Heard from Chad, the milkman, last night. Apparently, Zippy Duvall, the president of the Georgia Farm Bureau, and Governor Sonny Perdue have declared today a day of prayer for Georgia Agriculture. The only time on record that Georgia got less rain between March and May was in 1887. That would be before my grandparents were born in Ireland. Before the St. Louis World's Fair in 1904 when the waffle-met-ice cream and the "walkaway cone" was born. Before the debut of Henry Ford's Model T automobile in 1908. Before World Wars I and II, the Korean War, the Viet Nam War, the Iraq War. Before the first radio, television and computer. A long time ago.
I also received an email last night from Jessica Little of Sweet Grass Dairy, that wonderful goat dairy in south Georgia which I thought originally was not within my foodshed but was thrilled to discover several months ago is exactly 250 miles away. I emailed her after my breakfast of Sweet Grass Dairy fresh chevre on beet greens with local honey to find out how the "sweet grass" was doing without rain. She said that because they have over 100 acres of woods, there is plenty of brush and shrubs for the goats to eat but that they were behind in their planting in the fields. She said the top layer of soil would be lost as dust if they plowed now. And then, in true farmer style, she added, "So, hopefully, we will get some really good summer showers . . ."
Hopefully. Farmers are a tough, hopeful group who are completely dependent on many things beyond their control. Maybe they learn from the land, how to give, what to take, how to let go and trust. And, in doing so, it forms them. Toughens them. Softens them. Deepens their spirit.
After nosing around the Georgia Farm Bureau website, I found a buyer's guide to Georgia's fresh fruit and vegetables. Some of the traits sound, to me, like food for thought regarding people:
Corn: Kernels should be just firm enough to offer slight resistance to pressure.
Cucumber: Even the best cucumbers could have small lumps on their surfaces.
Peaches: Don’t squeeze peaches; they bruise easily.
Snap beans: Snap beans with thick, tough, fibrous pods are over-mature beans.
Summer squash: Summer squash should be tender. If the skin is glossy, not dull, hard or tough, the squash is likely to be tender. Avoid stale or over-mature summer squash which will have a dull appearance and a hard, tough surface.
Considering the drought, however, I would suggest a different buying guide right now. It goes like this:
Farm-fresh food: Buy something. Anything. Just let the spirit-affirming energy of trust pass from your hand to the hand of a farmer. A hopeful, tough and tender farmer. And let him or her know that you are hopeful, too.
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