Friday Favorite

Friday Favorites: Farmer Kev & Sister Hazel

79 Comments

This week, on a lovely day in May, we received the first farm share delivery from our very own Farmer Kev, a young farmer extraordinaire and a friend of the family. Farmer Kev has a farm and co-op and delivers a mix of things that he grows as well as items “from away,” as we Mainers would put it. From his co-op, you can order an astonishing range of items ranging from eggs to tofu to nondairy cream cheese.

Here is a picture of Farmer Kev.

Farmer Kev’s Organic publicity photo

 

Sometime this summer, I hope to go to his farm, take pictures, and do a short interview with him for the blog.

In the meantime, here is a picture of what was delivered on Tuesday.

The greens are from his farm, and I immediately wash, spin, and package them so that they are ready to eat whenever we want to make a salad.

The other vegetables are from away, but they taste amazingly fresh and delicious.

We have paid ahead for four seasons of Farmer Kev’s Organic, and I can’t think of a better way to spend the money.

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I came of age in the 1970s during the time of the great singer-song writers—Carole King, James Taylor, and Joni Mitchell. The Rolling Stones were going strong. Ditto for David Bowie. In short, folk and rock are in my DNA. This is the music of my youth, and I still love it.

However, luckily for me, I have children who came of age in the 1990s, and what a time for music it was. As with so many things, my girls broadened my musical horizons, and it didn’t take me long to become a big fan of alternative rock—Counting Crows, REM, Pearl Jam, and Sister Hazel.

So here’s a trip back to the 90s with Sister Hazel. At the risk of sounding nostalgic, I do have yearnings for the time when gas was less than $1 a gallon, and climate change was still just a blip on the horizon (I know, I know. climate change was there, and we should have been paying attention.) Authoritarianism seemed to be on the wane, and there was even a book published called The End of History. (Again, I know, I know.) The 90s also saw the rise of independent cinema along with the rise of alternative music.

I could go on extolling the virtues of the 90s, But I’ll stop and leave you with “All for You” by Sister Hazel. I hope you enjoy this trip down memory lane.

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Simple pleasures and favorites from blogging friends:

It’s fall in New Zealand, and this week on Thistles and Kiwis, yellow calla lilies and crunchy leaves are celebrated. And rightly so.

The pandemic has been with us for well over a year, and I think for many of us, even the homebodies, it has been crushing at times. But with the vaccines there are glimmers of light, and on Piglet in Portugal, there is a rejoicing in going and out and about again.

In Something over Tea, there is a lovely floral surprise to brighten the day.

In Touring My Backyard, Ju-Lyn finds “respite in running, in nature.”

 

 

79 thoughts on “Friday Favorites: Farmer Kev & Sister Hazel”

  1. I also found that my children broadened my musical tastes. Those vegetables look delicious indeed. Thank you for including a link to my blog, Laurie.

    1. Wow Laurie– using Kev’s inspiration– you and I are 2 peas in a pod! Music has been a big part of my life. I remember my joy in buying records such as Tapestry, Blue, Tea for the Tillerman, Sweet Baby James, Harvest etc back in the 70s. Then raising a teenager in the 90s was so much fun musically. We both loved the music of REM, and the band’s you listed…Eddie Vedder’s voice is so beautiful and haunting. All those alternative music bands felt like part of my DNA. Plus the indie films were so fun to explore together. My daughter let me show her Audrey Hepburns old movies and Shirley McClaines The Apartment , and Capras movies. Her favorite was You Can’t Take it With You and it’s bohemian atmosphere. Also Laurie we were so lucky to raise our children during the last decade of no social media so they were free of the teenage angst and distraction the internet brings. Sorry that this is a long response but I was so happy to see my feelings articulated by you and the song brought sweet nostalgia!

      1. Betsy, we are peas in pod, that’s for sure. I bought all the same albums that you did and played them over and over. Weren’t we lucky to have teenagers in the 90s? I know some would disagree, but it seems to me that alternative music is a kin to the music of the 70s. Interesting to read the different responses to the music I share. Some, like you, love it. Others, not so much. 😉 But that’s the way of things, isn’t it?

  2. Wow Laurie– using Kev’s inspiration– you and I are 2 peas in a pod! Music has been a big part of my life. I remember my joy in buying records such as Tapestry, Blue, Tea for the Tillerman, Sweet Baby James, Harvest etc back in the 70s. Then raising a teenager in the 90s was so much fun musically. We both loved the music of REM, and the band’s you listed…Eddie Vedder’s voice is so beautiful and haunting. All those alternative music bands felt like part of my DNA. Plus the indie films were so fun to explore together. My daughter let me show her Audrey Hepburns old movies and Shirley McClaines The Apartment , and Capras movies. Her favorite was You Can’t Take it With You and it’s bohemian atmosphere. Also Laurie we were so lucky to raise our children during the last decade of no social media so they were free of the teenage angst and distraction the internet brings. Sorry that this is a long response but I was so happy to see my feelings articulated by you and the song brought sweet nostalgia!

