Page County Grown Farm Tour: Paw Paw's Honey



Honey and beeswax from Paw Paw's.



Paw Paw's bees.

This is the fourth of six posts that will reprise the inaugural Page County Grown Farm Tour, which took place on Saturday, August 27, 2011. There were more than 40 of us on the tour, always looking cautiously at darkening skies, threatening rain, as hurricane Irene bearing down on the East Coast. We visited several of our local farms: Khimaira Farm, Skyline Premium Meats, Willow Grove Farm Market, Wisteria Farm and Vineyard, Paw Paw’s Honey, and Public House Produce, and luckily the hurricane held off until after the Farm-to-Table Dinner at the Mimslyn on Saturday evening. All of the posts on this topic include the label “2011 Farm Tour” at the end, so a simple click will pull them all up, including some posts I put up in advance of the tour, and the one I made about the Farm-to-Table Dinner.


While the tour made its stop at Public House Produce, we were able to take in a visit with Paw Paw’s Honey, where the proprietor, Paul Kinsler, keeps a few hives on the property, as well as other locations around Page County. Here’s the write-up on Paw Paw’s from the tour handout:

This visit also takes place at Public House Produce. Paw Paw’s Honey is a blend of what is naturally available to the bees in Page County, so there are slight variations in taste and color from bottle to bottle – but the honey is always sweet and good. Paw Paw’s also raises and sells queen bees and beeswax.

Paul took some time with me looking at the hive he had brought with him, pointing out the queen, who was very busy on this morning laying eggs in the honeycomb. He pointed out that since the honey he sells is raw and unprocessed, it can actually be helpful to people with allergies (the Hawksbill Cabin recommends that readers check with their allergists first on this one!).

We’ve spoken before at the Farmers Market, and at the Page County Heritage Festival, about the bees. The industrious insects have to cover impressive territory to gather the pollen they need for just a pound of honey – it’s hard to fathom how far they must have flown to gather the goods that Paul had on display. Another point of interest, for me at least, was the news that from his home base along Business 340, Paw Paw’s bees may actually range as far as my place in Stanley to gather pollen!

Friday’s post will be about Public House Produce, and that will be my final post about the Page County Grown Farm Tour event.

Page County Grown Farm Tour: Willow Grove Farm Market

Willow Grove Farm Market store entry.

This is the third of six posts I’m running this week to reprise the inaugural Page County Grown Farm Tour, which took place on Saturday, August 27, 2011. Despite the hurricane bearing down on the East Coast, a brave group of 40+ farm tourists set out to visit a few of our local farms: Khimaira Farm, Skyline Premium Meats, Willow Grove Farm Market, Wisteria Farm and Vineyard, Paw Paw’s Honey, and Public House Produce. All of the posts on this topic include the label “2011 Farm Tour” at the end, so a simple click will pull them all up, including some posts I put up in advance of the tour, and the one I made about the Farm-to-Table Dinner.


Since the parking area at Willow Grove Farm Market couldn’t accommodate all of our vehicles, the group split into thirds and headed in various directions once we had all left Skyline Premium meats. John and Nina, friends that Mary and I have run into more than a few times over at Wisteria, had joined the tour at this time and we decided to travel together – I have a photo of them here in the Willow Grove store, as a matter of fact.

Now, the overview write-up of Willow Grove was as follows:

“The market was founded in 2010 on one of Virginia’s Century Farms – meaning the same family has been farming here for over 100 years. The market’s goal is to be a source of local and Virginia produced beef, chicken, dairy and produce, all foods that are less processed than those that are available elsewhere – foods that are good for you and support the local community and economy.”

John and Nina pick up a few local Virginia goods.

As we browsed the store, we got a good idea of all those Virginia-grown offerings, many of which are grown right there on the farm: beef, eggs, broilers, watercress, asparagus, onions, Swiss chard, collards, beets, cabbage, sweet corn, tomatoes, sweet peas, snap peas, strawberries, cantaloupe, watermelon, squash, zucchini, bell pepper, jalapenos, banana peppers, pumpkin, okra, cucumbers, green beans, and lettuce. Since the original descriptions were put together, local dairy products, goat (from Khimaira, I understand), several salsas, and other condiments have been added to the offerings.

Mary and I bought a block of smoked cheddar cheese from there recently. I want to make a note of it, it was so good. But they were out of it during the farm tour, and it still hadn’t been restocked when I was there last weekend. I put in a special request. I can’t wait to have that again – it inspired me to dream of having my own small herd dairy to make cheese with…maybe Belted Galloways, which would be very popular in the Valley with the other farmers. I could haul them around with a duallie…even better.

