CARO DIARIO
LUGLIO
FARM FAMILY.
ANIMAL POWERED SOLUTIONS ARE VITAL TO THE
CA’ MUSU FARM.
FOLLOWING NATURE MEANS ACCEPTING BIODIVERSITY IN ALL ITS FORMS, ANIMALS INCLUDED.
ALONG WITH THE ARRAY OF WILDLIFE WITNESSED ROAMING THE PROPERTY, WE HAVE INTRODUCED A SMALL, BUT MIGHTY, FARM FAMILY TO LEND A HAND (OR HOOF! OR PAW!).
WHO ARE THE ANIMAL FRIENDS THAT WORK ALONGSIDE US? WHAT ARE THEIR STORIES?
BUSTER.
HE IS OUR ENGINE. INDISPENSABLE, VERSATILE AND FUNNY.
TWENTY-FIVE YEARS OLD. HE IS A SUFFOLK PUNCH DRAFT HORSE, A RARE BREED WHOSE ORIGINS ARE IN THE UK. LESS THAN 700 OF THESE ANIMALS ARE KNOWN TO RESIDE IN AMERICA.
BUSTER WAS THE FIRST HORSE WE LEARNED HOW TO DRIVE. TRAINED AND CARED FOR BY OUR MENTOR AND GOOD FRIEND. HE IS SMART, KIND, AND OCCASIONALLY A BIT OF A RASCAL! IN THE SUMMER HIS COAT, SHORT AND SHINY, SMELLS OF HOT DOGS. IN THE WINTER, HIS HAIR GROWS LONG AND FUZZY, ARMORING HIM FROM THE FRIGID WINDS. HIS MUSTACHE FORMS A DISTINCT HANDLEBAR TO PROTECT HIS SUPPLE UPPER LIP.
WHAT DOES BUSTER DO? WHAT DOESN’T HE DO! MOVING HEAVY LOADS ON THE FARM, OF COURSE. ASSISTING IN THE VINEYARDS WITH A BESPOKE SPRAY CART. MOWING GRASS WHEN THE SEASON ALLOWS, ONE NIBBLE AT A TIME.
A COMFORTING PRESENCE, HE QUIETLY LISTENS AS WE SOMETIMES VENT OUR FRUSTRATIONS, ONLY INTERRUPTED BY A PUNCTUAL FLATULENCE- WE TOLD YOU HE WAS FUNNY!
BASKETBALL CAT.
WHAT IS THERE TO SAY ABOUT A MAGICAL FELINE? RUMORED TO BE OVER 21 YEARS OLD, THIS GOLDEN GIRL HAS NEVER REVEALED HER TRUE AGE AND A GENTLEMAN NEVER ASKS.
MANY YEARS AGO BASKETBALL CAT WAS KNOWN AS FAT LOUIE, AND WAS AN EXPERT MOUSER WHO KEPT BUSTER’S FORMER BARN RODENT FREE.
LIVING HER BEST LIFE ON OUR FARM FOR THE LAST FIVE YEARS, SHE NO LONGER HUNTS. INSTEAD, HER EXPERIENCE IS BETTER SUITED TO MANAGING PROJECTS ON THE FARM. SHE ALWAYS LETS US KNOW WHEN IT IS TIME TO TAKE A MANDATORY BREAK FOR A tender, THERAPEUTIC PETTING SESSION; WELL DESERVED BY BOTH PARTICIPANTS.
SLEEPING MOST OF THE DAY (AND NIGHT), HER GENTLE SNORES BRING SOLACE. THERE ISN’T VERY MUCH THAT DISTURBS BASKETBALL CAT FROM HER SLUMBER, APART FROM A PASSING THUNDERSTORM.
WEE MAMS
DON’T LET THE YOUTHFUL AND ADORABLE FACE FOOL YOU- THIS PRETTY KITTY KICKS ASS! HER HUNTING PROWESS IS ESSENTIAL, BUT HER OTHER TALENTS ARE JUST AS IMPRESSIVE.
ABLE TO HOLD A CONVERSATION WITH A VARIETY OF MEOWS PREVIOUSLY UNHEARD OF. SHE IS JUST AS COMFORTABLE WALKING THE ENTIRETY OF THE FARM, HAPPY TO BE PART OF THE ADVENTURE.
