What a strange title... I am thinking about those things because I just got back from a trip to New England. My husband and his parents and I went to see the foliage . Charles parents have never seen the leaves in color so as a way to celebrate thier 50th wedding anniversary we took them on a guided tour of New England. Charles's dad is a farmer and plant breeder so he was very interested in seeing farms. His only other request was to eat seafood everyday.
I grew up in New England and have many friends in the fishing business. One of first stops was to a small fishing villiage called Pemiquid. Its harbor is full of lobster boats . It was a beautiful calm day but the boats were not out. I asked my friend Ricky who is a part time lobster man and he said that the problems in the economy had trickled down to the lobsermen. People were not eating lobster becuause it is a luxery item and the price had dropped down so low to $2.00/lb that the fisherman could barley afford to take thier boats out. The fish buyers will still marking them up and making a profit. There are no subsidies for lobstermen. I enjoyed the cheap lobster and ate as much as I could. If anyone out there wants a contact for some cheap lobster let me know
Next we went to an apple orchard for fresh apples and cider. My father in law( who is a farmer and a plant breeder) was so excited to see a real cider press and orchard . He had never had fresh apple cider before and it was so cool to see his face when he tried it. The local small orchards have had to change the way they press cider because of all the food contamination scares. Instead of using a wood press they use stainless steel now . Many old presses have gone out of business. Luckily this orchard could afford the equiptment . The cider was great. This cider has a disclosure on it stating it has not been pasturized and it may be unsafe for people to eat raw food. Thank you government for the warning but Ill take the risk Some things are just better not heat treated.
The last day of our trip we went to a small cranberry bog . We were lucky and the owner was there and gave us a tour. We got fresh cranberries and all the csa members will get a 1/2 pound bag this week. Massachusetts used to be first in cranberry production until about 1995 ( mostly small family farms)but when everyone realized how nutritious cranberries were large company owned farms were started in Wisconson and the price dropped from $1.50 a pound wholesale to 60 cents. Many of the small picturesque bogs have been sold for realestate because the families could no longer afford them. It felt good to be able to buy my cranberries direct from a family grower. The cranberries I bought were spray free . The farmer said that becuase she did not spray her cranberries were not as perfect as the ones raised on commercial farms and so she was only able to sell them for juice price. I am glad to know I have spray free cranberries and the look and tast great.
Im sure by now you are getting my point. It is important for everyone to support small local agriculture . Without our support All the things I love to eat that made my trip to New England wonderful could be a thing of the past . I appreciate your support for my farm and I hope you are enjoying the taste of real food.
Speaking of real food. We had a frost at our farm in Edge. The summer squash took a hit and so did the peppers. Luckily I still have some peppers and squash growing in town in Bryan. What was strange about the frost was that My in laws garden which is 5 miles up the road from mine in Edge had no frost at all. So I guess those tomatoes will keep coming for the next couple of weeks. Next week the long awaited Broccoli should be ready . I am so excited. See you at pickup....