Because we knew it wouldn’t be long before many of our touring colleagues showed up behind us, we kept our visit short but informative, and headed on to our next venue – Public House Produce. However, for continuity purposes, my post tomorrow will skip ahead to Wisteria Farm and Vineyards before coming back to Paw Paw’s Honey, and then closing out with the Public House Produce post.

Page County Grown Farm Tour: Skyline Premium Meats

The tour group arrives at Skyline Premium Meats

This is the second in a series of six posts I’m running this week to reprise the inaugural Page County Grown Farm Tour, which took place on Saturday, August 27, 2011. Despite the hurricane bearing down on the East Coast, a brave group of 40+ farm tourists set out to visit a few of our local farms: Khimaira Farm, Skyline Premium Meats, Willow Grove Farm Market, Wisteria Farm and Vineyard, Paw Paw’s Honey, and Public House Produce. All of the posts on this topic include the label “2011 Farm Tour” at the end, so a simple click will pull them all up, including some posts I put up in advance of the tour, and the one I made about the Farm-to-Table Dinner.

Jared prepares to start the overview and demonstration.

The group departed Khimaira farms and caravanned down Business 340 to our second stop at Skyline Premium Meats, which is part of the Trio Farms operation. Here’s the overview of the farm that was included in the tour overview:

“This farm, located just south of Luray on Business 340, emphasizes humane management and safe handling practices to ensure a consistently high quality product. Skyline Premium’s approach specifies that no hormones, steroids or other chemical alterations are used; because of this, the beef has earned designation as ‘A Virginia’s Finest Product.’”



Some of the makings of the beef ration.  That's barley on the lower right.

 I didn’t manage to save my notes from the farm overview that Jared, Joan and Jerry gave us to start things off – but it was hard not to come away impressed by the details that team went into: we started at one of the storage barns where the freshly chopped corn for silage was kept; followed by a PowerPoint briefing on the history of the farm and all of its products; we saw the raw materials for the beef ration; there was a field demonstration of feeding the cows and calves; and finally, we went to the main steer barn to see the beeves.

Grandpa Buddy Burner was part of the briefing as well. I had a few minutes with him near the steers, and he told me a story about the barn, which predates the Civil War. It’s rare to find many key agricultural structures from that era in the Valley, as late in the war the Union army marched through here to burn them down.

Cows answering the call to feed - with clouds beginning to stream in.

Buddy’s story detailed how the men from the farm went into hiding as the Union army approached on a Sunday. They left behind food for a large Sunday dinner, which the women prepared and offered to the Union soldiers. As a result, one of the Union officers told them, “You’ve treated us kindly, we’ll spare your barn.” Buddy acknowledged the story is not as well documented as other Valley stories about the era, but as he finished talking he pointed to some of the older parts of the barn where rough-hewn structural timbers could still be seen.

A parting shot of the main barn at Skyline Premium Meats.

After we were finished at Skyline Premium Meats, the tour group broke up into three groups, since one of the venues, Willow Grove Farm Market, had limited parking and couldn’t handle all the cars. While my touring colleagues headed off into other directions, I went directly to Willow Grove next, accompanied by John and Nina, some friends I’ve gotten to know during frequent visits to Wisteria. I’ll write about the stop at Willow Grove in my post tomorrow.

Page County Grown Farm Tour: Khimaira Farm



Tourist kids with the goat kids.



Page County Grown sign at Khimaira Farm.

Today’s post is the first in a series that I will run this week reprising the inaugural Page County Grown Farm Tour, which took place on Saturday, August 27, 2011. With the fury of hurricane Irene bearing down on the East Coast, a brave group of 40+ farm tourists set out to visit a few of our local farms: Khimaira Farm, Skyline Premium Meats, Willow Grove Farm Market, Wisteria Farm and Vineyard, Paw Paw’s Honey, and Public House Produce. That’s the order I’ll recap the tour, also – and all of the posts will include the label “2011 Farm Tour” at the end, so a simple click will pull them all up, including the Farm-to-Table Dinner, preview and teaser posts that went up previously.

Linda gives a tour overview.

Now, Khimaira Farm was our first stop – the family and staff were preparing for a wedding that evening, and had asked that the visit take place at 9am so they could accommodate that appointment – as a follow-up, I heard that the wedding came off despite the impending hurricane, with only the minor change of where to hold the ceremony being impacted. There was a quick rain storm just as the tour arrived; of course, it quickly cleared as soon as we were inside the barn.

Farm buildings, including the goat barn.

As summarized in the one-pager that was handed out at the tour overview, Khimaira is a working dairy and meat goat farm, focused on sustainable agricultural practices. The family’s home is located just outside of Luray and dates from the Civil War era. Khimaira is also a popular wedding destination in the Shenandoah Valley. On the Page County Grown web page, their products are listed as: dairy and meat goat breeding stock, goat meat, tomatoes, peppers, seasonal produce, eggs, and chickens.

