Today there was horrible news on the farm share front that I'm not going to get into right now because I'm too distraught. I get way too emotionally invested in my produce. So for now, this is all about last week.

• 1 lb red tomatoes
• 2 lbs green tomatoes
• 2 lbs apples
• 1 bunch giant turnips
• 4 green peppers
• 2 bunches radishes
• 2 cucumbers
• 1 bunch mizuna
• 1 bunch arugala
• 1 bag baby lettuce
  --
• 1 bunch kale
• 1 bunch lettuce
• 8 oz mixed baby lettuce
• 2.5 lb red peppers
• 2.5 lb potatoes (I took purple)
• 8 oz carrots
• 1 winter squash (spaghetti)
• 1 bulb garlic
• 2 tomatoes (1 big, 1 small)
  --
• 1/2 peck apples

On the preservation front:
Canned: peach jam, slices peaches
Pickled: radishes
Fermented: confetti mix of shredded carrot, turnip, and beet
Froze: roasted tomato sauce
Dried: cantaloupe, honeydew, tomatoes, tomato powder, oregano, sage, chives, parsley, rosemary

So it's the morning after and boy, do I hurt. I don't even know where to begin in dealing with it other than to take some ibu and wait for things to feel better. Besides the blister on the ball of my foot that I dealt with during the race (note to self: get serious socks), I discovered last night that I had two huge blisters at the back of my heel, covering quite a large area and sticking out over a quarter-inch. I'm baffled because it's the same foot I'd already been dealing with, and I did feel there was *something* going on, but I thought it was just the sock bunching slightly, yet I failed to notice it en route. Probably just as well. I lanced them last night, and there was so much there that the result was a fountain spraying a foot into the air. Sadly, no video.

Walking hurts. Bending hurts. One calf is a brick, the other rubble. Coming down the stairs was pretty bad. I have some odd chafing on one arm where it rubbed against the inside seam of the t-shirt. And I'd totally do it again, and will further do my best to recruit some of y'all as well. Had I actually trained properly, I'm sure I wouldn't be quite so bad today, too.

I'm still sorting through all the comments on yesterday's posts. FYI, when I wondered if anyone was reading them, it wasn't because I didn't think anybody cared. It was because I couldn't actually check myself (I was posting via SMS), so I simply didn't know if anybody was there. It was a beautiful Sunday, after all, so I couldn't assume folks were at computers, especially starting at 7am. I ended up calling Mark a couple of times, who read us the comments over the phone. It was inspirational (and often amusing) getting them en route, so big thanks to all! :)

Big appreciation also to my teammates. Luba was a trooper, pushing it to the halfway point despite clearly hurting. I'm still really glad she was there for as long as she was. And of course, anomie666, the center of our team and master of the long walk, without whom the rest of us probably wouldn't have gotten a mile in. He probably could have done another 26.2 after we were done, too.

I'm really glad to have done the Marathon route so I have some familiarity now, but I find it sort of odd that it passes so little of interest. There is so much cultural and historical awesomeness in eastern Mass, but the route manages to avoid pretty much all of it. I wonder why that is.

Weirdest sight of the day, which had nothing to do with the Walk, was a nearly-naked guy with a long white beard (he was wearing something that looked like a loincloth) driving by on a scooter. One of my favorite things was the "20.8" flag on a house at the relevant point. I wonder if they keep that up all the time.

Lacking a "limping around in pain" userpic, Treadmill Cat will have to do.

Passing Fenway (Sox won). So close I can taste it. Or that might just be sweat. Aiiiii!!

Neverending Newton. So close yet so far. The 5milers have jumped in- we hates them. Someone collapsed by the last rest area.

Escaped Wellesley, in Newton. Have struck Green Line - more seductive than commuter rail.

Halfway. Hope I can make it. Thinking about loved ones lost to cancer and those who survived - a much bigger number.

Passed through Ashland into Framingham (inc 1700! Who knew?). Local residents starting to get up and lots more cars on the road.

At the start area. Got our shirts, now we find coffee.

Yields are really kicking into high gear everywhere and this week's take was just fabulous. Also, I recently added new CSA-related tags including individual tags for each year as well as each week number, which means you can click the latter to see what the yield was every year on a given week if you're curious how things compare season to season.

( Week 12 )

The garden is also producing like mad, and I am once again open to trades if other people have different things in abundance (or an alternate offer). Things I have to swap include: kale, blackberries, grapes, apples, and basil. Let me know if you're interested. I'm also making sundried tomatoes, including harvesting a friend's garden and then keeping some of the results, and am open to more of that sort of thing.

I can't post today without a nod to Ted Kennedy, senator of awesomeness, but others have already better said everything I was thinking. Rest in peace.

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That said, could folks use some dairy?

3 qts half-and-half
* 2 quarts heavy whipping cream
2 quarts light cream
2 pints heavy cream
1 gallon (minus ~1 cup) whole milk
2 cans whipped cream
18 organic brown eggs
1 open (but full) jar caramel (flavor) topping

* claimed
- picked up