Every weekend, the buzzing suburbs of Washington DC take a pause, and people stroll slowly through the farmers’ markets that pop up in many of the neighborhoods. For a few sunny moments, we nurture the gentle delusion of being near a ‘real farm’, around ‘real food’. For most of us, the only other times that we have this feeling is the annual day trip to pick apples or strawberries. Living in this bubble, it is easy to imagine farming as fun days in the sun rather than the demanding work it is in reality.
So, what happens to all those young kids who cherish these memories of days at the orchard picking out a little basket of fruit and then decide to go and work on a farm when they grow up? For some of them, it becomes their life. This is the life that is recounted in the memoir, “A Farm Dies Once A Year”. While the young man stays on as a farmer, however, his son chooses to leave and pursue a different life. Perhaps this will be the farming of the future: people who are drawn to the life will make it their own but different generations will make different choices? An interesting piece on the book can also be found here.
And to celebrate the start of summer, a Farming Friday bonus: a symphony at a cattle ranch in Kansas! Amazing!
(Image Courtesy: freedigitalphotos.net)
Thought + Food 