PERFECT PEACH

by Kate Barreira

A branch of Crow Farm's sweet Cape peaches

It's May 18, 2006 and Crow Farm stand, located on a quaint run of Route 6A, bursts with perennials from the farm's garden center, a network of greenhouses just beyond the stand. Out front, are crates of Daisies, Foxgloves, and regal Petunias, whose deep purple and velvety petals make them my favorite of the bunch. Around side of the stand, I discover pots of fresh herbs including Sweet Basil, whose tiny leaves explode with spicy anise on my tongue.

Back in 1916, David Crowell bought 40 acres in Cape Cod's oldest town and named his plot Crow Farm. Today, David's grandson, Paul Crowell, tends to the fruitful land and, like three generations of family before him, depends on the plentiful harvest for his livelihood.

Looking lean and unseasonably tanned, Paul Crowell, 44, arrives at the stand and pries me away for a tour of the farm. It's well worth it. Standing in the parched remains of last year's tomato crop, the patchwork fields of Crow Farm sprawl out before us. From this hilltop vantage we can see the craggy apple trees just blossoming pink in the sun, after a long week of rain. These industrious trees have fortified the gently sloping hillside, protecting them against erosion for 60 years now. At the base of the hill, a hay-lined strawberry field is filling in with lush leaves that will shade the berries until they are ready to be picked in mid-June. The rich, moist mounds of soil in the adjacent plot nourish heads of Romaine, Boston, and Butter Crunch lettuce. The first edible of the season, lettuce, appears at Crow farm stand the first week of June. Broccoli follows close behind and before you know it, mid-July arrives, and the stand is brimming with sweet corn, summer squash, apples, cucumbers, and the farm's star produce, peaches.

Peaches first appeared on Crowell's farm in the early 1940s. Crowell doesn't know the precise story behind the farms first peach trees, but he suspects that his grandfather was inspired by the success of the farm's first orchard. "[My family] started with apples. Peaches are in the same book," says Crowell.

Three generations of Crowells live on the farm today. "My father's house is under the windmill," says Crowell as he points halfway up the hill, where a rooftop peeks out above the trees, "and I'm right here." Just yards from the farm stand, I see a basketball hoop in the driveway of a contemporary two-story home.

Like his father, Howard Crowell, Paul worked on the farm throughout childhood and received a formal farming education at the Stockbridge School of Agriculture. "There was never a time when I didn't think I would do this," says Crowell of his life's work. His 16-year-old son, Jason, works on the farm after school and over the summer. Crowell hopes that one of his two sons or four nephews will continue the family business.

With each generation of Crowell's passing down their knowledge and traditions to the next, Crow Farm is innately connected to the past. And the intermingling of then and now is present in every aspect of the farm. Crowell knows many of his local customers by name and chats with them about aging parents or their sons' basketball team. But while many families Crowell knew growing up have moved away, the population of Sandwich has steadily increased. "There was a time when 4,000 people lived in town and you knew everybody, now there are 25,000," says Crowell.

In the fields, Crowell uses a modern drip system that waters only the plant's roots, conserving resources and decreasing the crops susceptibility to disease. But water is pumped to this novel device through the farms original irrigation system, dug by the Crowell family in the 1950s. Whether it's in the long-standing relationships or the tilling of soil, the atmosphere at Crow Farm offers a poignant reminder of Sandwich's history as a community of farmers.

Although the peach orchard has been present for much of the farm's history, the trees there today are only between three and twenty years old. The youngest trees mark the beginning of an orchard overhaul, in which Crowell plans to replant the entire acre by next year. Compared to resilient apple trees, peach trees are weak and susceptible to disease. "Peach trees are not long lived. They aren't commercially productive after 25 years," says Crowell. He estimates that this will be the third planting of peach trees since their introduction to the farm.

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Paul Crowell in front of farm stand

And it's no wonder the Crowell family continues to reinstate these plants. Buffered by the ocean, Cape Cod offers an ideal climate for peach growing. The surrounding body of water prevents temperatures from reaching extreme highs or lows. For peaches, this means moderate spring and fall frosts, a lifesaver for the delicate fruit. "Peaches need a little cold, but once the blossomed buds are out, a frost has the potential to do major damage. Go ten miles inland and you could be in trouble," says Crowell.

