muffins and cows

peaches are in. melons too. we're eating lots of fresh fruit these days.

sena and aiyana ate about 10 peaches each yesterday morning, and when ed suggested that maybe that's enough, they decided to make muffins and sell them at the CSA. ed and i were busy all day picking and prepping for the CSA so we did not get involved with their project at all. sena's idea was to sell the muffins and donate the money to the whale organization she's been involved with, CSI (Cetaceans Society International). we only have one mufin tray, so they ended up making 3 batches of 6 peach muffins. the muffins were a hit, especially hot out of the oven as they were. they were tasty too, i had one. between muffins and straight donations that people made for the whales, sena and aiyana raised about 35 dollars. i have to say that i am really proud of how they took initiative and got this done. i think most people thought that i made the muffins and the kids were just selling them to be cute, but i really had nothing to do with it at all, and was just as surprised to see them at their little table with the whale sign, selling, as anyone else. also, i don't think people realized they were getting top quality ingredients, such as fresh peaches just picked off our tree, freshly ground local wheat, local maple syrup made by a friend, etc.

this past weekend ed and i went cow shopping. we visited 2 farms in the Berkshires to learn more about pastured cows, and possibly buy a couple. both farms were beautiful. one was owned by an older woman who is a medical doctor and a farmer. part of her doctoring is to treat people right there on the farm, by getting them involved with farm work to their level of ability. i think she treats all kinds of things, but she mentioned cancer and mental stuff. her property was beautiful, and if i were sick that's the kind of place i'd want to be treated at. she had 2 dutch belted cows for sale, and we spent some time looking at them. she also had pigs and chickens, as well as vegetables and fruit trees on her farm. she said that her involvement with farming is not for money, but for the freedom and lifestyle it allows her. i liked her a lot.

the second farm was much bigger, but also beautiful. 200 acres of land, with cows, pigs, goats and chickens all in rotation, all with their functions: cows for grazing pastures, chickens for following the cows and controlling fly populations, goats to clear brush, and pigs to till and open up new land in forested areas. the farmer who works there owns the animals, but not the land. he makes money by selling meat, raw milk, eggs, and other products from the animals. he is a young guy, who seemed humble and low key, but also knowledgeable and willing to share what he knows. i also liked him very much, and the other people who worked with him.

tonight and tomorrow we are going to see more cows, and this weekend we're going to vermont for the same reason. when i spoke to the farmer in vermont and told him that i was from montreal, he told me that the botanical gardens there have a wonderful exhibit on display right now, so for my friends and family living there, check it out.

thoughts

i like to work.
working for money can obscure other more imporant reasons for working.

it's good to know your own history, where you come from. there's a certain peace in it.

there's a kind of memory that's stored in the senses, which is very powerful, and maybe the longest lasting. like the smell of fresh cool mountain air, or freshly cut hay, or the smell of the ocean, or the way you felt about someone on a certain autumn day. i'd like to learn more about this kind of memory.

it's good to learn the ways of humans, at least enough to get around and to know how you got to where you are, and then, it's good to unlearn and blend in with beings that are more sane and permanent.

peace

caprese sandwich

been having a lot of these recently, and sena and aiyana can't get enough:

• slice of fresh, crusty, home-made bread (can skip if gluten-free), piled with:
• freshly made basil pesto, or a few leaves of fresh basil
• fresh mozarella (i also like feta, or fresh chevre would be good too)
• roasted eggplant, sliced thinly before roasting and seasoned with salt and pepper
• thick slice of fresh, juicy, ripe tomato
• salt and pepper sprinkled on top

simple and satisfying, this is truly a feast for the senses, but everything has to be fresh, otherwise i think most what makes it good is lost.

peace

before i go to bed i like to read for about 15-20 minutes (more if possible, but usually i don't last longer than that). here's what i've been reading:

