Millions of peaches, peaches for us...

Well, it's official, Megyn, Jola and I are hitting the road in about an hour. Megyn got here yesterday and has to be in Phoenix by 2pm tomorrow so, alas, we are coming home. I am ready but will miss the people, the farm and the work. We have learned a lot and worked really hard. I am glad for this whole experience. Riding along with us is about 20 pounds of peaches so if you ask nice, I might give you a peach. They are the early variety and according to some here, not the best peaches but they taste pretty damn good to me. I told Thomas that if he could figure out a way to get a truck load to Flagstaff that they would sell quickly, keep your fingers crossed. Well we'll see you all real soon. Miss and love,

Karna and Jola

Early morning squash blossom.

I think the summer squash plant is one of the most amazing plants. They produce so much and the flowers are beautiful and yummy.

Feeling hot, hot, hot...

Whew, it is getting hot here. It has been cooler than usual here with more precipitation than years past. Not anymore. It is so hot; how do they do it Phoenix??? Today we thinned out carrots and beets, cultivated the rows with tractors and by hand and there was a CSA pick up this afternoon. The best thing about the heat is that the peaches are starting to be ready. Jola and I got our first taste of this seasons peach harvest, yum. We are going to eat dinner at the Palisade Cafe tonight, I'm to tired and hot to cook. I think all farmers should have on site cooks.
Peace,
Karna and Jola

Work, work, work...

Greenhouse

Siesta

Today, the crew is starting to take siesta from 12-3:30. It is the hottest part of the day so they stop and then work into the evening when it's cooler. Jola got a head start.
Yesterday we worked at the Palisade Market. I like the Flagstaff Community Market, there seems to be much more focus on locally grown produce. Here there are more artisan vendors, prepared foods and vendors reselling, but it's still fun to be here. I really enjoy talking to the people and people watching. Today we are suckering and taping the tomato plants, I think it will be an all day project. I'll write more later.

A day off...

Hey,
Today is the Moab market, Mitzy and Josh take the truck every Saturday to that market. There is not much to do here at the farm, just the morning CSA from 10-12pm. We helped with that and have been taking it easy the rest of the day. We are having a farm crew potluck tonight at Manuel's house. Manuel is the caretaker of the orchard, he lives here year round. I'm excited to hang out with everyone for dinner. I guess I thought there would be more community dinners here, but everyone is so tired at the end of the day they eat simply and go to bed.
Yesterday, I had to transplant some royal oak leaf lettuce heads that we had planted too close. Then we taped the tomato plants. They sucker (cutting branches off of the plant that could essentially become another plant) and then tape the plants to a bamboo stick to train it to go up instead of bushing out. This makes harvesting one 500 foot row of tomatoes a lot easier. There are 5 or 6 of these rows here, can you imagine how many tomatoes that is! I'm going to try to find out. Mitzy was telling me that they sun dried some of the surplus last year on giant screens on the barn roof. What a yummy idea. Well, I need to get cooking. Until later.
Karna and Jola

Colorado River

This is a canal that runs through in front of the yard. The water is part of the Colorado River, which is walking distance from the farm. I've never been so close to the Colorado. It is massive and beautiful.

Farm House

This the house where we are staying. It's been very nice. I don't know how old the house is but it's been around for a while.

Cherry Taster

Jola helped sort cherries, he was quality control. You should have seen him when we were picking.

Planting Lettuce

Another beautiful morning. Jola and I picked cherries for two hours today. He had a bright red cherry beard. I didn't have a camera with me so you will just have to imagine. This picture is from our first day here, planting lettuce. Go farmer Jola.

Plant and Harvest

Today is the first CSA pickup of the week so the crew was out early harvesting. They have two pickups here, one in Grand Junction and I think a couple more that I have yet to learn about. It is quite the operation with multiple CSAs, four farmer's markets and fruit shares. Every day there is something except for Monday. They are bringing vegetables to Telluride on Fridays and Moab on Saturdays. It's a long haul but it sounds like it will be worth it, especially once the peaches are ready. (For those of you who might read this and plan to attend the Bluegrass Festival in Telluride, stop by the stand and say hello to Deb and my favorite lady in the west, Marykate.)

Jola and I took our time getting up this morning, he is sleeping so great with all this sun and hard work. We are staying at Thomas Cameron's house which is about a half mile walk from the farm. We have our own room and for the next four days we have the house to ourselves because Thomas is on the river with his daughter. It's quite and peaceful here. We walked down to the farm around 9:30 and went right out to the fields to finish the weeding we started yesterday. It's a very therapeutic and rewarding task. Jola even helped out a bit and was pulling some of the weeds. He fell asleep and I was able to lay him down in the field while I worked. He now slumbers on the couch in the intern house as I write.

The other major task today is planting another succession of seeds. Jola and I will return to the field later in the afternoon when it is cooler and finish transplanting the lettuce from the shade house. I am amazed at the constant work that is necessary to support the CSA's and markets. I have a renewed appreciation for the crew at Crooked Sky Farms because they not only have to do all this work but they do it in ridiculous temperatures. I think it might be a great idea to plan a work day, maybe in the fall, so we have the opportunity to really see what they do at the farm and get a little more connected. We'll see...

Until later,

Karna and Jola

Cameron Place Farm

Hey,
Jola and I arrived at the Cameron Place Farm and Rancho Durazno Orchards on Friday afternoon. It is beautiful country here, what I imagine being in the Grand Canyon to be like but with orchards and houses. We are surrounded by giant canyon walls and mesas and the Colorado River is a short walk from the farm. The crew here is made up of mostly interns and some migrant workers and they have all been very welcoming to Jola and I. We are only expected to work 5 hours a day or a total of 25 hours a week, but I suspect we will work more. So far we have helped with a CSA pick-up, Palisade farmer's market and planting rows of lettuce. Today, after Jola's nap, we will pick weeds! Jola has discovered dirt and mud, pictures to come. He ate his first mouthful on Sunday night, yeah for minerals. Last night he submerged his hands and arms into the freshly watered hills where we were planting. He was covered in mud. I imagine all the new sensations he was exploring and what was going through his mind and I think it must be amazing to experience those things for the first time. I want to try to see the world a little through his eyes and see what he can teach me. I want to move slowly through this experience and really, truly connect with Jola, the earth and our food. Jola is awake now, off to the field.
Talk to you soon,
Karna