Whistle While You Work

I was thumbing through books on the fifth shelf in the computer room the other day and found this journal from the summer I worked at Peach Tree Farm. If the blogosphere had existed back then, here's a sample of what you'd have been hearing about instead of the antics of my cute children:

Monday, July 19, 1993
Today we ate very possibly the last sugar snap peas of the season. Brenda told me to mark it in my journal. I think she was only kidding though, I don't think she knows I really do have a journal.
I learned the name of the most tenacious weed in the garden today. It's purslane. I also learned and witnessed, in case I didn't believe it was true, that purslane is edible.
After asking Joe what kind of weed it was, he answered, said it was edible, and promptly popped some in his mouth. It was all very impressive but I didn't try any. Joe says it tastes like okra. Who needs another plant that tastes like okra? Maybe all battered up, fried, and served with ketchup; I can eat just about anything that way.
Later in the day, Brenda's friend Margo, who worked at Bourne Farm last season, came to visit. She also remarked that I was weeding purslane and did I know it's edible? I course I acted like I'd known it for years.
It's interesting how many things are edible in the garden besides the vegetables. This weed, the tiger lily buds - did I mention Beth ate one of those for us during lunch the first week I worked in the garden? And lots of other things I imagine. I was reading tonight in Organic Gardener that you can eat tomato flowers. I bet Joe knows a lot about other edible weeds, he knew about some weed that the Indians used in their pipes as a hallucinogen. I like Joe much more than Jamie. He seems to know everything about everything and doesn't make you feel stupid even though you know nothing about everything, and to my knowledge he hasn't drown any raccoons. He also sings while he works which makes me feel like I'm working down south on the plantation.

song: Whistle While You Work • soundtrack: Cinderella