The Prodigal Son Moves on

We've had the luxury of Alex's help at the farm for the past year. Hay maker, livestock manager, and gardener extraordinaire, thank you. You have made Seven Sisters Farm a place of green wealth. Although I haven't written, much has been accomplished. I've been able to work full time for The Land Connection, training new and beginning farmers, helping landowners and farmers find each other, and supporting the local food system. Now that you have left to pursue graduate work in soil science, the luxury of working off the farm is just that--a luxury. Thank you, Alex, for all you've done to make Seven Sisters Farm so successful while I worked for TLC. I wish you peace and success.

Mayflies, wild black razzies, and the return of the prodigal (?) son.

Last night, as we approached the Salt Fork on the way home from town, we were surprised as a swirling cloud of diaphanous, pale creatures enveloped the car. Mayflies, intent on their annual mating ritual, filled the air where the road drops to cross the river. Females skimmed the surface of the water laying newly fertilized eggs in a frenzied burst of fecundity in this last stage of their year-long lives.

Alex is coming home from New Mexico today! He taught Biology in Gallup over the last school year, and he plans to go back for another year this fall. Just in time for Alex's arrival (and his 30th birthday), the wild black raspberries are ready to pick. I've seen lots of ripening berries on my walks, and I sampled the first of what looks like a bumper crop yesterday afternoon. The flavor is an indescribable concentration of the bright, sweet lushness of late spring in Central Illinois.