Monday at CROP Farm

Monday

On Monday morning I slept a little late, considering the little sleep attained on the previous night. I found the toilet, which was an adventure the first time. This toilet is referred to as an earth compost toilet. There is even a sign which states “We thank you for your poo and pee. It will be recycled and returned back to the earth.” Don’t worry there will be a picture of this thing very soon. There is also a solar shower here too. Ever wanted to shower underneath the stars? You would be green with envy knowing I have performed that act twice. 

Monday was a day of plums, plums, and more freakin’ plums. I jarred plums, cooked plums, preserved plums, and even ate a few plums. I felt as if I was eating some syrup on some hotcakes, only the hotcakes were non-existent. All this work was being down on the outdoor wood burning stove. I have spent maybe half of my week around this darn stove. Pine cones are very useful when it comes to lighting these fires in the stove. We ate some kind of soup to go with some Nan bread for supper. Of course the man talked and talked some more that night.

When one looks in the dictionary and reads the word frugal, there may very well be a picture of Mr. Ian. His electric bill each month is usually $13. This is a man who has hitchhiked numerous times from his homeland in England, to his home here in Bulgaria too. We have discussed his penny pinching methods that he used when working as an English teacher in South Korea too. Permeaculture is all about self-sustainability, hence the frugality.

Maggie the donkey did assist us later that evening as we went to the forest. There is an area that locals use to get the wood that they need during the seasons.  Mr. Talker spent so much time talking, and talking that we kind of arrived as the sun was going down. Chopping wood in the dark is not very exciting, especially when a neighbor approaches you in a not so kind manner. I was sawing a pine a little too close to where his kids were sleeping, so one could imagine the anger he was expressing. Thanks to Maggie we were able to get some good wood hauled in that have helped us over the last few days.

I showered a little bit later, and it was then that I realized I put in a good twelve hours of work. The description on the WWOOF website stated that most people work six to eight hours a day. Oops. Back to the shower – cold, strange, a little uncomfortable and just plain odd. Outdoor showered aren’t too bad if you are at the beach and you are just rinsing some sand off. This one though, takes the cake. The picture may do it justice, see for yourself.