Linda, the proprietor, who is pictured in one of the photos, gave an overview of the history of the farm – over two decades it functioned as an active 60-acre farm. The family was involved with Heifer, International – a non-profit organization that encourages family farming in developing countries – and through those activities word-of-mouth helped support the growth of the business.

Khimaira's wedding barn.

Another wedding venue at Khimaira.

As Linda wrapped up her talk, we had a few minutes to walk around the property and check out the offerings. Of late, the farm has become a popular Page County wedding destination, so I’ve included a couple of photos of the venues available, including the “Wedding Barn” and a little garden. There are many beautiful views of the Blue Ridge and several different locations suitable for nuptials and other traditional wedding functions.

One of Khimaira's Great Pyrenees dogs.

Then of course there are the animals. The goats have a new barn (since the weddings have taken over their old one!), and there are a couple Great Pyrenees dogs guarding the property from predators.

They had some other local products available to check out, including goats milk soaps. And much appreciated, since they were the first stop, hot coffee and some pastries were available.

Khimaira made for a logical first stop on the tour, given their proximity to the chamber, and because they had space for us under the barn for the farm overview. After about an hour, the group wrapped up its visit there and moved along to Skyline Premium Meats, which will be my topic for tomorrow.

Page County Grown Farm Tour - Teaser 2: The Farm-to-Table Dinner

As I have promised a couple of times now, I am going to put together a series of posts about the 2011 Page County Grown Farm Tour. For today, another “teaser” about those posts – I want to introduce the tour’s sponsors, and make a note of the Farm-to-Table Dinner hosted at the Mimslyn Inn after the tour was completed.


First, I have a reproduction of the menu from the Mimslyn. The quality may not be great, as I had to save this as a PDF and then translate to JPG, but it should convey well enough. 

Next, our hosts, in a photo outside of the Luray Train Station that serves as the Chamber of Commerce headquarters and tourism visitor center. Pam Flasch and Brianna Campbell are shown behind the welcome station where farm tourists came in for materials and a map. These folks have been involved with Page County Grown since its inception – they are part of the “incubator” for the concept, as Pam calls it.

After getting the 40+ participants under way, both of them joined the tour as well, making multiple stops with us.

Bracketing that tour kick-off is the conclusion – the farm to table dinner paired with Wisteria Farm and Vineyard vintages (Wisteria was also a sponsor of the dinner, and is a charter Page County Grown member). I arrived late to the dinner (I assumed it started at 7pm, but should have paid more attention to the brochure – it started at 5pm!); farmers eat early I guess, and I still retain city habits and schedules!

I have photos of three of the courses served, of the four that were offered – I forgot to snap a photo of the first one. I’ll post the description of each course with the Wisteria wine pairing below, and also will include the wines’ descriptions summarized from web sources with each, along with the summary about the farm that produced key ingredients for that course - these snapshots are taken from my post last week on the participating farms.

First Course: Tomato Plate

“A tasting of tomatoes from Khimaira Farm.” There were three samples included here, including: three spicy cherry tomatoes paired with a slice of a heritage green zebra tomato, complemented by a splash of a balsamic reduction; a sun-dried tomato tart; and a tomato sorbert - a surprise, and a big hit at my table. The wine choice was Wisteria’s Traminette.

Traminette is a hybrid grape, including Gewurztraminer as part of its heritage. It produces a dry wine with a fragrant aroma and floral taste – and the variety is suited to challenging climates. Lately, Wisteria has made an effervescent variety, which we’ve been enjoying around the Hawksbill Pines neighborhood for cookouts and visits. I hope it’s not a limited vintage, because it has really grown on all of us.

Khamaira Farm, the source of the tomatoes in this course, is a working dairy and meat goat farm, focused on sustainable agricultural practices. The family’s home is located just outside of Luray and dates from the Civil War era. Khimaira is also a popular wedding destination in the Shenandoah Valley.

Wisteria, which supplied all of the wines paired with the courses, is a local vineyard located near Stanley; it is also a working farm with a colorful flock of Romney sheep and free-ranging chickens. Wisteria’s current wine offerings include Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, Viognier, Traminette, Seyval, Merlot, and Norton, as well as a semi-sweet rose blend – Velvet, and a dessert wine – Sweet Daisy.

Second Course: Roasted Chicken


Boneless Chicken Thigh from Public House Produce, served over eggplant risotto and oven-roasted tomato sauce, paired with the Wisteria Steel Barreled Chardonnay.

