Pithy title forthcoming...

Hey there, boys and girls. Just a quick update today. Worked a couple of really long days this week. It went by so fast I can scarcely believe that it's Sunday. I have some pictures for your enjoyment, but have nothing exciting planned until later in the month. I'm going to do something fun for my birthday, but don't know exactly what, yet. Suggestions are welcomed; I'd be interested in hearing what y'all think I should do.

Those petit pois I mentioned last time:


Some perspective, to allow you to understand just how petit they pois:


Onions, just plucked from the ground:


Some jars of vodka infusing with fruit picked minutes beforehand:


Did pizza for the whole farm at lunch this week. That was a lot of fun. It's always gratifying to see the surprise on someone's face when they realize that something so familiar can be taken to another level.

The summer arrived with no warning, and has shown us no mercy. It's amazing how it happened, like flicking a switch, one day it was drizzly and cool, and the next it was dry and edging ninety. I've been assured that this isn't at all usual, and autumn will probably begin before my birthday. I think that was a joke.

We're in an interesting place in the season at the Johnston farm, maintaining what we've got accomplished requires a massive amount of effort, but we still need to prepare for the fall, and even the winter. Hence the long days, and less time for blog updates and adventures, but hopefully we'll arrive at a point of equilibrium in the coming weeks, and I'll be able to do some interesting things in addition to all the hard work. In the meantime, I'm going to finish the espresso I'm drinking, and head back to the farm for an afternoon of baking. I love you all, and wish you well...

One last shot in the name of meta self-reference:

Images of things to come...

As I said in my last post, here is an update concerning life on the farm. Mostly concentrating on the work we've done in the last week, and some pics anticipating the things we'll be doing soon. I spent the last week doing the things that have become my regular chores. We finally finished weeding the garlic, and what a triumphant feeling that was. Of course by the time harvest begins to approach we'll probably have to do it all over again. C'est la vie. Life on a farm, especially one that doesn't use the RoundupTM. Yesterday I weeded strawberries, and it struck me how the skills I developed weeding the garlic simply don't translate. They're too different.

Our garlic, twenty rows most containing two or three varieties(plus some shallots, and bunching onions):


Berries - Straw:


Berries - Goose(two varieties):



Berries - Black (just coming into bloom, won't be ready to harvest until the end of the summer):


Berries - Blue:



Berries - Rasp:


Some apples (growing on the beautiful ornamental branching trees which will fence off the blackberry patch one day) :

The chickpeas we transplanted on Tuesday:

One of the twenty-odd varieties of taters which we're growing:


Brassicas (mostly Brussel Sprouts) waiting to go into the ground:


My peas have grown so much since we got them trellised:


A view from the roof of the barn, which is still under construction, but is starting to look really nice:


The first pizza I baked in my little RV oven, sauteed Bok Choy, with roasted mushrooms and peppers, topped half with feta and half Havarti:


The salad I ate for dinner last night, topped with a fried egg, the yolk of which was so golden-orange I almost stopped to take a picture rather than eat the thing:


So am I a farmer? I don't know. I do know that I'm loving this. Even the days which are frustrating, I feel like I'm doing something respectable, and I feel like I'm a part of a community here, which is a really special feeling, especially coming from the isolated islands of the suburbs. Everyone has gone out of their way to make me feel welcome, and to include me in their activities. I keep having these moments where I pause, look up at the mountains, and shake my head, grinning at the fact that I'm here. I hope you are all doing well, and if you have any questions for me, leave a comment and I'll endeavor to answer them as best as I can. I love you all. I miss you.