THE FILLING OF THE BARNS

I returned to two of the barns on Bair Lane, Marcellus, MI, that had been mostly empty in the winter months. Now, harvest!

THE FILLING OF THE BARNS

We hold harvest. Simple.

No point being empty, just holding

the air between heaven and earth. No,

this is the meeting place of soil and soul,

human animal and vegetable. Hay and onions

and strands of garlic

have soaked in sun, rain, and now

lay drying, dying

for long keeping.

Bair Lane Farms -- Original Barn -- Winter

Summer

Bair Lane Hay Barn -- Winter

Summer

The CSA* Boxes that spun
cobwebs in winter are packed

to share the weekly delivery of

color, earthy

potatoes, yellow
onions, orange

carrots, green

beans, rose

radishes, mauve
eggplant, jade

broccoli, crimson

peppers, golden sun
flowers. And Farmers, all

hands and ears, smiles, share

the sweat turned sweet in corn

and sungold

cherry tomatoes.

White Yarrow Farm -- Winter to Summer

We barns
hold harvest. Simple. Each in our own way.

Waiting to share sooner

or later. No point being

empty when earth, turned, sown, tended, watered,

made more than enough for summer’s harvest

alone.

*CSA = Community Supported Agriculture

White Yarrow Farm supplies a weekly harvest box of vegetables and flowers
to the folks who have purchased a share in their farm.
The boxes are packed and taken to a central pick-up site.
Some folks work on the farm, packing boxes, for example,
as a barter for their share of the harvest.

White Yarrow and Bair Lane Farms also sell produce and flowers

at local farm markets --

Goshen Farmers' Market and Texas Corners.