I take a little personal satisfaction in this serving, as I interned over there at Public House Produce this month; on Tuesday night I had joined David, Heather and their daughter to wrangle the chickens, which we took for processing on Wednesday morning and later delivered to the Mimslyn kitchen. Now, I had planned to go old school on the wrangling, using the Hookinator 2000, if necessary, but their daughter informed me they’d upgraded to the Hookinator 3000.

In the end, we didn’t use the device, which is more suited to chickens on the run; these birds were very cooperative with the process. During this course, David came by to personally reassure me that I had indeed wrangled the bird I was eating.

Chardonnay is a signature white variety with a French heritage. Wisteria produces a traditional oak barreled version, as well as the steel barreled version served at the dinner; Mary and I have become very fond of the steel barreled version.

Public House Produce is a family owned and operated farm located about one mile north of Luray. The farm’s produce is available at the Luray-Page Farmers Market and via their CSA. Over 80 varieties of fresh produce are offered, along with pasture based, heritage chicken and fresh farm eggs. Public House’s goal is high quality produce and poultry from a local source you can trust.

Third Course: Braised Beef Brisket


The brisket was sourced from Skyline Premium Meat in Luray; it was matched with sweet corn polenta, mushroom fricassee, and espagnole sauce. The brisket had been prepared in a way that made it as tender as a Sunday roast – earning compliments from Joan and Jared Burner (some of the family farmers at Skyline Premium), whom I joined at the table for the dinner. The wine was Wisteria’s Carmine.

At times during the dinner, Moussa and Sue from Wisteria introduced the wines that were served. Moussa noted that Wisteria may well be the only Virginia vineyard producing this grape, which is a cross between Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Carignane. It was developed to respond for cooler temperatures where the cabs don’t fare as well, and is described as offering an intense dark color, peppery aromas, and ample tannin flavors. In fact, after the dinner, I went looking for a refill of the Carmine, but alas, it was completely consumed.

Skyline Premium Meats is located just south of Luray on Business 340, where they emphasize humane management and safe handling practices to ensure a consistently high quality product. Skyline Premium’s approach specifies that no hormones, steroids or other chemical alterations are used; because of this, the beef has earned designation as “A Virginia’s Finest Product.”

Fourth Course: Cantaloupe and Cream


This refreshing dessert course, sourced from Willow Grove Farm Market, featured fresh cut cantaloupe and cantaloupe mousse, paired with Wisteria’s Viognier.

Viognier is a white wine with a French origin, although it is not widely grown there. Apparently it is widely popular elsewhere, including California, Washington, Oregon, and Virginia – and in Latin America, too. Viognier is known for a floral aroma, similar to Muscat, and it can be produced in a dry variety or a sweet, late-harvest dessert type. Our tasting was a sweet variety, but not a late-harvest version.

Willow Grove Farm Market was founded in 2010 on one of Virginia’s Century Farms – meaning the same family has been farming here for over 100 years. The market’s goal is to be a source of local and Virginia produced beef, chicken, dairy and produce, all foods that are less processed than those that are available elsewhere – foods that are good for you and support the local community and economy.

At the conclusion of the dinner, executive chef Chris came out of the kitchen for a round of well-deserved applause. The Mimslyn's web page talks about being pampered by his southern style cuisine - and advises "bring your appetite."  For another example of Mimslyn fare by Chris, which often feature local produce and meats, check out the menu at http://mimslyninn.com/lunch-buffet.htm.

Before I close the post, I should mention the music that was featured during the dinner. It was performed by a local quartet, Café Society, and featured renditions of classic jazz compositions. I’ll be on the lookout for more opportunities to hear them.

I will post my photos of the farm tour next week, so stay tuned!

Herding Instinct

On Sunday, Tessie and I were returning from our walk at Hawksbill Recreation Park in Stanley when we surprised a small herd of deer in the yard.  As the apples begin to fall from the old tree, they get pretty bold in the morning browsing the front yard.  Since this year appears to promise an excellent crop of acorns from our white oaks, looks like we'll have a couple of months to enjoy them out front.

They stood for a while in the yard with us stopped in the car out on the road, before I pulled in to the drive.  I looked back, and there was Tess giving them the border collie eye - just a little instinct oozing up from the usual hug bag behavior. She was motionless, but right on the verge of quivering with excitement to get out there and check them out.  When I finally parked the car, she exploded out into the yard to find them.

This reminded me of the morning after we got her:  I took her out to sit on the brick terrace with me, to get to know the new place, when we heard some foot steps in the woods off to the east.  They got louder, and Tessie sat up to listen intently, motionless as this time. 

Finally, near the bottom of the yard, five deer emerged from the yard.  I let them get across the road and disappear down Beaver Run hollow before I released her to investigate.  For the next two days, and then again on the following weekend, we were off on a border collie adventure as she went down to where she'd seen the deer to make sure they weren't back.

