Snapper

Although the germination and planting of crops has been a bit behind this May, the usual blessing of lush green did not fail us.  And like clockwork, our resident female snapping turtle appeared one sunny morning on the driveway at Rieth Village, having made the long journey uphill to find her favorite nesting grounds.  Some things never change.

May is a busy time at Rieth Village, as resident students converge during Goshen College’s May Term, with two courses offered at Merry Lea this year (Ornithology and Field Experience in Environmental Education).  Among the students who came to live at the Rieth Village community was Goshen College senior Robert Lerch, an environmental science major in search of a three-week internship to fulfill his graduation requirements.  We were happy to have him join us.  During his time at Merry Lea, Robert came to experience the joys of caring for laying hens and guinea fowl, raising greenhouse vegetable starts, composting, planting vegetables, washing trays for market, and digging weeds out by the root.  His favorite was the deep-rooted Canada thistle, of which we have far too much at the farm.  With our commitment to raising crops organically, most of the work is done with hand tools, giving Robert a newfound appreciation for the hard work of a small farm.

There are too many highlights from the month of May for us to mention all in this blog entry.  They included the farm-focused Friends of Merry Lea dinner organized by Jennifer Schrock and Janie Beck Kreider, the progress of the farm’s animal barn, the installation of our five-acre Woody Perennial Polyculture planting in partnership with the Savanna Institute(Urbana, IL), and the arrival of two new interns, Natasha Weisenbeck and Aaron Kauffman, recent graduates of Goshen College.  The coming month brings even greater excitement, as the Agroecology Summer Intensive begins June 2.

– Jon Zirkle