Saturday, June 14, 2008

fresno

Today, Shelby and I went to Fresno, CA, which is about a 45 minutes or so South (?) of Firebaugh. It was a really to spend time away from the small town, as it gave me the feeling that escape is possible if the monotony of the country starts driving me batty.

As we drove through the fields on the way out of town, I didn't feel particularly excited. We passed almond trees, fig trees, pistachios, etc., but I just felt anxious inside. Closed in. This reaction was a complete 180 from how I had felt just a month prior, when I would finally get out of NYC and drive through rural NJ. I remember feeling ELATED when seeing the strawberry patch or the apple orchards. Even just empty fields of grass made me excited! But today this was not my reaction.

Suddenly, I noticed that we were getting onto a highway, and within a moment the country fields turned into urban roads that resembled Los Angeles, where I used to live. Although it was definitely NOT Los Angeles, it was familiar: the houses and street signs looked the same. It had a familiar shape and smell. Immediately I felt at home and comfortable.

It was a good feeling. A really good feeling. I realized that the reason I felt this way was because I was simply out of my element in the country. I wasn't unenchanted with the country all of a sudden, but I was rather getting used to it, and I needed something - anything - familiar to grip onto to make myself feel better. The urban layout of Fresno and its surroundings did that for me.

I wondered though, in these moments, does this mean that I would prefer a life lived among people? I have often fantasized about being a farmer. Living in the country and having well, not an isolated existence, but a more remote one. But when I began to see billboards and street signs and restaurants and stores, I lit up inside. Was that familiarity or a sign that this kind of living is what best suits me?

Nonetheless, Shelby and I continued on our way. She bought her sink, one that I am jealous of (a commercial 3 tubbed one [is tubbed a word?]). We bought a bunch of stuff at Costco, had a nice lunch, zipped over to Kohl's to buy her and her daughter flip flops, then headed back. But oh! I nearly forgot. The highlight of the day was when we stopped at the Fresno Farmer's Market. Originally I had been wavering about whether I wanted to go because it was so god-awful hot out, but I ultimately figured why the hell not. The picture that you see here is from the market. As is hopefully apparent, this was beautiful, and adorably quaint. It was really small but so well maintained, and the greenery that covered it shielded the sun, so it was actually quite cool underneath. The best part about this farmer's market is that although they had mostly everything you could find at any other market (fruit, veggies, cheese, olive oils, etc), what set this apart was that Shelby knew nearly every person there. So I met a whole bunch of the vendors, most of whom were farmers or producers themselves. It added a personal touch onto the experience. Although farmer's markets in general do encourage that sort of banter, in this case I was introduced as the intern of this well-known organic farm, so people really paid attention. In many cases I was offered to go to a particular farm and learn their methods for a day. It was very exciting.

However, the best part of the day was when I came across the organicpastures.com booth. They sell unpasteurized cow's milk (raw milk), which - by the way - is virtually impossible to get in the US. Several years ago, when I was getting into cheesemaking, I was researching raw milk because it is the best type to use for making cheeses. However, the US has all sorts of strict laws prohibiting the sale of raw milk. But this company sells it! I spoke to them with enthusiasm about this and they told me that apparently the laws are only valid in certain states, and California isn't one of them. I was shocked! I had searched high and low for raw milk, to no avail. But here these people were, selling raw milk like it was going out of style. I couldn't believe it.

The other great part about this is that raw milk doesn't affect those who are lactose intolerant!! Apparently the pasteurization process is what causes milk to affect those with lactose problems negatively, but raw milk doesn't do this. I was wary, but I had a gulp of the stuff and the verdict? No problems whatsoever! Go raw milk!

Anyways, all in all, Fresno was a great trip. A nice break from the country, a place that made me reconsider my desire to live in the city, and somewhere that resurrected the potential for my making really great cheese in the near future. A good day!

2 comments:

null said...

Wow, Michele, what an awesome experiment! I'm so excited that you get to try this, I've always been interested myself. I hope that the spiders and centipedes leave you alone. :)

Tyler Durden said...

This was a good blog too, very informative and different from the blogs about weeds and beans. Interesting that Fresno could caputre that experience for you. I've never heard for Raw Milk before. I might name one of my fantasy football teams "Raw Milk" this September.