The Water is Rising!

Too early this last summer repair work on the dam that helps create our beautiful lake at High Point Farm began in earnest. As one of the avid members of the gardening group, I was in full mourning for the jump in the lake after a hot and vigorous day’s work. Looking forward to the after-work swim was a remarkable motivator for putting in a long day’s work.

I admit that while packing my bathing suit, just in case there would be time and energy before dinner to drive the state park’s little condoned and murky swimming area, I thought perhaps the trip wouldn’t be worth it at all. Oh, how I missed that lake. The first time we drove up to the Chalet after the lake’s draining, I really could not look. And when I finally did, the shock of the empty dry as a bone lake bed, gave me chills and such great sadness. Sure, I understood it was necessary, but that didn’t help, not really. Floating out in the middle of the lake, gathering the cold into my bones, bobbing over drifting warm and cold spots, looking straight up into the sky with the circle of trees all around my head was really the most regenerative moment in my life. Knowing the garden needed us every bit as much as I needed the lake, I showed. After all, the heron continued its morning fishing expedition every day and it must have been just as jolted by the lake’s shrinking as I. Though I did always wonder if the lake’s concentration into a large puddle made for easier fishing. No one ever answered that question.

Then, on September 8th, when we went to the farm for our yearly High Point Music Camp we took a walk out to the dock to see the misery. Ah, the eternal desire to regenerate! There were two amazingly rich green patches of some sort of moss on the lake bed. The springs were feeding the lake bottom and the desert was turning itself over to the lake. Remarkable.

Come Fall Fest in early October, the lake bed had filled in with rich grasses covering the entire exposed bottom. The green was not as rich as the florescent mosses, which were beginning to turn a rich fall bronze but the textures were like a richly composed crazy quilt.

By the Garden Weekend in late October hopes of swimming returned. Anthony and PJ said they’d trekked down to the water’s edge and it was as clear as you’d find in a quarry. Saturday was too busy for a swim though the day was warm after the rain. I thought a Sunday swim would be mine right after the next morning’s harvest. Oh, but the cold side of fall had arrived, the crystal morning brought a cuttingly cold wind. Alas, I lacked the fortitude for that cold swim. No Polar Bear Club membership card for me. Unless of course I give it a whirl next time I’m up for the gardening. I could work hard enough to need the cool down, right? PBC members, anyone want to go for a swim?

                         

6:30 am View from the upper bedroom balcony, just disturbing the Heron at its morning fishing, again.

Late lunch break, taken from the dining room porch.

So Much To Update

I’ve been a little slow getting information up since preparing for and returning from this October’s 14th International Seminar in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I’ve gathered several pieces that might be helpful to other clubhouses developing Wellness initiatives that I’ll be posting over the next few days. We heard that the ICCD’s Wellness Survey is about complete and we look forward to getting in touch with everyone who participated and inviting you all to join us here at clubhousewellness.org to discuss ideas, methods, and resources for building healthier lives and developing great Standards-based Wellness Initiatives and practices.

There was so much to see and hear at the plenaries, workshops, and every moment in-between, much of which I failed to capture in photographs. But, I did manage to catch some photos of Grand Avenue Club’s health and fitness areas. They’ve done a terrific job providing visual information on various health topics including nutrition, healthy sleep, and exercise. They have also put together a terrific gym and exercise area. They have a fitness instructor who has been coming into the clubhouse a few times each week prior to the beginning of the work day. I’d love to hear from GAC about how they have incorporated their Wellness work.

October Harvest at the Farm

On October 6th a crew of about fifteen from NYC joined Jessica and the Young Adult team to enjoy and help out with the High Point Farm Fall Fest. This annual event is a celebration of the combined efforts of Fountain House members and staff and High Point neighborhood volunteers who join our farm managers, Steve and Abi to keep the farm and its projects thriving. The party features a BBQ but the standout dishes featuring produce from our garden were the real treats. I don’t know when the last time our pear trees produced enough fruit to make pear pie, but this was the first in my nine years. Oh my, so delicious! The weather was ideal fall, the requisite warm sun and cooling breeze doing their work. The fun was so merry and the work so thorough that we didn’t head out until dark, a satiated crew napped and chatted all the way home.

Three weekends later while farm managers, Steve and Abi were hiking in Peru, David, Keith, Steve H, Gail and I, a contingent of the Garden Group, returned to the farm for a round of fall cleanup. It was a long, three hour drive through Friday traffic and a steady rain. We arrived in the dark but the lighted chalet welcomed us. After fixing dinner and cleaning up we retired early wanting to be fresh and rested for our upcoming rainy workday. Saturday morning we divied-up the rain gear and headed to the maternity barn to start our morning rounds feeding the alpacas, llamas, chickens, and of course the cats.

A wet herd greeted us with great anticipation of a delicious breakfast, and indeed the grain dressed with vitamins did smell terrific. We gathered a few eggs, enough to keep us in breakfast and to gleam up our farm fresh apple pie. After the animal chores we gathered in the garden room to see what work was available inside because the serious rain didn’t appear to be giving up. The house plants were parched so indoor work was urgent and plenty. We decided to give each pot a deep soak, trim, and some fresh soil. As that job got under way we sorted through our seed collection, pulling out a variety of greens for a fresh fall crop. Soil pickings were a bit thin so tying a shirt around my nose to protect form seed starter mix dust, Keith and I got a set of seed trays filled and soaking in water with the hopes it would be ready in a day or two.

As the indoor work was well on its way we had a big decision to make: Trek back to the Chalet through the near waterfall proportioned rain to bake goodies and watch movies or Gear up for the deluge and get out into the garden for some harvesting and weeding. A bunch of dedicated gardens decided to pull up our hoods and head out to the garden! After a couple of hours in the deliciously warm rain we harvested buckets of tomatillos, Brussels sprouts, a few late string bean and peas, lots of lettuce, kale, and parsley, a bunch more turnips, a few beets and carrots, late season beautiful yellow summer squash and pumpkins, and the tail-end of this season’s red tomatoes. Remarkably the rain was standing about six inches deep in some areas and shockingly I managed to find a foot deep spot of mud to step in on my way to the tomato/chard bed. About three hours into our work we realized the rain had stopped and the warm sun was breaking through the heavy clouds. We stripped down to our regular garden outfits and felt like happy garden plants ourselves as we tucked through the thriving weeds uncovering a new crop of chard, spinach and beets. The deep puddles of water seeped into the ground, miraculously. Steve captured our crew in the garden with his little camera, joining us between shots for weeding and harvesting.

Employing his many years restaurant cooking, Steve took a lead on some remarkable meals, again featuring loads of fresh vegetable dishes. Saturday evening after another round of cooking and cleanup, Steve headed to his computer to work his photos into panorama, his current art project. The rest of us fixed a big bowl of popcorn and enjoyed a movie together. Sunday morning we met Anthony at the maternity barn and made our way from barn to barn feeding and watering our hungry herd. Another round of harvesting the more delicate greens and cleaning the chalet we gathered a last time around the dining room table to enjoy a hearty brunch before heading home.

This afternoon another weekend garden crew, Anne, Anna, Ekaterina and Elizeveta is heading up to the farm. I’m guessing they will be bringing home a fall spinach crop and some fresh sage. I can’t wait to see what other garden treats they’ll bring back and look forward to our Tuesday planning meeting where we will develop next week’s Friday Cafe menu. Stay tuned!