• the bible of soil science, as one friend reffered to it, The Nature and Properties of Soils. amazing book. i can relate to and apply so much of it. glad i'm reading it now, not a few years ago, when much of it would've been theoretical and would've gone over my head.
• a history book about the Ottoman Empire, called Lords of the Horizons, because it reminds me of things i learned in history class in Romania, and because i think i will find clues to my past in it.
• a book on cheese making, because i might be getting into that this winter. i think we're getting a cow soon.

misty, sunny morning

it has been so pleasant out these past few days: sunny, cool, and low humidity. i can't get enough of it.
this morning was misty and sunny at the same time, really beautiful, and i got a picture of it. you can see one of our fields with lettuces, sweet potatoes, peppers, beans, and in the tunnels arugula, mustard and mizuna greens; the bare-looking ground is a recent planting of carrots.

and these are our onions, recently harvested and drying in the sun

peace

sky reflections in dew drops on asparagus

these simple gifts all around us if we could only notice.

stormy sky

luxury

being a farmer has its own luxuries. like eating raspberries barefoot in the bushes, at the end of a hot day, until i can eat no more. a lot of raspberries. like $50 worth. and no worries about staining my clothes either.

eggplant and a funky carrot. i think eggplant are beautiful.

 tomatoes are 10 ft tall in the greenhouse

garlic harvest is over, garlic hanging in the barn

peace

Life can be so beautiful.

Right now, we can barely keep up with all the work we have. Actually, we’re not keeping up, we’re behind. I can get lost in that feeling of how much there is to do, how many different needs to attend to: the fields, the customers, my family.

Yet, when I stop, I am overwhelmed with gratitude. It is such a beautiful and plentiful time of the year. So much abundance, so much that we are given. Making a simple lunch with fresh picked tomatoes, basil, garlic, kale, is a meditation in itself. These fruits from the earth sustain us in body, and for me, equally important, they sustain my spirit. I am humbled to be a witness to all the changes that are taking place outside day after day, season after season. I feel so lucky that I live on a farm and that my work is with the earth, the elements, and Nature itself.

I don’t want to idealize this lifestyle. It’s hard and exhausting on many levels. But for me, right now, it feels so real and alive, that even when it’s hard, I don’t want anything else.

Just before I moved to the US in 1999, while I was still in Montreal, I had a dream. I dreamed that I was walking on a well-trodden path in a park, when I noticed a large pit to one side. There were other people walking on the path, but nobody was going towards the pit. I could see wild animals in there, and I felt like I had to go and get close to them. I entered the pit and found myself in a different world. The wild animals were fierce but I was not afraid, just fascinated. It felt harsh to be in there, but there was also a freedom and a vital sense of reality. Then, I looked back to the path I had come from, and thought about where I was and all of a sudden, in one instant fear set in. The animals didn’t treat me any differently, but I was now afraid of them, and they looked much fiercer. I started backing out towards the path, keeping one eye on the animals. Just before I got out of the pit, I looked back and considered staying, but the fear was too strong. I got back out on the path, and started walking. Other people were there walking just like before, but I felt so different.  I looked back to the pit, and felt overwhelming regret. I felt like I had just ended the most authentic experience I ever had.

This dream stayed with me since I had it. It comes to mind when things are especially hard or especially beautiful in my life. Farming is like being in that pit, and I hope that its harsh reality does not take from me its beauty.

some thoughts from my father

my father sent the few lines below in an email from romania to my mom, my sister and i.
i think what he's saying is valuable and thought i'd share it.

