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Visitors at the Farm

Posted 6/17/2009 11:23pm by Lyndon Hartz.

Community
By Good Earth Food Alliance grower and producer, Leslie Schenkel

Last evening as I was pulling green onions and enjoying the semi quiet that comes with living in the country yet too close to the highway -- and having kids that drive, boyfriends that drive and friends that drop by - the cat went running through the garden followed by one of the dogs. I assumed that someone had come to visit so I picked up my onions and wandered toward the house. When I got to the edge of the garden I discovered that the dog and cat had cornered a very young skunk. It was really cute yet really angry. It was trying so hard to spray and keep an eye on all its surroundings that it kept falling over. This gave me the idea to share with you about all the guests our farm entertains.

I always gauge the coming of spring by when the barn swallows move in. This year, as with last, it was the same day my parents came to help with the expansion of my black raspberry patch. Some things come full circle every year! The babies are now hatched and singing away when I go into the barn to retrieve eggs and their parents are on mosquito patrol over the garden. In the raspberry patch I have seen rabbits and other small rodents out of the corner of my eye and the new raspberry growth hosts a very small bird and its nest. My daughter, Sara, found a long black snake skin in the patch also - I'm hoping it's the harmless type.

Mornings in early spring I go out to work and hear the wild turkeys calling. Many evenings I can hear three different packs of coyotes singing to each other. Because of the chickens, we are occasionally visited by raccoons and opossums. And of course, like any farm with tasty green things, we have deer. I've noticed two different sizes of hoof prints in the garden. Yesterday while I was cleaning the onions, two came out of the woods and Tyler, my son, chased them away. I'm hoping the gaggle of teenage boys around the fire last night will deter the deer for a while.

During some of the first meetings of Good Earth Food Alliance we discussed how we intended to grow food that is good for us -- and you -- and the methods we would use to do so. I am proud that I am not only doing it because it tastes good and is nutritious but because as a member of a much larger Community (right down to the slugs in the lettuce patch!) I feel responsible for not causing harm to the larger system.

And it really is quiet out there in the early morning -- before the phone starts ringing, the television is turned on, and the kids start fighting with each other -- my most favorite moments of the day are the quiet ones in the garden -- just me and my friends.

On the Good Earth Food Alliance website:

New recipes and ideas for working with garlic scapes and spring greens including swiss chard and kale.
Learn more about the Basil's Harvest story on our website. Basil's Harvest products may be ordered throughout the week with delivery the following Tuesday. Check the webstore on Sunday for new product offerings.