Spring/Summer Update

Whew! Does anyone remember May?? We don't. Guess it's time to catch up.

A lot has happened in the last month and half; most of it has been good, but it's been one of those 'feast or famine' deals, and right now, we ain't starvin'. Joined in our concerns for living sustainably, Ed and I became part of a group of fellow Unitarians who all want to reduce our carbon footprint on the environment. Back in Fall of 2008, the bunch of us all obtained the book Low Carbon Diet and then held Friday night meetings to discuss energy saving methods and chart the progress of our efforts. Because we chose to meet in the evenings, our meetings are always followed with a potluck dinner. The honor of hosting fell to us on May 1st. This was something of a hosting challenge, being our largest home gathering to date. Ed's tour of our solar hot water heating system made a favorable impression with the result that two of our friends plan to install a system comparable to ours.

The following Sunday, Yvonne danced at a benefit in downtown Rutland for breast cancer research. The theme was a Gypsy Tea Party, so Yvonne was able to draw from her Roma style studies and put together a little half-time show for the intermission. The show was well attended, plus our friends from Middlebury Mitch Kramer and Dinah Smith attended. It was great to be involved in a local event, and Yvonne is looking forward to more opportunities of this type.






Did we mention that we wrote sermons? Both Ed and Yvonne delivered sermons on separate Sundays to the congregation of Rutland Unitarian Universalist Church. Did we mention that our Sundays were back to back? May 24th and May 31st? Or that between those two dates (Saturday, May 30) we actually started selling our produce at the Rutland Farmers' Market? This has been our favorite accomplishment by far this spring (No. We don't know if we're going to change the name of this blog). At least one year in preparation, we are now actually selling our produce to fellow citizens of Rutland county. How cool is that?




We started the growing season with lovely butterhead-style lettuces, leafy greens, radishes, and a handful of herbs. At the present, lettuces are waning in the hotter weather, but the onslaught of zucchini and summer squash is just starting. Soon (if we get any sun for more than 48 hours) we expect to have tomatoes, cucumbers and basil in abundance. Also, we'll be harvesting and setting out our garlic to dry.

Although we are very busy, we are grateful for the opportunity to become part of the local agricultural community. We have had the pleasure of selling vegetables to many of our neighbors, colleagues from Rutland Universalist Unitarian Church, and the pleasure of seeing friends from RAFFL, the Rutland Farm and Food Link. Ed has also mentioned that the direct marketing to customers "in person" was the one crucial element missing from his days as a farm hand on his family's farm in Illinois.

So much to share in these (sometimes) sunny days of summer. More as we have time to write it down...