WHEN THERE IS WORK TO BE DONE IN THE VINEYARD, WEE MAMS WANTS TO BE THERE EVERY STEP OF THE WAY. WHAT’S THAT? IS SHE MEOWING WITH HER MOUTH FULL? A SURE SIGN THAT A PEST HAS MET ITS DEMISE. HOW LONG WAS SHE STALKING IT? HER PATIENCE IS ADMIRABLE. HER FEROCITY, INTIMIDATING.
WHEN ELISE STEPS OFF THE FARM, WEE MAMS KNOWS IT’S TIME TO FIND MIMMO. HE NEEDS ATTENTION AND HE NEEDS IT NOW! IF MIMMO IS TWENTY MINUTES LATE FOR PRANZO, YOU KNOW WHO TO BLAME.
LE SIGNORE
TWENTY LOVELY LADIES. FOUR DIFFERENT BREEDS. LOADS OF EGGS. SIGNIFICANTLY LESS BUGS. WHO NEEDS TV WHEN THE CHICKEN CHANNEL CAN’T BE BEAT. ALWAYS AN ENTERTAINING AND HUMOROUS WATCH.
EACH BREED HAS A DIFFERENT TENDENCY. CINNAMON QUEENS LOVE TO LAY. BLACK AUSTRALORPS ALWAYS SEEM TO FIND THE WORM FIRST AND KEEP PREDATORY BIRDS AWAY FROM THE FLOCK. LAVENDER ORPINGTONS ARE EQUALLY ALOOF AND CURIOUS. THE BUFF ORPINGTONS ARE AFFECTIONATE ABOVE ALL ELSE. EACH BIRD HAS A DISTINCT PERSONALITY. SNUGGLE WITH LANI, THE CUDDLIEST OF HENS!
OLD TIMERS INFORMED US THAT IT WAS A SAD DAY WHEN THE ANIMALS MOVED OFF THEIR FARM. NO TRACTOR, OR TOY, COULD EVER REPLACE THAT SPECIAL BOND.
NOI SIAMO CA' MUSU.
GIUGNO
RESILIENCY. ONE DAY AT A TIME.
Adversity doesn’t discriminate.
Living on planet Earth means experiencing tough times.
Resilience is essential to survival.
Afterall, shit happens!
PERSONAL.
Professional.
Environmental.
You name it. Suffering is a part of existence.
Where is the hope to help get through the pain?
Hope is inside all of us. Resilience is essential.
“It will grow back y’know” said Grandma Fern, when informed that she had unknowingly cut down a cilantro plant, thinking it was a weed. Nature is resilient.
Frost. Drought. The challenges of an ever changing climate.
Health. Physical and mental.
How can we persevere in the face of adversity?
Remind yourself to feel grateful. Accept that good can and will happen, even in the darkest of times.
Are we helping or harming? Ourselves? Our neighbors? Our environment?
If we helped our enemy instead of harming them would they still be our enemy? Would they in turn help us? Where do the possibilities end? The start begins with us.
Resiliency. One day at a time.
And love!
MAGGIO
MAY IN WEST MICHIGAN EMBRACES GRAPEVINE PLANTING.
May in west Michigan embraces grapevine planting.
We adore this time and the opportunity to make the most of these favorable conditions.
Weathered and craggy, wild Vitis riparia vines with twisted trunks snake up high into the treetop canopy.
Their age unknown, once discovered they foretold the possibility of future vineyards on this land.
A long forgotten row of red table grapes (Concord perhaps?) continues to sit idle on the northern edge of the property.
Grapevines were once commercially grown here? Yet another clue!
Small plots of experimental vines were established in 2019. Our oldest commercial vineyards were planted in 2021.
We have planted vines every year since. diligently, lovingly, and entirely by hand.
What grape varieties have we decided on? The varieties have chosen us!
Our soil, climate and winemaking suggest that certain grapes will be better suited than others. Vitis vinifera, PIWI, North American hybrids and Native American grape varieties are all represented. The future is biodiversity and this commitment extends to what IS PLANTED HERE.
AN Italian/SLOVENIAN grape written about since 1289?
Rebula we call her.
A rare clone of Pinot Nero that only one other grower in the entire country farms?
Wrotham, named after its place of origin.
The grape that most likely brought phylloxera from the new world to Europe?
Isabella she is! Also referred to as Uva Fragola because of its strawberry flavor. Zia Franca tends a vine YET growing in her mountain garden.
No spray varieties?
We are currently trialing eight different specimens, produced with passion and patience by a midwestern micro nursery.
OVER Thirty grape varieties in total. And many more to come… we hope!
