Beets and string beans

My favorite days are ones when I get dirt all over myself. I got to pick cherry tomatoes, beets, carrots, and turnips this morning. Turnips smell great, by the way, when you are picking them. I also got to drive the red pick-up truck up the hill to take the turnips down to be washed for the CSA (community supported agriculture) shares. Hana took me out to drive the truck yesterday and pronounced me capable of driving it around the farm. It's a standard, and if you know me and standards, this is a big deal.

Yesterday I got to pick string beans with Hana (one of the owners and the manager here) which was definitely a highlight. This is a woman who is quoted to have said, "When greed is not your motivation, you have so many more options." I asked her all about Blueberry Hill, the co-housing community on the farm, which was fascinating, and about DC in the 60's during the riots, and why we have a rooster with our 150 hens (someone gave him to us). Pretty soon we had two and a half bushels of string beans and it was time for me to drive the truck over to the winter squash field for practice.

We got our shipment of pumpkins, Indian corn, huge Hubbards, and large, bumpy gourds last week. We'll start our school tours next week, and today Alisa (my housemate) and Chandra cleaned out the cider press! Not sure when we'll have apple cider yet.

Last night when I showered my hands still smelled like garlic from breaking apart cloves for seed that morning; before dinner they were fuschia after I peeled my sweet little boiled beets, and this morning after picking cherry tomatoes they were a dirty green and smelled deliciously like tomato vines.

Peace and fresh laundry out to dry -