*
shake.
the dried, brown poppy flowers
sound like maracas;
the tiny seeds shower out:
black, brown, gray;
our mason jars filled to the brim
with promises of a sea of color next season...
*
that lil' thought was inspired by the poppy harvest on tuesday afternoon...the girls and i shook out all the dried poppies and collected their seeds to save and also to use in the much-anticipated poppy seed bread we are planning to make.
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this past week and the coming week were and will be pretty eventful here at the farm. first and foremost, i have put forth a motion to change the name of the farm to green laser farm because i fully believe that we need to start implementing the use of lasers here. the idea started in the zikr field early one morning last week while linda, ben, jessica, cameron, callie and i were confusedly trudging through the undending rows of marketmore, suyo long, armenian and lemon cucumbers, our feet soaked from dewy leaves. the cukes were planted in clean rows months ago, but have since grown fully across those rows and into one another. the field is essentially just a sea of prickly leaves hiding the delicious edible fruits of the plant Cucumis sativus. we figured that we could use some *lasers* to deliniate the rows so that we would not get lost, but then figured that we could even cut the cukes with lasers instead of with fiskar snips! the more we thought about lasers, the more we realized how effective they would be! but, perhaps this all just gives a good indication of the perpetual state of deliriousness that we all function in here on the farm :) methinks grady will not go for the name change and that we won't be getting any lasers here anytime soon...so green fire farm it will remain.
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on wednesday, we finally got to making preserves out of the blackberries that are growing rampant all around the farm and on the path down to the river. it was too hot on our lunchbreak to cool down anywhere on the farm (i tried everything - even sitting on the freezer by nathan's house, but nothing helped), so callie and i struck out into the blazing heat with a few fragile pint baskets and got to picking the dark blue berries. we dug through the painfully prickly vines to pluck the ripest ones; after half an hour and many scratches to the arms, neck and legs, we had our berries. that evening, linda shared her preserve-making expertise with us and guided us through the process...pectin, sugar, boiling, waiting...and we ended up with three jars of delicious preserves! we plan to do more...maybe some chutneys with pears and apples and onions, some relishes with the tomatoes and more preserves with the berries. mmm!
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on thursday, a very exciting thing happened...my parents came to visit me on the farm! sadly, my directions were sub-par and they took forever to find the farm. we are pretty darn hidden, but i like it that way :)
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it was wonderful to have them here; they were so up for the adventure! they dragged branches, spent hours in the blazing sun picking sungold cherry tomatoes, took loads of pictures, and spent the nights in a tent right next to mine. last night, my mom and i cooked up a mexican feast for the crew, replete with tostadas and mexican rice and margaritas! they got on well with everyone at the farm, which really warmed my heart...it truly was like one family meeting another :)
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tomorrow, at the farm, we're having a big ole' celebration for nathan's birthday. there's talk of delicious foods, fellow farmers coming from all corners of the county, libating ourselves down by the river, music played by guitars and dobros and didgeridoos, and a pink strawberry cake (upon nathan's request). i'm really looking forward to it...
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i'm starting to get a little nostalgic about this all...i've been fully aware the entire time that i've been here that this is such a special time in my life, and in the life of all of us here at the farm. we have an excellent crew, beautiful and healthy produce, and we've created a gorgeous and loving home and community on this little patch of land. grady and nathan and linda will continue to live on the farm, but callie and cameron and i are approaching our departure dates...and it's just hard. i love these folks, and i'm going to miss the hell out of each and every one of them.
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but i'm going to wipe away the tears welling in my eye, pack up my bag and walk down the road to the pizza place where i'll meet everyone for a post-market get-together. we'll talk about how much we sold; we'll reminisce about the magnificent harvest we had last night; grady and nathan will get some pints and i'll get a glass of chardonnay...maybe i'll tell them all how much these past few months have meant to me and how much i'm going to miss being with them...or maybe, maybe i'll just give them each a long hug...that says what i'm feeling so much better than words can at the moment....
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