Summer on the Farm
It takes a brave soul to decide to spend an entire summer on a farm out in the middle of the Chequamegon National Forest that’s run by three (possibly eccentric) ladies. Of course, there’ll be plenty to do (!!!), lots of great fresh food (another !!!, especially since that includes gelato), and fresh air. But it’s still a brave proposition and an adventure that young folks who intern on our farm have chosen to plunge into like taking a cannonball splash into Lake Superior.
Immersion learning is another name for it, right here in the living laboratory of our diversified homestead farm.
This year, our intern adventurers are Jacob Schultz from Northland College in Ashland, WI and Sam Harrington from Green Mountain College in Vermont—both sustainable ag majors. Jake jumped in during spring break in April, returning in June just after the PBS filming. Sam arrived earlier in June, just in time for piglets. Both, alas and alack, are leaving us this week to return to their lives and coursework.
Last night around the dinner table after a day of butchering chickens, we were sharing stories and laughing over the summer’s accomplishments and moments of havoc. Here are some of the memorable points Sam and Jake recalled:
Jake: The day the lamb Junco was born, since he had both hypothermia and hypoglycemia. We worked on him for five hours, warming on the block heater and giving electrolyte shots and enemas. We were so exhausted, but Junco pulled through. He had to be a bottle lamb because he was away from his mother too long after birth, but now you can’t hardly pick him out from the crowd.
Sam: Holding down the chicken tractors in the sudden storm that whipped up the evening after the PBS filming until Laura could pound in the T-posts to stake them down. Then it was the treetops ripping off and landing right next to my bedroom window, ach!
Jake: The long drive to pick up the colony of honeybees, only to come back and find out the queen was dead! Then later having the chance to work the hives and see the colonies established and progressing. Also, knowing that the bees liked me much better than some of the previous interns.
Sam: Getting to be there when the piglets were born and sitting with Agatha when she was so friendly right before farrowing. Then there was the one piglet I had to birth myself because Kara stepped away for a moment.
Jake: Being dragged off to splash in the mud puddles with Sam. And the snakes.
Sam: Ach, the snakes in the hay bales! [Sam doesn’t like snakes…that’s an understatement] I had to look at every side of every bale because it seemed like nearly half of them had snakes stuck in them, and then Jake had to pull them out.
Jake: Yup, at least the chickens liked to eat them. Throw the snake in the pen, and it was gone.
Sam: And of course you got to make beer [one of Sam’s talents, which she shared with us this summer]. I kept telling you I make the best beer in the world. And now you know for real.
Jake: And seeing the aquaponics was really cool. Everything from catching and filleting the big fish to introducing the new shipment of little fish. And planting and harvesting in the greenhouse was awesome…way better than all the weed pulling in the garden.
Sam: Ooh, but don’t forget tie-dye! I really wanted to tie-dye Jake’s socks, but I resisted. We still have to get our tie-dye Tuesday picture together, to go along with “chicken dish Tuesday.”
Jake: Yeah, there’s been a lot of dishes, and a lot of great food too. I’ve really loved the food, and the gelato. That peanut butter gelato is awesome.
Sam: I never ate so many pancakes in my life, or pizza! Or pigeon either, never had pigeon before. I’m still proud that I got it, though.
Jake: How about the maggots in the back end of the truck, after we got rid of the garbage that one hot day. At first we thought it was saw dust, but it wasn’t. It was tons and tons of maggots. I had to get them out with the power washer, and I was hunched over in the back, spraying, and there was no getting around it by to spray in an arc and get splashed with them. I went as fast as I could, but it was no use. The maggots went flying everywhere.
Sam: Kara and I were the midnight milkers. But Kara kept falling asleep, so she needed me to keep talking to her. No matter what we did, we always got stuck milking late, and I’d still be there, cleaning up. But then, I don’t think I’ve ever met a farmer that got enough sleep.
You can hear more of our interns’ stories this Thursday the 14th at our Annual Intern Scholarship Dinner (in tandem with Pizza Farm Night from 5:00 to 8:00 pm). We’ll be joined by Tom Draughon and the South Shore Mountain Boys (bluegrass), a slideshow of images from the summer, and more! All proceeds go towards scholarships for Sam and Jake, and it’s our way to celebrate the dedication and accomplishments of these fine young people who chose to spend their summer on the farm.
Are memories of summertime on a friend or relative’s farm part of your storybag? It’s high season in the garden, the pizza oven is fired up, and maybe we’ll see you down on the farm before our handy helpers head off to school.
