Rubbing Elbows

Point of View: Melody Powers

Washington perspectives from an AU insider's point of view

By

Photo­graphy by
Jeff Watts

Melody Powers stands in front of her booth at a farmer's market

Melody Powers, CAS/MA '10, has come full circle.

The Pennsylvania native grew up on a farm and after picking up a degree at Penn State, where she met husband Kevin, she settled in the DC area for six years. In 2012, sick of city life, the couple moved west for greener pastures—literally.

Today, they run the 11-acre powers farm and brewery in northern Fauquier County, Virginia, about 40 miles southwest of Washington. The Powerses will celebrate their third summer harvest this year with a cornucopia of crops, from spinach, strawberries, and sweet potatoes to chard, carrots, and cabbage. They sell their organic produce and flowers—grown primarily from heirloom seed stock—at the nearby Manassas Farmers Market. More than 30 people have also signed up for the 20-week farm share, which kicked off in June.

When she's not tending to her crops, Powers is chasing after Aggie, a cantankerous-yet-lovable rescue sheep, and 2-year-old collies, Zeus and Cascade (named for two varieties of hops the couple grows).

"I miss the restaurants," Powers says of city life. "But I just love it in the country."