Update to the Farm Journal
May 7: Semi-monthly self-reminders: askance is how my readers may want to look at these farm journal entries, which is the format I'm using to speak to them this year. I grew bored with the old format and thought this might spice things up in the headroom.
May 8: Attended a valley-wide Chamber of Commerce event with winemaker, friend, and Mazda enthusiast Tyler Harlton of TH Wines. Wore a new pair of slim-cut, navy pants for the occasion. Enroute, remarked to Tyler that I couldn't figure out why I don't wear slim-cut pants more often because "I make these look good." Tyler stopped for a wine delivery in Kelowna. By the time he returned I had split my pants down the inner thigh, crotch-to-almost-knee. Insisted to Tyler I could hobnob while standing just so to avoid showing off my alabaster skin. Tyler balked at the suggestion just before realizing he happened to have an extra pair of pants in the canopy of his truck. The lovely folks at Discover Wines allowed me to change in their bathroom, and off I went to the Chamber event, apparently concerned about an impending flood. Tyler is a bit shorter than me, turns out. I still think showing off a little thigh would have been the lesser transgression.
Happy Farm, USA
May 10: Second farmers' market in Penticton. Already questions about whether any of my veggies are genetically engineered (AKA GMO) are rolling in. I always reply with the same primer: 1. Certified organic farmers like me are forbidden from using GMO seeds, period. 2. This is a more or less a moot point at the farmers' market, where the only possible veggie you could find that could have come from GMO seeds is sweet corn, for which it is unlikely any valley farmer is using GMO seeds to grow. This doesn't stop veggie vendors from erecting signs that say 'GMO Free', which is a bit like an apple juice advertised as 'Fat Free'. 3. Where meat and eggs are concerned, if the producer is not certified organic, it is highly likely the feed used for the animals has GMO soy, corn, or canola in it, since just about all conventional (ie., non-organic) livestock feed contains those products.
May 11: Addendum to last entry: I should add(endum) that, while I am not allowed to, and don't use GMO seeds, I am among a minority of organic farmers who believes that the GMO foods approved for commercial use are safe to eat. I don't usually mention this to my colleagues and customers because I don't enjoy conflict and awkwardness. Read: I'm a coward.
May 12: Woke up to find more cucumber seeds rooted out of their seed trays, insides scooped out like yogurt by an enthusiastic modern woman in a Danon commercial. Mice have been stymieing my efforts to grow cucurbits this year. I've got a few traps set now, with cucumber and squash seeds as bait. Let's hope Mickey returns, hung-over, for some hair of the dog.
May 15: Attended a meeting of the Peachland Fall Fair organizing committee last week. If my prose appears suddenly more illustrious, it's because I write with a new title: Jordan Marr, Fall Fair Trophy-Master. Ever noticed how a title's magnificence is often inversely proportional to its job description? I am to haul 50 trophies back and forth from the engraver, and hand them up to the stage one-by-one during the event. If the Fall Fair committee were composed of Archie Comics characters, I'd be Moose. Incidentally, I hope readers plan to enter something in the fall fair this year. It's really fun.
May 18: The start of the Homestead Farm Veggie Box program draws near. If you're in the program and haven't received an update from me, I apologize. It has been just crazy up here on the farm. But I'm still thinking of you all; today I stood on my deck and blew you a kiss on the wind to reassure you of your place in my head and heart. Unfortunately, Joe, co-owner of the farm and an old-school, less sentimental type of farmer, saw what I was doing and blew some armpit farts on the wind at the same time. So, be careful which messages you accept from the breeze.
May 19: Mickey returned and met his end. I've got a pretty incredible photo of him caught in the trap on my website's blog. Warning for the faint-hearted: it features a dead mouse.