A Ride in the Country

Bob’s birthday was last Saturday, and to celebrate we took a drive in the country. We wanted to find the little farm where they have the “Squeaker” cheese curds. The day was full of spring as we bounced along two-lane back roads. I was sipping an iced mocha and nibbling on a lemon ginger cranberry scone… my lap was full of crumbs.

An old farm truck sat in a driveway. Wooden bed. Two people sitting in sunshine. Legs dangling over the back end. Talking, and laughing.

Dirt or gravel farm lanes trickled off the pavement. A hand printed sign and arrow, “Fresh Honey.”

Freshly plowed fields, neat and tidy.

Wetland pond. Canada Geese strutting, necks held high, while the dabblers preferred bottoms up. Birds flew from the grasses, bits of twig, and nesting material clutched in their beak.

Three unsheared brown wooly sheep.

It was the view of the bare berry canes that I most remember… the canes neatly coiled, then folded into the next… forming a continuous spiraling pattern across the fields. I didn’t have my camera with me, but that is the photo I want. Bare raspberry canes, waiting for warmth to touch the leaf nodes, to unlock the growth that will provide rich berries for the small green boxes that line the tables at Farmer’s Markets. That will fill breakfast bowls, and line shelves with jams and jellies. That will help farmers feed their families with the profit. A sustainable connections.

We didn’t find the “squeaker” cheese curds, but it didn’t really matter. There is always another day.

... PLM