A TRIP TO PORT ROYAL.
Following hand-written maps is the true language of the country. At Bugtussle, where Hannah and I learned to farm, my glovebox was always stuffed full of maps the farmer had drawn for me to get to one obscure place or another. The one we followed for a couple hours yesterday led us to Port Royal (or Port William, if you know where this story's going).When you drop down into the valley, you're suddenly suffocated by a dense, verdant hillside to your left, and a dense, verdant riverbed to your right. It's breathtaking and it just makes sense that the entire landscape would change moments before you arrive at the house of famed agrarian writer and personal hero, Wendell Berry. His wife, Tanya, was outside working in her flower bed when we pulled into the drive and greeted us warmly. Once inside, she called up the stairs for Wendell.This past winter, still unsure of what our farming situation would be for the year, we decided to write Wendell. We needed some advice, some consoling, some encouragement. His writing had always been that for us. In marriage, farming, faith and responsibility, we had always found new perspectives in Wendell's essays and books, perspectives which have given an elegant voice to what we do, how we do it, and why we should. Unsure of what our future held, we decided to once again turn to Wendell and to our (still) unending surprise, he responded enthusiastically. After a few exchanges arrived the map with a note, "I'll expect you on June 10 at 3 o'clock."Whole walls of their house seem to be built with books alone, entire rooms might even be forgotten, buried in literature. When Wendell descended the stairs, a man who we owe a great deal of our lives to, and shook hands with us, the true gravity and power of writing a letter revealed itself.If you don't know who Wendell Berry is, you've probably stopped reading anyway. If you do know who he is and you're familiar with his work, you already know what he sounds like. You can hear his voice in essays and poetry: deep, thoughtful, precise, but with a subtle, elegant Kentucky accent. I'd never heard Wendell speak in public before, but as Hannah pointed out, his voice would have been all that was required to recognize him on the street––it's exactly what he sounds like in his books.At his table with his wonderful wife, we spent the next three hours talking. Sometimes it was about particular vegetables or ways to care for lamb, and sometimes it was more broad––philosophy, religion, art, wine or farming. Sometimes it was just gossip from the town. But among the subjects we included in our original letter, a subject we wished to ask them about, was sustainability. And not sustainability in the general sense, but sustainability in the personal sense, the idea that even if you are doing things ideally––zero-waste, carbon-neutral, self-sufficient––how do you keep from burning out? We'd seen a lot of farmers, and continue to meet a lot of farmers, who reach a point where they're unhappy. Hannah and I want to be sustainable not only literally, but completely, and wondered what advice they might have, and they delivered.It must surely be true what they say, that Mr. Berry is the most quotable man in America. Each sentence was powerful, and we found ourselves struggling to remember each word, each gesture, each inflection, each startling boom of his infectious laugh. It would be hard to recount their advice or everything that was said, and since it wasn't an interview, we feel it's only fair to not misquote them. What can be said of this afternoon, and of their advice, is it carried within it the same themes that can be found flowing through all of Wendell's writing: knowing your place, respecting the land, responsibility, culture, neighbors, community. We left feeling inspired, feeling challenged. We left having met our hero, and he left us feeling confident we were doing the right thing, in the right way, for the right reasons. However, before we end this post, we will leave you with one thing he said, which Hannah so brilliantly made sure to remember: "It takes a long time, and a lot of patience to know where you are. To know what you can do there. I'm still trying to figure that out."What a day.- Jesse.
DANVILLE GUIDE.
Our move to Danville was very last minute, so much so that Jesse and I had only visited the city a handful of times before arriving. It seemed nice enough at first….pretty much the ideal picture of Small Town USA. We didn’t necessarily expect it to be what you might call “progressive.” But happily, we were truly surprised. OK…so maybe “progressive” isn’t the right word….but Danville is on it’s way! We have discoverd wonderful restaurants growing all of their own food. Microbreweries making high quality beer in a county that only recently legalized the sale of alcohol. A processing facility that butchers and sells only local, grass fed, hormone and antibiotic-free meat. And mostly, we have found lots of friendly, welcoming people who make this a true community.Here’s a short list of the things we think make Danville great:
This is where we are….RIGHT NOW! We don’t have internet at Ye Olde Warrenwood, so this is where we come to check our email and escape work for a little while. I am sure that every public library is wonderful, because libraries in general are pretty wonderful…but I happen to believe that the Boyle County Public Library is REALLY wonderful. We kind of can’t believe how nice this little library is. It is SO lovely and full of books (obviously), but also full of art. There are all sorts of interesting installations throughout the building, including multiple pieces by local glass artist Stephen Rolfe Powell. How cool is that? Plus, they have a huge TV in the front entrance that is always tuned in to the bald eagle cam. We love the bald eagle cam.
This is the biggest gem we have discovered so far in Danville. Marksbury is a small, locally owned butcher and processing facility in Garrard County. They also have a retail store that sells tons of local produce, our favorite cheese, milk, bread, honey. It is unbelievable to have a place like this so close to us....small-scale processing plants are almost unheard of, especially because the rules and regulations often cater large, commercial operations. We love this place, and hope to maybe one day sell our own food there! Also, they get big bonus points for giving Wendell dog treats. And by dog treats, I mean enormous smoked pork legs.
As mentioned, Boyle was a dry county up until 2010. Because of this, The Beer Engine can proudly claim to be Danville’s oldest microbrewery! They have an ever-rotating list of beers, and also serve tapas with local ingredients (lots of stuff from Marksbury!) This is where we have connected with several awesome farmer friends (these guys!). And as if it isn’t amazing enough that a small Kentucky town has it’s own (really good) microbrewery, The Beer Engine isn’t the only one! There is also Lore, which sells home-brewing equipment.
This little store is a lot like Wine + Market (oh, how we miss you!). They have wine, beer, whiskey, and bourbon….but also lots of local foods, specialty cheeses, and breads. Jesse particularly likes their champagne selection. There is a little bar/restaurant next door that often has tastings and live music.
Danville is often referred to as the City of Firsts, and poignantly now houses our first farm together! All-in-all, we've loved our short time here so far and look forward to all that we haven't discovered about this place: meeting the local gardeners whose plots we see poking out around their houses and seeing more of the local art, local theatre and the just more of the locals in general. There are so many more places we haven't mentioned, like more local restaurants and Shaker Village and Centre college. If you are ever in the area, definitely stop by any one of these places and prepare yourself for a great experience or two, we've made a habit of it!
NEW YORK CITY (PART II)
That's all of the New York stuff....we are very much back to reality now. Stay tuned (probably later today) for a BIG introduction! We can't wait to share!- Hannah.
DRY COUNTY WINE REVIEW: A WEEK IN PHOTOS (of wine).
Although not all of our beverages from the week are pictured, I assure you that lots of good tipple was consumed. You might notice the blackberry wine pictured below as I was thrilled to finally have a chance to open some of my fruit wines for wine friends. This was really the test. Besides myself, no wine professionals had tasted my homemade wines and I needed them to see promise. Also, the wines had to stand up to a wide range of complex food and flavors. In both challenges, the wines succeeded swimmingly. If wine professionals, wine drinkers, and myself can all enjoy them, and if they can amplify a meal adequately, then it gives me confidence to say I might be on to something with these natural fruit wines. Admittedly, this was a big reason I wanted to go to New York: encouragement or a reality check. For better or worse, I got the former.- Jesse.
