WednesdayApril 21, 2010
Beautiful morning! As I was driving to the farm, Norm called me, and said he was taking Adriana to school and wouldn’t be to the farm until about 8:15. I passed them on my way out there.
When Norm arrived, he showed me the new baby chicks that he had gotten last Thursday. They have to be kept in an incubator for a while and can't be put with the adult chickens yet. How cute! 
We got right down to work, and my first job was cutting gunny sacks full of seed potatoes. He has someone coming later today to plant them out in the field with some kind of machine.
Hannah got her yearly summer haircut. She looked so different when I first saw her that I didn't recognize her!
This was the first time I had been up to the top of the property. Norm and I drove in his pickup, and he showed me the different fields that he has and the woods at the back of the property. The picture above is of his apple orchard. The trees are individually fenced and mulched. We spread a natural fertilizer on these trees as well as his raspberries up behind the apple trees. We also spread this fertilizer under each grape plant in the vineyard. Up behind the raspberries, he also has rhubarb.
The next job that we did took the longest, and it was the hardest, mostly because it was sad. We cleaned out all his bee hive boxes, because he had lost all his bees this past winter. He is not sure why, but he thinks it might have been due to mites and/or toxins in the environment. So, we spent a few hours taking each box apart and cleaning the frames. Norm saved out several frames that were loaded with honey to later extract it in his spinner to be bottled up for his family and/or the CSA share boxes. He left some frames with bits of honey out, so the new bees could snack on it when they were out and about, and he planned on putting a few honey-laden frames in each box for food for the new bees.
As it was getting very warm in the sun by this point, we took a lunch break and then came back after that to finish the job to the point where Norm could put the boxes back together in time for him to pick up his new bees tomorrow.
Right next to the bee hive area are two big compost piles. Norm said they are almost ready to be used.
These are flats of scallions that someone else grew for Norm. Our next and last task of the day is to plant these out in the garden. This will be my first planting in the garden! (Norm told me that the Paragon tomatoes I planted last Wednesday are coming up great and very uniform. I had planned on looking at them and getting a photo of them before I left for the day, but forgot...maybe next week!)
Norm put them in the bucket of his tractor and drove them over to the field. After he tilled up two rows to plant them in, he started laying each individual plant out in the first row.
Here is what they looked like close up. They had a fabulous fresh oniony aroma.
Norm, Adriana and I planted the scallions, until Norm had to go and meet the potato-planting man. Then, Adriana and I finished up together, having a wonderful conversation. I found out that she is in Honor's Choir (just like Amanda and Corianne were) and that her final concert of the season is coming up on Sunday, April 25.
Adriana, driving the tractor back to the shed, after we finished planting the scallions.
Norm told me that I should always feel free to take whatever is in abundant excess on the days that I am there working. Today, he told me that I should feel free to take home some asparagus and kale. So, Adriana accompanied me around, picking kale and asparagus. This asparagus field is the small one near the house. He also has another big field of asparagus up in back of the property.
Right next to the mini asparagus field is the place where the horses are kept outside. Adriana introduced me to Lena and Ole....super cute! She fed them grass through the fence, and they loved it. These are the ponies that the CSA children get to ride when they come for farm visits.
After a long, tiring and absolutely wonderful day working on the farm, Willee and I got to enjoy this fresh asparagus. We used Corianne's recipe...asparagus and olive oil and minced garlic....baked at 350 for a few minutes and then drizzled with fresh squeezed lemon juice. Fabulous! Thanks, Norm and Corianne.
Norm put them in the bucket of his tractor and drove them over to the field. After he tilled up two rows to plant them in, he started laying each individual plant out in the first row.
Here is what they looked like close up. They had a fabulous fresh oniony aroma. 
Norm, Adriana and I planted the scallions, until Norm had to go and meet the potato-planting man. Then, Adriana and I finished up together, having a wonderful conversation. I found out that she is in Honor's Choir (just like Amanda and Corianne were) and that her final concert of the season is coming up on Sunday, April 25.
Adriana, driving the tractor back to the shed, after we finished planting the scallions.
Norm told me that I should always feel free to take whatever is in abundant excess on the days that I am there working. Today, he told me that I should feel free to take home some asparagus and kale. So, Adriana accompanied me around, picking kale and asparagus. This asparagus field is the small one near the house. He also has another big field of asparagus up in back of the property.
Right next to the mini asparagus field is the place where the horses are kept outside. Adriana introduced me to Lena and Ole....super cute! She fed them grass through the fence, and they loved it. These are the ponies that the CSA children get to ride when they come for farm visits.
After a long, tiring and absolutely wonderful day working on the farm, Willee and I got to enjoy this fresh asparagus. We used Corianne's recipe...asparagus and olive oil and minced garlic....baked at 350 for a few minutes and then drizzled with fresh squeezed lemon juice. Fabulous! Thanks, Norm and Corianne. 
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