Community

Northport is a small town.  You can drive all the way through without stopping -- just the occasional yield sign.  You don't always see that many people on the streets and there aren't that many shops.  You might think this is a tiny little community.  It's small, that's for sure, but it certainly boasts the most thriving sense of community I had ever seen.  For Memorial Day there was a rememberance of war veterans at the local cemetary.  It seemed like the whole town showed up.  It was like the carnival was in town.  We had to part far out in a field and walk in, there were so many cars.  The community band played Souza marches and the choir sang those good old patriotic tunes.  There was a reading of the Gettysburg address and a series of speeches and benedictions.  They played taps and lowered the flag.  Afterward we all walked around and looked at the gravestones, marking the burial sites of Northport pioneer farming families. 
Back on the farm we just started seeds for squash and cucumbers and zucchini.  I'm working on plowing up more field space to plant a cover crop of clover and rye grass.  The plan is to let it all grow tall, then mow it and gather up the clippings.  These are super sources of nitrogen that we can let compost over the year and next year will be awesome decayed organic matter to put back into our soil.  We are also busy strewing straw atop the paths between vegetable rows.  This straw will help keep weeds down, as well as help keep the soil cool and protected from the drying sun and wind.  Our soil is pretty sandy, so we need some way to keep moisture in the soil.  A little straw blanket is just the trick.