Page County Grown Farm Tour - Teaser

I'm planning to get some posts up next week about the farms and experience of 2011 Page County Grown Farm Tour.  In the meantime, here is a little clip I captured at Trio Farms/Skyline Premium Meats during the feeding demonstration.

Post Irene

There's plenty to post about, but since the power is out at the Alexandria house and I am updating from the iPhone, we'll make a quick status report here.

The power went out at about 1am when one of the transformers blew. I was in the Valley, so Mary went out to get our generator going - we bought and installed it to make sure the sump pump never goes out - definitely worked out that way this time. Special thanks to neighbor Alan who helped her; I got back as soon as I could on Sunday.

Now we are recognizing the carbon footprint of this decision, which adds about 2 gallons of gas consumption every 8 hours. We'll figure out how to balance this, but in the meantime we have offered freezer and refrigerator space to the neighbors, and are sharing the ice we made up in advance with them.

Dominion has estimated our power will be back on tonight. So we will have had an outage of around 48-50 hours...that could have been much worse and it goes without saying we're lucky at the relatively light damage from this storm.

There's also a nice irony to it all, as 2003's Isabel knocked out power on the block across the street. They were in the dark seven days, but have been spared this time.

More Produce Auction Footage

Here's a short video I shot at last Tuesday's auction.  The cadence is for lots up for bidding on the other track, while this farmer sets up with his load of pumpkins.

The 2011 Page County Grown Farm Tour

The 2011 Page County Grown Farm Tour is this Saturday, August 27.  Meet at the Chamber of Commerce at 8:30am if you are going on the tour - but be sure to check for tickets.


I've posted about the organization before, but here once again is the vision: “Page County Grown is thriving family farms driving local food economies and promoting healthy communities where quality farming is a valued heritage and a staple for growth.”

Saturday’s tour will visit a cross section of producers: from a beekeeper to a goat farmer, a beef farmer, a Christmas tree grower, a viniculturist, a farm marketer, and a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farmer. The group is drawn by the common passion outlined in our vision statement – local food, proudly produced by local hands!

Visit the web page, http://www.pagecountygrown.com/, for more information about the farmers and other members, but the farms scheduled for the tour Saturday are:

• Khimaira Farm (9am only): A working dairy and meat goat farm, focused on sustainable agricultural practices. The family’s home is located just outside of Luray and dates from the Civil War era. Khimaira is also a popular wedding destination in the Shenandoah Valley.

• Skyline Premium Meats (10am only): This farm, located just south of Luray on Business 340, emphasizes humane management and safe handling practices to ensure a consistently high quality product. Skyline Premium’s approach specifies that no hormones, steroids or other chemical alterations are used; because of this, the beef has earned designation as “A Virginia’s Finest Product.”

• Willow Grove Farm Market: The market was founded in 2010 on one of Virginia’s Century Farms – meaning the same family has been farming here for over 100 years. The market’s goal is to be a source of local and Virginia produced beef, chicken, dairy and produce, all foods that are less processed than those that are available elsewhere – foods that are good for you and support the local community and economy.

• Wisteria Farm and Vineyard: Wisteria is a local vineyard located near Stanley; it is also a working farm with a colorful flock of Romney sheep and free-ranging chickens. Wisteria’s current wine offerings include Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, Viognier, Traminette, Seyval, Merlot, and Norton, as well as a semi-sweet rose blend – Velvet, and a dessert wine – Sweet Daisy.

• Public House Produce: This is a family owned and operated farm located about one mile north of Luray. The farm’s produce is available at the Luray-Page Farmers Market and via their CSA. Over 80 varieties of fresh produce are offered, along with pasture-based, heritage chicken and fresh farm eggs. Public House’s goal is high quality produce and poultry from a local source you can trust.

• Paw Paw’s Honey: This visit also takes place at Public House Produce. Paw Paw’s Honey is a blend of what is naturally available to the bees in Page County, so there are slight variations in taste and color from bottle to bottle – but the honey is always sweet and good. Paw Paw’s also raises and sells queen bees and beeswax.

(Note: the image accompanying this post is from the Page County Grown web page.)

Warm-ups: Hawksbill and Calf Mountain Hikes

From the headline of this post, a casual reader might ask, "Warm-up for what?" Since most of the summer's heat and humidity has passed without me taking another 75@75 hike, I've been worried about losing traction on that goal. 

One of my hiking buddies agreed that we should make a goal of Old Rag (photo here from an overlook on Skyline Drive), and so we did, but I took the extra precaution of getting out on a couple of leg stretchers in the Park first: Hawksbill Mountain and Calf Mountain.  I've reviewed both trails before (check the Easy Day Hikes label at the end of this post), but I'll make a note of them again today.

