
Kneeland Munson owner of KM Cattle (Falls Village) in the John Deere tractor with round baler attachment wrapped the rows of hay which turns into the round bale as pictured.
Kayla Jacquier
Kneeland Munson owner of KM Cattle (Falls Village) in the John Deere tractor with round baler attachment wrapped the rows of hay which turns into the round bale as pictured.
In Connecticut, we get a full four seasons. Bitter cold and snowy winters give way to lush springs, hot summers, and scenic falls.
To many, this is a predictable and reliable cycle. But farmers see the seasons differently.
Crop growth switches throughout the time of year and depends on weather. It is a delicate rhythm that farmers must balance for crop rotation and growth as the year marches on.
The correspondence between soil health, crop growth, leading yield, and weather is a vital harmony for success in the agricultural industry. The winter weather, from December to February, provides a much-needed rest period for fieldwork. It’s the ideal time for farmers to take stock of their seed inventory and prepare equipment for planting, highlighting the role of weather in the agricultural cycle.
By spring, the nutrient-filled fields are planted. Corn, grasses, and other varieties of vegetables are often highly produced locally for the agricultural industry. To naturally boost the bountiful crops, farmers may increase aggregate nutrients.
“Improved soil health assists the region long-term through: increased carbon sequestration rates, better soil organic matter and improved microbial activity, increased water infiltration, improved pollinator habitat — as well as increasing yields and profits. Improved soil health helps preserve local agricultural systems for future generations,” stated Shelby Washburn, a fourth-generation farmer from Laurelbrook Farm in East Canaan.
The planting process for larger plots typically includes heavy equipment and tractors with specific accessories to plant efficiently with maximized success in a shorter time frame. The two schools of seed planting are separated by tillage and no-till methods, both with their advantages and disadvantages. Tilling is turning the soil to better separate the aggregates for seed; however, it is more labor-intensive. The opposing method is the no-till option, which directly plants the seed into the ground without as much soil preparation.
Pictured above is a Laurelbrook Farm Field that portrays the difference of a hay field after first cut to a corn field that is still standing in the month of July — difference between a cycle timeline between different plants.Kayla Jacquier
Once seeding is done, in a short time the germination process begins to cover the field with the luscious green of growing crops. The farmers who planted their yields by hand or equipment indulge in the sight of hard work beginning to pay off.
When traveling through the area during summer, the eye often sees leafy growth amongst a field. Primary products for the local agricultural industry take root and lead to hay, additional types of grass, and vegetables. Specifically, different types of corn are significant products grown locally in the Northwest Corner. Ford Farm stand in East Canaan feeds many families with corn on the cob, while cattle companies plant just for animal feed. For decades, the corn-growing agriculturalists have used the Farmer’s Almanac term “knee high by the fourth of July” to help measure the ideal crop growth goal for corn.
While waiting for the green and yellow vegetables to be ready, this is hay season. Hay is what many people refer to as the overgrown lawn that needs to be mowed. More accurately, hay is cut about three times in this season to be turned into bales for the remainder of the year. When the field of tall grasses gets mowed, they then get raked into rows as needed and converted to square bales or wrapped into round bales.
The first cut of hay has the most variety of grasses, high levels of fiber, thicker stems, and a yellow tinge of color. The second cut can be classified as the higher fat and protein bunch with a greener color. The final cut is leafy, with the highest fat and protein content and the lowest fiber levels. The third cut can look the greenest of all.
Corn progression of growth — what it looks like in July.Kayla Jacquier
When fall finally rolls around from September to November, also referred to as harvest season, is when the tractor-trailer trucks are lining up on the road filled with corn. The corn is produced to consume for the remainder of the year. The importance of harvest season surpasses just the agricultural industry both economically and nutritionally and supports all industries. From farm markets and grocery stores to the economy cycling, the food rations would decrease without the harvested goods and the money passing through businesses.
With the arrival of winter, the process is recycled in the same order. New modern equipment, tools and techniques keep every year exciting. Endless hurdles of weather and risk must be overcome to provide these products, yet they bring greater rewards.
Each passing year continues the growth of goods and knowledge. From the snow melting and grasses green to when the tree leaves become warm-toned and raked off. The yearly cycle of a farm yields benefits that are endless and necessary.
Agriculture author Brenda Schoepp summed it up: “Once in a lifetime, you may need a doctor. You may also need a lawyer at least once. You may need a policeman at least once, and you will probably need a preacher at least once anyway. But every day, three times a day, you need a farmer.”
SHARON — Angela Derrick Carabine, 74, died May 17, 2025, at Vasser Hospital in Poughkeepsie, New York. She was the wife of Michael Carabine and mother of Caitlin Carabine McLean.
A funeral Mass will be celebrated on June 6 at 11:00 a.m. at Saint Katri (St Bernards Church) Church. Burial will follow at St. Bernards Cemetery. A complete obituary can be found on the website of the Kenny Funeral home kennyfuneralhomes.com.
Sam Waterston
On June 7 at 3 p.m., the Triplex Cinema in Great Barrington will host a benefit screening of “The Killing Fields,” Roland Joffé’s 1984 drama about the Khmer Rouge and the two journalists, Cambodian Dith Pran and New York Times correspondent Sydney Schanberg, whose story carried the weight of a nation’s tragedy.
The film, which earned three Academy Awards and seven nominations — including one for Best Actor for Sam Waterston — will be followed by a rare conversation between Waterston and his longtime collaborator and acclaimed television and theater director Matthew Penn.