Planting CAN BE TIRING AND challenging. Many hands make light work. La nostra famiglia continue the annual tradition.
The reward is longterm. Will the effort and wait be worth it? Time will tell. Our belief is strong.
APRILE
THE BEAUTY & BOUNTY THAT IS APRIL.
ASSOCIATED WITH LOVE, FERTILITY AND AGRICULTURE BY THE ANCIENTS, APRIL IS A MONTH OF BEAUTY AND BOUNTY.
RAMPS, ONION GRASS, CLEAVERS, VIOLETS, AND DANDELIONS ARE ONLY A SMALL SELECTION OF THE FORAGE THAT EMERGES ON THE FARM THIS MONTH.
OF COURSE, WITH EACH RAIN THE GRASS BEGINS TO GROW VIBRANTLY AND VIGOROUSLY- MUCH TO THE DELIGHT OF BUSTER!
EARLY SPRING CROPS ARE TRANSPLANTED AND SOWED. KALE, LETTUCE, ARUGULA, CILANTRO, ONIONS, CABBAGE, CARROTS, BEETS, TURNIPS AND MORE. ALL SET OUR MINDS AND HEARTS IN MOTION WITH UNBEARABLE EXCITEMENT.
TREES ARE AROUSED FROM THEIR WINTER’S SLUMBER AND BIRDS BEGIN TO RETURN IN EARNEST. FLOCKS OF BRILLIANT BLUE JAYS AND MURMURATIONS OF STARTLING STARLINGS, TO NAME A FEW. A FLASH OF EYE CATCHING ORANGE ANNOUNCES THE ARRIVAL OF THE ORIOLES!
WHAT DO OUR EYES MISS AMONGST ALL THIS SPLENDOR? WILL OUR EARS IGNORE AN IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT?
APRIL BESTOWS GIFTS IN ABUNDANCE IF WE ARE ABLE TO RECOGNIZE THE OFFERING. THE TIME TO BE THANKFUL AND PRAISE IS SURELY UPON US.
MARZO
WHAT IS LIVING WINE?
MARIANA 2024
WHAT IS LIVING WINE?
LIVING WINE…
…IS WHAT WE MAKE AT CA’ MUSU AND WINE PIRATI!
…IS NOT FOR EVERYONE (AND THAT’S OK!).
…HAS NOTHING ADDED AND NOTHING REMOVED DURING THE WINEMAKING PROCESS.
…ACCOUNTS FOR LESS THAN ONE PERCENT OF THE ENTIRE GLOBAL WINE PRODUCTION.
…CAN BE AGEABLE.
…CAN BE APPROACHABLE.
…CAN BE AFFORDABLE.
…CAN BE FREE OF FLAWS.
…HAS AN UNMISTAKABLE ENERGY THAT CANNOT BE FAKED!
IF YOU LEARN TO RECOGNIZE THE LIVING COMPONENT, AND ENJOY IT, YOU WILL SEEK IT OUT IN EVERY GLASS!
DO WE ENJOY DRINKING WINE THAT ISN’T ALIVE? SURE DO! BUT WE OFTEN WISH IT HAD THAT DISTINCTIVE ENERGY.
DO YOU WISH YOU WERE DRINKING LIVING WINE?
CAPITANO 2024
FEBBRAIO
The farm slowly reawakens in February.
The farm SLOWLY reawakens in February.
MUCH REMAINS under a thick blanket of WHITE. from what OUR ELDERS TELL US THE SNOW IS NOT WHAT IT ONCE WAS.
The historical average FOR HART was OVER one hundred inches of snow per year. THESE DAYS we are lucky to receive seventy five inches, with some years offering LESS.
Snow benefits the soil in many ways. It is also a message to slow down. a valuable reminder in this rapidly accelerating SOCIETY of ours.
how can we care MORE for the Earth? Tread lightly, NATURALLY.
ANIMAL POWER.
Biodiversity.
Indigenous microorganisms.
These are the foundations of OUR farming PHILOSOPHY. AT CA’ MUSU OUR GOAL IS TO MIMIC nature.
this DISTINCTIVE approach could be interpreted as confusing, controversial, or even threatening. A natural farm MORE CLOSELY resembles nature. anything other than A MANICURED aesthetic can seem mismanaged or EVEN lazy. I assure you, look deeper. The work is there for all to see.
Embrace nature. FOLLOW her teachings THE BEST YOU CAN. And may the snow return!