And on Saturday we celebrated this inaugural event for the Living Arts Center with some terrific drumming!

 

Companions!

We have been restructuring our Companion program (and will continue to do so for awhile). This year we are welcoming "Summer Companions" to the farm. Our first is Katie Ferrari, who will be with us through July.

Katie Ferrari is originally from Queens, NY. When a farmer's market started in her neighborhood last year, she began to fall in love with all things green. She and two friends came up for a few volunteer days at the farm last fall and she was hooked. Katie will be at the farm through mid-July.

Before she came to stay with us, she had only planted a handful of seeds for ill-fated science fair projects. Now, she's planted hundreds! She is thrilled to be here working with the sisters and resident companions, and can't wait to get out in the garden once it's warmer.

Last year I started walking Alfie (then about 6 months old) five days a week in the middle of the day. The photo here was taken last summer, when he was almost a year old.  

 

This winter, on days like today -- snow overnight and raining this morning -- I don't try to walk with him but give him a bathroom break in the back yard, and then some energetic play indoors. The back door is on the second floor -- the stairway down fairly long and steep. He dashes down for an enthusiastic and athletic leaping tour of the yard, checking for evidence of night time visitors.  

 

Today, as he reached the bottom stair, a flash of movement at the far end of the yard caught both our eyes. A black squirrel had taken off from his hiding place, leaping to the chain link fence, up to the top and then racing across other back yards apparently headed for Convent Avenue. Alfie took off at the same moment, in hunting mode for the trespasser. No luck, of course -- the squirrel had vanished in the distance well before Alfie made it to the fence.

 

But he was geared up for a long chase or a big fight and needed an outlet. He raced around the yard -- end to end, in circles, in figure eights, with leaps and sudden reversals, non-stop for a good ten minutes. Then he slowed a little, and came dashing up the stairs, ready for another round of Frisbee indoors. Today, for the first time, he actually caught it in flight! Reward: A favorite treat, in place of a piece of kibble, and a big round of petting. It was an accident, but a nice one.

 

We need your help

But we can think about money in other, more appealing (no pun intended) ways. As you all know, we are conducting a capital campaign to replace the aging plumbing and electrical systems in St. Cuthbert's house at Melrose. This will will of course bring those systems up to code and make our lives easier and definitely safer.

It will do a lot more, though. We spend a significant amount time dealing with both, and that is time that could be spent with farm visitors, providing learning programs, and growing food for our local food pantry as well as for our own year-round food supply.

This work will also bring the building more in line with our philosophy of living sustainably and with respect for everything in our care.

Finally, contributing to this effort is a way for many of you who cannot experience the farm first hand to participate in our vision and work in a meaningful, important way.

So ... whether you are planting peas on a chilly March morning or signing a check and slipping it in the mail, we need, and greatly appreciate, your help. Together we can share the work of creating a safe, resilient future for all.