The View From Here

Heading into week 1 of the CSA...

a week early this time

(and the way Will wanted things to work out...last week of May to 3rd week of July)

...all the planning in the world will not force vegetables to do what you'd like them to do. For the most part, everything is going according to Will's Super-Geek-Grid. Dates to plant, days to maturity, length of rows - calculated lbs of produce...quite an impressive excel spreadsheet, and for the most part right on the money...but the first planting of corn had other ideas...ands is ready right this minute!
Actually, We've been picking a bucket of yellow squash every day for a week...let me be clear about this; WILL has been picking a bucket of squash every day. I did want to get some squash flowers this morning to put in the fridge. Stuffed Squash Blossoms, yum. However, even at 7:30 in the morning, the bees were up and busy and every flower must have had 5 or 6 bees in it...and they did NOT want to be disrupted in their activities. Usually, bees sleep in a bit and don't get moving until about 8:30 or 9. Don't know what's up with that, but i know I'll have to get out there earlier tomorrow... but I digress.

The garden is it's usual amazing self, due first of all to Will working like a dog out there every minute he's not 'at work' (ha). But also, our CSA members have been coming out consistently and have accomplished a huge amount of work - without them the garden would not be where it is at this moment. For example, a crew showed up last weekend and spread probably 50 bales of hay, getting most of the tomatoes and peppers mulched. I remember weeks ago (not that many weeks), a young couple worked sop hard training the little cucumber vines onto their new trellis. ok. this morning I picked two 5 gallon buckets of cucumbers! And the vines are to the tippy top of the trllis and trailing everywhere. Beautiful. So, everyone gets corn, yellow squash, cucumbers, basil....and some will get chard, beets, beans. It begins.
Wish us well. This evening, several families are loading up their baskets early, because they already had Memorial Day Weekend plans. Then, in the morning, the big rush begins. I remember it as being somewhat complicated and confusing until we get into the swing of things. We'll see how much our experience with last season has helped us have a smooth operation on Saturday morning.

3rd Annual Fishing Rodeo and Probable Fish Fry

It's that time again!

This was the third year we hosted the Southern University Music Students for an end-of-year fishing party at the farm!
A good time was had by all...I believe we had about 25 students; the serious fishermen showed up before 8 in the morning and got going - which is a good thing because the pond is teeming with some very bad-boy catfish and a culling is in order....here is Gerren (otherwise known as G-Sharp) with the biggest fish of the day. This is a point of contention, because Gerren and Harry were fishing in a spot staked out by Phillip, who had to drive to the next town to pick up a check from a gig he had played the night before - by the time Phillip got back, the insult had already occurred! But all were good sports, of course. Here is Phillip, who doesn't look too put out (!) and Harry, who caught not only fish but turtles as well: Some students weren't that into fishing, but picked berries for the dessert smack-down in the kitchen. (Jerrell's Strawberry Cheesecake and Jasmine's Frozen Berry Pies). Jerrell had already proven his dessert expertise last year, but Jasmine was in that kitchen all day, working like a demon, and loving every minute. Every time we turned around she was making something else. We now call her 'Baby Top Chef'.
Here are Ayanna and Electra picking strawberries, and Jared, who was mostly eating berries and giving the ladies a hard time. Then there was Marsha, who picked twice a many as anyone else, and fussed at everyone to stop eating and get to work! We don't need to say that Will (they called him 'Coach' or "Mr. Dr. P') was on his feet for nearly all of the 12 hour event..cooking mostly, but also rounding guys up to help with picking up the bales of hay in the field and hauling them to the barn - which they were more than happy to do. While dinner was bring prepped, some students began a serious card game, which proved difficult to break up, even when the food was ready (!) We had the BEST time (we always do). We're glad the semester is over. University life is stressful in general, but particularly difficult in these tough economic times...You'll never meet better students than these. I feel blessed to have landed in this music department. If I had a video camera, I would have been able to treat you to the late-afternoon boating expeditions on the pond - complete with the strains of 'O mio babbino caro'... curtesy of Electra and Jared; a capella of course.
Priceless.
And, as of tomorrow, I morph from university faculty to 'farm wife'. For a while. Looking forward to the summer.