Oregon, Leah, joined us for a short term internship this week. She recently completed an internship with an artist/photographer and hopes to pursue her art studies further.

Rory left for California Saturday evening after completing his internship. He hopes to return later this summer to spend some time with his cousin Nathan, who lives at Dancing Rabbt.

We also said goodbye on June 7 to another intern, Angie. She returned to Austin,Texas where she has family We have heard from her that she is settled into an apartment and doing well.

We have had a good group of interns with us this season and, although it is hard to say goodbye to the ones who are leaving, we are looking forward to having more join us in the near future.

One of our volunteer helpers during last fall's sorghum harvest, Andy, is with us again and will be staying until next weekend. He is the stepbrother of Matthew, our longtime friend in St. Louis. Andy works with developmentally disabled individuals at a residential facility in Chesterfield and is spending a his vacation with us.

Stan headed to Kansas on June 12 to do organic inspections of several farms. He stopped to visit with his friend Everett in Kansas City on the way out. He arrived back home on the 20th, just in time for the weekly potluck and to have some of Renay's birthday cake.

The kid energy is definitely on the upswing here this past week or so. Jibran, who is nine, arrived at Sandhill with his mom Ma'ikwe on the 12th. Renay and Aradia returned home on June 17. We are expecting a family with eight year old twin daughters to arrive for a visit tomorrow. It's going to be pretty lively here this week but it helps keep the rest of us young.