Princess of Cups

Yesterday we doddled. The weather was grim and windy. But we went to a small apple orchard and the trees were beautiful and full of perfect fruit. Later, I recorded some songs in the barn. I had to stop one of the takes because a chicken was making me laugh.

The day started today with shucking garlic in the barn. Drove to a new order Mennonite's farm, a man who has started an organic, grass fed cow share. He practices intensive pasture rotation which benefits both cow and pasture, and his jerseys are healthier, longer living and longer producing than the high-protein grain fed animals in commercial farming.

He also keeps riding horses and two of his Australian Shepherd's just had pups. They are fed jersey milk and are fatter than piglets. His four-year-old daughter (who was wiser than her years) walked with me and we exchanged quiet conversation as the farmer showed Caitlin and Yvonne around the pasture ahead of us. I knew I was missing important information, but I felt she, and quietly meeting the animals, was more important in that moment. She introduced me to some of the horses and cows and gathered a bouquet of grass just like I do. I gave her some small peacock feathers from my pocket after sharing a glass of the raw jersey milk...

We harvested squash, leeks and tomatoes in the afternoon, and then my brother and mum arrived for a visit. I showed mum how to collect the eggs and nearly died laughing she was so excited and hesitant at the idea of picking an egg out of a roost. Then I dragged Calum around with me for the evening chores, and he laughed at the big Berkshire sows when I poured them their feed. We helped pick rocks out of Yvonne's test winter wheat crop, I taught Calum to ride the tractor, and barked extensively at my mother about buying land and building a small cottage.

We walked down to the creek with the dogs and through the wooded path. We sampled apples from the trees we discovered, and found spearmint growing wild on the path.

Caitlin cooked us a meal of all her farm's creation. Roasted sausage with tomatoes, mashed potatoes and sweet corn. I bid my family adieu and collapsed into a ramble.