As usual, some logistics to cover first. I've got good news on the veggie front! Now that field veggies are coming ready, we're able to offer a limited amount of additional veggie boxes. If you missed out on ordering a veggie box this spring but still would like to get one, now's your chance! Head over bayfieldfoods.org or use this link https://www.harvie.farm/signup/bayfield-foods to sign up.
Secondly, as you may have noticed last week, we finally got the financing squared away for a nearly-new refrigerated Sprinter van! Our old refrigerated van will be reserved for backup and shorter trips, as it's got many many thousands of miles on it now. Keeping everything cold while we transport it is a top priority for us, and we're thrilled to have reliable refrigerated delivery vans.
Now, for the farm news:
A few days ago, I finished taking down the very first fence I ever built. Farmers Ryan, Eric, and I have been chipping away at it all season long, pulling nails and rolling up wire whenever we had a little extra time. The fence was part of what used to be our wintering lot when we had livestock, where we would bring the sheep, horses, and cows in to feed hay once the pastures were finished growing.
This lot had several portable sheds where the animals could get out of the weather, and where the ewes could have their lambs. With so many animals wintered there each year, the soil in this field is extremely fertile. However, without any more livestock to control the vegetation, the fertility was being taken up by an ever expanding patch of thistles that were threatening to spread even further across the farm. The area is pretty level, is next to 2 of our other hoophouses, and has access to a water hydrant nearby as well. Instead of letting the thistles take over, we decided to use this fertile ground as the site for our new hoophouse. Pull up the fence, mow down the thistles, and plow up the ground - out with the old to make way for the new.
Wednesday, our daughter helped me roll up the last of the fence wire. Our boys helped wrap a chain around the last cedar posts and pull them out of the ground with the loader. By lunchtime, the fence was completely down. It was a busy morning, and we went in for lunch sweaty but feeling productive.
When I came back that afternoon to mow the weeds down, I had time for reflection while sitting on the tractor. SO MANY memories came flooding back to me. Not only of the countless hours spent building the fence - drilling post holes, peeling cedar posts, and pulling fence wire (usually with our toddler son on my back) - but even more specific memories of that space on the farm. One place along the fence there was a little dip under the wire, too small for a grown hog to fit through but irresistible for a little pig. When we kept sows and raised hogs, the litters of little piglets liked to come snuffling out through the dip there to explore the nearby fields, only to go racing back under the fence at the first sign of "danger" to the familiar comfort of their mamma.
As I mowed, I noticed the holes left behind by the cedar posts we'd pulled out that morning. Those cedar posts weren't just fence posts, they were hitching posts. Each horse had a different hitching post, like assigned seating in a classroom. Our big team of Belgians - Shayla and Bess - had the first two stout cedar posts, while our smaller horses Dolly and Cody were assigned the following two posts, smaller posts for smaller horses. We would tie them up there to eat their breakfast of oats there while we got them dressed in their work harness, or trimmed their feet. They became safe, familiar places to the horses, smooth lines from their lead ropes worn into the soft cedar wood from years of tying up there. Once hitched to their post, each horse would visibly relax, as if to say they understood that this was their place. One time Cody spooked while pulling a drag through a field and took off running. He ran as fast as he could to "escape" whatever danger he had perceived, all the way back to his hitching post, where he stood quietly, waiting for us to help him. The tractors that we use now never spook, are so much faster, and take a lot less work, but those horses....
I guess I never realized how tightly the tapestry of the farm is woven into the fabric of who I have become. Pulling out that fence was like pulling out a little bit of me. I won't lie, I shed a few tears that afternoon as the memories came and went while mowing that field down. Later, I thought about how my kids had helped me finish the deconstruction that morning. Somehow it felt right, like things had come full circle. All the countless hours I had missed spending time with my family in the early years because I was so busy building fence, feeding sheep, milking cows, and staring at the back side of a horse.... Now, here we were, working along side each other taking this fence down. Together. Growing vegetables is a very different pace than raising livestock. It's turned out to be a much better fit for our family, and for that I am grateful, but those animals sure left their mark on me.
Out in the fields, the crops are looking good. The rains came back, and they were gentle. Our first planting of green beans has begun to size up (they will be available in your veggie boxes this week) and we've found loads of beneficial lady bugs living in those rows (lady bugs eat some species of insects that attack veggies!) The winter squash vines have nearly reached across the 6' rows to mingle with the next row over, and earlier this week we got the final planting of broccoli in the ground, right before a nice gentle rain. It's a big planting, so there should be plenty of broccoli for us to stock our freezers with later this fall. The sweet corn is starting to tassel, and all along the field edges, monarchs flutter among the milkweed blossoms. There is good in this world, friends. Summer is here!
In community-
Chris Duke
Farmer, Great Oak Farm
PS - Speaking of summer, here's our family's favorite summer cucumber salad recipe. Peel and quarter 2 cucumbers. Quarter a pint of cherry tomatoes and add to the cucumbers in a large bowl. Add finely chopped fresh basil (at least a heaping Tablespoon), salt and pepper to taste, a few Tbs of olive oil, a Tbs of balsamic vinegar, and some cubed fresh mozzarella or crumbled feta cheese. We always look forward to this summer staple at our house. And the best part - you can get all the main ingredients in your veggie boxes most weeks! Seasonal, local, and SO delicious.
