Popham

Meet Your Farmer - Chase Farm from Pull-Start Pictures on Vimeo.

And the Finest Entertainment She Ever Did Know

~ Somewhere on the Fast Lane Between Boston and Portland ~

I'm no longer sure who exactly I'm writing this blog for, besides myself. And that is something I never thought I'd do. Besides my loyal parents and a friend who clicks on the page every once in a while, there's no one out there really tuning in. 

Just the same, my pursuit to work in the agro and farming world, surrounded by the bounties of fresh and Tasty food, has not subsided. Among several hiccups along the way, I've set aside the notion of driving and living across country, and begun preparing myself for the possibility of remaining for some time longer in the North East.  Should the opportunity arrive, I will stay. And the drive continues - to grow some food.

To start, the inclement weather (though predictable) of the Northeast hardly fosters outdoor growing activities. No real surprise there. But I began snooping around volunteer opportunities with local community organizations - those that foster CSA's and/or help promote farmer's markets, among other things.  

Also, I haven't shut up about the potential of winter greenhouses, and ask at every chance I get, if someone knows someone, who knows someone, who ....

Until finally my work has paid off.

One, Cultivating Communities of Portland, ME responded after the holidays had duly passed, offering a range of *stuff* to do as winter work: marketing for their CSA campaign, compost pickups and general photo managing on their websites.

I'll do it.

Plus, I'd love to push CSA's. I convinced my mother of their value, I don't see why I can't convince others, too.

Two, I finally learned of someone who knows someone, who knows someone, who operates winter greenhouses - growing tomatoes and distributing them to jail inmates in order to offer the real taste of real food.

I may not have a paying position, but at least I'm keeping myself occupied.

And if I can't find fresh local food at every moment, I figure cooking breakfast for dinner - oatmeal, please - will have to be the satisfying twist of the day.

Oatmeal, with sesame seeds, some sunflower seeds, too, raisins and dried blueberries, and definitely some New Hampshire maple syrup.

I'm reading Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle (am I alone when she's unfortunately reminiscent of the English Teacher You Hoped to Never Have?). I know her family's strict one-year rules  to eat only local food (grown at their home or by close community farmers) would banish my meal from their oak table.

Mange on. Bon app.

Cold Weather Greenhous-ing

- Portland, ME -

Tucked away in a not too obvious location, is a lone 30+ year old greenhouse where students with learning disabilities of PATH High school, have an opportunity for total immersion in alternative learning programs. In the greenhouse, education is all about...plants.
Bob Francis, a former landscape architect of New York City has been teaching at the facility for 20 years, after being lured to Maine by his Mainer wife. ;)

One of the best learning moments of this short but wonderful visit, was the rediscovery of Stevia, an incredibly (shockingly) sweet herb. Take one little nibble of a small leaf, and the juices grow more and more delectable. See here:

I was also gifted some plant clippings to take home and put in soil. Double sweet.

Oakhurst, I Heart You

- Portland, Maine -

 

It's not too difficult for a Mainer to remember the days when Oakhurst proudly placed a natural and healthy Farmer's Pledge : No Artificial Growth Hormones Used, on their dairy products.

Then Monsanto sued Oakhurst about seven and a half years ago, making the most ridiculous, but with their reputation, notorious proclamation that such a statement could potentially mislead consumers to believe that dairy products with growth hormones have an adverse affect.

Fortunately for Oakhurst and their loyal followers, the dairy company is allowed to keep the Farmer's Pledge with an obligatory disclaimer - The FDA States: No significance difference in milk from cows treated with growth hormones.

Oh, Monsanto. Grow up. You're like the insecure and ugly super geek from high school, threatened by the naturally talented and gifted athlete. Leave bright and enterprising farmers alone!

Off The Grid

- Northern Maine -

Keliy Anderson-Staley (no relation:)) is a born and raised Mainer. As a photographer, she wanted to document the lifestyle in which she and her family grew up, living off the grid in Maine. Vowing to maintain an unglamorous shooting style, her endeavor shows how other families in this state have long since chosen to remove themselves from the electronic, plugged in world that most of us have evolved to know.
A composed series with brief explanations can be viewed here.

What is Rabelaisian????????

Gargantua

To be raunchy, outrageously crude in every way and totally stubborn in matters of truth, persistent against all forms of hypocrisy, and popular opinion. OR simply put: to break all rules of the social norms - aka AXIOM BUSTING!

The above definition typically relates to the second explanation of the term 'Rabelaisian'. The first, and most common association pertains to Master Francis Rabelais, French author, satire solicitor, food enthusiast and comical pleasure seeker of a five part series titled The Life of Gargantua and Pantagruel. The stories follow the life of two giants - Gargantua the father and his son, with as much vulgarity as a French 16th century author can invoke.

But fast forward to modern day 21st century and you can find flexible variations of the rabelais term, extending in the case of this blog, to a fine food and drink book shop in Portland, Me: Rabelais. On the quaint and often cobble stoned streets of Portland's downtown Old Port, Rabelais is owned and operated by a wife and husband team with plenty of background experience to support their popular and successful, sensuous based selections of antiquated (and new?) books circling farming, gardening, foods and wines.

A visit this week is in order.
More soon:)

Dancing Cricket

- Bowdoinham, ME -

To Have Wwoofed

Dancing Cricket in Bowdoinham, Maine was the best wwoofing experience one can ask for.

Started by some University of Vermont Alums, and a traveling vagabond, this 75 acre farm with 4 acres of organic vegetables, flowers, and herbs focuses on CSA, and sustaining an off the grid lifestyle.

With only a few but strong seasons under their belt, Dancing Cricket has yet to build a farm house - allowing participants a gorgeous environment of living, cooking, working and sleeping outdoors...