July 8: St. Valentin, QC to the Champlain Islands, Vermont (70km) [Detailed Route Link]

Off to America! Where the border guards are deeply concerned about me wanting to take up permanent residency in their falsely freedom-loving country (mind you Canada it seems is not much different these days).

I pedal through lots of cornfields and a few small towns en route to the border. My destination was the Champlain Islands in Vermont that has a great bike route that brings you right to Burlington. I didn’t have a place to stay on the islands or in Burlington and was jonesing for an internet connection to try and hook one up. While WIFI is pretty common in cities, the countryside is a whole other story. I also wanted to send my folks a quick note saying I was alive and well. (I’m sure my father is having trouble sleeping with his daughter alone on a bike in the middle of nowhere.)

I was ecstatic to find a library in Nolan, QC but disheartened to find it closed. Then elated again when the adjacent Town Hall agreed to let me in and use the computers! What treatment!

The first town I got to in Vermont had a deluxe convenience store that would provide me with enough food for the next day if needed to really rough it. I added instant rice, OJ, chopped chicken, and a banana to my food bag. A roadside farm stand nearby supplied me with tomatoes, a cucumber, and sugar snap peas. (Hooray for green things!)

I took an extended lunch break at the first lakeside spot I saw. First thing’s first: a SWIM! Oh my god did that feel great. It was a bit bizarre having such a cottage moment by myself – I missed my sister who has been my cottage swimming buddy my whole life. We’d make up games in the water, do handstands and summersaults, and generally just be silly together. Alas, this time it was up to me to entertain myself. I even recorded an audio memo to myself after my swim (I guess I really wanted someone to talk to. I’m sure it’s pretty lame but I thought I’d post it anyway for amusement purposes.

Lakeside Audio Memo

With audio recording completed, my hunger caught up to me so I whipped up a makeshift gourmet salad: my prized creation of the day (funny what you take pride in when living returns to the elemental subsistence level).

Back on my bike 2 ½ hours later, I tried the intention-setting again. This time I really meant it. I wanted a place to stay that would allow me:

• Another swim in the lake
• To do laundry
• Use of the internet to write on my blog

Being amidst so many farms on the Champlain Islands, I also hoped my final destination would have a food-bent. It would be great to talk to some folks about the local food system here in Vermont.

I’m developing a Plan A, B, and C all the time to avoid feeling absolutely lost if things don’t go my way. But today, Plan A couldn’t have worked out more perfectly! I had picked up a guide to Agriculture on the Champlain Islands and found Blue Heron Farm on the map – an organic farm that was near the coast and seemed like it would be open to a vagabond cyclist pulling up and asking for a place to camp.

The front yard was speckled with children’s toys and a few picnic benches: seemed friendly enough. I rolled in and explained myself to a girl slightly younger than me whom I encountered. Her name was also Emily and she was an intern (NICE they have interns!). Christine and Adam, the chief farmers of the operation were surprised at my request but wholeheartedly agreed to let me camp. Their house was surprisingly busy with people – four interns, a two-year old, and the farmers. And all of them were interested in this new, sweaty, disheveled person in their living room.

I got everything I had asked for that night. A swim in the lake, laundry, and even a home cooked dinner with the crew! I was in heaven. And with a 5am wake up the next morning, I slotted myself into their workday, harvesting sugar snap peas, zucchini, broccoli, and washing lettuce with Eric, Sophie and Christine.

Between conversations in the field or over food, I managed to glean a lot of insight into the farm and the state of small scale organic farming around here. In many ways, it’s a story that is shared amongst farmers everywhere: long hours of tiring work, many projects on the go, some off-farm income to supplement the farm’s meager earnings, and a little one to take care of on top of it all. This is the first year Blue Heron has taken interns and it’s a decision they’re glad they made. I don’t know how they could have possibly done all that they do without them. I don’t know if they physically or emotionally could have done it for another year otherwise.

Yet still, despite the sheep getting out of their pen and the tomatoes needing water, they still seem to make time to eat amazingly well every day and cultivate other crafts that help them move towards self-sufficiency. I was surprised to see Christine pull out her knitting needles after dinner, and to be offered chocolate-peanut butter bars (recipe coming soon) she had made the night before.

I had the opportunity to chat with Christine’s husband, Adam, the next afternoon, about what kept him fueled amidst all the work and stress of farm life. Always thoughtful with his words, he took a minute to respond. Eventually, he explained deciding to farm was almost a gut decision. It just felt right. It felt like producing food was important amidst the state of the world and our food system in particular. It felt like it was a small way they could create a change. And indeed, their ‘gut decision’ now feeds dozens of families through a CSA and more through the two markets they do each week or the pay-by-honour farm stand at the road.

I’ve posted a bunch of photos from Blue Heron Farm here, but I should admit to having fallen into a bit of farm-fetishization in my photography. It’s hard not to when the people are so positive and the place is so pretty. But 4:30am wake up calls, hand-picking larvae off kale, and monotonous hours of picking peas can be less than picturesque. Keep all of this in mind next time you go to the farmers’ market (which I hope you do) and notice that local organic food can be more expensive. And if you’re still not convinced, have a read of my post from a while back explaining why we should be paying the real cost of our food. It’s because it’s not just about food: it’s about the people who grew it, the land that it came from, and investing in the kind of world we want to live in.