Train to Trail commute
On Sunday, May 12th, I wrapped up a very busy and frantic week of prepping, packing, and goodbyes, got in a car and drove away from Chicago for greener pastures (literally). My friend Mallori was both my driver and emotional buffer for the 2.5 hour car ride, as I was on the edge of tears trying to hold both the sadness of leaving my community, my boyfriend, my cozy apartment and my lovely coworkers, and the excitement of embarking on this new adventure that I’d been working towards securing for about 5 months. The sun was shining, the car was packed full, and we munched on McDonald’s drive thru as we chatted our way to rural Illinois.
Upon arrival to the farm, I was warmly greeted by a few of the farm staff, who helped Mallori and I carry all of my things into my new living space. After sending Mal back on the road, I was whisked off on a quick tour of the farm. I got introduced to a lovely family, James and Sarah and their four adventurous children, who live here as staff members, and also got to meet the week-old baby goats, who I will be visiting every chance I get. I then had the rest of the evening to begin getting settled in, but I wanted to wander back to the market garden area first. The farm is situated on two levels: the upper farm on top of a hill, where the event spaces, guest housing, and my house are, and the lower farm down the hill, where the market garden, greenhouse, livestock, and more staff housing is.
I took my first solo walk down the hill, which is covered in woods. My commute to work back in Chicago usually took nearly an hour, sometimes more, depending if my train and bus lined up. Two hours a day, packed in next to strangers, and being annoyed at the the slow pace the bus moved in rush hour traffic. My new commute to work is a 4 minute walk down Acorn Trail, through woods where the ground is covered in wild ginger, Virginia creeper, forest Phlox, and naturally, some poison ivy. I hear birds singing instead of sirens wailing, and smell flowers and soil instead of exhaust. I try to search for mushrooms and edible plants instead of a seat on a crowded train. I think I may be able to get used to this.
When I got back down the hill to the garden, it was golden hour, and everything was glowing in the evening light. After all the emotional highs and lows of the day, being in the middle of a growing farm garden, hearing chickens clucking and seeing the surrounding hills covered in trees, it felt like a good place to be starting this new chapter in life.
All the staff I’ve met so far are lovely, warm and welcoming people, and I feel excited and lucky to be able to work with and learn from this group of people. There is so much life in every direction, plants are flourishing, wildlife is all around, the garden is already lush. I know it will take some time to adjust to this new pace of life, and finding my place in this little farm community will take a minute, but I’m slowly settling in, finding my bearings, and letting myself feel the emotions of transition. I’ve had a few days here, just to settle in, which I’ve very much appreciated, but I’m eager to start getting my hands dirty! I got an extensive tour of the entire farm land yesterday, which includes fields and pastures, woods, blueberries, native prairie, and the gardens. Its so exciting to see what all is going on, and how all the parts are working together. I’m beginning to realize that staying here for months will really only scratch the surface of what I could learn here, but even so, I cant wait to dig in!
