I’m sitting down to write after eating a hearty breakfast of
pancakes with local seasonal fruit; peaches, blackberries, cherries and plums,
delicious. I love eating seasonally and
the excitement it brings when I get to taste the ‘firsts’ of the season, it
makes me appreciate food so much more. This
week we picked the first grapes which have been growing in a tucked away corner
of the farm, I didn’t even realise they were there until recently. The grapes are small, but sweet and
delicious, a wonderful treat for a hot Saturday afternoon.
It’s been a very fruity week, we harvested watermelons for
CSA and have been feasting on the extras. I could eat watermelon all day long, and I
never in a million years thought that they would grow here, they are one of the
food highlight’s for me here. It’s so
nice to see a crop full circle too, I planted the watermelon seedlings in the
first couple of weeks of being here, and now we’re eating them. It struck me
the other day just how quick that has been, maybe three months might feel like
a long wait for some, but I’m still amazed by just how quickly a plant can go
from a tiny seed to a harvestable crop.
Watermelon harvest. so much delicousness!
Talking of time, how did August come around so quickly? I remember thinking when I arrived that it
would be ages before summer was in full swing, but here we are now already in
summers gradual decline and soon the fall will set in. I’m really looking forward to autumn, cooler
more comfortable days, (hopefully) less mosquitos and the trees turning to fiery
hues.
We will hopefully be moving up to the farm in a couple of
weeks (we’re still on Bob’s farm). The intern
cabins are finished, we’re just waiting on the bathroom and the kitchen to be
complete in the main building and then we can relocate. It will be nice living on the farm and I’m
excited about moving, though I think it will be strange sleeping inside a cabin
after spending three months in a tent. I’ll
miss sleeping outside, the cabin feels so much more closed in than the tent despite
being twice as big. I feel very
connected to nature, her rhythms and the elements with just a canvas canopy
over my head. However I’m sure I’ll be
grateful to be in the cabin when the weather gets colder!
The August full moon. It's so bright here it light's up my tent at night.
This coming Saturday and Sunday is Garlic Fest at the Carp Framers Market, so we’ve
spent a good amount of time this week processing the garlic we hung for
curing. Zach taught us how to braid in
different styles according to the type of garlic. Soft neck garlic gets braided in a
traditional plait, where as hard neck garlic has more of a stacking
method. Braiding soft neck is tricky and
my few attempts were pretty shoddy. I much
prefer braiding hard neck garlic, and thankfully that’s what we have the most
of.
'Korean Purple' variety garlic braids; made by fair English hands.
Here’s to a busy and garlicky week ahead!
Much love
Becky x
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