If peaches are well suited to the environment, one might wonder then why are they such a unique offering in this region? "The argument could be made that it's not the best use of land, money wise. Over ten years I can make money on peaches, because we've owned the land for so long," says Crowell. Purchasing property on Cape Cod was a lot cheaper in 1900 than it is today and, with a premium on Cape real estate, it's easy to see why landowners aren't raring to plant peach farms.

Crow Farm grows five varieties of peaches that ripen at different rates, allowing Crowell to offer perfectly matured peaches for a full three months. The most distinctive varietal is the flush peach with its white flesh. Crow Farm's peaches have a devout following and the grower says he recognizes customers who come year after year. "People are funny, some come specifically for the white peaches and won't buy anything else; others won't even try them," muses Crowell.

There may not be a big difference from one Crowell peach to the next, but the gap between a Crow Farm peach and a supermarket peach is immeasurable. "Mine are ripe," says Crowell, pinpointing the discrepancy. For the purposes of shipping, supermarket peaches are picked after they color up, but before they are ripe. These durable peaches have likely "ripened in the back of a truck," says Crowell. "Because I can allow my peaches to ripen on the vine, they are sweeter and juicier. There is no comparison," he adds. At Crow Farm, the longest time a picked peach will sit before reaching your mouth is four days.

The tour ends back at the farm stand, where I purchase a container of homemade honey. Every season, bees pollinate the farm's orchards and a few local residents collect the mellowly sweet, umber colored treat. I confess to Donna Foley, who has worked at the stand since 1996, my intention to save the honey and drizzle it over the season's first peaches. A Massachusetts native, Foley's passion for Crow Farm peaches is touched with nostalgia. "They are the peaches of my childhood. Nothing like the rocks you get in the store. They are firm to the touch, but the juices run down your arms," she says. Before leaving, I ask Foley if she has a favorite peach dish and she unearths a recipe from a small stack of penned note cards. Next time you're in, ask if she has a suggestion for your purchase.

Crow's Farm
192 Route 6A Sandwich
508-888-0690
Peaches typically hit the farm stand during the second week of July and are available through mid-September.

RESTAURANT GARDENS

by Doug Langeland

Joe & Bev Dunn, up to their elbows in mizuna in the Island Merchant garden

Last winter we participated in a Farmer/Restaurateur collaborative hosted by Gil and Kolleen Pepin at restaurant 902 Main. About 50 Cape farmers, chefs, and restaurant owners discussed how to work together and plan for 2006. Among the most enthusiastic participants were Bill and Denise Atwood of the Red Pheasant and Joe and Bev Dunn of the Island Merchant. In addition to being committed users of local produce, they supply their restaurants from their own gardens. People who take on the challenge of a garden in addition to running a restaurant must be ready to go to great lengths to find the best local food. We had to learn more.

Denise & Bill Atwood in the Red Pheasant restaurant garden.

THE RED PHEASANT

When you talk restaurants with Cape Cod foodies, you hear the expected gossip about hot new places and what chef has changed jobs. When the Red Pheasant is mentioned, foodies give you a subtle, knowing nod of the head. Cooks smile and murmur "quality" and you discover that they either have cooked in or worked with someone who cooks at the Red Pheasant. People actually use terms like "legendary." Food cognoscenti on Cape Cod just assume that-duh-everybody knows that the Red Pheasant is excellent, and that it has been for a quarter century.

They are too modest to say it, but when you talk to Bill and Denise Atwood, you quickly sense that they know that there is a right way and a wrong way to prepare food and that they do it the right way. Mid conversation Bill spontaneously explains that "The seasons dictate what is on our menu and they always have." He rattles off examples like, "As we move from spring into summer, striped bass is on the menu every night. Then we will move into harpooned swordfish and tuna that are caught nearby." His eyes light up when he spies a box of Chase Creek Farm (now CapeAbilities Farm) tomatoes in his kitchen, and he describes how he and Denise just enjoyed a "simple bistro steak with sliced tomatoes, and a glass of red wine" to celebrate the arrival of the first tomatoes of the season.

Bill equates good cooking to food architecture. "There is a solid foundation based on French or Swiss technique. Once you have mastered the foundation, then you can go on tangents with things like Asian ingredients and spices." This principle is illustrated on a spring menu that offers classic Sole Meuniere with lemon, white wine, and shallots right above togarashi-crusted day boat scallops seared and served with baby bok choy, tempura leeks, and ginger vinegar.

