WHAT’S NEW THIS WEEK: We are now sold out of chickens. We are arranging for the next lambs to go to market. We are hopeful the weekend storm does not set the garden back too far or kill berries and… Read More ›
Archives
AgriCulture: Six Weeks, Six Goslings, by Mark Scherzer
There are six adorable greenish yellow puffballs paddling out on and marching around our pond. Since they hatched Wednesday, these goslings have been carefully shepherded at all times by their extremely protective parents, a couple of Canadian geese. It seems… Read More ›
AgriCulture: The Pause That Distresses
At the Passover Seder we learned again that each generation achieves a new advance in freedom. But somehow I’m not sure that the COVID “resisters” in Michigan are quite what the Haggadah had in mind. Nope, no dictatorial government is… Read More ›
AgriCulture: Your Guest is as Good as Mine by Eric Rouleau
As I ponder on my good fortune in time of great hardship, having become a somewhat permanent guest at Turkana Farms, I sense how little my own will controls my reality. Yes, I am a lucky man. Far away from… Read More ›
AgriCulture: Dislocation at This Location
If you, like me, are “sheltering in place,” perhaps you are experiencing a similar sense of dislocation. What was once familiar now seems tinged with strangeness. What was once comforting and safe now seems fraught with risk. Take the passage… Read More ›
AgriCulture: They Also Risk
When a New Yorker is dying every 10 minutes as a result of the Coronavirus epidemic, does the state of life on our farm matter? In a moment of crisis that has upended the lives and routines of hundreds of… Read More ›
AgriCulture: More Than Hope Alone
What does one say about life on the farm when the world surrounding it seems so fragile and threatened and out of control? The farm has always been my psychological refuge, and by retreating here this week I have enjoyed… Read More ›
AgriCulture: Patience
I hope you are all well and staying vigilant in this crisis. I wish I had some original insight to provide regarding the COVID-19 disease, but many others have already said it better than I: Practice good hygiene, avoid unnecessary… Read More ›
AgriCulture: Fear Eats the Soul
Last week I spoke of my focus on the farm while the rest of the world seemed focused on the novel coronavirus pandemic. This week, I must admit that the pandemic has gotten my attention too. Two friends told me… Read More ›
AgriCulture: Matchmaker, Matchmaker
In a week when the world has been preoccupied with worries about the potentially catastrophic health and financial consequences of the coronavirus infections rapidly spreading around the globe, I’ve been focused relentlessly on a small patch of 38.5 acres in… Read More ›