It was a gorgeous late August day,
fields abundant with the fruits of summer.
Even the goat and pig were friendly.
But we had come to eat the best meal of our lives.
First, hors d's (photo by Etienne Frossard) on the patio
With the eve's wine in the fine hands of Daniel Johnnes (r)
Fifty people at one very long table in the center of the barn
(photo, Etienne)
with tomatoes for sale along the walls.
With Ray Bradley (left) and his pal (since they were 14 growing up near Storrs, CT) David Bouley cooking in the kitchen, grilling cod in the field.
Six courses, maybe 16 (photo from Bouley Restaurant on Facebook, thanks)
Which then were served to discerning palates (thanks again, Etienne)
Including the piece, the Carrot Dust of the title (Etienne, encore)
Course by course until it was over and David and Ray said goodbye
and that they'd do it again -- soon
And that the Annual Festival would take place Sept 25
But what we did not know is that just a few days later,
Hurricane Irene would turn Ray's farm into this
and ruin his whole crop
As the waters receded, fund-raising arose (everyone loves Ray)
and he continued to go to (Grand Army Plaza and 97th Street Farmers) Market
selling what he could (here on Sept 24)
And the next day, we went to the festival, which NY Times reported on here
and where Etienne took this picture of these tractor drivers
And I took this picture of Etienne
And of Heather Marold Thomason, whose company badfeather does Ray's website and who's been reporting on the flood on her blog
And said goodbye to Iris Kimberg, who runs the show
And to the stone pig
