Model B

I grew up with an old Farmall Model M tractor with a bucket loader. It was a work horse plowing fields in the spring and plowing snow in the winter. It was so involved with our projects that it was almost like a member of the family. Need to reach some pears? Jump in the bucket and up you go. Need to repair the stone driveway? Break out the M. Is it time to plow? Then hook up the M and tear up some dirt.

Its been years since I got to sit between the big wheels. So I was pretty excited to jump up on our 'new' Allis Chalmers Model B.

The Model B was released in 1937 and marketed to small farmers (less than 100 acres.) Its main competition at the time was the horse. It sold for $495 which made it affordable for the small farmer.

We picked up this little classic for a little more. Our purchase bought us into the antique farm crowd. It runs great but needs a little work here and there to make the implements easier to use. That will be a fun winter project for my brother Cody and myself. The Tractor opens up a lot of opportunities and will make next spring easier.

Kristin and I realized that the only time we were spending outside was when we were required to make a presance at the garden. Often as that was we decided that we needed some more time outside. We looked at our dog Russell and asked him if he would like a walk. He responded by running laps around the tiny living room. We leashed him and loaded him in the car. Our destination was Tucquan Glen Nature Preserve.

Tucquan Glenn is a sight were several streams combine before dumping into the Susquahanna river. It is a great place to hike and explore. There are some small swimming holes filled with chilly water even in the summer heat. Russell wasn't crazy about the water but he was in the zone while hiking. It was a great outdoor experience for our little family, my wife, russell and myself.

Sizzle

With no rain for days and temperatures today reaching 99.7 degrees F farmers are starting to sweat. No rain can mean a bad yield and a bad yield is not good for their already stretched finances. Our own garden is feeling the heat but with a little watering and the straw mulch locking in moisture things aren't looking to bad.

Driving home from work today the corn all looked like an army holding sharp, green spears in my direction. Hopefully the weather rebounds and we start to get some of the wet stuff.

27

Kristin picked up a new book today. When I got home I picked it up and browsed through the introduction. It was a book about how to live your life the way you want to. The beginning of the introduction described in brief the process by which the author got his book published. Twenty-six publishers turned him down and even after the book was signed he was told that it would never sell. The odds were against him, statistics never lie. Five days after the book was released it was on the New York Times Best seller list. Eventually it became number one.

Sometimes I feel like that author after 26 rejections. The lifestyle that I want to live seems years away. We want to grow a garden, have a small farm where we don't just grow soybeans and #2 corn. Sometimes making it happen seems economically improbable. Everything else seems to get in the way of what we really want to do.

Sometimes we fail. This year a quarter of the land that we tilled for the garden went to weeds and without equipment it is slow work reclaiming it. Its late in the season. We are getting ready to plant hard-skin squash for the fall. Every time I want to go work at the garden it means forty minutes of driving.

In a lot of ways we failed this year. But there were a lot of peas and lettuce. There is plenty of squash, and there will be tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, potatoes, onions and more. Next year will be more organized. Seedling trays will be labeled better and a clear schedule will be followed. Our greenhouse will be sturdy and not succumb to the wind. We've come a long way from the garden that we grew up in. We were losing a hundred sweet potatoes to White-tails every year and trying to grow carrots in rocky soil. We have a long way to go.

Timothy Ferriss author of the number one New York Times best seller, The 4-Hour Workweek never gave up. Twenty-six publishers told him his book was not worth their time. Someday we'll find our twenty-seven. In the meantime we'll get really good at squashing bugs and pulling weeds.

pieris rapae

It is amazing the things that can be learned when something new is tried. With every plant that we put in the ground we become associated with a whole new universe of hungry bugs. Our lack of pesticide leaves us locked in an intimate relationship with potato beetles, cucumber beetles, squash borers and crickets.

