September 15, 2022
Here we are on the cusp of another seasonal shift. The endless heat wave has at last cooled to breezy fall-ish days and cool nights. We are once again watching night time lows and closing up the greenhouses for cooler nights. Small seedlings are attentively watched and cared for and certain crops are kept covered to protect them from hungry deer and small animals.
Perhaps the biggest shift this past week has been Tom’s celebrated return! A small crowd gathered on Morse Road last Wednesday evening and cheered as Tom rode up the drive on his bicycle. It was a happy homecoming and we all stood chatting until the sun had fully set. An exhausted Tom probably had the best night’s sleep he’d had in months that night.
A few days later, many of the sheep and lambs returned to the farm. On their first night home, they managed to find their way out of the barn and into the lush fields where they happily gobbled up the chard we had recently nursed back to health. Every. Single. Plant. Alas, the CSA will not see a return of chard to the shares this season.
Sadly, the much beloved Rutabaga, one of the oldest of the ewes, passed away just a day later after an illness. My daughter, who had befriended this sheep early on in our farm days, has been mourning the loss alongside Tom. As Tom has often said, farming teaches you about death, as it is an inevitable part of life, which cycles through the farm constantly. Full circle.
On the joyful turn of the circle, we’re excited to share the bounty of autumn with our farm community. We’ve got carrots in the ground that will soon reach their full sweetness as the nighttime temperatures cool, our fall kale is lush and delicious, and the scallions that had yellowed and wilted in the heat have perked up and grown beautifully after Jason’s application of comfrey tea. We’re harvesting storage onions, winter squash, and soon potatoes and are looking forward to plentiful shares over the final 6 weeks. I’m savoring the cool breezy workdays and looking forward to enjoying pumpkin pie and hot soup as the weather continues to cool and the leaves begin to change. Are you ready for autumn? What seasonal shifts are you feeling this week?
