Day 19 (7/3/12): Pie Day

This morning I woke up early to walk around and eat breakfast outside, accompanied by Rosemary.  I’m really falling in love with Maine and its summers.  The crisp dew on the grass, the lush green trees surrounding me, the fluffy white clouds kissing the pale blue morning sky, and the mild morning temperatures made my walk around the farm this morning a nice experience.  Jillian and I went down to the fields this morning so I could show her how to weed with a hoe.  We shared the stirrup how and cultivator’s claw.  It was kind of nice showing someone new the ropes around the farm instead of being taught everything myself.  At 10 I was eager to head back up to the farmstand to watch the shop for the rest of the day.  Katie was down in the fields with Jillian weeding more and debugging in the lower hoop house.  

I was kept busy while watching the shop.  I swept and de-cobwebbed the shop and barn, watered the shop and house plants, cleaned the refridgerator and freezer doors, weeded and suckered the tomatoes, watered the flowers and tomatoes with the drip line, weeded the herb garden, dug up the harvested bok choy roots, and made a couple phone calls for Mary.  My hands were covered in an uncleanable dark green (almost black) film from weeding, breaking the bottom branch off, suckering, and wrapping all of the tomato plants in the upper hoop house.  The tomatoes are getting so large, although they’re still black.  A man had dropped his credit card while leaving the shop yesterday, so I called customer service and they had him return to our shop and gratefully take back his card.  I also contacted Susan, the woman who makes Earth Looms¹ and got all the information Mary would need to get one.  After I finished everything on my list, and then some (it’s rare for me to finish everything on my list, in fact I’ve never done it before), I helped Katie put away all of the animals.  I watched Katie as she gave ‘physical therapy’ to Sing, the female duck mauled by a fox.  While taking Sing from her pen outside, Katie holds her body and allows her wings to flap so Sing doesn’t forget that she’s able to fly.  And despite Mr. Duck’s noisy protests, we also stretch Sing’s injured foot for her to help it heal, hopefully.  

I love watching the shop.  The farmstand is filled with a permanent scent of baked goods, and there are pictures of the farm and the family and antique signs covering the walls.  I sold $200 worth of goods today, not including a couple donations to Mary’s Forever Farm campaign and to Kenya’s trek.  I figured it would be busy, it being the day before Independence Day and all.  Like they say, what’s more American than apple pie?  Although we don’t have apple pies right now, I sold 6 strawberry-rhubarb pies and one turkey pot pie among the goods today.  I was always so eager to chat with customers and get to know them, and I even said “y’all” today without thinking about it.  That last thing is quite an accomplishment for me.  Although I kept myself busy for most of the day, I set a couple minutes aside towards closing time to read through the Augusta-area free gazette to check out events in the area this summer that I could attend. 

Jillian, Katie, and I ate our chicken with bbq sauce and pesto pasta (Mary’s pesto is very good) while watching a couple episodes of the Waltons, our favorite show.  The family wouldn’t be getting back until very late.

¹ Mary is interested in building a loom to make weavings that facilitated community building.  : http://www.earthloom.org/