Since Tuesday is market day at the farm, I'm often out of there by noon.  The weather was so good last week, and since I knew that the Friday Old Rag outing was fast approaching, I decided a quick hike to the summit of Hawksbill Mountain might be productive.  Off I went for a late afternoon trip.

I found myself practically skipping along from the Upper Hawksbill parking area. Heatwole lists the trail I took as 1.7 miles round trip and 690 feet of elevation gain; I think it's around 400 feet net, if that.  Definitely not an intermediate hike in my classification, where the distance needs to be five or more miles and net elevation gain of 500 feet or more.  Net elevation gain, as I am using the term, means the elevation difference between the hike’s highest and lowest points; Heatwole generally measures the aggregate elevation change as I understand it.

So all in all a pleasant little hike up the mountain, where I spent an hour or so up at the summit enjoying the cool breezes and chatting with two or three groups of tourists passing through on their summer vacations.  Here's a photo of the day use shelter near the summit of Hawksbill Mountain (incidentally, the highest peak in the Park, at 4,049 feet, per Heatwole).

Typically, I can expect a tough day at the farm on Wednesday, and last week was no exception...no fecal dust to show for the experience this week, but I do have a couple of spots where some poison ivy is showing up after some dirty work in the fields.  After that, I left with the thought that I might put together another short hike for Thursday to continue my preparation for Friday's Old Rag climb.

I haven't been down to Waynesboro in a while, so I decided I'd get a route together down in the South District of the Park - and take advantage of being there to get lunch at Scotto's (don't miss it when you are in Waynesboro - I like the baked ziti specialty), and to visit Rockfish Gap Outfitters, which is conveniently located on the road up to the Park entrance.

My destination was Calf Mountain.  Again, an easy little hike with minimal elevation gain (Heatwole lists a longer hike than I was after, although I probably hit much of the elevation he lists: 495 feet; but I took no measurements).

These first two photos from the Calf Mountain trip show why I enjoy this spot in the Park so much: the open former pasture where Skyline Drive passes through the middle, with the Appalachian Trail disecting it.

I first came here a couple of years ago, it was the first hike I took after we lost Gracie Dog to renal failure, so that outing had a purpose for grieving.  I guess nowadays when I am here I get a fond memory or two of our friend.  Maybe in the winter I'll take Tessie up here and she can be part of that whole thing too.

There are a couple of other reasons I like this hike - it's an easy outing, even if you head back into the woods, which I didn't; there are a couple of hilltops with low vegetation so there are nice views looking down on the Piedmont; and there are leftover traces of human use of this land in fruit trees and domesticated shrubs around the pasture and further back on the trail.

Mary thinks we've seen a grapevine gone feral in the woods there and I wouldn't be surprised.  But the readily visible and identifiable trees are the apples and peaches.  We visited last fall and caught site of a group of AT section hikers who had picked some of the fruit and sat in the shade eating it.  They told us it was very tasty...my guess is it is an heirloom variety that would be hard to get to grow true, but still would be worth trying.  I don't know how you might go about that, though.

The Big Butternut Squash Unit

While we are on the topic of winter squash, after we got back from the auction Tuesday, David says, "You gotta see this butternut squash over here."

I have to admit, it's a big one.

Now that the topic has moved on to big things...

There was this crate of watermelons at the auction.  These were huge, the biggest I've seen all year.  I put my glasses on the top to give some scale.  I bet these things were topping fifty pounds easy.

They made me remember when I was little, and the watermelons always looked this big.

The Winter Squash are Showing Up

It's August, but we're already seeing winter squash at the Shenandoah Valley Produce Auction.  Here are some photos of the varieties getting to market so early. 

You'll note I also have some pumpkins in here.  Those are technically winter squash also.

I think that pie cannot be far off.

Lunch @ the Auction

Well, I've only been three times, and may not get there many more times.  But I had to take a minute and mention the food at the Shenandoah Valley Produce Auction in Dayton. 

You know, it's nothing special, but it's carefully prepared and cheerfully served.  I've had a chili dog and a slice of pie each time - and some sweet tea to wash it down.  Pretty good stuff.

 I believe it is a well known fact that everybody likes pie - please correct me if I am wrong.  Here's a photo of the menu board featuring this week's pies. In the past weeks, I've also had a slice of peach pie, and a pecan-oat pie.

On Tuesday, I added the stuffed pepper to the menu.  All totaled for the chili dog, the pepper, the (coconut creme) pie, and sweet tea:  $4.50.  What's not to like?

Look, this is all in the days work for the faithful agribusiness intern.

Everything but the Oink

The pigs are here.

A few weeks back, when I first started the internship at Public House Produce, David mentioned the pigs.  He raises a few hogs each year, and invited me and Mary to sponsor one. 