GETTING STARTED IN 1978

Despite being the son of a restaurateur, Bill was reluctant to join his dad in the business. Bill had helped his father over the years and flipped burgers during high school, so he knew the 'ins and outs' of professional kitchens. However, he knew firsthand how much the restaurant trade kept his father away from the family, and didn't want to repeat the pattern. Instead Bill became a pet supplies salesman, but soon developed a difference of opinion with his employer about commission checks: Bill was earning them, but the company wasn't paying them. Bill quit and traveled to the Cape to 'briefly' help his father at the Red Pheasant in 1978. When he arrived at the restaurant, however, his father promptly went on vacation while Bill was left to assist a newly-hired chef. Bill immediately saw that the chef "didn't have a clue," as he put it. He visibly recoils when he describes, "Lobster Newberg sauce from cans, and onion soup being made without caramelizing the onions." The chef complained about Bill 'fixing things', so Bill fired him. Bill chuckles when he succinctly describes his father's reaction upon returning from vacation as "Huh?" The experience taught Bill that he wanted to cook and he never left the Red Pheasant. He recalls starting by cooking out of Larousse Gastronomique [the penultimate food reference bible] and challenging 1978 Cape Cod tastes by offering Shrimp Dijon and Veal Oscar. " People are a lot more adventuresome now," Bill says.

Bill and Denise went to the same high school in New Jersey although they didn't know each other well. They started dating when she took a trip to the Cape in 1978 to ponder a job in New York City and they were married in the fall of 1980. They have maintained a major commitment to their family while running the restaurant. Bill says, "Denise is sweet but firm about insisting on time with family, so periodically I hire out my shift. We also stopped doing regular lunches because it demanded too much of my time." A key to their staying power in the restaurant business is that, until a few years ago, they lived in the same building as the restaurant, allowing them to give the restaurant the time required while being together as a family. Their three girls, now in college, would hang out in the kitchen after school. Bill and Denise smile when they recall their daughter, Grace, who feeling it was natural to live at a restaurant, went to school and asked classmates, "What is the name of your house?"

THE ATWOOD'S GARDEN

The garden is Denise's realm and it supplements the vegetables from local farms and other suppliers. Denise credits her gardening passion to the Dennis Women's Club and Donna Eaton of Cedar Spring Herb Farm. She got ambitious in 1982 and mentioned something to Bill about gardening. "Soon he was going nuts out there with a Roto-tiller," she says. Next season she mentioned, in passing, that it would be nice to expand the garden, and the same thing happened with Bill and the Roto-tiller. When this pattern was repeated a third year, Denise decided to be careful in what garden inspiration she mentions to Bill.

Denise says that her love for the garden can be a little intense. In Florida she saw garden plots surrounded by wine bottles neck down in the earth with a couple of inches of glass exposed to keep critters and grass out of the garden. Figuring that the restaurant positioned her well to accumulate wine bottles, she quietly started hoarding them. Soon, they were overrun with bottles, which became a major inventory management problem. Denise found herself fixating on the bottles to such an extent that Bill says she was describing "all those bottles" to him in her sleep. The next day he urged her to get the bottles in the ground sooner rather than later.

The garden provides key items for the kitchen like edible flowers such as nasturtiums, and herbs including basil, chives, chocolate mint, lavender, tarragon, and thyme. They particularly like growing their own strawberries and raspberries. "Those berries are so good," they smile. "We only need to serve them with Crème Anglaise or Crème Chantilly, and our diners just love them."

Their success over time speaks for itself, but you get the feeling that Bill and Denise want to do even more with local foods. They were inspired by a 2004 trip to France that took them to Provence. "The fields of sage and poppy were amazing, and people really live close to the land," exclaims Denise. Bill and Denise both understand the challenges associated with applying these principles to Cape Cod-extreme seasonality among other factors. But given their passion and staying power, you can only assume they will remain among the vanguard.

Red Pheasant Inn
905 Route 6A, Dennis Village
508-385-2133
redpheasantinn.com

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The more time you spend at Island Merchant, the more a backbone of quality becomes apparent. Salmon and pulled pork are smoked in house. Creative dishes like the grilled chicken and peaches with caramelized onions and goat cheese demonstrate a real skill at balancing flavors. You also notice that the service is crisp and correct. Joe says, "Even though I'm wearing shorts and an island shirt, we try to serve people correctly with well executed food." The laid back atmosphere belies attention to detail and a lot of major league experience.

