Tuesday, 21 June 2011 13:35

We had a visitor on our farm the other day (well, a while ago now; May 23rd)!

After a weekend of rain, the farm was drying out and I wanted to see how the water drained. I parked my car and trudged out in waterproof boots and an eagerness to explore. And who decided to greet me early on but a painted turtle--taking in the early morning sun and converting that warmth to energy. Powerful stuff, those sun rays.

We share this land with many other creatures. Deer are constantly crossing our farm as are birds above--song birds, red tail hawks, turkey vultures, and sea gulls. Mice, moles, chipmunks, and squirrels scurry about. The soil itself is teeming with life: loads of bacteria, fungi, beetles, grubs, centipedes, worms, mites, and spiders. I've seen turtles, heard frogs, and even saw what could have been a fisher (which have supposedly been extirpated from Southeastern Wisconsin. It is amazing all the life we share the farm with.

At times there will be conflict. Deer will feed on our crops, as will aphids, potato beetles, cabbage moth larvae, corn borer larvae. Flea beetles are currently feeding on some of our mustard greens.

On the other side of the coin, much of our crop production necessitates our community members. Without bees and other insect pollinators, there would be little to no summer squash, cucumbers, melons, winter squash, tomatoes, eggplant. Without the rhizobia bacteria, members of the legume familiy (e.g. clovers, vetches, soy beans, and all the delicious fresh and dry beans we eat) would not be able to fixate nitrogen in the soil, nor would they produce as many beans.

Don't think I'm going to leave you out! When you buy a head of lettuce, or a bunch of mustard greens from our farmers at Fondy, you too will be participating in our community. Without you, we would not be working so hard to grow this food.

Our goal over the folowing years is to strike a balance within this community. One key to success will be to realize that we are members of this community. We do not own this land, nor are we the only ones who have an interest in using it. We are all partaking in the feast.
Here's to community.