Have I got treats for you! Well, besides this photograph of the ducks at Free Wheelin' Farm yesterday. These are Campbell Khakis, and I think they're darling. So does the farmer, Amy Courtney, who tells me they're three months old and aren't laying yet. Ducks are so funny.
Last time I was out at Deep Roots Ranch, Jean and Bob showed me a wonderful book of all these people with their farm animals...I'm talking the biggest bulls and horses you've ever seen. Stunning work by a photographer named Yann Arthus-Bertrand. Today I stumbled across a site with all the photos online: here is the section on cattle, pigs, donkeys, goats, and sheep. Speaking of pigs, do you think people really resemble their pets? Maybe not. Maybe so. And here are the horses. I just love his work.
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Another cool link: The Vertical Farm Project.
MORE: You say you want to be a farmer, but you haven't got the land? A Nintendo game called Harvest Moon lets wannabe farmers "grow" seasonal crops and even fruit trees. You have to pull weeds, grow your crops, raise livestock, marry someone in the town, and have children. (Ah, the Japanese.) Here's the Wikipedia entry for the game.
This is cute: "An increasingly large part of the games is purchasing, caring for, and reaping the rewards of owning livestock. Livestock can bring about profits on a daily basis (e.g., the player can milk cows each day). The other end of this spectrum is caring for animals. Giving your animals attention will increase their heart meters towards the player, and after a certain amount of time, will begin producing higher quality products. On the other hand, neglecting the animal's needs can lead to sickness and even death."
(Emphasis mine.)
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BLOGS & OTHER THINGS TO READ
Over at Crazy Salad blog, check out the Eat In/Act Out post...from SanDiegoRoots.org (San Diego Roots Sustainable Food Project):
San Diego has the second-highest number of small farms in the entire US and yet, very little local produce is used in our restaurants or sold in our markets. Instead, our produce is shipped away, while the average store-bought fruit or vegetable has traveled over 1500 miles to our plate!
During this week of action, people across the country are choosing to eat locally and think critically about their food choices.
"Eat in" refers to using local food, cooking food yourself instead of eating fast food, and "Act Out" means speaking up and taking action to change our food system and promote local food!
Good work!
Not farmy, but just beautiful and French is Lucy's Kitchen Notebook. Drop dead gorgeous photography, and heartful writing.
Please read Hen Waller's thoughtful post about their chickens, and the loss of community in America today.
Michael Ruhlman is getting all riled up about the people who are trying to pry his foie gras away from him--as well he should. (Careful, Mr. Ruhlman, you're going to muss your pretty hair if you keep waving your arms like that.)
Maybe time for a summer visit to "Raining Sideways: Life on a Devon Farm"?
The chef at Gabriella Cafe (here in Santa Cruz), Rebecca King, had the unalloyed joy of spending two months in the Basque regions of Spain and France, and has been blogging about her experience over at Ardi Gasna. She's a good writer, and she learned a lot about cheeses. (Gabriella Cafe is one of my clients for web design and photography.)
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Finally, this is nothing at all to do with a farm, but it's one of the most inspirational stories I've ever seen in any online community/forum. In eighteen years of being online, nothing has ever been as amazing as my friend, Jane, aka "Foodie52," in her thread at MouthfulsFood.com about "Musings on Life's Twists and Turns." She begins an odyssey thus:
So last Saturday in the Austin paper we read about Colombian orphans in town, hoping to be adopted. Hmmm...interesting.....my husband made a phone call - just to ask, that's all.
Right.
Yesterday we began the process of adopting Nataly, 13 years old. When we met her, it was love at first sight for all of us, including my two grown children.
I thought we were finished with child rearing, but apparently not!
I'm overwhelmed by the immediacy of this decision but it feels right. She fits into our household as though she has lived here with us forever. She doesn't speak any English yet. She has never eaten broccoli. She can't believe that she gets to choose the wall color of her room. She's never played on a computer ( until last night!) But she's a risk-taker: she was chosen to be part of this adoption program and took the challenge of flying to another country and being subjected to scrutiny by scores of adults. We were warned that she is shy. But as soon as we were introduced, she made eye contact with me, smiled and never looked away.
She goes back to Colombia and the orphanage on Wednesday.
So here we go....... I'll keep you all posted on the progress. It will take at least 6 months before she can come back.
She calls me Mamita....
Jane will be spearheading some kind of fundraising for the Colombian orphanage, and I'll post a link here to whatever form that might take, be it a website or a blog.
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And finally, from our "That's a New One on Me" files: a farm-connected friend of mine was asked the following: "I've noticed a funny byproduct of all the organic salad now available at local restaurants and cafes: bugs. On more than one occasion, I've found small garden bugs in my salad, and I was wondering whether your [friends] ever talk about this."
I have never gotten a bug in my salad, I don't think, and have to wonder where this woman (who is in New York City) is eating. How about you? No Bugs, M'Lady? If I did, I guess I'd just pick it out and turn it loose outdoors, if I could...I certainly wouldn't get squicked out. Maybe she's afraid the bug's eating her share of the salad.
Please feel free to leave comments about your experiences with bugs in your organic (or pesticide-laden) salads, in restaurants or at home. Don't delay: operators are standing by!
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That's all for now.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: “The essence of all art is to have pleasure in giving pleasure.” —
Dale Carnegie
Thanks for visiting.
Treats indeed, Miss Tana! Yann's pictures are astounding. Who knew bovines could grow that big?
I'm so glad you posted a link to Jane's story.
Posted by: Cathy | 27 July 2006 at 08:06 PM
I'm not sure whether I like the vertical farming idea. Singapore has loads of hydroponic farms - and they always struck me as rather artificial and industrial, and as being a rather energy hungry means of farming.
I'm interested to hear what you think of the concept.
Also, it would be great to see you as and when you're on this side of the continent - if you send me your itinerary when you know it, I'll definitely try to work out when and where we might match coordinates.
Posted by: tw | 30 July 2006 at 11:30 AM