    1. It surely is. Plus, there is cardinal nest in the bush right outside the window by my desk. The eggs have just hatched and there are little mouths begging for food. Hope to get a picture at some point and post it on the blog.

    1. Right? I didn’t realize I felt this way until I started writing about the 90s and had such a feeling of wistfulness and longing. Sigh.

  7. It is very good to have a reliable supplier of fresh vegetables.

    I like Buddy Holly. As well as being tuneful, his songs finished promptly. Modern popular music goes on far too long.

    1. It is indeed good to have a supplier of fresh vegetables. As I mentioned to Derrick, Buddy Holly was on the scene long before I was listening to music. But I do consider him the father (or grandfather) of rock and roll.

  10. Ah so here is the Farmer share! I look forward to reading/seeing the interview! Music and a whole lot of organic fresh vegetables make a wonderful combination!

  12. Having customers who will pay for four seasons in advance is a wonderful testament to their produce, but also an excellent way to help ensure that they can stay in business.

  13. I wish I could say I had a Farmer to call my own! envious …. Can’t wait for your interview with him!

    Isn’t it wonderful how our children teach us so much and sharing in their lives enrich our own?

    And I find so much great new music from your posts! (I have never heard Sister Hazel!)

    1. Yes, children teach us a lot. My horizons have been broadened in the best possible way. Hope to keep growing and learning until the day I die.

  14. The vegetables look amazing, Laurie. It has been a while since we were members of a co-op, and I don’t even know if there are any nearby. They don’t seem as popular as they once were, but I suspect there are regional differences.
    I am very ignorant when it comes to music, so seeing the members of Sister Hazel took me by surprise. 🙂
    Enjoy your weekend,
    Tanja

  15. I wonder where I was in the 90’s — I totally missed Sister Hazel. Thank you for sharing this.
    And thank you for sharing Farmer Kev. His produce looks delicious. I look forward to that interview!

  17. Supporting Kev helps him run a successful business and gives you great fresh produce – win – win I say.

      1. I have noticed that the young farmers who have chosen the career (rather than having been told from infancy that their destiny is to take over the farm) are often the most enthusiastic and innovative.

    1. I did and I was! Quite a story, Derrick. Although I am way too young to have listened to Buddy Holly in his all too brief prime, I do consider him the father (or grandfather?) of rock and roll.

  19. Farmer Kev is doing a good job. We try to buy from farmers or markets that grow lovely fresh food, it just tastes a whole lot better.
    Yes, I love all the same 70s music as you, not so much the 90s.(don’t let my daughters hear me say that!)

  20. I’ve never heard of Sister Hazel, and I’m not sure I’ve heard any songs from the others: when I did a (very) quick search, none of them seemed familiar. On the other hand, those veggies look very familiar! There are people I know who provide and purchase produce in similar ways, although the cost can be prohibitive around here. There is a picking farm that I frequent in season; there’s nothing more satisfying than pulling your own tomato from a vine!

  22. My cousin used to run a produce delivery company in the San Francisco bay area – I helped her out while visiting a couple of times. We have been lucky – during the pandemic, several local farms and cafes have pivoted to doing produce delivery, and we have been able to take advantage – both to get great food, and to support local businesses 🙂

  24. Farmer Kev is definitely a keeper.
    My daughters were tots in the 90s so we had moved into the new millennium before they could influence me with their musical tastes -cue lots of British Indie music – but I certainly returned the favour by influencing them with mine – even stuff that was around when I was a mere babe.. I don’t think you can ever really say popular music is ‘before your time’ because everything out there now is influenced by what came before. Otis Redding and Sam Cooke, for example, both died before I was really listening properly to music but I love them both and their legacy continues.

    1. Good point. Still, while I admire and acknowledge singers and song writers who came before I was listening to music, they will never have the same emotional effect on me as, say, Joni Mitchell or Carole King.

  25. We live in a farming area and what with the lockdown we discovered what the locals are producing. They did good business, they were happy and so were we. They are cheaper than the supermarkets and their products are fresher. At the moment it is strawberry season, yum !!

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  30. Enjoyed Sister Hazel and the trip down memory lane!🙂 I’ve often said over the years I wish it was the ‘90s again and I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve said it over this last year.

    1. Right? I didn’t realize how much I yearned for the ’90s until I started writing about the wonderful music. Then, my turned to other great things about the ’90s, and I became positively wistful.

  31. It’s great you support Farmer Kev and his entrepreneurial spirit. Where we live a woman who speaks English has just started selling fresh fish on behalf of the local fisherman. she sells it from a van and you can ring her in advance to tell her to call.

    Thanks for the shout for my blog post. 🙂

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