Getting to know Solway

Paul Conklin runs a CSA, Community Supported Agriculture. At the beginning of the season Paul accepts a relatively small stipend from about 16 families, some who get full shares, and some half shares. All throughout the growing season, on Mondays and Thursdays, Paul delivers a cooler to each family full of whatever is ripest and most plentiful that week. He drives all the coolers into town around noon on Thursday, so we got started at about 6:30 harvesting, cleaning veggies, taking inventory, and packing the coolers. Paul uses scales to measure things like zucchini and summer squash in order to divide the week’s harvest evenly between the shares. We learned a lot about the logistics of the work that goes into implementing a CSA.

After working all morning, we had the afternoon off to explore the greater Beltrami County area. We decided to visit Itasca Park, a very popular attraction in that part of Minnesota. Some two hundred years ago a guy named Schoolcraft got help from the natives to locate the true source and headwaters of the Mississippi River, Lake Itasca. Itasca is a beautiful park covered in marshy wetlands and red and white pines. Both the largest red pine and the largest white pine (Amber is standing next to it) in Minnesota are in the park.
Once we experienced Lake Itasca, we drove to nearby Bemidji to get us some town. We had dinner at the Keg and Cork, the first Irish pub in Minnesota, and saw a show at the Paul Bunyan playhouse. A local playgroup put on a performance called, “The Boys Next door” about four handicap guys living in group housing and what life is like for them. In Bemidji, they have these huge metal beavers throughout the streets of the town-much like the wolves in Raleigh or the pigs in Lexington. People paint them in all different ways to express things about the town. Amber and I got a great shot with one!
Friday, our last full day on the farm, was an educational one. We learned to drive a tractor! Check out Amber on the antique potato picker. The thing was made in the 1930’s and originally pulled by horses. We spent the morning disking about an acre of cover crops. In the afternoon we staked up tomato plants before getting ready for the Beltrami County Fair that evening.
Paul and Becky entered several jars of canned food into the canning contests in the Home Crafts section of the fair. They brought home four first place ribbons and one second place! We got to see all kinds of livestock; chickens, pigs, cows, horses, rabbits, sheep, and our favorite, the goats. We ate fried cheese curds and milkshakes for dinner; one final indulgence while in dairy country. Even though it was a little rainy, the fair was fun and very informative of what farm life is like in Beltrami County. It was an awesome way to spend our last evening before going to big sky country, North Dakota, and yes, Montana.

Meet the Northern Light Farm

After many hours on the road, we finally arrived at our destination. The Northern Light Farm is in Solway, Minnesota, population 89. Well, now 91 including us. It is just outside of Bemidji, MN. Paul Conklin runs the farm there and his wife, Becky, is the regional ecologist. Their two children, Li and Hannah, were at Chinese Language and Music camps, respectively. (Much thanks to Hannah for letting us stay in her room!). Also, Becky spent much of the week at a conference. Most of our time was spent with Paul, Becca and Promod, newlyweds who met in Yoga class in India and who are Wwoofing their way across the country for 6 months. These guys are doing it right-they are even going to Hawaii for a month. Do I hear trip extension?!? ….I kid, mom. I kid. The social scene on the farm was quiet, but content. Our first full day (Tuesday) on the farm was a rainy one, so we spent much of the morning helping tidy the shed, shoveling gravel then doing some weeding. We helped feed the chickens and got to know the six cats, the dog, Micah, and even the guinea pig, Citrine. (Stay tuned for pet profiles.) Amber has a lot of experience with chickens, so she wasn’t afraid to catch one. Check out the video! Most of the farm is used for chicken, vegetables and cattle. Paul opts for Highland cows. They are beautiful; short, stocky, sandy brown cows that have these long wavy bangs that hang down over their eyes-very feminine. It almost looks like buffalo hair. Like Vermont, the growing season in Minnesota is very short: the second half of June through the first half of August so once again, everything seemed to be ready all at once.

Parc National and Lake Superior

Last night, as we embarked on our lengthy (1,000 mile) journey from Montreal to Bemidji, Minnesota, we stopped in Plaisance near Ottowa, Ontario to camp. The camp sites at Parc National de Plaisance resemble those on Falls Lake; small gravel lots stacked strategically beside each other to provide some sort of privacy, the obligatory picnic table, the metal fire pit. Instead of tall pines and the lake as your backdrop, imagine rolling hills of farmland (mostly corn and soy beans) and marshes covered with lily pads and tall grasses. The campground rents canoes and kayaks by the hour and seems like a fun place to go with family for the weekend. Oh, and one final difference; instead of the nearby sound of ‘the race’ on a battery operated radio and a family’s chatter around the picnic tables, it is all en francais!


Pic: Amber walking through these beautiful pathways that ran through the park. Pretty little flowers, lots of bugs!


