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The Wandering Farmer, Intro
Over ten years ago, I had to pick a name for my garlic farm. I read several articles on it, and one definite rule was “never use a non-English name, and if you do, definitely don’t pick something that’s hard to pronounce.” Being of Irish heritage, I take direct instructions from authorities as indirect invitations
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Sorting baby clothes and hauling around wheelchairs.
A few days ago, while volunteering as part of All Hands and Hearts, we were supporting a Polish organization we’ve partnered with, called Dobro Zawsze Wraca (Good Always Returns) that collects and transports aid to Ukrainians in Ukraine, while also distributing locally to Ukrainians in need in Krakow. I’ve worked on this site many times-
4 minutes -
From possibly “the Little Oak,” yet…no one seems to know for sure.
My first name Daren- a spelling variant of Darren, Darrin, et al, is often claimed to be a Celtic word for small oak. The ending –ín is a diminuitive, turning the root derv, darv, into a smaller form. It may also connect to Irish doirín, which meant small oak grove. You get the idea…something to
1 minute -
Lviv Missives…sent from comfort and safety in Krakow.
December 29th, 2023 No one knows how they’ll feel the first time they’re in a city under rocket attack. Now I do. I woke up, oblivious, because I’d previously kept my Air Attack app on silent. I’d spent two months in a functionally 100% safe city (Chernivtsi) where the notifications went off for russian MiGs
13 minutes -
An open letter to the Lviv volunteer community at large
What relationships have a positive impact on you? First, a sincere and heartfelt goodbye and farewell (from older English “fare well,” to travel in good health and spirits) to you remarkable folks I met for my 4 ish weeks in Lviv. I’m so glad I included this city and community in my itinerary.Like many folks,
6 minutes -
Building identities, while in post-identity phase.
What was the hardest personal goal you’ve set for yourself? Being proud of what I am and where I first came from, without letting my various forms of identity form a fossilized, unmutable view of myself. That has been a goal that mostly sprung up during my abandonment of religion. I think religion let me
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Historical Linguistics- my 4 hours of “ax-sharpening”
I’ll paraphrase Abraham Lincoln and say, “If you give me six hours to chop down a tree, I would spend four hours sharpening the ax.” That’s the ethos behind one of my top hobbies- dabbling in historical linguistics. I’ll explain later why I view it as the “four hours of sharpening” in the analogy. For
10 minutes -
Settling in to new opportunities in western Ukraine
What’s your #1 priority tomorrow? My priority for tomorrow is to get settled in to the new volunteer organization I’ve joined in western Ukraine. This organization provides two hot meals a day and other food items to internally displaced folks who’ve temporarily moved to western Ukraine. I’m joining this organization, and continuing humanitarian work in
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Do your own thinking
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received? My Grandpa Carroll had a simple expression he repeated so often that it stuck with many of us- it was “Do your own thinking!” or sometimes…”Always do your own thinking!” I think he trusted that a Carroll was usually pretty sharp and we’d often come to
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September to October update
What things give you energy? Hey all! Time for an update!I know that this blog is the first one I’m writing after my customers from my garlic farm days have heard of my big changes in life plans. I want to address you guys first.First, as expressed in the farm newsletter, I am really grateful
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Grass fed steak from Perry’s orchard…with homemade black garlic, and roasted garlic on the side.
While travelling, and actually in general, I try to avoid not being too caught up in nostalgia or wistful, or wishful thinking. Focusing on the good things of the present and future is why I’m out here. That being said, this question triggered memories of a rich flavor of my home territory. Perry’s Orchard is
11 minutes
The Wandering Farmer (an feirmeoir fánach)
a farmer embraces the nomadic and hits the road, volunteering around the world in a gap year
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Would you like to support my volunteering work, or just say “thanks” for an article you’ve enjoyed? Send me a tip! Every amount helps, don’t underestimate what your contribution can do!
One-time contributions are helpful because they let me plan my volunteer travels further in advance- knowing how much fuel in the tank lets me plan flights better, sign up for longer stints, etc.
Click on the “Monthly” tab if you’d like to be a regular supporter. Monthly support also helps in its own way, to know I’ve got sustaining support for the longer haul.
All content will always be free here, tiers are just to reflect different abilities to contribute. You’ll all have the same access to all blog posts.
Short on finances? Sharing posts you enjoyed also helps a lot. Don’t just click the share button, say something about what you enjoyed, talk about the projects I’ve been doing, etc.
Sending emails of encouragement also helps. Thanks for reading!
Would you like to support my volunteering work, or just say “thanks” for an article you’ve enjoyed? Send me a tip! Every amount helps, don’t underestimate what your contribution can do!
One-time contributions are helpful because they let me plan my volunteer travels further in advance- knowing how much fuel in the tank lets me plan flights better, sign up for longer stints, etc.
Click on the “Monthly” tab if you’d like to be a regular supporter. Monthly support also helps in its own way, to know I’ve got sustaining support for the longer haul.
All content will always be free here, tiers are just to reflect different abilities to contribute. You’ll all have the same access to all blog posts.
Short on finances? Sharing posts you enjoyed also helps a lot. Don’t just click the share button, say something about what you enjoyed, talk about the projects I’ve been doing, etc.
Sending emails of encouragement also helps. Thanks for reading!
Make a yearly donation
Would you like to support my volunteering work, or just say “thanks” for an article you’ve enjoyed? Send me a tip! Every amount helps, don’t underestimate what your contribution can do!
One-time contributions are helpful because they let me plan my volunteer travels further in advance- knowing how much fuel in the tank lets me plan flights better, sign up for longer stints, etc.
Click on the “Monthly” tab if you’d like to be a regular supporter. Monthly support also helps in its own way, to know I’ve got sustaining support for the longer haul.
All content will always be free here, tiers are just to reflect different abilities to contribute. You’ll all have the same access to all blog posts.
Short on finances? Sharing posts you enjoyed also helps a lot. Don’t just click the share button, say something about what you enjoyed, talk about the projects I’ve been doing, etc.
Sending emails of encouragement also helps. Thanks for reading!
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The Wandering Farmer (an feirmeoir fánach) 