Day 24, June 11, 2010

Today I play hooky. Debbie wants to show me a few farms along the Central Connecticut Valley. In this area, there are generations of farming families, caretakers of some of the most productive soil there can be. Because the Connecticut River floods each year, the nutrient- rich silt that is deposited each spring, has built up topsoil depths of four feet. In places.

It's about 11:00 in the morning. I'm about to cross the the Connecticut River in Middletown, via the Arrigoni Bridge. At the time of its completion, this was the largest and most expensive bridge built in Connecticut, costing $3.5 million. As I approach a Friendly Restaurant, I see two men, a dog and a gigantic inflatable earth ball... just hiking along. They look eccentric, but harmless. I notice www.earthguy.org. I imagine it an environmental cause, and I beep approval as I continue towards the river and my farm date.

Looking south, I see that the river is murky. I finally understand, and am able to imagine how such a vast body of water is capable of moving millions of acres of fertile material. from country-to-country, state-to-state, field-to-field. I meet Debbie at a Dairy Queen in Portland.

"You want a sip?" I ask, offering her some of my frozen strawberry lemonade.

"No thanks... no sugar water for me," she says as we drive off to see some real strawberry fields.

Before we get to the actual growing places, Deb shows me a few produce stores. First we visit Gotta's Farm and Cider Mill in Portland. Jackie Gotta shows us the cider press and shares information, invites me to call her husband, Dick, when we're ready to buy produce items that we might need. Debbie tells me we need a few tomatillo plants, since tomatillos are a key component of a delicious salsa. I take a picture of her, and the four late garden entries before heading to E. Draghi & Sons in South Glastonbury.

Draghi's is another multi-generational farming institution. They have recently completed a massive retail-style greenhouse. There, we buy a muffin, look around, and move on to Carini's Berry Farm. Before Carini's, we visit Old Maid Farm. Old Maid used to produce a large quantity of organic vegetables for

Whole Foods, but has since decided to concentrate on organic poultry and eggs. For good measure, they're planting 150 acres of organic pumpkins this year. Before leaving, we visit a pen of, we believe, free range turkey poults. Two have escaped the chicken wire, and Deb and I capture them and drop them back into the

pen. These guys are soft and plush, and I cannot imagine them five months later, hardened and truculent table turks.

Carini's is a beautiful, well-organized berry paradise. We drive through a large field of blueberry plants, turn into the raspberries and blackberries, ending before a large plot of succulent strawberries. Behind us, we later learn, is a fading field of asparagus. Christine Priest tells us everything we need to know about growing and

merchandising strawberries, and her fruits are so beautiful, I'm tempted to grab several flats and open our stand a few weeks early. I think about this, especially because her raspberries are becoming ripe, and if the birds don't get them first, the blueberries will be ready, as well.

We decide to trade contact information, hold off on buying strawberries. We figure the weather will likely be miserable this weekend, and we're not ready to start selling.

I'm starting to feel overwhelmed and insignificant as I look at these operations, especially the ones I'm about to see... knowing them only by their reputations.

"Ben, these places have been running for generations," Deb says. "Lyman's since the mid 1700's. You'll get there."

Belltown Hill Orchards is a combination of compact modesty and understated grandeur. Our initial view is from the the retail store, and the vista of orchards on sweeping hills. There are acres of plantings underneath fine bird netting. Under one bird net, we find millions - literally millions - of burgundy-colored cherries. I pluck one from the tree, let it fall to the ground, grab it and sample a cherry to rival any I've ever tasted.

Deb has already explained that Connecticut was once one of the largest peach producers in America, and I am anxious to learn a similar story about cherries, and plan to call Michael at the orchard to see if we can sell his magnificent cherries before they go out of season.

We visit Lyman Orchards in Middlefield. Total Disney World, with festivals, a Robert Trent Jones Championship Golf Course, 1100 acres of reportedly eco-friendly orchard plantings. I meet one of their directors, and he couldn't be more helpful. In spite of being overwhelmed, I like this place, and I see the vision I have as doable, especially with the great work that has already been done by these amazing farming families.

Deb drops me off at DQ. Sitting next to my car, is Earth Guy, resting. He explains his cause is for Diabetes research.

We had both travelled quite a distance. Physically, and as he describes his bridge crossing, I conclude, emotionally.