Mapleton's

Today was the second CRAFT day of the season. We went to Mapleton's Organic farm. The website has a decent introduction to the farm and it's history. We started the day by dividing into two groups and toured the joint. No wait, we started with an icebreaker in which we all got pieces of paper attached to our back and had to ask others yes or no questions in the attempt to figure out what was written on them. Most people had things like "tractor", or "holstein", or "mulch". I got "subsidies". :(

Anyhow, the first thing we toured was the CSA garden. This is a new addition to the farm started by an ex-CRAFT intern (and OT grad), Caitlin Hall. She has done an amazing job. Really, it's quite impressive. Since October or November last year she has bootstrapped the entire 20 member operation, on her own. She's working a two acre plot and greenhouse. All of her vegetables look pretty good, and her garden is super well organised (okay, well as soon as I see labeled stakes in the ground marking each row, I'm happy). She puts a lot of time into it though; she works 12-13 hour days six days a week, plus works half of Sunday. A machine.

I think I'll try to keep in touch with her to see how it goes over the season. We're now heading into the most intense time of the season, I'm told.

Anyhow, after the CSA gardens we saw the ice cream and yogurt making facility. Lots of stainless steel. We learned a bit about the milk quota system and ice cream regulations. Interesting stuff.

Then on to see the dairy cows and their milking shed. They're such beautiful animals. Cows. I think I'd like to own a few someday, but only just so that I could let them do their cow things, and collect the manure maybe. These cows were mostly Holsteins, with some Jersey crosses, I think. Enormous udders. Painfully enormous. It's the size of a full garbage bag hanging from between their legs. Apparently their top producer gives them 50 L of milk a day. Holy cow.

We learned all sorts of info on the differences between the conventional and these organically raised cows. After hearing all of this I find it a little hard to imagine farming conventionally. I mean, I can certainly understand it, but I just as certainly couldn't do it myself. As I say, and I know this sounds terribly flakey, but there's something about letting animals and vegetables be themselves that I find intensely wholesome and important. Performing the conventional horrors to an animal or vegetable to make it grow just because it appears easier, or more efficient, or even necessary somehow seems ultimately like short-sightedness.

Anyhow, then came lunch followed by a talk by Johann of our farm, and Steve of Fourfold Farm on livestock. Then we worked. Then we bought ice cream. Then we left. (Sorry, I'm tired).

Cool Hand Luke

Ever seen the film "Cool Hand Luke"? I recommend it. It contains several amazing scenes. In one, we get this bit of classic dialog:

Luke: I can eat fifty eggs.
Someone else says: Nobody can eat fifty eggs.

Okay, I guess you have to see the film. In any case, there's a scene where Luke and a bunch of men on the chain gang are laying down a road, in the heat, and the everyone is grumpy and moving slowly just hating what they're being forced to do. All of sudden Luke starts going like a mad man, tossing gravel down as fast as he can. Everyone joins in and they're suddenly enjoying it. Hootin' and hollerin' and getting a thrill out of the intensity of everything.

Well, today was nothing like that. No no, I'm kidding. Today was very much like that, minus the Luke. As a group we just settled into this incredible rhythm of work. Transplanting, like yesterday. Only today it seemed to go at a quicker, more consistent, and energetic pace. We were planting with a wider spacing (every 12 inches, and sometimes 18 inches, rather than yesterday's 6 inches), and sometimes we'd only plant two rows per bed instead of three. That really made things cook.

But more so I think it was just that we all knew what we were going to be doing, and so we relaxed into it and decided to "give 'er", rather than be so concerned about how much our back or legs hurt, etc. Or maybe this is just my experience of the day, and everyone else experienced it entirely differently. I'll have to ask.

In any case, a great day. As I say, we planted all of the brassicae (Cabbage, Broccoli, Kolhrabi, and Pak Choi), plus parsley, I think. Maybe something else too. I spent part of the afternoon baking blueberry muffins for tomorrows CRAFT day (it's a pot luck lunch at one of the CRAFT farms -- more on this tomorrow). We also layed out drip line for the brassicae and floating row cover.

I have to say I'm still coming down from the buzz of today. I think I really enjoy sustained hard work with a fast pace. It's also great to be digging around in the dirt all day. My hands, arms, and face were dark brown with dust this evening. Leslie and I noted that our cuticles have disappeared or are disappearing from our hands -- likely getting ground (get it?) away by the earth as we continually jam our hands into it.