This year, my personal favorite is the cabbage worm. Our particular variety is the larvea of the Small White butterfly (pieris rapae). They lay single cream colored eggs on the underside of our cabbage, broccoli and kale. In five to seven days they hatch and begin to wreak havoc on our plants. I had thought that we could control them with hand powered insecticide, (squishing) but their population seems to have exploded.

They can reduce kale to a sad looking stalk and ruin a cabbage head in an afternoon. However, against this tide of white fluttering wings and munching larvae there is hope. This week I will be investing in floating row covers and some plants that are reported to deter the pesky butterfly. The row covers will deter the moths from laying eggs.

We do have friends to help us with the cabbage worms. Today I say a wasp happily munching away on one. There are also wasps that lay eggs inside the worms. The wasp larvae then consume the worm before developing into adults.

Despite the constant battle between us and our small enemies the garden is extremely rewarding. It offers us our zen moment, out in the sun pulling weeds and squashing bugs.

Today was the first day that members could come pick up produce from our small cooperative. I was nervous. After all of the care and devotion that we gave to the produce as it was growing I dare say that we love it. It was almost as if people were coming to pick up puppies when they came for their produce. I hope they'll give it a good home.

Meals From Scratch

There have been a lot of challenges since Kristin and I started our one-hundred mile diet in April. Ingredients are not always available, meat is expensive, and bread has to be made. The convenience of the grocery store has disappeared now that we depend on the offerings of local farmers. Despite and even because of all of the challenges we have gained many things from our experience as well.

We have both become more proficient in the kitchen. Kristin has become quite the homemaker whipping up yogurt, breads and other tasty staples. We have also gotten a lot better at using what is available. Which is why it might suprise you that we enjoyed Tacos tonight.

Thats right, in the middle of June we had locavor tacos with all of the fixins'. We slow roasted some pork on Sunday and then chopped some of it up for taco meat today. We used a homemade taco seasoning recipe and made our own corn meal tortillas from scratch. The cheese came from Millport dairy, the tomato from a farmer's greenhouse in Mountville and the lettuce from our garden.

We popped some popcorn on the stove-top and let the i-pod serenade us with spanish guitar. Try these recipes from scratch. Get every one involved and crank up the spanish music for a fun family night.

Taco Seasoning

1 tablespoon chili powder

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon of cyanine (optional)

Mix in bowl.

Brown 1 pound of meat and drain.

Mix in half cup of water and seasoning mix. Simmer till water evaporates stirring occasionally.

Done!

Corn Meal Tortilla

1 1/4 cups of all purpose flour

3/4 cup of Corn Meal

1 teaspoon of salt

2 Tablespoons vegetable shortening or oil (I used olive oil)

1 cup of boiling water (measured with a metal cup)

Mix dry ingredients.

Boil water.

Add oil.

Mix in water with fork.

Role dough into a log and cut into ten pieces. Sandwich the pieces in between two cuts of wax paper. Role until thin. Peel off one side of wax paper. Cook in dry skillet until brown spots appear then remove remaining paper and cook other side.

Done!

Back in the Swing of Things

Coming home from far away is like jumping out of a moving car. You've got to hit the ground running. Life has been a whirlwind of jet lag and work days since we returned. We are fortunate to have great people taking care of things for us while we are gone. My brother Cody got a big crew together to spread straw in the garden.

They did a great job and things were looking pretty cheery when Kristin and I went there today to pull weeds in the salad bed.

The little valley that we planted in stays cool longer so our brassicas are doing well. We are just beginning to show the first signs of pest damage, which can escalate pretty fast in an organic setting. With every weed we pull and bug we crush we look forward to the day when we can own some property and have more influence over the cycles that take place in our garden.

Our italian kale looks amazing so we brought some home to simmer down with a splash of vinegar. The Peas are healthy the corn is growing and the squash is getting ready to take off. The expectation of bountiful food hovers in the air.

In three weeks we will begin sharing some of our produce with friends that purchased a share of our harvest. We are excited to show them what we've been up to.