Moonshadow Family Farm News
May 15, 2008
Let's see – this is the seventh time I've attempted to
start this newsletter today. I, of
course, should have done this at any point during the week while the weather
encouraged working inside. But
I've been too grumpy. Until today,
I would have had only complaints about the temperatures, gray skies, delayed
plant growth, mud, confined bees, yada, yada... However, today is
another story and I do not think I've ever seen a prettier afternoon at the
farm. The scent of blooming
elderberries almost knocks you out, bees are flitting amongst both the red
currant and dandelions, there was a goldfinch at the feeder, two mourning doves
have been cooing in the cedar tree all day, swallows are overhead, and for the
first time that I can remember, the daffodils and apple trees are blooming
concurrently. So now you
understand why it has taken me all day to force myself indoors to send you farm
news.
Taking center stage in our lower field is a most colorful
Maypole. We had thirty-one members
weaving around the pole and later enjoying s'mores around a bonfire on May
3rd. If you thought our Maypole
process was a bit random, let me tell you that the Maypole dance I helped
conduct at the Carnation Farmers Market was pretty close to chaos. Here's the picture: it was raining, the musicians refused
to play music for the dance, the CD player wouldn't work, the pole was very
thin and tall and held in place with sand in a bucket. Not a very big bucket. Most of the kids were under the age of
seven, so although I tried to have them number off by 2's and go in two
directions, that failed miserably and we just had them walk around the pole,
while parents clapped their hands in lieu of music. The pole began to tip almost immediately, so I spent the
next five minutes holding it up while dodging streamers and trying to avoid
becoming a Maypole mummy. For
those with a sense of humor, no doubt this was all good fun. I'm sure I'll laugh about it someday,
too.
Brad and I think we need some scarecrows in our lower field
to keep the Maypole company and provide amusement for the donkeys. Normally, we would hold our June event
on the solstice weekend but Brad will be at a workshop this year. Our scarecrow-building,
summer-celebrating event will be Saturday, June 28th at 2:00. More news about this later, but for
members continuing on with us for a second year, I wanted you to have this date
for your calendars.
As I created the 2008-2009 schedule, I realized I was
placing most events towards the end of months. To make it easier for you to
remember farm event days, we decided to schedule gatherings on the fourth
Saturday of each month. (I will be
sending information about rates and the complete schedule on Monday, after we
return from the delayed celebration of our 25th wedding
anniversary!)
Plant Starts: Many of you are eagerly awaiting plant
starts. It's been a slow go this
year. By next weekend, I will have
tomato, chard, sorrel, kale, cabbage, broccoli raab, and lettuce starts ready
to go. Basil, squash, cucumber,
and pepper starts will take a little longer. We will be around the farm Saturday morning (May 24) and all
day on Monday (May 26), or send me a message if you'd like to come up at
another time.
Critter Corner
Can you tolerate another rat story? It's actually rather more about bumping
hard into your belief system than about rats. But rats were the catalyst.
Not long ago, I needed to clean the rabbits' house. To do this, I move one rabbit at a time
into an abandoned rabbit hutch while I clean their new house. I was a little worried that a rat might
be nesting in the hutch, and sure enough – as soon as I poked into the
pile of straw, a very large rat hopped out. Not a problem – the hutch door was open and she
quickly exited the barnyard while my heart rate returned to normal. The problem occurred when, upon further
poking, I discovered six newborn, helpless baby rats at the base of the straw
pile. A moment of truth.
We have a covenant with our land that we will not kill. Anything. The hardest tests of this covenant are rats and slugs. Here I was, facing six rats I could
easily eliminate. I don't know
exact population statistics, but I'm pretty sure each rat can produce a fairly
impressive number of offspring. So
it was not really just these six rats I had to consider, but the future
generations they represented. I
knew I could just drop them on the ground and the chickens would make quick
work of them. To be honest, I was
tempted.
I didn't do it.
Not because I was squeamish.
Not because I wanted more rats around the farm. Not even because I didn't want to deal
with any guilt. I didn't do it
simply because, at my deepest core, what I'm about is reverence for life. All life. Even life with a skinny tail.
I sighed, and closed the hutch door.
