Here´s a quick update. Dave has been working his you-know-what off.

- Garlic has been harvested and dried! A bit epic, the harvest. Rainy weather made for hard, hard ground and stems that pulled off easily from the heads (bulbs), even with every row being forked. Now it just needs to be cleaned, which basically means tossing it up and down in a mesh hammock to get the dirt and dried paper off. Then we need to weigh it and figure out what we will replant and what we will sell.

- Cabin construction started! What does this mean? Expensive power tools!!! Dave and Mark are cutting the timbers to size with a 16 3/4-inch Makita skill saw. (A really really big saw.) Chiseling of the mortises and tenons starts next week. Big power planer on order!! Does planing of beams explain the origin of the phrase, “Shiver me timbers”?

- Organic re-certification! We were re-certified a couple of weeks ago, and the inspector said MOFGA would be interested in training Dave to be an inspector.

- Grains almost ready for harvest! We planted a lot of grain this year (by Maine small farm standards), including about 40 heritage varieties that Dave ordered from the USDA grain genome bank. Saskatchewaners take note, Marquis was among them. If you still remember Marquis. Before Monsanto took over the world and started selling farmers seed that kills itself every year. But I digress.

- Vineyard being prepared! Dave has laid out the vineyard, subsoiled and put in amendments. We will plant about 1300 vines in the spring.

- Travel! But not for vacation. Heather is headed off to India, Paraguay, China, and possibly Egypt in the next month or so. Provided the visas arrive on time.

More details on garlic, construction, and grains coming up as soon as I get a chance.