burlington farms!

wow. i had no idea burlington was such a farmy, friendly place.

my hosts informed me pretty quickly about the burlington intervale, where there are several small farms growing high-quality produce for local markets. i was glad i stuck around another day and had a chance to check it out.

i was welcomed with watermelon and cantaloupe at intervale community farm. this is the first farm one arrives to at 'the intervale', and i happened to arrive at a good time, when folks were taking a break for lunch. oh, the melon was so juicy and sweet! i asked if i could join in the work for a bit. then there i was, loading rye straw bales onto a trailer with a crew of three strong young women. the straw was from rye that had been used as a cover crop, then harvested by a man who makes bread at bread and butter farm. pretty cool that the day before i had bought the rye bread made by them... unlikely, but possible that i had eaten some of the rye grown in this field.
i was given some produce from the farm for helping! super bonus! economy or generosity in full effect!

after this first farm experience i checked out open heart farm briefly, where i happened to catch josh between tasks. over some slices of cantaloupe (can you believe it?) we chatted a bit. i noticed he had bare feet, but didn't really think anything of it at the time. farming barefoot is a kind of special thing.

in the evening i enjoyed another supremely satisfying dinner, complete with circle of gratitude, at the home of yuko and greg. we ate outside on the grass. i noted the very integrated, open neighborhood feel on this particular street. the direct neighbors spend much of the day on the porch. keeping an eye on things it seems. it always brightens my day to observe pleasant interactions among neighbors, and there were several in my time at this place.

greg was painting the sign for the community garden that they are a part of behind a community center near their house. it is one of the first things he told me i could help with. i kept thinking how i should contribute some vibrant vegetables to what was so far just text. i was aware that it would help greg out a lot. all i managed to do in my time there was a little sketching in pencil right at the end. this is something i have a little regret about. my mission is to help, and this was a great opportunity for me, who enjoys creating images. painting has always scared me a bit, but i could have just drawn and colored it in with the paint... well, i will have to see if i can give myself more encouragement next time.