Corn Patch

We got a call from the "Berry Lady's Husband", Bob. He said, "The corn is ready, come and pick it today. Toodle-ooo!". In this area, come now means come as soon as possible. So after a day working on the river, I went over to Bob's beautiful garden and started to pick.

There are seven rows of super sweet corn and I started with the first three rows. Bob said to pick both ears on the stalk. He had tested it out for breakfast and they are all good. Plus he doesn't want a sudden cold snap to freeze and ruin the corn.

This ear of corn had pants and I set it aside to show Bob. He loves the way corn, squash, carrots, actually any vegetable form.

While I was picking, Bob was working his way out to the corn patch. He is an amazing person. Bob lives alone now as Margie passed away. Two winters ago, Bob slipped in an ice storm and broke his hip. It took quite a long recovery period, but he is up and around the way he likes to be on his farm.

The garden keeps Bob moving around and he loves to be outside. He has worked his whole life in the outdoors. He picked hops as a kid in the Rogue Valley. He has fished, cut wood, and worked as a logger for many years in the woods. Bob finished his working career with the Forest Service running crews and fighting wild fires. Every year, he and Margie planted a garden, preserved their harvest, hunted in the woods, fished the river, and lived off the land.

Now Bob shares his harvest with us. We have known Bob for thirteen years. We started out trading walnuts for raspberries and over time we traded crops raised for preserving the harvest. With this bushel of corn, Bob planted and watered it to make it the sweetest around, and I will shuck it and can it and we share the harvest.

Bob is a living legend. He has so many stories of surviving the depression, gold panning and dredging, working as a lumberjack, fighting fires in the wild woods, and living the good life in the Rogue Valley. He is such a precious part of our family. Thanks for the golden corn, Bob!