I left Ocean City at 9:00, and one 4 hour Greyhound bus ride later I was in Baltimore. My aunt brought me back to her house where the farmer's daughter picked me up. She was a shy girl named Gemma with black curly hair. We got to know each other during the half-hour ride. We pulled up to a nice-looking farmhouse on a large property. Laura (the farmer) greeted us at the door. She was tall and thin with greying hair. Later Jon came home from teaching guitar lessons. He had blondish hair and a beard. His hair was scruffy in that retired rocker way. He was a quiet man with a sense of humor.
This farm is mostly a edible and medicinal herb farm. Laura sells herbal products online and at various farmers markets and Jon teaches guitar at a local music store. Gemma went to college for a year, but didn't like the school she went to so she's taking a year off this year. She and Laura just got back from their semester long trip to Greece where they WWOOFed.
Initially my reaction to this farm was "I'm home." Laura is very motherly and protective, and has similar traits to my mom. Jon is quiet and funny like my dad. All that was missing was an annoying younger brother. Instead I got an older sister. And by that I mean I got a friend. Tuesday morning Laura asked Gemma and I to look through her website where people can sign up for her CSA (she represents many different farmers in the area, and delivers the CSA for a commission). Sadly most of the people signing up were either scams or from places (like Australia) that were too far to deliver to (what part of "we deliver to people in Virginia" was unclear?). I went through hundreds of entries, and so did Gemma, and between us I came up with three people for Laura to add to her mailing list (one of whom's street address was a jumble of letters, leading me to suspect he was also a scam who got lucky with the town they picked to enter in). I enjoyed a lunch of pesto pasta made with lemon basil from their garden. It was delicious!
After lunch I was assigned the task of labeling lip balms accompanied by peach iced tea (made by Laura).
I tend to wake up about half an hour earlier than everybody else. At first I wasn't sure what to do with this time, but then I started waking myself up with an early morning yoga routine (yes, it usually includes sun salutations).
The next day (after my yoga practice) I baked pear muffins with Asian pears off their tree to sell at market.
They were scrumptious. I also made two pie crusts, one for quiche (made with eggs from their chickens) and one for pear pie (recipe at sharinglaurel.blogspot.com).
I was surprised and excited to see that Laura owned a Moosewood cookbook! I explained that Moosewood was in Ithaca and that it was still thriving.
That night we went to the Frederick county fair. We admired the baby ducks, rabbits and all assortments of feathery friends (chickens).
This one's Polish like me!
Next we hit the rides, convincing Gemma that the swings really weren't all that scary, and then going on Laura's favorite; the Ferris wheel.
I'd never been to an amusement park in the dark before. There's something breathtaking about all the lights.
The next day I baked my pear pie (yes, I did create the recipe) and I brewed iced tea to sell at market in glass jars.
We also packaged teabags and face powder. Then we hopped in the car and made a trip to Laura's friend Kevin's farm. He had a hugely producing farm that was entirely operated by himself. I couldn't believe the amount that one man could do. He had several greenhouses and two huge fields of vegetables. We picked up some swiss chard to plant in the garden.
Friday was market prep day. I baked chocolate chip banana zucchini muffins and Gemma baked pear ginger scones (using the secret family recipe). Then we spent the afternoon planting spinach in the garden. Gemma had her boyfriend over for dinner (for the first time). His name was Ben. He was a Jewish nerd. He left at 5am. For some reason Laura wasn't too happy about that.
Saturday we woke up bright and early to get off to market. We went to the market in Purceville. Almost immediately after we set up Laura realized that she had forgotten the iced tea and the pears that we were trying to sell (along with recipes). She decided to return home to get them, leaving me alone at the booth. Then she called to say that if she came back to the market she would just have to leave again in 30 minutes to get Jon and take him to his gig at a winery (Gemma had the other car at an audition). I spent most of market alone trying to field questions like "where is your honey from?" (Your guess is as good as mine, I'm from Ithaca, New York!) and "what is in this [herbal product]?" (Probably herbs.) Luckily Laura came back in time to help me pack up (and buy squash from a nearby vendor). Then she took me on a winery tour (without the wine tasting).
This almost felt like the hills in Ithaca.
We ended our trip in the winery that Jon was playing at. By that point it was raining heavily, so Jon was playing inside. This meant that we had to battle lots of noise and people to find a seat at a small table. I got a cream soda and Laura had a glass of wine as we listened to Jon amongst the wine tasters. Why is it that they make all tasting rooms the echoiest things since tunnels?
That night was an adventure. Right around 6:00 the power decided it was done for the night which led to my discovery that these people were quite unprepared for the zombie apocalypse. We could not find a single box of matches let alone a lighter, and the only candles we could find were tea candles. Plus at least half of their flashlights were broken. Luckily when Jon and Laura arrived they located a lighter, and we ate pizza by candlelight.
Sunday I went with Gemma to a different, further away market. We attempted to sell our various products (honey being the best seller). We met a cute guy who took our picture and bought some tea, and debated whether he was cuter than the gay couple who bought mini muffins. When the market was over we puttered around Middlebury, a small town near there. We stumbled upon a production of Into The Woods who's backstage was the sidewalk. They were on "Giants in the Sky." It made me miss home. When we got back I led Gemma in a yoga session.
Today was rather uneventful. Monday is usually their rest day after a weekend full of markets. I gave myself a facial with leftover powder.
I also roasted squash (including the seeds). Yum! We finished the night by eating chinese food and watching Bones (at my request).
Laurel
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