getting the shares "down the road."

The Weekly Bushel #2, 2010

LotFotL Community Farm

Looking up:

Greetings! The rains of the past week, and the lack of rain, and beginning of seasonally warmer weather for this week, has spirits a bit higher out here. We are very dependent on what those forces and perhaps beings that control the weather decide upon, and over the past couple of weeks, we haven't so much cared for the way the craps have hit the table. A good week of food for you this week, the beginning of egg shares for those of you who have signed up(we are sold out for now), and some thoughts about the challenges of being a coming of age farmer. Hope you enjoy!

Eggs for Egg shares:

For those of you who went to your drop off location last week, to find no eggs whatsoever, my apologies. We had hoped to get them out with the first share, but the eggs made it to the farm too late for delivery. 

There are lots and lots of variables in organizing who gets their eggs when. I can have an every other weeker who picks up in the first,not second produce rotation, who gets 2 dozen eggs once a week. Or an every other weeker in the second produce rotation who gets eggs every other week, but missed their first pick up, and is getting produce this and next week, but eggs only next week. Head spinning yet?

I need to make this simple, but it will definitely confuse many, so just bear with me here. 
We want to be sure that you don't have to make a special trip to your drop off location just to pick up eggs. So, if you are an EVERY OTHER WEEK PRODUCE member, with pick ups in EAST TROY, MUSKEGO, CAFE MANNA, GOOD HARVEST, OR WCTC, and you've ordered and paid for eggs, there will be eggs for you with this week's delivery. If you are a FULL PRODUCE SHARE, check the roster to see if we've packed eggs for you this week. If we haven't started yours this week, you'll get you started next week. 

Sound ok? Give a call or email me if you don't understand. 262-951-0794 or tim@lotfotl.com

Down the road:

 I have a good friend named Rich. I don't think he'd find it unfair for me to say that he is able to fill the corners of his life with a great deal of complexity. You see, when he's not teaching at a local college, Rich likes to buy and resell lots and lots of stuff, mainly things with motors. He buys lots of trailers, and always has at least one truck that is equipped with enough horsepower to pull a tractor home. While pulling home what can be tons and tons of weight, in whatever both weather and mechanically sound conditions, Rich likes to use the mantra "down the road ,baby, just get down that road!" He's usually talking to his truck at the time, which I always find funny in an endearing sort of way. 

I thought about that phrase of his just now really. I too have been pulling lots of extra weight around these days, through all weather conditions, and no matter how nicely the trucks have been running. I've had  bricks above my shoulders, and lead in the soles of my shoes. Gravity and I have gotten to know each other intimately. 

Business is stressful. Seasonal business, when it's the season of business, is even more so. I used to wick the heavy stuff off, and be able to set it aside easily. But, ever since I've had employees, I've sensed a shift. It's counterintuitive to suppose that bringing in more folks to lend a hand could bring with it more worry or anxiety. Then again, more workers means more variables and complexity. 

The very thought though of getting "down the road" allows me to think differently about stress. If you've ever pulled a trailer with a good amount of weight behind it, or been on a road trip, or even just a half an hour from home, and in some really harrowing conditions, you know this desire: to get on the other side of the clouds, to get home both safely, and sooner than later, to get past not only the physical conditions of the road, but past what those conditions lend to your own well-being at the time. 

On what is my last day before turning 30, I must say that I've been on a few of these. Some of my dangerous roads have been longer than the time it takes for many mammals to live through old age, and return to the soil. Others fluttered around just as long as a mosquito's days with breath. Like snowflakes, tough days do not ever take the same form. If the right conditions exist, they may just show up, before disintegrating. If allowed to fester though,eventually they can create quite the mess in your driveway. 

It must be good to be stressed at times, and not simply from a dialectic point of view. I like the idea that you can't know hot unless you know cold, but that doesn't provide any essential value to either, just allows you to say that something is good relative to something else. I'm no essentialist, but I'm no relativist either. 

Stress is good once you've gotten past it. Once you've gotten home from your escapade on hwy 94, it feels somehow rewarding, or at the very least relieving, to have made it. Similarly, when a decision has finally been made, a decision you've allowed yourself to curl up into knots about, there is most always a sense that even if it didn't go down they way you would have liked, it is over now, and you can get past it. And in getting past something, you truly do experience life anew, in a non-stagnant and enchanting sort of way. 

Whatever it's nature, and the consequences of exposure, stress is never intended for, but invariably happens, especially if you are carrying a heavy load. The idea that you can simply outrun stress though is very valuable. If you're not stressed out today, you've done this at least once before, and likely will have to do so again. The idea of getting "down the road" is one of the very best my friend Rich has put into my brain, and he is somewhat responsible for me farming in the first place. 

May the week of sun illuminate any dark corners of your days ahead!
tim

The Food!:

This week's share is a lot like last weeks. That's somewhat intentional. We do not yet have great field variety. Also, with every other week shares, we like to get everyone the same items, so no one feels as if they missed out. There will be some items here and there that won't be received week by week though, as we don't want a sterile rotation. WE will have more rosemary and tomato plants at the drop off this week. They are for people that have not yet received them, so if you got one last week, please leave them for folks that did not. 

• Lettuce-Italienischer. What I call the belgian ale of lettuces. Complex, nicely textured, and rather showy too. 
• Spinach
• Arugula-labeled in bags this time, so you know what you're eating :)
• Nettle-last week of nettle. The tea and soup recipes from last week's newsletters were well received. If you don't know what to do with it, be sure to check outlotfotl.com and last week's newsletter for some tips. 
• Sage- wonderful overwintering herb. Great on fish, or with mexican food. You can bundle it and burn it in the home too, either as a spiritual purification ritual, or simply because your cat box smells like a cat box
• scallions or baby leeks-we should have enough scallions for everyone. if not, some overwintered leeks still abound
• asparagus-hopefully. Keep your fingers crossed. The last couple frosts have taken a toll on the asparagus stand. We'll get you what we can, but it's looking like another ligher asparagus serving this week
• Bok Choy-bunched and larger this week. Red and green heads. 
• Radishes-d'avignon. Very mild, quick growing radishes. Delicious raw, or lightly fried with other vegetables. 
• Tomato and Rosemary plants-1 each for people that have not received their's yet. 

Fixins:

Arugula Pesto Recipe