What a season this is. We went from deep snow to summery temperatures on the farm in a matter of moments it seems. These days there are so many more things to do in a day than there are hours to do them. On the “To Do” list this week (a truncated version):
- Transplant collards, spinach, and chard
- Direct seed parsnips, beans, and herbs
- Clean up camper beds and direct seed peas
- Support semester students in their independent Human Ecology Capstone projects, which includes everything from teaching Rose to plow a garden with Sal to canning applesauce with Julia or helping Casey to develop sustainability-focused curriculum for her home school
- Fix the winter damage done to electric fences at least one day ahead of the cow and sheep rotation into those areas
- Set up fencing and keep those animals on fresh grass!
- Move pigs to their woods paddock (we finished this task this morning – the smell is lingering on all of us from that wrestling match)
- Plow and harrow East Main and North Archery gardens and ammend with compost
- Plant potatoes and asparagus
- Irrigate strawberries and new apple trees if sufficient rain does not fall
- Harvest braising greens from the high tunnel
- Host work projects and chores for Cape Elizabeth sixth graders (here for a week through the Outdoor Classroom program)
I could keep going, but I’m going to stop before I feel much more overwhelmed. Spring is exhausting and affirming in all the best ways this year – humbling in all that their is to do, but such an incredible opportunity to come face-to-face with our own capacities every single day before falling asleep hard and coming back to do it again the next day.
Two glorious off-campus connections to highlight in this glorious season:
Local artists Ann (painter) and Rick Scanlan (photographer), owners of Sylvan Gallery in downtown Wiscasset, have been visiting the farm regularly over the past year to photograph our work, with a specific focus on livestock. Ann has been painting a series of pieces based on our farm and others, including a magnificent painting of Sal, Hilary, and me plowing last spring that now graces the entry wall of the Gatehouse, where I live here on campus. Here is one of the photos from their photo shoot here almost exactly one year ago; we’ll plow this same garden tomorrow and were happy to see Ann back on the farm this week taking more photos. Be sure to visit Sylvan Gallery if you get a chance to check out some locally grown artwork!
And in alumni connection news, Katherine Kibler of Semester 45 was back on the farm a few weeks ago to do some sound recording for a documentary radio class at Colby. The assignment was to make a radio piece based on someone whose job has an interesting sound attached to it; Katherine immediately thought of the farm and Sal in particular. Listen to the final product of her interview of farmer and beast here. Enjoy!
Back to the gardens . . .
