Paradise Farm Lives Up to Its Name; Trevor and I Do NOT Live Up to Our Ultimate Decision of the Moment

Microgreens live here.

The downstairs part serves as a kitchen/recreational area. Didn't see the upstairs. If anyone can figure it out by looking in the windows, let me know.

Jackfruit... bigger than Butch's head!!

The mushroom house.

The gazebo, where charity dinners are served.

Outdoor showers.

Kitchen.

Sadly I don't remember the name of these... they're related to lychee.

Yesterday I toured the lovely Paradise Farm in Homestead, pictured above. This morning Trevor and I had a torturous decision to make: Should we throw away the lives we've built here in Orlando and start from scratch 250 miles south of friends, family, cat, and steady work? Despite the Mosquito Infestation from Hell, Paradise more than fulfills the requirements we thought we had. But in the end, our decision was based on the merits of our current circumstance. Very few people are lucky enough to live as we do, at the heart of a vibrant city surrounded by great people and just a hop-skip-and-jump from our beachside hometown. We've already deemed Green Flamingo a perfect place to focus our volunteer efforts; why not ease into the world of farming by assisting Elizabeth and Mary on weekends? Why not find other farmers in the area? Why jump into a situation that would torch our bridges, leaving us virtually penniless and vagrant? In the end it made little sense. So thank you, Paradise Farm, for your hospitality, and we hope to work with you in the future once we are better-prepared. But for now, I'll sign off with an exhausted sigh and the announcement that O-Town is officially where it's at... until next June, at least...

More to come.

What a fantastic dilemma

So how cool is this?

After making our plans to visit Green Flamingo Organics, we get a message from Paradise Farm in Homestead. Seems they are exactly two people short for their season and they could use us starting in September. Our lease ends in Sept., so that is what is commonly known as perfect. They host their interns (sounded like through the productive season, so into spring), meals are provided, and they work a 30-hour week, so we would have time to freelance.

Paradise has been productive for something like six or seven years. They grow avocados, mangos, bananas and other tropical fruits as well as mushrooms and something called "micro-greens," all for high-end restaurants in the area. They also host charity dinners where all the food is prepared in front of the patrons. Lindsay being the chef is particularly interested in this.

I told Gus at Paradise that we had already made plans to check out Green Flamingo, but that if things didn't work out, we'd give him a call.

So we have our first guarantee - a place to stay and work to do. Let the learning begin!