Fieldnotes #2

On my second trip to my field site I visited the farm on a Saturday afternoon around 12:30 pm. This is a few hours earlier than my last visit.  Instead of sitting in one location, I walked around while observing and taking the whole environment in. I walked around the pumpkin patch, up a dirt road to one of the apple orchards, and I shopped around in the farm stand.

What surprised me?

This time while visiting the farm  I was so surprised at the amount of people. There were probably only 5 groups of people at the farm. It was a nice fall Saturday afternoon, I thought that more people would be out at the farm. Another thing that really surprised me was that when I walked to the apple orchard, no one was picking apples. I was the only one there. Granted, it is towards the end of the apple picking season but there were still plenty of apples still on the tree. I wonder what Jaswell’s does with the excess  apples at the end of the season. Do they pick them and sell them? Do they leave them on the tree to eventually fall and rot on the ground? Also, another thing that initially surprised me that they weren’t offering any tractor rides. But looking back at it now, it makes sense because there weren’t many people around the farm anyways. I’m sure if someone asked for a ride an employee would have taken them for a personal tractor ride.

What intrigued me?

One thing that interested me was that while walking through the apple orchard there were some trees with really dark red apples. I’ve never seen apples such a deep red color. So obviously my curiosity got the better of me and I took down an apple to taste. When I bit into the apple it was really hard to chew. It had this bitter tangy taste. It wasn’t my favorite. It made me wonder if this is what happens to apples when they stay too long on the branches and continue to over-ripen. Another thing that was interesting was the décor of the farm stand. One of the walls was completely covered in newspaper articles that were about  Jaswell’s Farm. Seeing that the farm has been open since 1899, there must be some pretty old articles on that wall. The last thing I thought was really interesting was some old farm machinery left in a pile on the side of the dirt road. The machinery was dated and rusted. But it was really pretty to see the farm landscape grow up into the rusted metal machinery.

 

What disturbed me?

The one thing that disturbed me was that the month is coming to an end and the apple picking season is almost over L.

A Concrete Artifact!

I picked up a delicious candy apple from Jaswell's during my second visit!

The Digital Landscape

It’s time to see what the internet has to offer! I went online to look around on the Jaswell’s Farm website: http://www.jaswellsfarm.com/index.php.  Immediately I noticed that “Experience Jaswell’s Farm” was at the top of the page in bright red font. It’s funny that my blog is called “Apple Picking Experience”. Jaswell’s and I have the same idea that farm life is an experience! Their slogan is “It’s all about family…yours and ours!” I really like this slogan. It shows that family is very important to Jaswell’s Farm. This makes a lot of sense because Jaswell’s has been a family owned farm since 1899. I had no idea that this farm has been around since 1899; it’s so amazing that Jaswell’s is still operating today! On the home page of their website there is some history about the farm. Jaswell’s Farm has been passed down from generation to generation which is why family is so highly valued. There is a picture of the farm stand on the home page. It makes the farm look inviting. There is also a slide show of pictures of children holding different foods, such as pumpkins, apples, blueberries. This suggests that family is important to Jaswell’s and that the farm is a child-friendly environment.  It also displays some of the food products grown on the farm. The background of the website is a fresh green color. This color automatically makes me think of freshness and the outdoors. The website creator definitely chose the background color to reflect the atmosphere of the farm. The website includes other pages such as a photo gallery of the farm, information on the farm stand and picking seasons, and there is even a page where it explains their delicious candy apples. The pictures on the website make the food look so appetizing. I’ll definitely have to get a candy apple when I visit the farm for my second set of field notes! This website definitely makes the viewer feel welcome! I feel like the more they talk about the history of their farm, the more I’m connected to their family. The Jaswell’s Farm website makes you feel happy!