“This came out of the blue,” Waterston said of the Triplex invitation, “but I love the town, I love this area. We raised our kids here in the Northwest Corner and it’s been good for them and good for us.”
Waterston hasn’t seen the film in decades but its impact has always remained present.
“It was a major event in my life at the time,” Waterston said of filming “The Killing Fields,” “and it had a big influence on me and my life ever after.” He remembers the shoot vividly. “My adrenaline was running high and the part of Sydney Schanberg was so complicated, so interesting.”
Waterston lobbied for the role of the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist for years, tracing his early interest to a serendipitous connection while filming in England. Even before Joffé’s production was greenlit, he had his sights set on playing the role. “I knew I wanted the part for years even before it was a movie that was being produced.”
What followed was not just critical acclaim, but also a political awakening. “The film gave all of us an intimate acquaintance with refugees, what it is to be a refugee, how the world forgets them and what a terrible crime that is.”
In Boston, at a press stop for the film, two women asked Waterston a pointed question: now that he knew what he knew, what was he going to do about it? “I said, ‘Well, you know, I’m an actor, so I thought I’d go on acting.’ And they said, ‘No, that’s not what you need to do. You need to join Refugees International.’” And join he did, serving on the organization’s board for 25 years.
Both Schanberg and Dith Pran, whose life the film also chronicles, were “cooperative and helpful … in a million ways,” Waterston said. Upon first meeting Pran, Waterston recalled, “He came up to me, made a fist, and pounded on my chest really hard and said, ‘You must understand that Sydney is very strong here.’ He was trying to plant something in me.”
There were more tender gestures, too. Schanberg used the New York Times wire to relay that Waterston’s wife had just given birth while he was filming in Thailand, adding to the personal and emotional connection to the production.
Though “The Killing Fields” is a historical document, its truths still resonate deeply today. “Corruption is a real thing,” Waterston warned. “Journalism is an absolutely essential part of our democracy that is as under siege today as it was then. It’s different now but it’s the same thing of ‘Don’t tell the stories we don’t want heard.’ Without journalists, we are dust in the wind.” Waterston added, “Democracy is built on the consent of the governed but the other thing it’s built on is participation of the governed and without full participation, democracy really doesn’t stand much of a chance. It’s kind of a dead man walking.”
When asked what he hopes the audience will take away from the screening, Waterston didn’t hesitate. “This is the story that puts the victims of war at the center of the story and breaks your heart. I think that does people a world of good to have their hearts broken about something that’s true. So, I hope that’s what the impact will be now.”
Tickets for the benefit screening are available at www.thetriplex.org. Proceeds support Triplex Cinema, a nonprofit home for film and community programming in the Berkshires.
Scott Reinhard, graphic designer, cartographer, former Graphics Editor at the New York Times, took time out from setting up his show “Here, Here, Here, Here- Maps as Art” to explain his process of working.Here he explains one of the “Heres”, the Hunt Library’s location on earth (the orange dot below his hand).
Map lovers know that as well as providing the vital functions of location and guidance, maps can also be works of art.With an exhibition titled “Here, Here, Here, Here — Maps as Art,” Scott Reinhard, graphic designer and cartographer, shows this to be true. The exhibition opens on June 7 at the David M. Hunt Library at 63 Main St., Falls Village, and will be the first solo exhibition for Reinhard.
Reinhard explained how he came to be a mapmaker. “Mapping as a part of my career was somewhat unexpected.I took an introduction to geographic information systems (GIS), the technological side of mapmaking, when I was in graduate school for graphic design at North Carolina State.GIS opened up a whole new world, new tools, and data as a medium to play with.”
He added, “When I moved to New York City, I continued that exploration of cartography, and my work eventually caught the attention of the New York Times, where I went to work as a Graphics Editor, making maps and data visualizations for a number of years.”At the New York Times, his work contributed to a number of Pulitzer Prize winning efforts.
In his work, Reinhard takes complex data and turns it into intriguing visualizations the viewer can begin to comprehend immediately and will want to continue to look into and explore more deeply.
One method Reinhard uses combines historic United States Geological survey maps with “current elevation data (height above sea level for a point on earth) to create 3-D looking maps, combining old and new,” he explained.
For the show at Hunt Library Reinhard said, “I knew that I wanted to incorporate the place into the show itself. A place can be many things.The exhibition portrays the exact spot visitors are from four vantage points: the solar system, the earth, the Northwest Corner, and the library itself.” Hence the name, “Here, Here, Here, Here.”
He continued, “The largest installation, the Northwest Corner, is a mosaic of high-resolution color prints and hand-printed cyanotypes — one of the earliest forms of photography. They use elevation data to portray the landscape in a variety of ways, from highly abstract to the highly detailed.”
This sixteen-foot-wide installation covers the area of Millerton to Barkhamsted Reservoir and from North Canaan down to Cornwall for a total of about 445 square miles.
For subjects, he chooses places he’s visited and feels deeply connected to, like the Northwest Corner.“This show is a thank you to the community for the richness that it has brought to my life. I love it here,” he said.
The opening reception for the show is on June 7 from 5 to 7 p.m. On Thursday, June 12, Reinhard will give a talk about his work from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at the library.“Here, Here, Here, Here” will be on display until July 3.
Scott Reinhard’s 16-foot-wide piece of the Northwest Corner is laid out on the floor prior to being hung for the show. L. Tomaino
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