The next day, we packed up our site, ate a little breakfast and headed toward Michigan. Just so you know: the roadsides in Canada are littered with Frittes stands. I mean covered in them. (also Subways and Tim Hortons’—a doughnut place. Oh and Canadian flags everywhere, especially as we got closer to the border. Lots of patriotism in Canada.) Little fry shacks on the road; as soon as you pass one and say to yourself, “hey, there’s another fr…” Bam. There’s another one.
As we drove through Ontario, we decided to stop for lunch on the Ottowa River. We pulled off the highway in a town called Mottowa to a little park right on the water. They gave helicopter tours there and had picnic tables and docks. It was a beautiful day, so, of course, we had a swim. We have found that a swimming hole is the perfect place to stop and refresh yourself for a long drive.
Later that evening after we crossed back into the US, we found our way to Monocle Lake Campground on Lake Superior in Michigan, just outside of Sault St. Marie.
Because we arrived so late, we didn’t get to spend much time there. We did, however, get a chance to grab coffee at an awesome coffee shop up the road before heading to Minnesota.


On the way through Michigan, we stopped again for another swim in Munising, the snowmobile capitol of the world. That’s right; the WORLD.

Here, the waters of Lake Superior are crystal blue and green and the beaches are sandy. It’s almost like a little freshwater Caribbean rest stop on the highway. This is our favorite “swimming hole” so far.

On wildlife: We’ve seen signs everywhere for moose but, to our dismay, have yet to see one. We have however seen the enormous cranes that live in the Midwest. They are almost Jurrasic. They are rust-colored and make a bizarre sound, almost like gurgling. We first encountered the cranes crossing the highway in Canada, then flying above the fields at the Northern Light Farm.

Bienvenue: Montreal Chez Amber et Katy

As we arrived in Montreal, we crossed the marker for the halfway point between the Equator and the North Pole…awesome. Yet again, we happen to be driving into traffic around a big city on Friday afternoon. Let’s just say, we had plenty of time to soak in the new landscape, French signs, and the metric system before arriving in town. Our hostel, Hostel Globetrotters Backpackers of Monteal, was right in the heart of Mont Royal, a bustling street in town with shops, restaurants, and bars. It’s the happening place to be in Montreal for nightlife.

We walked up the stairs above a restaurant to the second floor. We walked around hostel’s long hallway passing a sitting room with four couches and a TV, a kitchen, a dining room. People of all different ages were there. A father (German?) and two children sat at the table in the kitchen. Two Asian girls were in the living room. In the front reception area as you walk in, a young French-Canadian couple told us to look for Pierre. We sat and waited, munching on the gumdrops, taking in the surroundings.
Pierre is just what you think a French-Canadian man named Pierre would be like; a tall, jolly man with a groomed white beard, whistling his way down the hallway into the room to greet us. He was quick but formal, showing us to our room upstairs and giving us our codes to unlock the doors. He handed us a small scrap of paper with three things on it; the code to the common area downstairs, the code to the third floor, and the name “Skippy.” He said that “Skeep” is “ze dog”. He is a little white terrier; just exactly the way you would picture a little French-Canadian terrier named Skippy, hopping down the hallway.



Our room was awesome. It was a corner room with a balcony that looked out over Avenue Mont Royal. There was a magnetic dartboard in the room and a paddle ball set in the wardrobe, just in case we got bored. Of course, we did not. We changed our clothes, and grabbed dinner.
After that we made our way down the strip to a very popular place called the Edgar Hyperpub. We enjoyed Canadian beer and people watched, listening to the indecipherable conversations around us.
After gaining enough courage, we danced to techno and American pop, with the obligatory Lady Gaga song about playing every fifteen minutes…which I loved. After, the pub, we decided to feed our latenight hunger at a place that one kind passerby so highly recommended, Famaux. Famaux was just that; famous. At three a.m. the place was packed. We indulged before heading back to the hostel and getting some much-needed rest.

The next day, we left the hostel and walked around Montreal. After a bite to eat and a little shopping (Imagine It is the coolest costume store with the most beautiful masks you have ever seen.) We drove to Old Montreal through the historic district. The architecture in this part of Montreal is amazing- historic with tall buildings close together and cobblestone streets between. Although our trip to Montreal was short and a bit expensive, we would definitely go back. It really is like being in Europe, but much closer to home.

Burlington, VT and the Magic Hat Brewery

Although we were sad to leave the Covilles, we were very excited about our next stops. We went to Burlington, VT to check out the town. It seems to be a really cool, artsy town. We toured the Magic Hat Brewery, widely known for the Circus Boy and #9 brews. The brewery was awesome. It has a sort of Halloween/Mardi Gras theme to it with dim lighting, masks, and skeletons everywhere. We watched a short video made by Alan, the founder, about the downfall of microbreweries after prohibition and the industrial revolution. The beer, like bread and other foods, became a “pale, tasteless resemblance” of what beer should be. In the last twenty years, microbrews have been resurrected with the growing public taste for the real stuff. After, a few tastes at the bar and touring the gift shop, we headed to St. Albans, Vt for biodiesel, and then to Montreal!

