A Skeptical Mare, the Valuable Soil Test, and Burying Beauty
Dolly had her "What the heck are you humans thinking" look after a hard day's work cultivating onions in the rain. That red tool next to her has springy teeth to yank weeds out of the ground. Chiara nimbly handled the tool while I tried to steer Dolly right down the center of each onion row. Casualties were minimal.
I rented 1 acre last year, and expanded to 3 acres this year. Last year I spread lime and trace minerals on the single acre. Can you see the boundary between my old land and the new running through the middle of the picture? Let's hope I can keep this trend going. My soil test and minerals have paid for themselves several times over in increased biodiversity and soil tilth.
Look at these gems of heritage corn seed.
It feels strange to bury them in the ground. They won't stay beautiful in a bowl forever though. They need to be in contact with the soil and to grow. If the corn plants hear enough lovely songs from admiring humans, we will be rewarded with beauty multiplied, beauty that can be transformed into tamales, tortillas, polenta, johnnycakes... If you are what you eat, might as well eat beauty.