Saturday 4/25

We got most of our potatoes in on Good Friday, and the last few on Saturday morning. All in all, with the help of a big Friday crew, and the steadfast work of my mom, Barbara and Nicholas all weekend, we got all the potatoes and onions in the ground.

There has been very little rain in the past few weeks, so while we have a lot planted (many of the greens), they have mostly been sitting in the ground waiting. I find it hard not to worry about them. It is such an act of faith to put these inert little specks under the ground and then trust that new life will burst (or struggle) forth. I can water them, but it nothing compared to a good rain, and I imagine birds, or rodents eating them before they can sprout, or else week little sprouts roasting in the hot, dry ground. Thankfully, the first spinach and peas we’d planted were beginning to peek their faces above ground this last week to reassure me that this crazy thing I do every year really works. I’ve gone to Dubuque for the weekend for a retreat with the Franciscans, and it has rained all weekend, and I awoke on Saturday morning to a miraculously greener world. I’m excited to go home tomorrow and see what has emerged on the farm.