Summer Delights

I've decided I love summer. I thought fall was my favorite season with its changing leaves, crisp mornings, and hint of woodsmoke in the evenings; or maybe spring, with fresh rain, muddy boots, and the promise of life returning with the first sprouts of the season. But, alas, I've been converted to a summer girl (at least for the next few weeks until we move to Arkansas where I might die a quick and sweaty death of heat exhaustion). I think it has something to do with the endless days, golden suntan (I once had a friend say even fat looks better when its tan - I totally agree), a cool breeze driving with the windows down, oh, and of course......the food!

The past few weeks have been exceptionally good for fresh food forays. Between the farm, garden, and other adventures - I've had plenty of deliciousness. I apologize in advance for these photos that will undoubtedly make you hungry, but, alas, this will have to suffice until someone invents edible film........

Blackberry picking on the 4th of July, turned into........

.......the most delicious dessert I may have ever eaten.

The other food was pretty tasty as well (everything homemade with mostly local ingredients): potato salad, coleslaw, corn salad/salsa, pasta salad, refrigerator pickles, watermelon, sausage, and berry mojitos! (I neglected to take a picture of them - I think I was too busy slurping mine down)

And a sampling from the UVa Community Garden.......

Purple hull peas and "sun gold" cherry tomatoes

Peppers, patty pan squash and more tomatoes (these all went into omelets with eggs from the farm for dinner the other night)

Garlic drying on the patio

Freshly dug Yukon Gold and All Blue Potatoes......before.....

........and after.

Cucumbers and garlic from the garden, dill from the farm........before.....

......during......

......and after. (I'll let you know how they taste in about a week)

Truck Farming?

"Truck farming" used to be a common term in most rural areas referring to people who grew vegetables and took them to markets. The terminology has faded away (as well as many truck farmers) as our food system has mostly large scale industrial agriculture with products transported by train and tractor trailers. The "modern" truck farm now often takes the CSA model (community supported agriculture) in which families pay a lump sum of money at the beginning of the season to a small local farm in exchange for weekly "shares" of produce throughout the season. This model helps provide farmers essential funds at the beginning of the season when expenses are especially high. Many small scale farmers also still rely on weekly farmer's markets and wholesale to restaurants and grocery stores to distribute produce.

While I find the changes in terminology fairly fascinating, the most important thing is that small scale farmers DO still exist and are slowly increasing in numbers. I'm not sure we will ever return to the number of true truck farmers there once were (or that this even makes sense anymore), but diversifying production methods is definitely a step toward strengthening our local food systems, communities, and economies.

So.....in the spirit of truck farming.....a few pictures from the farm. All of this talk of truck farms was inspired by the old flat bed Ford on the farm. While it isn't actually used for transporting produce to market, it does come in handy around the farm for many uses.........and leaves me wondering - is this a new definition for "truck farming"?

Amherst Milling Company

I went to Amherst Milling Company (and farm supply store) last week to pick up a few things for the farm with Gary. It was like stepping back in time. Amazing old building right on the railroad tracks (formerly used for delivering supplies) that still has an active mill. The inside of the building is stacked wall to wall, ceiling to floor with every farm supply you didn't know you needed until you saw it there.

I didn't take any pictures inside because it was pretty dark (and that would be a little awkward), but below are a few of the building and the mishmash of stuff around it. There were also chickens, guinea hens, ducks, a peacock, and rabbits, but the ducks were hissing at me so I didn't think they really wanted their picture taken.

Favorite part of the experience - seeing the owner weigh out black eyed pea seeds on a scale that may or may not have been there since the store opened in the late 1800s. Oh, it was also pretty great to see so many other people there making purchases. Amherst Mill is clearly no tourist stop - it's a vital part of a rural community that still has backyard gardens at every house and old men in overalls who swap stories and catch up on the local news at the feed store.

Broccoli and more

It's broccoli time on the farm again! With a few days of cool weather and plenty of rain followed by an abundance of sunshine and warm temperatures, the broccoli has come on full force. We've already harvested a few hundred pounds and there's more to go.......

The strawberries are just finishing up and the early blueberries coming on - the perfect overlap to enjoy them together - yummy!!! Still picking sugar snap peas, carrots, onions, and lettuce. Cucumbers, squash, and peppers just coming on, tomatoes coming soon......

Definitely back in the swing again working 3 days a week at the farm and accumulating a good mix of dirt, sweat, sunscreen, bug spray, and miscellaneous vegetable scraps on everything I own - oh, summer time :)

Updates

It's been awhile......but I'm two short projects away from finishing graduate school and promise I'll do better posting on a regular basis soon. I'll be back on the farm a few days a week this summer, and I'm sure I will have plenty of photos and stories to share...... I think I'm going to switch back to my other camera as well, so look forward to some better quality pictures.

In the meantime - a few photos to keep you interested. Some strawberries from the farm, plants in front my house (my mini-farm), and some flowers in a beautiful bouquet a friend gave me the other day.

Oh, and in case you haven't heard, we're moving to Fayetteville in August - I'll share the adventure of house hunting throughout the summer :)

Junk in the Trunk

Another pickup photo for my dear friend Kate........

A giant rosemary bush donated to the UVa Garden from the Farm at Red Hill.......I spread good smells all through Charlottesville driving around with this yesterday :)

Spring!

It's been a long winter, but spring is finally here! We had a fairly hard frost last night, but otherwise temperatures have been pretty warm and abundant sunshine has coaxed the daffodils and crocuses out.

As an early spring celebration, I forced some tulips in the house and had two beautiful blooms before the flowers outside arrived. What a great treat!

Outside, it's been a busy few weeks in the UVa Community Garden and out at the farm. Check out the blog (www.uvagarden.wordpress.com) for updates there - including some great pictures from the first workday last Saturday!

As for the farm - I'm so glad to be working again! Spring is in full swing at Twin Springs! The past few weeks, I've been primarily working in the hoop houses (the second one was finished in the fall), weeding, planting seeds, and transplanting up tomatoes and peppers that were started back in January (!!!). See a few pictures below from inside the hoop houses from Friday - it was rainy all day so I didn't get any good outside pictures, but I'm sure I'll get some soon.

Oh, and, yes, those are strawberries! The first of the season are just starting to ripen - I ate my first one yesterday morning - March 26th. Sweetest thing I've eaten in several months :)