Counting on Nine Lives by Andy
High Ground Organics is the other half of Two Small Farms, the co-operative community supported agriculture program that Mariquita Farm is involved in. Andy wrote this piece for the Two Small Farms Newsletter. -Julia
Superstition would have us believe that a black cat crossing our path is an omen of bad luck. But I don't worry. Recent events on the farm indicate it's the black cat who ought to be concerned. Take Moe, for example.
Max and Moe are twins; sleek, shiny, slender, young, black, curious, cat twins. The two felines live at High Ground Farm and it has been suggested that they might make themselves useful by eating gophers. As it is, Will Pedersen, the farm's truck driver and computer wizard, takes responsibility to fulfill Moe and Max's needs. And while Will works a long day delivering vegetables and flowers to consumers around the bay area Moe and Max goof off. But if Max and Moe are lazy and worthless they are also beautiful and affectionate. In the morning when the farmworkers are busy in the fields the two cats pose near by to lend grace and flair to the ordered landscape of vegetable patches and flowerbeds. One day recently Moe and Max were determined to follow Will on his walk all the way to town. The two cats had to be returned to the farm and detained in a yurt. Moe had already visited Watsonville once and the trip hadn't been pretty.
Watsonville is a sturdy farm town with almost every agricultural supply or service readily available to the farms that fill the Pajaro Valley...except the rolls of plastic bags for vegetables that every grower needs for farmers market. When neighboring grower Tom Broz of Live Earth Farm needed to buy more bags he coordinated a purchase and delivery with Steve Pederson of High Ground Farm. When the bag arrived at High Ground Tom drove over to Steve's ranch in his box truck to pick them up.
Bags loaded, Tom and Steve stood talking a bit about that common concern of any family farmer: the weather; atmospheric climate, economic climate, familial climate and whether or not it will all work out. With pleasantries exchanged Tom rolled the door shut on his truck and roared off to buy boxes. Steven returned to his chores on the quiet farm.
Sambrailo Packaging is a huge warehouse company that fills both sides of a city block in Watsonville's industrial district. Huge prefab concrete walls soar to support high roofs. Inside the warehouse gloom forklifts whizz, beep, and flash shuffling towers of pallets of flattened, empty, cardboard boxes.
Tom backs up to the door at Sambrailo to pick up on bean boxes. Farm truck after farm truck will follow him arriving at the facility throughout the day to load up on carton before rumbling off to feed a hungry harvest. Tom opens the door of the truck and it thunders as it rolls back. Moe explodes out of the truck box in a black, furry blur and hits the smooth, concrete, warehouse floor all wheels spinning, executing a series of quick, evasive actions before disappearing under a mountain of cardboard in the dim recesses of the immense shed.
Mr. Broz had been in a hurry to be about his business - what farmer istn' busy? - but now he's reduced to crawling about on his knees looking under pallets.
"Here, kitty, kitty, kitty."
Forklift drivers smile and dismount their machines to join in the search.
"Here kitty, kitty." "Come on kitty!" "Pinche gato."
Once again Moe is saved from himself after having claimed the center of everyone's attention. I like Moe. I just hope that black cat is superstitious enough to be counting his nine lives.
copyright 2003 Andy Griffin
Will with his cat in the field at High Ground
