Windmill Farms: A Brief Visit

Just a quick note to say that Logan and I finally got over to Windmill Farms to visit Ronald this morning. The foggy weather amplified all the colors beautifully.

I'll write up a longer report later but here is a thumbnail sketch. The farm is a simple one: besides a lot of strawberries, Ronald is growing carrots, beets, kale, dandelions, chard, and spinach. Soon to be ripe are green beans and winter squash.

I have bought the baby carrots many times, and love them. As one reader at Metafilter said, "Did you know that carrots are sweet? I didn't know that 'til I had one that was an hour old. All my life I ate half-frozen, snapping-in-half factory farm carrots. No. Real carrots are soft and sweet." Indeed.

Ronald let Logan run amok and help himself to all the strawberries he wanted. After a dozen or so, I cut him off: when he starts to throw food, the show is over. But still, when we said good-bye, we took home two baskets of the prettiest berries you could imagine.

Ronald is a wonderful farmer and a very funny man. He's playful and hilarious and irreverent, and I think he's one of everyone's favorite farmers. Can you have a favorite farmer? Well, if someone makes me laugh, they're high on my list.

Lots of new photos are in all the albums (except Logan): I figured out how to change the dates on my photos so they display in proper chronological order. Joe Bob says check it out.

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Thought for the day:
"It's cool how the whole Farmer's Market thing is a scene just like the indy rock scene, with all the party people in all the photos, only with vegetables." —Courtesy of "The Jesse Helms" (don't ask me--it's just a user name!) at Metafilter.

Well, I laughed.

Thanks for visiting.

Comments

[kelly]

I just found your blog, and am loving it. I'm a small farm farmer in Northeast Ohio. It's my first official year and I'm doing great at the local farmers' market in Kent. Wishing I could move back to Northern CA where I lived 16 yrs ago, oh for a long growing season!

[lyn]

Love the sunflower and the strawberries...=^..^=

[Chris Hill]

Dear Tana,

I'm executive editor of NewFarm.Org. Your blog site is absolutely wonderful--and beautiful, too. It has inspired us to consider using our own blog software to support farmers who'd like to do something similar to what you're doing. We may also do a piece on farmer blogs and link to yours if that's alright.

Look forward to more.

Chris

[Becky Thistlethwaite]

I just found your blog- thank you for posting the great picture of my husband Jim and our baby Fiona (of TLC Ranch). I just wanted you and your readers to know about a new book that I just found, called MaryJanes Ideabook, Cookbook, Lifebook by MaryJane Butters of Moscow, Idaho. She's an amazing little organic farmer who has spawned an incredible business selling organic products from all of her neighbors. Her new book helps all of us reconnect with rural life and our inner farmgirl, even if we live in the cities! Check out www.maryjanesfarm.org for more on her and her organic business.