Farmers’ Market: Change of seasons

    Autumn in Aroostook is a bittersweet experience, incongruously stunning beauty mixed with a tiny kernel of apprehension and a slight twinge of regret. Crossing a ridgeline can be breathtaking; on a bright day, the maples flame in the sunlight while on a misty day, a river of ghosts fills the valley below.  Brazen yellow spires of Maine’s only deciduous conifer, the tamarack, form a counterpoint to the steeples of white clapboard churches. Apple trees laden with fruit bend branches earthward as pumpkins, squash, and gourds decorate porches, doorsteps, and harvest tables.
    At the same time, tattered and blackened remnants of once glorious gardens suffer nightly onslaughts of heavy frosts. Stove wood, cut but not stacked, are “nattering nabobs of negativity” to those who make this place our home, habitable only with plentiful winter fuel. We know we must become much more serious and diligent if we are to complete our outside chores before winter throws down its gauntlet of snow and ice and we must move inside.
    Venders at the Presque Isle Farmers’ Market are experiencing changes in their rhythms as well. Succulent, sun-ripened vegetables are nearly behind us as the last of the root crops — potatoes, rutabaga, turnips, parsnips, carrots — as well as the aforementioned vine crops mark the last of this year’s produce. Farm fields are plowed or may be seeded to a cover crop; the yards and displays are picked up, cleaned up, and packed away; the machinery is serviced and stored.
    However, it is not completely quiet. The Millers prepare to dig grafted seedlings from hardy varieties of apples, cherries, and plums to tuck into still-warm soil where they will settle their roots, go dormant, and wait for spring beneath the snow. Hunters thump into The Country Bakery for warmth, conviviality, and resuscitation offered by hot coffee, fresh doughnuts, and maybe something delicious to take home even if they were “skunked” (we hope figuratively!) that morning in the field. Stewarts Potato and Vegetable Farm works hard on their bodacious Halloween display. The Goughans offer fall crops for Halloween and Thanksgiving before shifting to Christmas decorations, wreaths, and trees. Mushrooms, Herbs, Preserves, Inc. products are shelf-ready to savor through the winter or to pass on to friends and family as welcome gifts. The Yorks still offer pungent garlic for rich winter stews, as well as Barb’s beautifully designed jewelry. Hens at Delphinium Blue Farm are only partially fooled by timers on the lights; while many continue to produce through the winter months, some of them will be featured in stews as well before spring. Meanwhile, the Maynards have moved their brood stock closer to home, to heated waterers, and to “marshmallows” of hay. Tiny fetuses no longer than your thumb are even now growing and developing with an eye toward emergence into the warmth of 2010. In the meantime, maybe Natalia can build our immune systems to the point where we can sneer at H1N1 or, at the very least, dry wind-burned skin.
    Even as the season winds down, we vendors at the Presque Isle Farmers’ Market would like to thank our patrons and supporters as we look forward to another season starting next May. Maybe there will be new crops or value-added products. Maybe we can offer different arrangements of flowers or hanging baskets, or new varieties that offer a special “umph” in terms of flavor, texture, or size. Maybe new venders will join us as our friends and customers continue to support local farmers and fresh food.
    There is no “maybe” about the fact that we will be happy to see familiar faces and welcome new enthusiasts to enjoy our wares. We hope to continue to do our part to make “Saturday downtown” in Presque Isle a place to congregate, socialize, and enjoy the many things that make Aroostook County the “Crown of Maine.”
    Editor’s note: This weekly column is written by members of the Presque Isle Farmers’ Market. For more information or to join, contact their secretary/treasurer Steve Miller of Westmanland at 896-5860 or via e-mail at beetree@xpressamerica.net.