Sure, Jeff and I had a few concerns when we headed out to Detroit at 7am Saturday morning.  Ever the optimists, we hoped the “30% chance of rain” forecast was happening sooner than later.  “Fine”, we thought.  “Get it over with”.  Probably just as well we didn’t know then that it would continue to rain, intermittently, along with a bit o’ hail, and gusts of wind that were both bone chilling and strong enough to take our breath away…for the next 12 hours.

We had an omen though. A good omen, right there on the side of I-96. The sun was low on the horizon to the east of us, and behind us was the pouring rain.

I knew right then and there, we were going to have an amazing day. And we did.  (Okay, granted, this rainbow isn’t the exact rainbow I saw out the side window of the van.  But Jeff wouldn’t pull over and stop so I could get a good picture.  Instead, I’m giving you a look at a different rainbow. Because really, it’s the vibe of the thing that matters, don’t you think?)

Alright, first things first. We got to Spirit Farm and looked over our list. Warm clothes? Check. Work gloves? Check.  Mud boots? Check.  Hoop supplies ready and waiting? Check.  Instruction booklet on how to build a hoop house? Check.  Washtenaw Dairy donuts and Roos Roast coffee?  Heck yeah! CHECK AND CHECK.

We got fortified, and we got to work.  And let’s put the emphasis on the WE, okay? There  were close to 25 people who got themselves to the D, through the maze of closed expressways, construction delays and rainstorms.  They made the commitment to spend their whole Saturday working hard in less than ideal conditions– at times it was down right miserable.  And not one single person complained. Not once. Look, they’re even smiling, and it was pouring rain when I snapped this shot right before lunch.

Massive, huge, gigantic, way-big THANKS go out to Tomm Becker, Dan Carroll, JP Swanson, Marty Weid, Dan Bair, Ed Granchi, Ed Weymouth, Kendall Kuneman, Rachel Chadderdon, Elizabeth Beers, Ian Daum-Bost, Mary DuCharme, Anne West, Kristine Perria, Debowrah Montgomery, Claire Maitre, Morgan Mihok, Jody Bogumil, Aaron Lawerence, Gretchen Gerhke, Devin Foote, and Pastor Matthew Bode.  Thanks also go to Michelle Fortin and Judy Stone who couldn’t come to work, but supplied us with some delicious food to keep us going, and Kate Devlin, our host and hoop recipient, who organized the soul food dinner for us at the end of the day (more about that later).

Okay, backing up for a bit, let’s take a look at the hoop site.  Here’s the spot, with a view of the Spirit of Hope church as a beautiful back drop.  Check out the link, and read a little of the history of this old church.

One of my favorite tidbits is that the stained glass windows in the church were some of the first stained glass created by Louis Comfort Tiffany. In addition to the loveliness of the church itself, Spirit of Hope church is inclusive of everyone who wants to worship there, no matter what their sexual orientation.  They also  offer numerous services to the neighborhood and the community, including a weekly soup kitchen, a day care center, daily AA meetings, and access to fresh produce.  Now that they have a hoop to plant in, that produce will be available year around.

Before we get to the actual build, check out the funky coolness of the place:

One of the best parts of a hoop build is seeing just how much can be accomplished in one day.  Check it out:

We had a goal to get everything ready for end wall construction before lunch, and we did it.  The end walls are always better to work on after lunch.

After lunch, we got back to it, constructing and installing the end walls.

Just as we finished gathering tools and cleaning up the site before dinner, the sky to the east of us cleared, and there was another rainbow.  We all cheered.

And then we went inside, and had the most amazing soul food dinner EVER thanks to the church ladies who spent the afternoon cooking for us.