the farmers and their market are at rest.
doing important work every day
returning here each week to sell their bounty
sleep comes at a price.
—
‘if the farmer is poor, so is the whole country.’
-polish proverb
sunday in october
the farmer, in the pride of sea-worn acres,
showed me his honey mill, the honey-gate.
late afternoon was busy on the land,
the sun was a warm gauzy providence.
–
the honey mill, the honey-gate. and then,
near by, the bees. they came in from the fields,
the sun behind them, from the fields and trees,
like soft banners, waving from the sea.
–
he told me of their thousands, their ways,
of pounds of honey in the homely apiaries.
the stores were almost full, in autumn air,
against the coming chill, and the long cold.
–
he was about ready to rob them now,
the combs. he’d leave them just enough to keep them.
I thought it a rather subtle point point he made,
wishing providence would be as sure of us.
-richard eberhart
—
image credit: danny1970
October 12 is Old Farmers Day,
a day devoted to old farmers and their farming techniques.
how will you celebrate?
—
“let us not forget that the cultivation of the earth
is the most important labor of man.
when tillage begins, other arts will follow.
the farmers, therefore, are the founders of civilization.”
—
image credit: ©iStockphoto.com/irman
sometimes you find it
even in the
most unlikely of places
like tucked away
under a picnic table
on a farm with gentle deer
that you feed
apples and leaves to
while indoor tennis lessons
are going on in the barn
a ping pong table
standing by
waiting to be played upon
a farm house, museum, and gardens
sitting quietly
all surrounded
by corn fields and a golf course
way out in the middle of nowhere.
—
“skip the religion and politics, head straight to the compassion.
everything else is a distraction.”
-talib kweli
what a wonderful afternoon
spent among the fields of lavender lane farm
at the lavender harvest festival
live jazz played in the field
bouquets were cut to take
soaps, and lotion, and oils purchased
a picnic
of freshly made french food
and lavender lemonade
enjoyed with friends
all while floating
on a wavy sea of purple.
–
“forgiveness is the smell that lavender gives out when you tread on it”
-mark twain
today we met the farmers
they got down low
and
told us everything
they showed us how to plant our own food
so that we could eat it later
they answered all of our questions
and told us
how the food would taste better
because we know the farmers now.
—
“know you food, know your farmers, and know your kitchen.”
-joel salatin