This morning, while I was eating breakfast, I thought about how much confusion there is in the world. The most precious things are free - water, air, the health which we are given at birth – or very cheap (like tomatoes and feta cheese). Yet, we, under societal pressures, do everything we can to ruin them. We are not content with what is simple and free; we want expensive things in order to be accepted in the social circles we’re part of and to impress others. Instead of spending time with family and friends, we work overtime and ruin our health in order to buy things we don’t need; we encourage the industries that produce these things to pollute the air, water, our food, etc. Even so we are not happy, because the things we acquire through so much effort get old are outdated, and so on. And so we continue with this pointless race towards material happiness with slips through our fingers.

record setting

we harvested our largest and heaviset tomato so far - a heirloom named pruden's purple. it weighed 2.4lbs.

and here are 2 pictures of ed harvesting peas. the plants are 10ft tall (not a record - last year they were that tall or maybe a bit taller). this year ed devised a new method of harvesting, by attaching 2 milk crates to his boots with bungee cords, so he can reach the highest pods and be able to walk along the row without stopping to move the crates. it worked well but looked really funny.

peace

heat

this heat has been great for the plants. we've had an explosion in the past week, unbelievable growth, litteraly overnight. many of the crops that were set back by the crazy rain we got a few weeks back are recovering nicely thanks to the heat.
for me, i have to admit, working in 90+ degrees F, and with the high humidity, is hard. the best way i found to deal with it is not to think about it, but to just keep working. and drinking. it seems that if i start thinking about how hot i am, i feel more tired and lethargic. also, taking a break is tricky, because it helps but then i just don't have energy to go back out there. we were joking this week that working in this heat is like being in the sweat lodge, but without the luxury of simply sitting there.

i did actually go to a sweat lodge yesterday, and it felt great to be there as always. "living in the truth" kept popping in my head, like some kind of message i needed to give or receive or follow, and it's been on my mind since. what does it mean to live in the truth? i think i know what it means not to - i know what it's like to waste time pretending. but living in the truth, and what exactly that entails, on a practical and daily basis, that's something else, not so easy. but worth pursuing, i think.

peace

our first heirloom tomato of the season

it weighed 1.3lbs and it was delicious.

to me, every fruit that comes out of the ground is a miracle. think about it: how do soil, water, sun and a million other things come together to make a tomato that goes on to become part of our body?

peace

lunch

today for lunch we had:

• raw kale salad
• raw carrots, cucumbers, and sugar snap peas, fresh from the garden
• kale and dill spanakopita
• lentil-quinoa salad with fresh parsley and dill
• strawberries

everything was simple and fresh and delicious. the best part was watching sena and aiyana enjoy all the fresh veggies, and knowing that their growing bodies are nourished in a good way. when people ask why we farm, that's the top reason.

my mom will like this picture of her 5 grandaughters

sena, aiyana, julia, stella, and lucy

the rains

we got about 10 inches of rain in the past week. the average normal is 1 inch per week, as far as i know. i've never seen our field so wet. i don't want to touch the plants or walk around too much for fear of spreading disease or compacting the soil. it's very mucky out there, and our boots sink in deep. there was standing water in the spinach patch a couple of days ago, and the potato beds were started to erode. i drove by the fied of one farmer i know down in the valey, and half of his field was covered by a foot of water. i felt sick to see it. we're up high on the hill but even so, the ground is saturated, and we're seeing standing water and little rivuilets running through our fields, first time ever.
i've seen some fungal disease starting in the beets, cercospora, in one bed. i think i'm going to pull them all out so it doesn't spread somewhere else.
despite all this, however, most of the plants still look good. the CSA has been going very well also, so overall everything is OK, but i do feel somewhat anxious. the plants have been stressed a lot by all this water and cold temps, and i'm just hoping that they'll get a break now so they can be healthy.

my mom just got back from europe and said that the danube is 8 meters above its normal level. it's crazy. better learn how to grow your own.
 
peace

sena and aiyana

sena has been making bread: crusty on the outside, soft on the inside, delicious. she grinds her own wheat berries before baking, and uses a sour-dough starter which she got from my sister. these are some of her loaves

 aiyana with her strawberry harvest

more aiyana

peace

yesterday i overheard sena and aiyana talking. they were talking about god and the great spirit. aiyana asked sena if she believes, and sena said that she believes in the rocks and the trees. i thought about what she said and i will adopt that as my own answer next time someone asks me what i believe in. i love the simplicity of it, and for me it feels absolutely true.