Week 5, Fall 2022
Hello, it’s me, Ayden, and welcome back to the farm journal!
This week began in Chicago with the first day of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year. We went to joint prayer services with the communities of Makom Shalom and Metziut. This was one of the first times that I and much of the cohort had been to in-person services since the start of the pandemic. I was so grateful to finally have an opportunity to celebrate alongside a Jewish community, even if it was one I had never been a part of before. It was so nice to jump in with familiar words and tunes and join discussions of the Torah portion. In the afternoon we walked to lake Michigan for Tashlich. This is the jewish practice of symbolically casting our wrongdoings into a body of moving water, part of the practices of atonement and repentance that come with the High Holiday season. I find that large bodies of water, especially ones as beautiful as Lake Michigan, offer the perfect backdrop for meaningful reflection.
On Tuesday we attended outdoor musical services with the Mishkan congregation. I once again had the opportunity to sing, dance, and discuss Torah with my peers. Following services we had a lovely picnic in the park and enjoyed the weather and scenery. We later headed back to Sheldon and enjoyed some chard, tofu, and homemade pickles.
On Wednesday morning I made my usual trip to the food pantry. For lunch we began to enjoy our giant purple radish, only half of which could fit on the tray going into the oven. During lunch I’ve gotten into the habit of harvesting some fresh arugula and green onion from our bayit garden to add to my food: one of my favorite perks of farm living! Our friend Emma arrived in the afternoon and helped Lexi and me harvest mushrooms, including our newest batch of gorgeous pink oysters. For dinner Emma made soup with some of our fall squash, giving us an opportunity to appreciate the changing of the seasons.
On Thursday we were joined by our friend from Sheldon, Allison. In the morning we spent some time weeding. Lexi, Emma, and Allison harvested some mushrooms and prepared some straw for a new mushroom inoculation. We also spent a good amount of time harvesting cherry, plum, and beefsteak tomatoes in our garden Across The Road (ATR). We are doing our best to take advantage of the tomatoes for as long as we can before a frost sets in. JR arrived at night and, knowing that I am a bit of a music nerd, brought in his electric guitar and amplifier for me to try out and we enjoyed some jams before heading to bed.
On Friday we continued harvesting tomatoes and harvested some of our Ukrainian peppers as well. We spent much of the day preparing and packing for our Sunday trip to Watseka Harvest Daze, a fall gathering with lots of local vendors. In the afternoon Lexi led another round of mushroom inoculation. After the work day ended, I spent some time with our barn cats Shlomi and Phoebe and did some reading before cooking Shabbat dinner. I made Spanish rice (with our tomato sauce and veggie stock!), sauteed some of our mushrooms and eggplant, and made a fresh salad with our purple radish, arugula, mint, and green onion.
Our Shabbat was relaxed as usual. I caught up on sleep and spent time appreciating our environment. We also figured out our plans for Sunday and Watseka Harvest Daze. I was so excited to have a chance to promote and sell our awesome produce: tomatoes (cherry, plum, and roma), squash (acorn and butternut), mushrooms (gray and pink oyster), peppers (shishitos, melrose, and Ukrainian) and watermelon. I was a little nervous about representing this organization that I had only been part of for a month. What if I forgot an important piece of information? What if I didn’t know how to answer a question about a specific piece of produce? In the end, though, I had a great time interacting with local members of the community and telling them about the exciting projects we’ve been working on. I even struck up a conversation about inoculation with some mushroom enthusiasts! This opportunity was such a great way to end our week.
