The Harvest Bee Blog

Good Day, Friends: It has been a very unbalanced week, indeed. Most of you know that late last week I and many of my friends lost a good childhood friend of ours. Some members in this group knew him and were close with his family, also. Of course, it is always difficult to cope with the loss of loved ones and I recognize that some of you have also recently lost people and animals close to you over the past few months. I sympathize with those losses. Brett was a kind and loving soul among many other things and his family played a crucial role in my life during my teenage years. In fact, I owe a lot to his father, who recognized that I had some very severe sight seeing issues going on at the time and helped get me my first pair of contacts. (Man is it amazing how much easier the game of soccer can be when you can actually see the ball). Having lost several very close people in my life, I tend to now consider myself someone who generally has a pretty good grasp on accepting and rationalizing death and staying grounded in those moments. My intent is not to minimize the affect of losing loved ones for anyone else, but rather to contemplate how each loss moving forward really seems to bring out different emotions, feelings, questions, and if we are lucky, possibly some answers. After a week of sadness, laughter, appreciation, and remembrance I think I have come to grasp the meaning of this loss as it applies to not only my personal journey, but my journey as a farmer, as well. Sadness is always going to be a very deep seeded feeling when it comes to physical presences departing from our world. However, because of who Brett was, it was so damn difficult not to remember and reminisce about the abundance of hilarious episodes we all got ourselves into back in high school and even into college. It is really scary how much it feels like only yesterday these acts of craziness occurred. They are all so vivid. I think all of his friends feel this way and it was wonderful to share these stories with each other last week. Sharing those memories brought those of us who have been out of touch for awhile back together and those of us still very close even closer. That is what makes his passing difficult, it feels like something from the past was just taken away from us, a youthful sense of naivety and amusement, that we perhaps took for granted....until now. Sunday changed all of that. As the potatoes that are going to be included in this week's shares were being pulled out of the ground I was able to stop and appreciate my first successful crop of potatoes ever. I then realized that the leeks also included this week shares were also going to be another first for me. I immediately recalled how just last week I notified you of the unsuccessful crops of broccoli and cauliflower and that was hard to swallow because those veggies have done well in years past and I really wanted those to show up in your shares. Conversely, the land provided two other crops of vegetables that were seemingly always intended to replace those failed broccolis and cauliflowers. What's more is that even though the the broccoli never came to head, the large, abundant leaves of the plant actually provided the shade that made these potatoes possible in the face of the heat we have had throughout the Winter. Happiness and gratitude trumped sadness and loss and the land, I think, always had this intention of teaching me a valuable lesson at just the right time. That is exactly how I began to see the events of losing a loved one. The relationship of give and take, the notion of yes, we can sit here and miss the people and animals we lose. That is of course, human. Yet we also must truly appreciate what those figures in our lives provided us and be grateful, not just for the good times, but really for the life lesson itself of understanding the dynamic flow of give and take that permeates throughout our lives and among the relationship we cherish between those of us still on Earth. The land really has so much to offer: food, education, love, etc. I am very grateful for how this land speaks to me and uplifts me in so many different ways. Harvesting is always one of my least favorite activities because it is really just a whole lot of taking, which is why I read a Native American blessing of appreciation prior to each harvest. I feel a little more comfortable harvesting now, knowing that I make an honest commitment as a bio-dynamic farmer to put as much back in the soil as I take. I hope to more diligently apply this same attitude to the rest of my life and to my relationships by not taking for granted just how important it is to balance both sides of this yin and yang, to making an honest and concerted effort to be as active in giving as in taking in my relationships. In essence, I hope to become a bio-dynamic person, not just a bio-dynamic farmer! As always, thank you land for grounding me and reestablishing a sense of balance in my life and THANK YOU ALL for showing such a sincere devotion and willingness to take whatever food we pull out each week. That blind faith is so incredibly admirable and perhaps more than ever I recognize and appreciate the relationship you all have created between farmer and friend.Conscience devotion to giving and taking in relationships is important, but to do so naturally and blindly is perhaps the ultimate goal. You all have achieved that it was I can only hope to emulate. In this week's share you will find the following: -Potatoes -Leeks -Brassica Mix -Green Leaf or Red leaf Lettuce (I really do think this is the last of the season now!) -Coriander flower (This is the flower of the cilantro plant that is great to add into soups as an herb or thrown on a salad. Very good source of Vitamins, iron, and manganese and has a slightly more citrusy flavor than coriander or cilantro itself. Its also very attractive). Here is a recipe for a potato and leek soup, which of course utilizes two of your share's components this week. I recommend halving the recipe, though. *Potato and Leek Soup: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/roasted-potato-leek-soup-recipe.html Again, thank you all for your kindness and generosity. I have learned something from this group each and every week this season and I am grateful to be able to be surrounded by each of you. See ya all when we see ya! "Onen," The Bees