Joe has worked in and around restaurants for more than 25 years and he and Bev have worked together for 8 years. Bev never expected to go into the restaurant trade, but did learn that she had business acumen when, at merely 15 years of age, she worked for a chain of boutiques and quickly became a manager. Following family tradition, Bev studied accounting at Northeastern University and became a fund accountant, which she describes as "boring, even for an accountant."

Joe credits an early gig making pizzas at his uncle's pizza parlor with teaching him how much he liked making customers happy with food. He has worked in or around restaurants ever since. While attending Assumption College in Worcester he worked in various restaurants and was known for his late night grilled Velveeta sandwiches served to enthusiastic roommates. In addition to working as manager at a number of restaurants where he "was just out of school and everyone else was over 40," Joe did a lot of catering. One formative experience was the three years he spent as general manager at a villa in Jamaica that had two restaurants. He befriended Norma Shirley, a well-known chef who is considered the 'Julia Child of the Caribbean.' Joe remembers working all hours and then getting up in the late morning to watch Norma cook and help out from time to time. He says she was "demanding and no nonsense" and he credits her with giving him a passion for the Jamaican flavor combinations and cooking techniques that he uses extensively at The Island Merchant.

Bev and Joe met when she and a work colleague stopped for a cocktail at a Boston establishment where Joe was bartending. Joe says he "knew the minute he saw her that he wanted to marry her." When he screwed up the courage to flirt with her, he suavely asked, "Is it true that all accountants are boring?" Despite that inauspicious start, they started dating and married in July of 1998.

Bev remained uninspired by accounting so when, in the fall of 1998, Joe was offered a job as the general manager of Jimmy's Harborside in Boston, she left her job to join him as the function manager. Jimmy's, since closed, was a 385-seat seafood restaurant on the Boston waterfront. The business had begun to lag and Bev and Joe were brought in to "energize the place." Joe describes it as "well known, but a big blank slate. There was a big lounge which was dead space." So in addition to sprucing up the dining room and food, they focused on private events. Their efforts were very successful. Joe and Bev still shake their heads in amazement remembering the New Year's Eve when they did $50,000 in business in one night. When a member of the family that owned the restaurant wanted to take on more responsibility for Jimmy's, Joe and Bev felt their mission was complete. Joe went on to became a regional manager for the wine giant Brown Foreman and was soon promoted and transferred to New Hampshire, while Bev became a successful realtor.

Despite their business success, they kept hearing the call of the restaurant world. A friend was nominated for a James Beard award and Joe helped her cook at the Beard house in New York. This led to a discussion about opening a group of upscale restaurants including one in Washington, D.C. One week after September 11, 2001, Joe and Bev found themselves leading the transformation of a jazz club owned by Robert L. Johnson, the billionaire founder of Black Entertainment Television into a dining room and lounge. They opened in February of 2002 and within four months the Ortanique dining room was humming. To increase revenue the Dunn's decided to add late night Salsa dancing. Joe says the result was "crazy, totally crazy." The late night scene was such a smashing success that, "We could hardly restrain the people who were waiting for the dancing to start. We'd be moving the dinner tables off the dance floor and people would start dancing all around us. It was always mobbed." The success of the restaurant and the dance scene garnered a lot of publicity and Daniel Snyder, owner of the Washington Redskins, approached the Dunn's about catering pregame V.I.P. tailgate parties for luxury box holders at JFK stadium. Soon, in addition to running a wildly successful restaurant/dance club open nightly until 3:00 AM, the Dunn's would cook for 3,000 people on game days.

Given the success of the D.C. restaurant, the partners decided to add a venue in Baltimore. Joe oversaw the renovation of a building in Baltimore, while Bev split her time between managing the D.C. operation while doing market research about what would play well in Baltimore. The process turned out to be difficult due to construction problems, and the pace of their life was beginning to wear on them. They realized they were getting burnt out and wanted a change.

Bev and Joe had spent time on Cape Cod at various points in their lives and were very attracted to the notion of owning a place here. In their typical fashion they worked quickly and wound up closing on both their house and 10 Ocean Street where the Island Merchant is located in one weekend in December 2004. They opened The Island Merchant in February 2005.

