Sunset means moonrise on a late October Friday evening at UCONN. Halloween is still a little over a week away, but I feel a shiver, and I have to pull over to catch this shot. There it is: a perfectly crested hill, bare trees and a small contingent of grazing Holsteins. A band of pink sky and a full moon frames UCONN's version of Farming 101. Course completed, and this image is my diploma.
Debbie has just treated Elizabeth and me to our first visit to The UCONN Dairy Bar. This is a place that makes direct use of its dairy cattle. They collect the milk, return it to the Dairy Bar, where it is homogenized, pasteurized, and processed in various vats, kettles and mixers into 400 gallon batches of ultra-fresh ice cream mix.
At the UCONN Dairy Bar, the manufacturing side is larger in area than the selling side. Tow-headed co-eds serve an endless stream of loyal customers, while others manage flatbed roller carts loaded with dozens of half-gallon containers of honest ice cream. We're here a little before six-p.m., the Dairy Bar's closing time, and so we decide to have our desert before dinner. The product is perfect, in every way, and we leave knowing that this is not our last visit.
It seems to me that every time I visit a legendary place, like The UCONN Dairy Bar, or Clyde's Cider Factory... Or Jones Family Farm, and their winery, Christmas tree, pumpkin or berry operations that there is keen inspiration to continue the traditions of excellence and passion for product perfection. I want to do something as well as these leaders do, but I don't want to copy or follow them.
At the same time, I may be getting closer to an opportunity. I'm finally getting emails and phone calls from people with land and ideas, and that is a good Karma to take into the autumn. One thing for certain, in farm country, there is no easy gain, but there are sure some decent people.
No comments:
Post a Comment