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There is a moment, early in the day, when fog often sits low over the back of the farm. You see it as you pull into the driveway—a dense, drifting cloud hovering at the edge of the property.
H
arper Stevenson ’23 noticed it every morning the summer she worked there, and for a while she and her fellow apprentices puzzled over it. Why did it always hang in that exact spot? Finally, it clicked. The river is right there. It is the phenomenon of valley fog: cool air settles overnight into the valley, and when it meets the warmer water, moisture condenses into mist. The
mist hovers ethereally over the river—and if you are there to notice it, it is something. It is a small story, and Stevenson shares it with wry humor—in retrospect it feels obvious. But it captures something essential about what Farm and Food Studies has been quietly teaching students for ten years: that paying close attention to a place—really looking at it, working in it, failing in it, returning to it—helps you to understand the complexity of the world we navigate in a deeper and more meaningful way. BURR AND BURTON ACADEMY 21