They wanted The Island Merchant to be different from other places on the Cape and settled on comfort food and the island theme because it conveys a relaxed atmosphere. Their basic vision of a relaxed, island atmosphere paired with top-notch cooking has remained intact, but the specifics have evolved. The restaurant has gone from being an all day, everyday establishment to a dinner-through-late-night restaurant and bar. They added live music and frequently feature works of local artists on the brightly-painted walls. They also started staying open late to accommodate a growing cadre of cooks from other restaurants who stop in to unwind over cocktails and $2 cheeseburgers.

THE DUNN'S GARDEN

In the summer of 2005, Bev and Joe received an unusual call from the sales person of a produce supplier they had been using. "Are you guys doing OK, business wise?" he wanted to know. "Your produce bill has plummeted; has your business tanked?"

Bev flashes a pleased smile when she recalls telling him, "Our business is great, but I'm supplying almost all of our needs from my garden." She can do that "because my garden is probably larger than our restaurant." Bev grows most of the salad greens they use, as well as a lot of herbs, like basil, parsley, and the mint used in their mojitos. And where else is she going to get the calabaza pumpkins that Joe prefers to use in their Caribbean Pumpkin Bisque?

Bev has always had the gardening bug and now has the chance to pursue it. "I knew the minute I saw our house in Hyannis that it had the perfect yard for a large garden. Bev feels that gardening gives her the better of two worlds, "I feel like it is a selfish thing, because I like gardening so much. But it is really important to the quality of food at the restaurant and to our bottom line. After all, bunches of mint sell commercially for $4 or $5 and we go through a lot of mint. There is nothing better for the restaurant than picking something from your own yard." And after tasting those mojitos, the salads, the pumpkin bisque, and myriad other dishes at The Island Merchant, we couldn't agree more.

The Island Merchant
10 Ocean Street, Hyannis
508-771-1337
theislandmerchant.com

Part animal farm, part science experiment, part unique dining destination, part learning center. Coonamessett Farm in East Falmouth is all that and more. The eclectic nature of the farm reflects the personality of its proprietor and head farmer, Ronald Smolowitz. A marine engineer by training, Ron spent 20 years as a commissioned officer for NOAA's (National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration) Fisheries Service before embarking on a career as a full-time farmer. He continues to be involved in conducting research to benefit commercial fisheries and small farms in addition to running a 20-acre farm that hosts everything from school tours to herbal workshops to artisan fairs to weddings. As subscribers to his farm membership program will testify, he is also author of some of the funniest e-mail newsletters to hit their inboxes each month, especially in the dead of winter, when he doesn't have as many distractions as during the height of growing season.

Slated for a 27-house subdivision when Ron and his wife Roxanna bought the property in 1984, the land comprising Coonamessett Farm had a long history of being a dairy farm. Although neither Ron nor Roxanna, a vet with an expertise in marine animals, had prior farming experience, as Ron so colorfully puts it, "Over drinks at the local watering holes between long trips at sea I proclaimed to whomever would listen (shades of the Ancient Mariner) that I was going to give up going to sea and become a farmer. I had to do it to maintain credibility with my drinking buddy." In the ensuing 22 years, Coonamessett Farm has evolved to include five greenhouses with demonstration hydroponic and aquaculture systems, a wide range of vegetables, herbs, and berries, a general store, a café, an ice cream stand, and a menagerie of animals.

Over the years, Ron and Roxanna have experimented with many different models to make their farm economically viable. When he first started farming, Ron focused on selling salad greens to local restaurants. He was able to command a good price for his produce, so he expanded his garden and put in blueberry, strawberry, raspberry, and blackberry patches. In 1990 he started the first Hyannis farmers market, which moved to Falmouth the following year (and which waned over time). He also tried a pick-your-own operation, which didn't work financially. What has worked and is the current mode of operation used by the farm is the membership model. From 35 members in 1994, the farm now boasts over 2,000 family members who pay upwards of $20 annually to be able to pick their own produce, visit with the farm animals, rent a kayak to paddle on Coonamessett Pond, and receive discounts on the numerous special events hosted at the farm, not to mention receiving the aforementioned monthly Farm News missive from Farmer Ron.

Today when you visit the farm, a short gravel driveway off Hatchville Road leads you to the general store where you can purchase gourmet and natural foods and hand-crafted items some of which are made locally, including Roxanna's jams, Summer House Natural Soaps of Cape Cod crafted in Barnstable, and honey made from local bee hives. If you are hungry, you can purchase a salad or wrap sandwich or a hot entrée such as eggplant Parmesan, vegetable lasagna, corn chowder, or a veggie burger, and enjoy it on the wide dining room porch that overlooks the farm. In peak growing season, the gently sloping fields teem with color and echo with the happy sounds of children experiencing the joys of farm life first hand.

