Weekly Blog

 Hank McCabe


Going into this week, I was not really sure what to expect working on the farm. I had never been to the farm before and I didn't know exactly what kind of work we would be doing. When we arrived at the farm, we met farmer Jim, who is a 77-year-old retired engineer who designed chassis for Chevrolet and is now in charge of the farm. He showed us around the farm, where we saw the garden that is full of vegetables like potatoes, onions, garlic, and horseradish along with flowers and spices like mint. Then, we went to the barn where we saw the highlander cows, horses, and pigs. Next to the barn was the chicken coop and the ducks and geese. I enjoyed looking around the farm and I was surprised to see how much they do. After our tour, we got right to work.

Throughout the week, we did all kinds of different chores around the farm and got to see what it takes to run a place like that. We weeded, harvested some crops, spread a lot of compost, cleared fields of rocks to get ready to plant, and planted a lot of onions. We also moved old hay into the compost pile. We quickly learned that on the farm, there is always something to do. Even with four young people working and taking down tasks, there was always more. When we finished the task at hand, we would go ask farmer Jim what to do, hoping we would be done, but he always had something else for us to do. This made me realize just how much work it takes to run a successful farm that supplies restaurants with food. Raising plants and animals takes constant work to make sure that they grow successfully. 

When we arrived back in Detroit this weekend, we were able to go to Brick’s Pizzeria, a restaurant near Connor’s house. Brick’s is one of the restaurants that Fox Hollow Farm supplies produce, eggs, and meat to. At the restaurant, we got to try pizza with onions and eggs which were both from the farm, and we got to talk to the owner about the restaurant and the importance of farm to table. I thought it was cool to try food from the farm that we planted for next year. It was also really cool to see some of the creations that the chef made from ingredients at the farm and while we were eating we all knew just how much work went into making the food on our table. 

Total Hours: 50

Comments

  1. Alan McIntyreMay 16, 2022 at 1:55 PM

    Awesome reflection! Farm work is never done! Getting to see the path of food from soil to pizza is so cool - especially when you have been directly involved! Keep up the great writing and pictures!

    ReplyDelete

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