I was half listening to a podcast - my go to these days is Ezra Klein but more likely given the subject it might have been the wonderful On Being with Krista Tippett - when the term Dominant Trigger Responses jumped out at me. We all know what they are in general, those seemingly automatic responses beyond our control that cause us to react in a certain way; we even know which constants in life are going to provoke them fastest: parents, kids, politicians. But what about the inverse? Pavlov’s groundbreaking research in the late 19th century on conditional responses took neutral stimulus and consistently exposed his test subject dogs to situational triggers to create new and long lasting connections. He used a bell which has no negative or positive connotations, but most of our dominant trigger responses most certainly come with highly subjective baggage.
While we are all so focused on uncontrollable incoming dangers (pandemic, tattered economy, smoke-filled skies) and the fraught emotions they trigger, it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that we actually have the power to condition our responses to stimuli of our choosing as well. Enduring love, work you feel better for doing, and of course the natural world are all good contenders for sustained attention that over time can trigger positive responses in us. No one’s saying it’s easy. But wouldn’t it be nice to balance fear-driven emotions with ones that move us to beauty, contentment, joy?
The hard work ahead to rebuild this economy and deal with climate changes that affect our livelihoods and the livability of our lives won’t be sustainable if only led from despair, though that’s a pretty fair response these days no matter where you attribute cause or blame. Desire for change must arise from hope but we also need roadmaps for better alternatives. We must play a role in creating many of these for ourselves.
Increasingly I take time every day to tune out the noise and focus on small things that come wrapped in scent, flavor, color. A walk through the orchards and out into the forest does it for me. Any garden that’s been tended with care. Sometimes I stand quietly in the corner of the kitchen and watch the repetitive actions of folding dough, cutting vegetables, stirring stock pots, all the food prep and cooking that perfumes the air with fragrant possibility. Then I wander outside to fully take in one of Dan’s floral arrangements that he’s hidden in plain sight in the gardens, where unless there is something seriously amiss in your world, delight is the natural default reaction.
A precious few weeks every fall all my happy trigger responses light up on an old packing shed hanging over the Navarro river. The Anderson Valley is a first love for me, and an enduring one after 35 years dry farming on Greenwood Ridge. Though it’s been hard work for our family, it has curiously always given back more than it takes, which I guess is why we’re still here. This year, with nature feeling so fragile, the general health of the republic so vulnerable, it was a blessing to be able to stand under the trees shedding golden leaves and watch our apples be transformed into juice, syrup and cider. The Philo Apple Farm - the Bates and Schmitt families arrived the same year we did to the Valley - still opens its beautiful antique press one day a week to anyone in the community growing organic apples. It’s a tradition that engenders goodwill on so many levels that just waiting around to start the press up (and that can take a while) fires up the amygdala. The small talk between old friends, the first snap of a beer being opened, the grind of the press sputtering to life, the creak of the apples bumping up the conveyor belt, cars thumping over the high spots on the bridge, the air alive with the glorious smell of apple juice reducing down to syrup in the outdoor cooker, these are all small random things that imprinted over time compress in memory like a glittering diamond.
We often think we have to go in search of meaningful sensation when it’s all around us just waiting to be found. The first step is sharpening our five senses to the gifts a single moment might hold. Smell is the sense closest to memory and thus the easiest to access - it’s the smell of coffee that triggers the brain before caffeine ever hits the system. Ambient sound also works on us subliminally - think of the way cocktail shakers in a busy restaurant trigger anticipation even if you are not drinking. Color is another huge trigger. Rothko believed fields of color were spiritual planes that could tap into our most basic human emotions, but you don’t need to be a great painter to access them all the time. As the vineyards begin to glow, glorious gold and russet colors will be all around us for the next few weeks. It was already all around us at The Apple Farm - starting in the bins of ripening apples.
I am no Pollyanna, quite the contrary. The sight and smell of a bunch of apples isn’t going to solve the world’s problems. But the singular beauty of nature’s seasons present innumerable moments that over time can hold the power to become dominant trigger responses of the positive kind that help provide the balance we need to face those problems. Right now, fall is resplendent. Wrap yourself in it. Then let’s get back to work.
The Philo Apple Farm
Hospitality of an authentic, beautiful and utterly delicious frame of mind is what it’s all about @philoapplefarm. They know what they do well (practically everything) and are easy about making all the working parts of their farm open and welcoming. If you haven’t yet come for a stay, they are safely booking reservations. Cruz may or may not bake for you but you will leave full to the brim, I promise you. If you’re just passing through the Valley, the Farmstand, with all The Apple Farm’s wonderful jams, chutneys, ciders, juice and in season produce, is open 9-6.
Rita and Jerzy are the third generation living and working the Apple Farm, along with Rita’s parents, Karen and Tim. Their help at crush is invaluable- though it a delight to see them anywhere, anytime.
We had two teams crushing with Lukka and Dan this year … first up was chefs Jordan and Neidy and our longtime manager Cathryn. At the next crush our spectacular three bar divas- Isabel, Terra and Hayden - took over. And at both crushes and at the farm with us all year we have been so happy to work with new farmer and budding (pun intended) florist Nick.
Least I forget a great positive trigger for me these days: Our farm managers Dan’s instagram @daniel.james.co. Enjoy daily.
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