Out On The Farm

JWise Photo of the Day

Sunflowers from Tonopah Rob's Vegetable Farm in Tonopah, Arizona

I’ve been out on the farm quite a lot of late. I volunteer at Tonopah Rob’s Vegetable Farm in Tonopah, Arizona. Back in January, I wrote of visiting and shopping for veggies on his farm, now I spend two or three days a week and the occasional Saturday helping with farm chores. Besides the absolute fun and toil of learning how our food is grown and the extraordinary efforts that go into bringing veggies to market, I thoroughly enjoy the photographic opportunities. Some of my photos can be seen over at my Flickr account by clicking here.

My other efforts for Rob’s farm can be seen at his website http://www.tonopahrob.com where I have spent the better part of my blogging time posting there. Caroline recently added an image gallery module and I uploaded 120 of my favorite photos I have taken on the farm since last November. Our next web effort we are donating our time to is for a Monument Valley tour company. I’ll keep you posted.

Brown’s Orchard

JWise Photo of the Day, Travels

The view from Brown's apple orchard in Willcox, Arizona looking north

Went down south today to Brown’s Orchard in Willcox, Arizona, to help June draw up a site plan. June operates a U-pick apple farm, but she also makes fresh-pressed apple juice and hard cider. Living under the apple trees is a large flock of sheep that, come September, will gorge themselves on fallen apples. The site plan is a layout of the farm property and where buildings are located, along with the location of wells, septic, gates, and the parking area. The county needs this type of information for granting permits to allow a change in how a particularly zoned property conducts business. In this case, June wants to sell her hard cider and offer tastings, but to offer alcoholic beverages for sale, the county and state require that all things are in order and that the business is in regulatory compliance. Oh yeah, in the fall, Caroline and I will be down here picking apples for ourselves and pressing our own apple juice. Life’s little luxuries are, oh, so awesome.

Blackberry Picking

JWise Food, Photo of the Day, Travels

Caroline Wise picking berries in Yuma, Arizona

One-hundred ninety miles southwest of Phoenix in Somerton, Arizona, next door to Yuma is the Silva’s Farm, where Caroline and I went blackberry picking today. The drive took about three hours, but we got started shortly after 5:30 in the morning so we’d arrive before the heat of the day did. That didn’t actually work out as it took more than two hours to pick the 16 pounds of berries that we left with, and by then, the heat was quickly bearing down. Sneaky us, we actually left with about 17 pounds of blackberries, but the Silvas couldn’t measure what was in our stomachs. The berry vines are thriving in the desert, much to our disbelieving eyes. The patch is nestled within a citrus orchard, and the picking was great. Nothing like a sun-warmed, fat, ripe blackberry picked and eaten on the spot – yum.

Picking Blackberries in Yuma, Arizona

We have often been asked if these long drives to pick fruit and vegetables are worth it with exclamations that it must be cheaper to just go around the corner and buy them at the store. Well, here’s the math for you doubters. Frozen organic blackberries cost about $6.88 a pound or $110 for 16 pounds. Fresh organic blackberries from Whole Foods cost $5.99 per 6 ounces or $15.99 per pound for a total of $256 for 16 pounds. Picking the berries ourselves costs $3.50 per pound or $56 for 16 pounds, plus gasoline. We drove 420 miles with a couple of short detours to pick up an ice chest from my mom, coffee, and a stop at an ATM. Our Hyundai gets 32 miles per gallon on the highway; at $3.60 per gallon we spent $47 for gas. Our grand total was $102, and our experience was priceless. For those of you who are still doubtful, you should have seen the fun the ‘other’ kids were having running through the berry patch and yelling back at their parents about the giant berry they found and, oh, how sweet it was.

Interstate 8 in Arizona

What the hell was I thinking, pulling up so close to a gas tanker so I could pay attention to my camera as I wanted to shoot a car selfie?

Interstate 8 in Arizona

Roadside ruins will always pull me in.

Interstate 8 in Arizona

Last stop for air before finishing our drive back home…another grand day out in the beautiful life of John and Caroline.

And It’s DONE!

JWise Photo of the Day

Jutta Engelhardt at Tonopah Rob's Vegetable Farm in Arizona

This is Jutta’s last day at the farm after having been out here nearly 3 dozen times to commune with the chickens, help prepare things for market, enjoy many a lunch, and make friends.

Rob Lazzarotto of Tonopah Rob's Vegetable Farm in Tonopah, Arizona

This is Rob Lazzarotto who hates having his photo taken, but I just had to put this here for Jutta’s memories and to acknowledge what a great host he was. Jerry, Rob, Jutta, and I shared many bouts of laughter out on his farm which all made Jutta’s latest trip to America unforgettable.

Navajo Weaving at Fiber Factory in Mesa by Jutta Engelhardt with Caroline Wise and Mary Walker

This is Mary Walker, an expert in all things Navajo fiber culture-related, helping us remove Jutta’s rug from the loom and giving Jutta’s incredible labor a final stamp of approval noting what a great job she did on her first-ever weaving. Mary now has a shop of her own in Gallup, Weaving in Beauty, and offers Navajo Weaving classes taught by weavers on the Navajo Nation.

Navajo Weaving at Fiber Factory in Mesa by Jutta Engelhardt

Off the loom, this Navajo rug 100%-made by the hands of Jutta is now ready to be packed in a suitcase to travel back to Germany with her. Congratulations, Schwiegermutter!