Chapters of hay & eggs

Been thinking a lot about how to lay this all out.

This is the 30+ acre hayfield on my parent's farm in Vermont. My parents called it Riverside Farm. We raised Angus Beef and had a commercial vegetable operation. Growing the earliest spring spinach was the family specialty. Here you see the New Haven River, the River Road and that spot where the lightpole pops out of the trees marks the driveway connecting the town road to hayfield. My father passed away exactly two years ago so I've changed to calling it my mother's farm. This hayfield is the largest swath of open land on the 150 acre farm. A couple weeks ago, a neighbor farmer plowed in a cover crop of non-gmo soybeans. Come next spring, this land is ripe for anything.

Over here in Seattle, I think about this hayland a lot. You see that hedgerow that snakes up to us on the right? One day a road will follow the treeline, leading you up to a south facing lot. You can see the view from this lot on the bottom of my About page. From there you look out over the rest of the farm and the stream that runs along its valley floor. This is the planned location for a hall that will one day house an agri-cultural hub. More on that later. Back to the hayland. The hayland must be the heart of the farm if it's there that my imagination always travels to as I ride my bike around Seattle, pulling pans out of the oven at the restaurant in Fremont, making jam in my SODO kitchen, and saving moving money until the apartment lease comes up in May of 2015. I keep saying silly things, like yesterday when I told Amy, I'm not wearing shorts again until we live in Vermont.

But the move is a long ways off, 8 months, and for the most part I live like I'm never leaving Seattle. In the meantime, I'll be sharing some stories that emanate from the hayland, hover on my childhood hate of eggs cooked every way, and tousle some family heirlooms. First up: Pizza! Stay tuned.