I also searched “jaswells farm apple picking” and came across a blog called “The Rhode Less Traveled: A Rhode Island Blog”. (here’s the website if you want to check it out! http://therhodelesstraveled.com/2010/09/18/jaswells/ ) The first thing I see is a bright red apple, this really grabs my attention. While reading the blog post the author, Michele Meek, mentions that she heard about Jaswell’s Farm through a friend. Meek also mentions that her young daughter loved going apple picking. This shows how family oriented this subculture really is. Additionally, someone commented on the blog post and called Jaswell’s Farm “a nice, friendly family farm.” The blog post seems very genuine and exemplifies the idea that Jaswell’s is a wholesome family establishment.

what is "HIPSTER" ?

The stereotype of my subculture is described as “hipster” but what exactly is a “hipster”. Well I decided to look up on dictionary.com what a hipster was and the results are as follows:

1. a person who is hip.

2. hepcat.

3. a person, especially during the 1950s, characterized by a particularly strong sense of alienation from most established social activities and relationships.

 

This definition still left me with many questions. (And not to mention I have no idea what a hepcat is.) So I then decided to go to urbandictionary.com to get a better definition of what society defines as a hipster. The results are as follows:

Hipsters are a subculture of men and women typically in their 20's and 30's that value independent thinking, counter-culture, progressive politics, an appreciation of art and indie-rock, creativity, intelligence, and witty banter.  Although "hipsterism" is really a state of mind, it is also often intertwined with distinct fashion sensibilities. Hipsters reject the culturally-ignorant attitudes of mainstream consumers, and are often be seen wearing vintage and thrift store inspired fashions, tight-fitting jeans, old-school sneakers, and sometimes thick rimmed glasses. Both hipster men and women sport similar androgynous hair styles that include combinations of messy shag cuts and asymmetric side-swept bangs. Such styles are often associated with the work of creative stylists at urban salons, and are usually too "edgy" for the culturally-sheltered mainstream consumer. The "effortless cool" urban bohemian look of a hipster is exemplified in Urban Outfitters and American Apparel ads which cater towards the hipster demographic. Although hipsters are technically conformists within their own subculture, in comparison to the much larger mainstream mass, they are pioneers and leaders of the latest cultural trends and ideals. This also applies to music as well, as many bands have become successful and known to mainstream audiences only because hipsters first found and listened to them as early-adopters of new culture. Once certain concepts of fashion and music have reached mainstream audiences, hipsters move on to something new and improved.

Fieldnotes #1

Taking my first set of field notes was exciting. I went to Jaswell's Farm on Columbus Day at around 2 o’clock in the afternoon. I chose a spot right in the front of the farm so that I had a wide range of things that I could see from where I was sitting. I had the pumpkin patch directly in front of me, the farm stand to my left, the apple orchard to my far right. I could also see the tractor rides back behind the pumpkin patch. Now reviewing my field notes, I am able to reflect further on what I observed.

What surprised me?

The first thing that surprised me was that I had expected there to be more people at the farm. I figured that since Columbus Day was a day off from work for most adults there would be more people out enjoying the beautiful fall day. I’ve been to Jaswell’s Farm many times before and it always seemed more crowded with people. There were many people there, just not as many as I had originally expected. Another thing that surprised me was that there was this one tree on the farm whose leaves were not changing color. Granted, there are trees that don’t change colors in the fall but this tree didn’t look any different from the surrounding trees that were changing colors. Although this tree doesn’t really have anything to do with the actual subculture of Jaswell’s Farm, it still puzzled me why this tree, that looked the same as all of the other trees on the farm, still had green leaves. Something else that surprised me was the fact that there were many families and not as many couples or groups of younger people as I had expected. I knew that there would be a majority or families but I also thought that I would see more groups of people without children. Even the majority of families had younger children with them. Personally, I have gone with my friends to go apple picking in the past so I thought there would be more teenagers at the farm.

What intrigued me?

