Open Sky Ranch
I have officially been at my second WWOOFing location for two weeks! It’s a 100 acre ranch up north in Blue Lake, CA and it’s p r e t t y different from the last place I worked. For starters, it’s 100 acres. Lonely Mountain Farm was 5. It’s also a ranch/vineyard, so rather than work on planting, weeding, harvesting and what not, I’m tending to livestock, doing projects, monitoring the fermentation processes of the wine and cider, and making wine. My schedule is also incredibly different; at Lonely Mountain, we worked Monday - Friday from 9-3; here at the ranch, we don’t really have a set schedule that we follow. We have projects and things that need to be done, and we still work 25 hours a week, but things look a lot different every day.
It’s been interesting to settle into a place where I have a little more independence. It can be a little overwhelming at times but I think I’m learning a lot about how to manage my time! The last two weeks I’ve been on the ranch with another wwoofer, Cam, but now I’m all alone! It’s been a freaking ride man!
Okay, so you’re probably wondering what my average day looks like, right? Although every day is different, every day starts with tending to the animals. We keep 1 ram (his name is rainbow, amazing right?), 9 sheep, 6 goats and two baby goats (aka kids), 6 lambs (which are about to be none because they slaughter them for the winter for meat and skins), 7 ducks, 10 cows, and some amount of chickens that I’m honestly unsure of. The morning consists of letting them out of their pens and into their pastures to graze. After that I’ll usually have breakfast then get word on what needs to be done for the day. It could vary from pressing grapes, racking wine into barrels, planting starts for winter crops, fixing and maintaining the electric fence for the cows, and loads of other stuff. Some days we’re done working at noon, some days it can be 3 or even 5, it all depends on the work we’re doing. Sun down is when we feed the animals and put them back in their pens. This can sometimes prove to be difficult, mainly because the goats and the sheep really freaking love sticking their heads in the feed buckets- usually leading to a string of nasty curses from me, but don’t tell mom and dad! The nights usually end with fixing dinner and opening a bottle of wine from the basement, then an early bed time!
While I have a lot of independence, I also have a lot of responsibility. Tate, who runs the majority of ranch workings, had rotator cuff surgery about a month ago and is incapacitated and needs as much help as I, and other wwoofers, can offer. I’m really glad to be able to be in a place and mindset where I can help as much as I can!
I’ll be posting pictures, stories, recipes, and more during the next 6 weeks that I’m here!
Stay curious and happy travels!