It’s time to sort those stack of papers, music at the farm, more rain

Rob is back from his two weeks off and has plunged back into winter maintenance on the equipment. We’re still expecting to have everything ready to go when we need it.

Those of you who have been to the office and have seen the mounds of papers on my desk recognize that I have certain pack-rat tendencies. In particular, I’ve never seen a good idea for the farm that I didn’t want to keep on hand. I’ve been working to get the drifts of paper sorted out and organized. This effort includes reorganizing the entire office, particularly with a view to increasing and better organizing the space devoted to paper files and storage. Since the tiny office is the only room that is kept heated, any papers we want to keep in good condition have to find a home in the office somewhere. In addition, we are trying to increase the desktop space available. Ruth has been doing her bookkeeping and other tasks on a tiny workstation desk. We have been brainstorming on how to help her do her work more efficiently.

Last weekend Carol went to Rainy Camp. This is a folk music weekend put on by the Seattle Folklore Society, bringing together performers and enthusiasts for a weekend of singing. Carol went for her own enjoyment and relaxation, but I provided her with some photos of musicians at the farm in the hope that she could make some contacts and interest musicians in performing at the farm. Unfortunately, I’m usually too busy to sit back and listen attentively, but I a lift from listening and watching our visitors responding to the music.

Banjo Andy (Andy Blyth) has delighted kids and adults at the farm for several years now. Many of the other musicians who have performed at the farm have been contacts of Andy’s.

Raging Zephyr performing at The South 47 Farm. Photo by Mary Embleton of the Cascade Harvest Coalition.

I also have to mention Storytelling Steve (Steve Bourne), another popular artist who has been enriching the experience of farm visitors for several years. Steve’s devoted fans are always happy to sit down and listen to him spin a tale or two.

While Carol was away, my son Andrew & I went to the Medieval Renaissance Fair put on by the Society for Creative Anachronism I had never been to this fair and was amazed by the number of participants. We spent a fair amount of time watching a lot of guys in armor whacking away at each other with padded sticks. There was also a marketplace with various venders. There I ran into Sera Hartman, who worked at our fall farmstand for several years. In 2004 she also worked with me as an intern focusing on improving the farm and farmstand experience. Building the white fence gateways at the farm entrances and convincing me to paint the sheds red & white were two of her projects. When we met Sera was busy promoting another later reenactment fair to the vendors.

The weather has stayed relatively warm, but we have been accumulating near-record rainfall, about twice the average rain for January. There are sheets of water all over the farm. I have been worried about the apples. I’ve never seen water standing like this in the apple orchard. Excepting the hill, most of the farm looks flat at first glance. However, there are high and low areas. We decided to plant the apples in one of the higher areas.

Standing water in the apple orchard. Our apples are grafted onto dwarfing rootstock and are pruned and tied to a wire trellis, making U-Pick easy for most folks. We have suspended from the lower trellis wire the black waterline that delivers water to the apples

I can now see sprouts of the shallots and most varieties of garlic. I still don’t see the garlic varieties Zemo or Chinese pink, but can’t get close to those beds without getting deep into the mud.

I will be attending a couple of upcoming events. The Farmer Chef Connection is intended to help farmers and chefs better understand each others’ needs and constraints and to give them a chance to meet and possibly forge business relationships. Rob and I will both go to the Small Farms Winter Field Day at the Extension in Puyallup to see how their cover crop research trials are progressing.

What’s playing today on the Jeep CD player? Tom Waits – Real Gone