Chillin on a Dirt Road

It’s out there somewhere, the farm.

American musician Claudia Schmidt once said (I’m told), with respect to a lull in her musical output, that she may have looked as though nothing was happening, "But I’m very busy at the cellular level.” That’s the farm right now. It looks dead and still, but microbial life carries on, albeit in lazy form. Think of them on a subzero day like today as chilling on the couch with a pizza. Some will die, and many will freeze and revive in spring, picking up where they left off. Munching on organic matter and feeding the soil.

Even under the snow, the fields are covered. Bean plants, cover crops, and even weeds are serving up nutrients to keep my microbial livestock happy.

Paula Foreman