Saying Goodbye to the Covilles :(

After the storms the night before, Thursday, our last full day on the farm, was a wet one. In the morning, we forged the river to get up to the house, and met the others for breakfast. Glenn made waffles while Kris gave a tour to a large family stopping by to check out the farm. After the rain stopped, we weeded some more of the carrot beds (with a little help from Miel and her BFF, the new kitten, “Diddy Daddy”).I finished mowing and Amber transplanted lettuces and bok choi. After a little work in the fields, we went inside to help make blueberry and green tomato pies.

We spent the afternoon in the kitchen with April, talking about Australia, her new family, their adventures, and ours. Glenn worked on the mushrooms while Kris taught a weaving class at Heartbeet, the farm up the road. We made a trip to the general store in “the common” and stopped by the Strong’s place. The Strongs are a sweet-as-pie elderly couple that live up the road and have been making maple syrup for years. They are a mainstay in Craftsbury and a stronghold in the world of maple syrup. When we returned, the house smelled like Christmas (a slight mistake on my part, using masala instead of nutmeg in the green tomato pie…they smell really similar ok. I mean really similar.)
We had a quiet evening with an all-pie dinner (frittatas too), great conversation, and even better company. As the sun set on the Wild Branch Valley Farm, we sat around the dining room table with our new friends enjoying the moment. Dinner was bittersweet. Just as we were getting settled, it was time to go. Not that it would take long to get settled at the Covilles. From day one, we were warmly welcomed; not just as guests, as friends. As family. We said goodnight one last time, geared up with our headlamps, and headed back to camp.

The next morning, after packing the car and grabbing breakfast, we went out to the garden to say our goodbyes. Ok so I know we were only there for a week, but we really did enjoy it on the farm. We held back our tears as we hugged everyone.(For me, once the waterworks turn on, it’s hard to get them to turn off you know. We didn’t want to completely freak anyone out.) We bid farewell, and hit the road. If anyone is ever interested in Wwoofing, we highly recommend the Wild Branch Valley Farm. The experience was truly amazing.

Main things to know about farming in Vermont:
Damn fine people; hospitable, kind, laid back, environmentally conscious.
A very short growing season: unlike NC, in Vermont you can actually grow all the ingredients for a salad at the same time. For those couple of months, the conditions are ideal; Plenty of rain and very fertile soil.
Great swimming and delicious blueberries

Oyster Mushrooms

Glenn Coville is an avid mushroom enthusiast and has been for years. A few years ago, after collecting samples from the wild, he began his own mushroom growing operation. At the Wild Branch Valley Farm, behind the produce stand, they have this huge building that they call “the lab.” In the lab, Glenn takes tissue cultures from wild mushrooms and grows them in Petri dishes. Then, they pack them with barley into these airtight plastic bags. Glenn prefers cultivating on barley because it, unlike other, more expensive grains, still has the hull on it. The hull provides extra space; nooks and crannies, if you will for the fungus to grow. At this point, the mushroom startups are called mycelium. Once the mycelium is ready, then you pack it with straw into these huge plastic grow bags. That is where we come in.


In the greenhouse, the Covilles heat straw in this giant, homemade pasteurizer. Heated by a wood stove, the boiler sends steam into the metal bin that holds about five bales of hay. It heats the hay up to a safe temperature of about 180 degrees. With a pitchfork, Glenn throws the hay out onto a work table and it is our job to cool it. Standing around this table full of steaming hay, we grab handfuls it fluffing it to cool it off. We toss pile after pile of warm straw until the air cools it. It’s such a whimsical task. I’m not sure there is anything to compare it to. But, haha, of course I will try. Imagine making a huge pile of leaves in the fall, jumping into it, and throwing the leaves. It’s like that. Imagine what Scrooge Mcduck would do with paper money, tossing it about in the air…it’s kind of like that. (For those of you who needed a good “Duck Tails” reference in your life…you are so welcome)

Once the hay is properly cooled, we take the bags of mycelium that have formed white blocks, and break up the barley over the hay. We then pair up and pack the stuff into huge plastic bags called grow bags. The hay is a sort of vessel for the mushrooms to grow on. One person stuffs the bags with the straw while the other “slams” the hay down into it, squeezing as much hay and mushrooms in as possible, while also leaving air out. Once the bags are stuffed and tied, holes are punched in the bag. Then they are ready to go into the grow room where, after some time in dim lighting and high humidity, they produce heaps of oyster mushrooms.