While those in a hurry can always pick up fresh produce in the general store, most farm members prefer to harvest their own. In a shed a short distance from the general store, you pick up bags and buckets to carry your bounty. A frequently updated board lists what is ready for picking, and a map of the farm indicates you where you can find the goods. Small children gravitate toward the chicken coop, where you can gather your own eggs, and swarm over the pint-size farm vehicles. Ron's farm hands and volunteers show older children and adults how to identify and harvest the best produce. Ron is always fine-tuning the variety of vegetables he grows each season in an effort to anticipate changing tastes and to eliminate an end of season glut of un-harvested produce.

In 1998 in an effort to find a way to use excess produce above what he was selling to restaurants and his members were harvesting for their personal consumption, Ron started a weekly vegetarian buffet on Friday and Saturday nights. It was a big hit and continues again this season, although only on Friday nights. Without any advertising, the farm has booked several weddings this year, so they are leaving Saturday nights open for private functions, a new and growing business for the farm.

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With all the activity going on around the farm, you'd think that he wouldn't have time to leave his tractor, but according to Ron funding from private grants and the government for his research is actually what pays to keep the farm going. So he spends two days a week doing fisheries work which currently involves developing ways to keep sea turtles out of scallop dredges, and which he will be testing in Florida in the near future. Ron also spends a fair amount of time delivering his produce to local restaurants (Pi Bistro in Falmouth and Fusion in Woods Hole to name two) and Windfall Market (77 Scranton Ave in Falmouth), which gets a delivery of fresh produce three times a week. Roxanna helps with the marketing activities (website, publications, and artwork). As a member of the Research Committee of the North American Alpaca Association, Roxanna helps award grants to universities to study alpacas. She also cares for the resident alpacas-the farm is home to ten (with three babies expected in the near future)-in addition to babydoll sheep, miniature Mediterranean donkeys, Nigerian dwarf goats, ducks, chickens, a turtle, a rabbit, and a macaw.

It was something of a godsend, then, when a young woman named Ashley Brister with a degree in environmental sciences, walked into the farm in the fall of 2004 looking for work. She neatly stepped into the role of farm manager, helping Ron order seeds and supplies, do cuttings, and buying plugs. Ashley also helps research potential funding sources for grant money. Most important, she shares Ron's vision for helping create a sustainable food system.

Rather than obsessing about adhering to onerous farming practices required to receive a certified organic designation for his farm, Ron focuses on getting the best results from practices that are environmentally sound, sustainable, and economically feasible. For example, he would rather use a very small amount of a synthetic insecticide to control a garden pest than large amounts of an organic product. He thinks that it's far more important to the environment that communities produce their fuel, fiber, and food locally, which is why he has applied for state and local funds to put up a wind turbine to power and light the greenhouses.

Ron also believes that children are too disconnected from the source of their food and fiber and hopes to bridge that gap by hosting school groups to the farm. In spring and fall, there are tours at Coonamessett Farm almost every day-up to 5,000 a year. This summer, in partnership with Cape Cod Children's Museum, the farm is offering Little Sprouts, a hands-on program for children ages 4-10. Over the 12-week program, they will plant, maintain, and harvest their own vegetables, herbs, fruits, and flowers, and learn about organic gardening methods, bugs, worms, and composting. Beyond that, Ron would also like to see communities put their teens to work on local farms, providing the labor to produce the communities' food.

For the time being, the farm relies on its members and the community at large to volunteer at the farm to help with the weeding and showing visitors how to harvest what is in season. Ron would love to have a formal volunteer program with a volunteer supervisor, but it's just another item for his wish list. Says Ron, "if you cut a farmer open, you'll find a whole bunch of tomorrows. I know I'll never accomplish what I set out to during the day." Given his daily chores, it's a wonder he and Roxanna accomplish as much as they do.

Coonamessett Farm
277 Hatchville Road, East Falmouth
Open seven days a week from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. For directions to the farm and a list of farm activities or for information on what's in season for harvesting, visit www.coonamessettfarm.com.

Plenty of lettuce greens waiting to be picked.