wide & open

A down and dirty dead of winter trip through the American north from Bainbridge Island to Cleveland took us 3.5 days. 10 tanks of gas and a sturdy corolla did the trick. We rode a break in the weather the whole way with clear skies and bone chilling temps reaching the lowest in Butte, MT at -27 below. Relying on mexican food for lunch and gas station coffee (blech) we finished in good spirits if not a little car sore. I could have stayed in Wyoming with my animal spirits, I was enchanted.

piedmont values

Here are some more pics from italy. I look forward to telling you about it in person sometime soon.

italian dreams

By now this is old news but thought i may as well post this draft:

Our trip to Italy was simply wonderful. The Italians know how to source great food, cure the most amazing meats, crush grapes into the world's best wine, relax while eating, and take life a slower more suitable pace.

Our first leg was spent in Turin at Terra Madre where we discovered the depth of Italy's food system at the Solone del Gusto and made connections with amazing young farmers from all over the country. I had the pleasure of meeting Alice Waters who unfortunately was terribly uninterested in meeting me despite the huge friendly smile and brief life summary I gave her. We fed off the energy of the Youth Food Movement which seems to be sweeping the world at such an exciting rate and brainstormed about how to better unite. The most valuable session I attended was a mentor farmer workshop where Slow Food grouped young farmers with older/more experienced farmers and facilitated conversation about growing practices and life down the road as farmers.  Albert, a farmer from eastern Washington laid out the most valuable lessons one can learn from farming which are actually wise life lessons: patience, adaptability, seeking and pursuing opportunities, honing the ability to mechanically fix anything, seeing the BIG picture and telling your story.

back at you

Hunkering down and enjoying a bit of free time I figure I should pick my blog back up. A lot has happened since my last post in June. Some points to note: we have made it through the farming season, I earned new front teeth, and we traveled to Italy with the high-profile foodies of the world (more to come on this one). Between my new day gig and grant writing here are some of the highlights:

city growing

Our friend Molly recently bought a house with a lengthy backyard and decided to farm it! After many hours of sod busting, hauling dirt, tilling, and planting she has an amazing farm in her backyard, Erie's Edge. I was astonished at the size of her tomato plants when we visited yesterday- so big. Not to mention her favas, insane amount of onions and black radishes that are coming in so well.

 Erin is growing beans in one of the two vacant lots next door to Molly's. Molly brokered a deal with the owner to rent the land from him. Haling from two years of farming in NC, Erin is only growing dry beans and she will undoubtedly fill the gap in the local dry beans we are able to get here.  As of now her plot looks like art:

Things are looking lush on our farm. I pulled two of the biggest beets (first of the season) today. We have scapes coming out of our ears and it seems like we are constantly battling perslane but things are growing strong.

Check out that garlic!

summer force

Summer has hit us hard in Cleveland. The heat, the humidity, the rides, the night dips, and the icecream.