For the record, cute as they are, they are not pets.  I want to be very respectful, and clear, about this.  That's why I have asked to name mine "Pork Chop." 

Because, come February...well, I think the point is made.

I had a good time at the farm on Tuesday watching them settling in.  David had them in the goat stall for the night, and this morning after some tinkering with the electric fence, put them out in their new pasture for the first time.  In fact, here's a video of the happy moment.

Soon as they got outside, they checked out the spoilt produce for a bit, then they took note of the chickens and goats.  They followed some of the chickens around the yard, then they followed the goats.  Then they started rooting around the produce, and then, well, all kinds of pig fun was being had.

I'll post some updates from time to time, especially once we know which one is Pork Chop.  Out of respect for them, I won't share videos of the processing, although David tells me to expect to have an active role in that. 

I figure, what the hey - I've already had the fecal dust experience at the farm, what's a little viscera going to hurt?

Playlist from the Archives (Marilyn Mix) circa 1994

Playlist: Marilyn Mix 1994
by: Marilyn Turnbow
April 1994
Maxell UR 90 (Tape surprisingly playable)
Noise Reduction: Yes

Side AGimme Shelter – Rolling Stones
No Sleep til Brooklyn – Beastie Boys
As Hard as it Is – Fine Young Cannibals
Tunic – Sonic Youth
Lone Rhino – Adrian Belew
Low Rider – War
We’re the Monkees – The Monkees
Sex on Wheels – Thrill Kill Cult
LA – Frank Black
Satellite of Love – Lou Reed
Creep – Radio Head

Side B
Go – Tones on Tail
I Wanna be yer Dog – The Stooges
No Love Between Us Anymore – Pop Will Eat Itself
Coming Down Fast – Daniel Ash
Ugly Truth – Matthew Sweet
Killing in the Name of – Rage Against the Machine
Stay – Oingo Boingo
Hurdy Gurdy Man – Butthole Surfers
Ain’t Got no Home – Chris Henry
Girls Got Rhythm – AC/DC
Detachable P***s – King Missile
Passenger – Iggy Pop
All of the Day – The Stranglers

Playlist from the Archives circa 1985

Playlist: Another Near Miss

By:  Bob Boschen
16 March 1985
Maxell UD 90 (Tape missing)
Noise Reduction: Yes

Side A
High on Emotion – Chris DeBurgh
On the Pipe – Steve Morse Band
The Chant has Begun – Level 42
Blue Wind – Jeff Beck
Shadow on the Wall – Mike Oldfield
Zoolookologie – Jean Michel Jarre
Dancing with the Big Boys – David Bowie
Black Cat Shuffle – Al DiMeola
Afterimage – Rush
Hyper Gamma Spaces – Alan Parsons

Side B
Memories Can’t Wait – Talking Heads
Hammer Horror – Kate Bush
Dune Tune – Level 42
Date Stamp – ABC
Hawkeye – Alan Parsons
Trash – Roxy Music
Seen and Not Seen – Talking Heads
China Dance – Howard Johnson
Born, Never Asked – Laurie Anderson
The Song is Over – the Who

The Luray Triathlons, 2011 Edition

From the Luray Triathlons website: "...set in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains near the beautiful and welcoming town of Luray..."

(there's a link to the site at the end of this post - I think the results from the International, held on Saturday, and the Sprint, held on Sunday, are already posted)

Sunday morning came early after a night of rain that started as soon as the sun went down Saturday night.  I woke to a steady drumming up on the Hawksbill Cabin roof, and was worried that it would impact one of the events I look forward to every year - the Luray Triathlons in August.

In the end, while the clouds were still breaking as the event got underway.  In the first photo here, I've shown the second wave of swimmers going off - by this time I had taken up my post in the transition area.  I also have a photo of the first swimmer to finish as he enterred the bike transition area, and a photo at the finish - unfortunately I do not have anybody's name for these.

Why do I love this event so much?  Well, it's not because I'm inspired to compete - although a triathlon sprint doesn't seem out of reach for me, there'd be a lot of work in it, especially to learn how to complete the swim portion.

I like it because it symbolizes the best attractions of Luray and Page County, and one of our signature industries - "active tourism." I talk about this as an industry to a lot of friends around town, and I'm not ashamed of boosting this event and the bike races that are held every year in July and August (there are also other associated events on the calendar at other times of the year).  

The PN&C headlines last week noted that as many as 1,400 participants would be coming to the two events.  That's about 700 each for Saturday's International (1500m swim/41Km bike/10Km run) and Sunday's Sprint (750m swim/17.0-mile bike/5K run). By the time I arrived for my volunteer shift, 7 am Sunday, the place was buzzing with energy.

