Love the one you're with

At the meat counter at my local natural foods store I asked where the prawns and scallops came from. My sweetheart's 50th birthday is today and I wanted to bring home something special for dinner. The scallops flew in from the east coast - a little far for an everyday choice but I made an exception to my goal of eating locally just this once. But the prawns came from Vietnam! They did not come home with me.

The woman standing next to me said she was glad she wasn't the only pain in the butt when it comes to asking where the food came from. We chatted about how hard it is to be pure in living one's convictions. But that striving for purity is a good thing.

Last evening we went to a "Slow Food" dinner at an organic farm that was a benefit for the Open Space Alliance. This farm, High Ground Organics, is on one of the first organic agricultural easements in the country. It can only be used for organic agriculture - forever. The land abuts a conservation easement where, in cooperation with High Ground, habitat restoration is taking place. The land is being reclaimed for the endangered tar plant, other native plants, owls, egrets, hawks, and more.

All of the food served was locally produced, most of the vegetables from right there on the farm. The salmon was line caught in the Monterey Bay, the sacrificial lamb from a nearby farm.

In the garden today

A bee rolling in pollen deep inside a California poppy. Green tomato babies clustering on the vine. Brown pea vines crackling as I pick the last of the viable pods. Peppers taking their good old time to redden. Midsummer in the garden.

By the time I get the all the tomato supports built I will at least be ready for next year. It's slow going. I hope they last a few seasons. I saw the first appearance of blossom end rot yesterday. Gotta get that watering more consistent, think I'll get one of those stick in the ground gauges to tell me how much moisture is in the soil and how deep it goes.