A wet spring evening
and a bottle of old Rhône
later
fifty varieties
of garlic
and two
of shallot
sat in my virtual carriage,
a plethora of allium
in the ether.
-
Land lent
by a gentleman and farmer
who regales me
with business strategies
of butts in the air
equaling
dollars in the bank.
The patch of dirt
is swank
with water and fencing
and tourist eyes
to ogle the bounty,
surrounded by vineyards
studded with important art
and the requisite
lavender and gnarled olive trees
of posh wine estates.
A young man
a valley boy
agreed to help me plant
fifteen hundred
plus
cloves
a staggering number
for a body unaccustomed
to the labor of farming.
-
#garden #garlic #allium #chasinggarlic #garlicfarmer
(at Napa, California)
“There is a strange fact worthy to be mentioned which I have ascertained about the food of bees. There is a village called Hostilia on the banks of the river Po. The farmers of this settlement when the flowers of the neighborhood are over, place their hives on ships and take them during the night about five miles up the river. In the daytime the bees fly out and bring their booty to the ships, whose position is changed daily until it is noticed by the sinking of the ship lower in the water that the hives are full; then they are taken home and the honey is extracted.”
Pliny the Elder (23-79 AD).
#allium #bee #beekeeping #backyardbeekeeping (at At Home in Napa)