A Rainy Earth Day

So...my first post since actually moving to the farm HAD to wait for a rainy day since its been non-stop activity since Spring Break. Perhaps one of you could have warned me that I might be biting off more than I could chew by opting to homeschool Quinn, becoming an organic farmer and still holding down a full-time job. Yikes! Its a good thing Quinn and I both like being busy!

The homeschool journey has been interesting to say the least. While I had envisioned an amazingly profound Human and Animal unit on the farm its been a lot more practical than spiritual. In actually being able to observe cows, eagles and owls Quinn has found many of the statements made in the curriculum to be inaccurate. For instance, at the moment I read the part about cattle being docile and difficult to rouse, a virtual stampede erupted and we were forced to hightail it out of the pasture. Another particularly stand-out passage refers to cattle as having shown such "good will toward men" in that they freely give of their milk, their flesh and their hide. Quinn responded, "Mom, they just tell you the facts that suit their purpose, even if they aren't true." On a brighter note, he gets to attend Erin's practicum each week at an experimental organic farm where she is earning her certificate in Sustainable Agriculture. He is becoming quite the expert!

The farm activities during the last month have been very intensive. The 60 acres adjacent to the house are in organic transition - a few acres of sweet corn, one acre of veggies and the rest field crops for 2010. We are adding a 2000 square-foot high tunnel this summer in order to extend the harvest beyond the traditional growing season. The veggie plot currently consists of potatoes, onions, shallots, leeks, carrots, beets, shell peas, snap peas and lots of greens. Broccoli, peppers, tomatoes (including heirlooms from the Okanis Garden) and lots of herbs are ready to be transplanted into the garden soon. Summer crops (squash, melons, beans, etc) will be seeded pretty soon as well. All of these crops and more we plan to offer at the Lawrence Farmers Market this summer. Quinn is starting a small cutting garden and will have bouquets for sale. He has quite a knack for putting together attractive bouquets.

It feels amazing to be involved in this effort even though I can already see that it is going to be incredibly challenging. And even though I miss Lawrence and our Prairie Moon family, it feels great to have another piece of life aligned with the mission of working to heal the planet. Happy Earth Day to all!!!