In the works ... Blue Heron Farm & Hedlin Family Farm

The past few days of sunshine and summer are so welcome here right now by chilly irritable pale people AND acre upon acre of crops that rely on the sun's rays to warm roots and ripen fruit. It'll be interesting to see what August brings and when we'll start seeing roadside stands of sweet farm fresh corn 5 or 6 for $1 instead of .78 cents EACH like I saw in a Skagit Valley grocery yesterday.

Just a few days ago I was fortunate enough to spend just over three hours on the farm with the incredible Anne Schwartz of Blue Heron Farm in Rockport. When I say fortunate I mean fortunate and I think the people who know Anne understand how lucky I feel. Anne is a force ... as a woman, a farmer, agricultural activist, and ambassador of food awareness. I built an image around everything I've heard and read about Anne (okay let's see, she's a powerhouse of a lady so if she were a horse I'm thinking she'd be a Clydesdale, after 30 someodd years of farming her body has got to be worn by the sun, after all those years of living upriver in the foothills of the Cascades *we're talking serious country* she's got to be uber self-reliant, more than a little opinionated, and how could you not be a little grumpy living in the constant dew of Rockport, oh and she probably doesn't have the inclination or time to spend with people like me who obviously have too much time.) So, when I realized that the attractive, slender, petite woman with a long ponytail and kind smile who stepped out of a little red pickup truck was Anne I was pretty darn surprised. More about Ms. Anne when I get all of that video edited! Her stories are really amazing and she has an abundance of experience, knowledge and wisdom to share.

I also got to spend time at Hedlin Family Farm in La Conner walking part of the farm and talking with 4th generation farmer Kai Otteson. During my time at Hedlin, I was introduced to so much technical stuff about seeds, equipment, crop rotation etc. that I'm glad I was recording because my brain started to swim. Kai's a young and very articulate guy who grew up in Alaska studied environmental literature and worked summers on the farm before he landed in the valley full time. Again, lots of video to edit and stories and perspective to share.

And I'm still working on editing video from my visit with Steve Sakuma at Sakuma Brothers Farms.

Getting my laptop stolen really bites.