Why we went
We came to learn a harvest. We learned what it costs to keep one.
We started at 5 a.m. with a sunrise blessing in the fields, a reminder that the Wabanaki people harvested and cared for wild blueberries here long before this farm existed. Then we went out into the barrens, where the berries grow low to the ground and not in rows, and learned to rake them the traditional way.
We expected a slow, sweet farm day. Instead the processing line broke down, the crew had gone home, a big order was due the next day and rain was coming in. Somewhere between the hand rakes, the mechanical harvester and a dash to load the truck before the berries got wet, we started to understand how much this family carries to keep the farm going.