One thing that intrigued me about my field site was this rotten apple I saw on the ground. The apple was half eaten. This apple was probably discarded and thrown by a person who was enjoying the apples from the orchard and couldn’t finish their last apple. When I go apple picking with my family, we always eat apples as we pick them. You get so full after eating 3-4 apples! I know that when were done eating an apple we simply throw it on the ground to rot. It isn’t really a big deal to go throw the apple cores in the garbage because they will just decompose back into the ground. When walking around you see many rotting apples at the root of the apple tree trunk. Another thing that intrigued me was this young “hipster” couple I saw. In a survey of my class, many people had said that this subculture was “hipster”. But when observing the subculture, I didn’t see anyone who portrayed the qualities of a “hipster” until the very end of my stay. I could tell the couple was hipster from what they were wearing; the girl wore high-waisted shorts and thigh high socks while the boy wore a red beanie hat. It was intriguing to take this stereotypical couple that people thought about when they thought about this subculture and compare it with the reality that this subculture is mostly composed of families.

What disturbed me?

One thing that disturbed me was that a lot of the people were dressed really nice for a day at a farm. It just didn’t really make much sense to me. There are dirt roads and rotting apples and pumpkins on the ground and people are coming dressed in nice shoes. Maybe it’s just me, but I wouldn’t be walking around a farm in a nice outfit because it’s inevitable that I will step in something rotten.  Some people even came dressed in flip flops! Firstly, it is October; it is long past the time to put the flip flops away. Secondly, the farm has dirt roads. You’re feet are going to get so filthy. How does it make sense to come to a farm in flip flops? I just don’t get it.

My Influential Lenses

First, let me start off by telling you a little more about myself. I am an 18 year old white girl with brunette hair and hazel eyes. I've lived in Attleboro, Massachusetts for my entire life with my parents and siblings. I have three other siblings, 2 brothers and a sister, and have always done everything as a family. My parents have been happily married for 22 years. My dad owns his own business and money has never been a problem for my family; you can say we are middle-class. I still live at home and commute to Rhode Island College which is about a 25 minute drive.

I chose to study the subculture of farmers and people who visit farms because it is part of my family tradition to go apple picking every year during the fall. Will who I am affect how I perceive this subculture?

I don't think that any of my fixed positions will affect what I see at my field site. I know many of my friends and people my age going apple picking with theirs friends on a nice weekend afternoon. Many families also go apple picking together which won't be unusual for me because I too went apple picking as a kid with my family. One thing that may affect how I see this subculture is the make up of the families. My parents are still happily married, but this doesn't mean that everyone's family is. Some families that I observe might only have one parent. I also have multiple siblings. Other families could only have 1 or 2 children. This can affect my study because those types of families might interact differently than mine.

When asking others about what they think this subculture is like many of the responses were "healthy" and "hipster". I am in not way either healthy or hipster. This is ironic because one of the main reasons my family would go apple picking was to collect the sweetest apples to bake apple pie with. This turns a healthy fruit snack into a fatty sugary dessert. I'm not going to lie, I'm not exactly sure what people mean when they say hipster. So if I can't even really describe what "hipster" is in the context of apple picking I feel like I wouldn't be one. "Hipster" just makes me think of dorky glasses and skinny jeans and edgy taste in music. I guess I am just way too mainstream to even know what hipster is.

Hi! My name is Sam and I will be exploring Jaswell's Farm, an apple orchard in Smithfield, Rhode Island. I know about Jaswell’s Farm because it is a place of family tradition for me. Every year since I can remember, my entire family has taken a day in late September to go apple picking at Jaswell’s Farm. And when I say my entire family, I mean my entire family. When I go apple picking, there is a mob of 25 people swarming the apple trees to find the best and most delicious apples. It would take us hours to weed through the trees and find the perfect apples for apple pie. My dad and uncles would throw me and my other younger cousins over their shoulders so we could reach the apples on the very tops of the trees. My cousins, siblings, and I would run all throughout the orchard making sure we ran down every line of trees. Inevitably, everyone eats five or six apples just in those few hours. I am going to explore the subculture of farmers and the culture behind apple picking. Do other families like mine have the tradition of going apple picking? What is the regional culture of apple picking? I can't wait to explore the apple orchards!