AgriCulture: Stuck in the Mud

WHAT'S NEW THIS WEEK:

We are now sold out of chickens. We are arranging for the next lambs to go to market. We are hopeful the weekend storm does not set the garden back too far or kill berries and fruits in blossom. We wish George Cronin a happy 69th birthday.

Let me start by apologizing for skipping last week's bulletin. Truth be told, I was stuck in the mud.

I've heard similar expressions from many of my friends. They are fully occupied by being confined. Some are working hard, but not getting enough done. All seem to be losing touch with others in their lives, and feeling dulled by the circumstances of their isolation. The stimulus package they need is more than just a financial one.

In my case, though, being stuck in the mud was literally the problem. Doing my law work remotely takes so much time and energy on the weekdays that I have tended to push bulletin writing off to the weekend. I had allocated last Saturday afternoon to writing the bulletin, but my plan was interrupted when Troy raised concerns about the welfare of Vernon, our frail and aged boar.

Vernon and Possum's corrugated steel quonset hut deteriorated substantially over the winter. During the heavy rains of recent weeks it took in a great deal of water, creating mud in which Vernon, who has difficulty walking, was becoming stuck. You've all heard the expression "happy as a pig in mud." Pigs are indeed happy in mud on hot days, because they can't sweat and the mud cools them. But it was reasonable to assume that with nights as cool as they are now the pigs would not be so comfortable in the mud, and Troy's question "Can you really justify leaving Vernon in there one more night?" embarrassed me into action.

We had a pretty intact hut that had not been much used down at the other end of the pig pasture, and I rolled it up through that long stretch of marshy land up to the particularly muddy area just behind the pig pens. At that point I made the mistake of stopping to discuss with Troy, who was trying to rearrange things inside the pens, where we should place the new hut. My leg sank nearly knee deep in the mud. As I tried to raise it out, the mud sucked my work boot right off my foot. Leaning over to retrieve the boot, standing now quite unevenly with one raised foot in a mud-encased sock and my other foot still somewhat deep in the mud, I found myself suddenly on my side, stretched out much like Vernon has been, but luckily more capable of getting back up.

We eventually got the hut into a dry corner of the center pen and filled it with nice comfy straw for the pigs to nest in. Troy cajoled Vernon in that direction, which took some time, but the old boar eventually got into the pen we wanted him to be in. He was not as thrilled with the hut as we expected him to be. He dug a hole in the new pen where he and Possum have slept most nights. He went back one night to his old muddy pen, and spent one night in the farrowing hut in a next door third pen. So far, he has not spent one night in his luxurious new hut, maybe because we don't fully understand exactly the world we need to create when we try to extricate ourselves from a miserable situation. Like this damned pandemic.

Several weeks ago, someone who was waiting for me to make an important business decision (for which our current pandemic has major implications) wrote me to say "This will all be over in two or three weeks." I told her she was more optimistic than even President Trump. Apparently, so are people who invest in the stock market and drive up stock values every time another three million people lose their jobs.

While I understand the desire to "do business" that induces us to close our eyes to the reality around us, I'm afraid I cannot share their sense of optimism. I suspect we're in for a long slog. I hope it's over by the end of this year, but to achieve that we may have to endure severe restrictions for several more months. I think all those who find that prospect unendurable should keep in mind that we could face something much worse. There have been periods when deep economic misery and deprivation lasted for many years (think Great Depression through World War II). And looking back to the Spanish flu of 1918, we understand that places that locked down strictly (like St. Louis) came out stronger and more prosperous more quickly than those like Philadelphia that stayed open for business.

One reason I'm convinced of the long road ahead: here in Columbia County, according to the Department of Health statistics (which I'm grateful that IMBY publishes daily), we have seen COVID-19 cases more than double in the ten days from April 27 to May 7. There were a total of 154 cases from the very first reports around March 20 to April 27. In the last 10 days we added 164. It's hard to know if this is an artifact of broader testing, of just a nursing home hot spot, or a combination of factors. But it seems characteristic of many parts of rural America, including many places that are lifting business restrictions. It is not a flattening curve; it is not a sign of something that's going away in two or three weeks; and, I'd say, it's clearly not yet time to try to go back to living the wonderful way we remember.

It will require sacrifice from those with means to provide for those left without livelihood during the contraction. But there may be no good short cut. I recall that when my foot was stuck in that knee deep mud and I pulled too hard to extricate myself, I ended up splayed out in the gunk with a mud encased sock. Call me a stick in the mud, but I think we need to plan for a long, deliberate slog.

WHAT'S AVAILABLE THIS WEEK
Tiny hot matchbox peppers, $5.00 a string, dried and quite decorative.
Fresh dug horseradish root, $3/lb.
Sorrel, one gallon bag, $3/bag
Mint, $1/ bunch
Garlic chives (the flat kind), $1/bunch
Rhubarb $5/lb
EGGS: $5/doz, $3/doz (fun size)

MEATS: We keep some on hand, but it helps to order ahead in case we need to retrieve from our stash in the big commercial freezer. See below.

ROASTING CHICKENS - Nice fat Freedom Rangers are now sold out

LAMB: a few remaining small loin chops, $14/lb., leg of lamb $14/lb, lamb shoulder roast $7/lb.

PORK: Loin pork chops, $12/lb (2 to a pack, btwn 1 and 1.5 lbs),
fresh ham roasts (2 to 3 lbs), $12/lb
smoked bacon, $12/lb

FARM PICKUPS:

Email us your order at [email protected], and let us know when you'd like to pick up your order. It will be put out for you on the side screened porch of the farmhouse (110 Lasher Ave., Germantown) in a bag. You can leave cash or a check in the now famous pineapple on the porch table. Regular pickup times are Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 5 p.m., other days by arrangement. If you have questions, don't hesitate to call at 518-537-3815 or email.