It's a rewarding thing too.  In addition to promoting the town and the area to the athletes, the event raises about $10,000 each year for the local United Way, which means the money finds its way to those in need right here in Page County. 

This post wouldn't be complete without mentioning David Glover and those around him supporting the event.  David's the founder and has been organizing the Luray Triathlons for six years now.  I've included a link to his company after the one for the triathlons below.

http://luraytriathlon.com/
http://enduranceworks.net/

And here's a promotional video I found:


Luray Triathlon from Jenny Ruley on Vimeo.

The Berlin Wall's 50th...

I came across an article that noted August 13, 2011 as the 50th anniversary of the Berlin Wall going up. It’s a subject and occasion that I can’t let pass without a moment to pause and reflect; I see over on Facebook that a few of my colleagues are also making note of the day.


In the MSNBC.com article I mentioned, Chris Rodell opens with the quote:

“Fifty years ago, the Soviet-controlled German Democratic Republic began to build what it euphemistically called its “Anti-Fascist Protection Rampart,” better known as the Berlin Wall.”

By the time I arrived in Berlin, as an Air Force Russian linguist, in October 1981, that structure was a concrete establishment, not just a symbol anymore, and not just propaganda anymore either, as so many had died by then trying to escape from East Germany by crossing it. My friends and I went to work every day at locations in full view of the Wall, and for those of us at the Air Force Marienfelde site, with two guard towers about a kilometer away with views of us coming and going from the security gate.

I’ve got a couple of photos here of the Wall – these were taken on a November day in the Nuekolln district (sorry, purists, no umlauts on my keyboard) when a friend and I set out to track down where David Bowie might have stood by the wall in the Heroes era. Also, some of my mementos, including a couple of pieces of the Wall, one given by a good friend and the other sent to me by my sister, who was there in the late ‘80’s, after my time had ended in April 1986.

Memories of Wall encounters are for another day – there are too many to recount in a blog post. But I do I share the sentiment that Rodell’s commenters offer - that Wall wasn’t something to celebrate. The fact that it is long down now, that is something to make a note of.

I’ve managed to get back to Berlin twice since the fall of the Wall and the reunification, once in 1996 and again in 2001; I’m sure I will get back again sometime, and hopefully more than once.

That’s because on my last visit, the sentiment that overwhelmed me is the same one that Burkard Kieker expresses in Rodell’s piece:

“What’s really astounding is today people from 180 nations live peacefully together in a formerly divided city,” he says. “The wall affected the fate of many Berliners but they found a unique way to cope with it. You see wall memorials on the one hand and colorful painted wall remains on the other. And this mixture attracts even more visitors, especially on occasions like the 50th anniversary of the building of the wall.”

The Tomato King

David with slicers and heirlooms.

"If you can't grow tomatoes in August, well, you should just give up on them." - overheard at the Shendandoah Valley Produce Auction in Dayton.

Just as that farmer said at the auction, at this time of year, just about everybody who grows tomatoes is probably enjoying the bounty of their efforts.  But during my agribusiness internship, I'm seeing something that is really boggling my mind at Public House Produce.  Here's a photo of David with a partial harvest from last week. 

He added a clarification on Facebook about the quantities that are coming out of the farm just now:

Several lots of Public House tomatoes at auction.

"...since last Thursday, four of us have picked tomatoes five different times, and as of today, we have harvested 3,200 pounds of tomatoes! Mel and Andi picked 1,200 pounds today (Wednesday) alone."

Mel added that there were still two rows to pick, and they were loaded. 

It's pretty amazing to think about all those tomatoes, and to know that there are a lot more than this coming to market just now - not to mention what goes on in the imagination about where this produce will end up in the market - downtown restaurants, Wegmans supermarkets, etc. - not to mention local Page County establishments such as West Main Market, Circa '31 at the Mimslyn, and the Victorian Inn ("the Vic" as it is known locally).

Some of these institutions are buying other produce as well, and as I mentioned earlier this week, the pasture-raised chickens are making their way into these kitchens (a neighboring farm, "Willow Grove," also a Page County Grown member, raises chickens this way too, also supplying local restaurants.)



Heirloom "Pineapple" tomatoes.



It is already well known around Page County and the larger Shenandoah Valley region, but this heirloom Pineapple variety is worth another mention.  During a tasting at Public House last summer, visitors voted them the best of the varieties that were shown.  The Vic has them as a feature for one of the appetizers - which inspired my neighbor to say, "That's the best tasting tomato I've had in a very long time."

Seriously, 3,200 pounds of tomatoes, though...that's a lot.  And to think, we're not quite halfway through the season. 

Maybe what the farmer really meant was:

"If you can't grow tomatoes in August like Public House Produce... ."  :-)