The great wall of Garlic on Bright Farm
My initial enthusiasm and blog post about arriving at Uncle Charlie’s garlic farm prevented me from providing an in depth explanation of what it feels like to actually live on Bright Farm. Constantly processing images that take my breath away also seemed to have presented me with the slightest bit of writer’s block. How do I describe the beauty and feeling surrounding a person lucky enough to be a guest?
Perhaps I’ll start with the obvious, a juxtaposition of my life in Los Angeles and Life on a Farm. The most obvious difference being SPACE. On the Eagle’s farm, there are 10 acres of beautiful land to walk about in. Instead of partying neighbors, there are llamas, roosters, and rabbits. The bunnies are not pets; they are pests.
A small paddle boat waits for a captain
Whereas I walk out into a busy street and can’t have dogs running leashless, at the farm the dogs roam and play freely. When it’s hot, going for a dip involves no chlorine, it involves a good ole’ lake.
More profoundly satisfying than any other aspect of the visit is the relationship you begin to appreciate with cuisine. If you fancy yourself a “foodie,” I highly recommend spending a week on an organic farm. There is something spectacular about being fully involved in all parts of creating, harvesting, and cooking the food that you put in your mouth every day. My favorite eye-opening knowledge that I’ve gained is just how little you need seasoning when the food itself has so much rich flavor because it is fresh and free of additives. And I mean SCARY good.
Cousin Bree in her field of organic corn
I’ve never felt amorous towards sweet corn before, but I briefly pondered an engagement after heading into the corn field with Bree to harvest and shuck this season’s first corn crop.
The last time I visited here, I was very young. This means that I had absolutely no concept of hard work or what all the adults were doing while I was running through the fields with chickens. As a fully functional adult, I got to participate. When it was time to get out into the bean field, I had my own row assignment. When it was time to process the garlic we’d just dug up from the field, I had to audition for my role in the production line.
It was hard work. It was glorious work. It was an honor to hang out with my family and the wonderful friends they keep up at Bright Farm. I am so happy to have the memories from the experience and so touched that I was included.
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Janelle K. Eagle is infamous for always having her hands tied up in multiple projects simultaneously. She's directed a lot of theater, worked on some films, and raised lots of money for non-profits. She travels all the time and loves to share her videos, photography and writing via this blog. 
