Organic farming
I spent the day at the winter meeting of the Northeast Organic Farming Association of NJ. What fun. I know it isn't every one's bag, but I learned about composting, home canning, perennial vegetables, including hydroponics, and best varieties for cut flowers. It was just right up my alley. For the first time since leaving Wyoming, I actually saw fellows in Carharts and Sorrels. Because it was organic farming, there was a strong contingent of people with dreadlocks, too. It was like a mix between Brush and Boulder. I mean, there was a group there advocating for raw milk, several of the farms that do demos of old-fashioned farming, feed suppliers, info on organic beekeeping, mixed in with ag agents and one guy selling outdoor corn-burning stoves. Awesome.

It was at Rutgers University. I have to say I wasn't all that impressed with what I saw of New Brunswick, nor the university. Sorry. It was a mish-mash of architectural styles, spread out on at least two campuses that I saw, surrounded by ratty housing. To get from one campus to the other, you have to go through downtown, and it isn't even all that charming. It could be charming perhaps, but it has a real tired air. But, after all, I'm a University of Colorado grad, and it is one of the most beautiful campuses in the nation, and we go to Princeton, which has a sophisticated air sorely lacking in New Brunswick. I do think that Princeton has suffered from trends in architecture, as there are beautiful, stunning old buildings, and then some truly dreadful 1960s-ish poured concrete monstrosities. To be fair to Rutgers, I should go back in the spring, not on a dreary winter day.

In any event, I'm excited to garden this spring. We're in the Garden State, after all!