farm food

I had the privilege, thanks to the wonderfully generous mother that I babysat for this summer, to pick up her share of her "farm food" this week (since they are on vacation.)   This is a marvelous concept: individuals and families paying an annual fee to a local farm, and then receiving a share of the crops each week (during harvest season.)  This week the share was: 6 ears of corn, 1 cucumber, 6 peppers, 2 eggplants, 2 onions, 1 head of garlic, lots of tomatoes, 4 peaches, salad mix, basil, cilantro, and parsley.  What a feast!  I just had to take a picture- colorful, fresh (picked today!) delicious produce.  True beauty.  Maybe I should have been a farmer.  Did I miss my calling?!

                

Roxbury farm prints out a weekly newsletter, so I grabbed one after picking up my share.  I love their philosophy on how they take care of their farm!  Here is an exerpt:  "When we bought the farm it was all planted in corn or potatoes.  We found that almost every inch of the land had been tilled and planted to maximize its production.. The farm was treated like an object and the crops were seen as commodities.  Today the farm is treated as something that is unique; there is only one Roxbury farm and we will never be able to replicate it anywhere else in the world.  By setting goals not only to protect the soil against erosion but also increase its fertility, we have to constantly review its use.  By allowing the farm to become a living individuality we care for it like a living organism."  

I feel very ignorant in the area of farming, buying locally, communities sharing a farm and distributing the crops among themselves...  but I am so intrigued by it all!  I can't help but think that this is such a beautiful picture of enjoying and protecting creation.  Wendell Berry also has some good thoughts on this subject.. I read a collection of his essays called Sex, Economy, Freedom, and Community this summer.  I highly recommend it-  while some of it was completely over my head, it made me want to learn more.  

Ultimately, this all comes down to living in the way of Jesus- and yes, the way we buy and consume our food is a spiritual matter!  It's about creatively redeeming our culture and  bringing glimpses of God's kingdom here on earth.  I'm just starting to understand all of this.. God, forgive my ignorance and reveal your Truth to me. 

Maine

Summer is coming to an end..  this is my last week of freedom before I go back to work and start grad school (!!) As always, I'm feeling a bit nervous about the new school year, but I think it's just because of the extended time off for the summer- not that I'm complaining!  But, it does make it a bit harder to transition back to a crazy schedule, when for 2 glorious months life is a little more leisurely (word?)  I also have been given a lot more responsibility in my teaching job this year-  which is great, but at the same time somewhat nerve-wracking.  

Adam and I just got back from our trip to Maine.  It was an ideal vacation- a perfect balance of "seeing the sights" along with total unabashed laziness (we prefer the term resfulness, however :) We spent 2 days in a tiny town called Belfast- right on the coast, and just an hour from Acadia National Park.  We stayed at a quaint bed and breakfast called The Jeweled Turret Inn and were served delicious gourmet breakfasts each morning by our fabulous hosts, Kathy and Carl.  Then on to Portland for 2 days, the metropolis of Maine, where Adam got his fill of bookstores (I think we went to 4) and I got my fill of ice cream..

Here are just a few highlights of our trip:

- eating a whole lobster at a lobster pound (and trying to figure out how in the world to get all the meat out) 

- seeing Bar Harbor and the clouds hovering over little islands from the top of Cadillac Mountain (at Acadia National Park) 

- watching the sunset over the harbor in Belfast

- stopping to get wild Maine blueberries at a roadside stand

- hearing the New England accent ("that will be fauty-two cents, ma'am")

-bike riding around Peak's Island 

- Adam's sea bass that was served as the whole fish (including the head) 

-room service!

- eating a popover in New Hampshire

- walking around the Back Bay area in Boston