August Eleventh The farm received nearly 7 inches of rain the past week. Heavy winds and rain hammered down this past weekend making for a very muddy harvest on Monday morning. The crew was getting their boots stuck in the mud. The bins were muddy, the produce was muddy and there was mud virtually everywhere. […]
August Fourth I often experience a feeling of dissatisfaction when eating away from home. The idea of eating out for the sake of adventure or not making a mess in the kitchen or trying something new always proves to be less than climactic. Perhaps I have become a supreme food snob after so many years […]
July Twenty-Eigth In late July I am reminded that the farmers are not always in control. I am reminded to find the beauty amidst the chaos. There is order in the disorder. There are so many divine players in the field working their own magic that remind Adam and I that we only have so […]
July Twenty-First The farm is so busy, so alive, so vibrant. The helpers come in rhythm each week to help us get the work done bringing their stories, their laughter, and their own struggles. We all show up day after day ready for more. We are here to work and learn and grow and gather […]
July Fourteenth There is an effort on our small family farm to cultivate a sort of community. There are the worker shares and the employees and the neighbors and all of YOU. We are tied together through the shared soil that our food is grown in. We are unified by experiencing a growing season together […]
July Seventh I don’t think I’m the only one who is feeling it, but life feels a little like a boiling pot these days. Every day is a marathon. The to-do lists are long, longer than the daylight hours. The children run barefoot with wild hair and eyes and stay up much too late. I […]
June Thirtieth The farm received a blessed 1 ¾ inches of rain on Saturday this week. The rains came slow and fell softly over the course of a whole day. We feel lucky because other townships around ours receive as many as three and five and up to 11 inches of rain. We evaded downpours […]
June Twenty-Third At least once every season I like to pay tribute to our helpers. They are the behind-the-scenes bodies, minds and souls of our farm breathing life and energy into the work we are doing. Without people willing to do this kind of work, even for 3.5 hours a week, our Small Family Farm […]
June Sixteenth The farm is like an adolescent child right now. The crops are all young and tender and ‘growing up so fast’. The crops are healthy and strong and it seems as though nothing can stop them. They would grow up to the clouds in their own minds if not for their encumbering and […]
June Nineth The 2021 growing season is sure kicking off with a bang! Last week we finished planting our tomatoes, peppers, eggplants and got a parsley planting in. This week we will continue planting our second succession of sweet corn, continual lettuce plantings, fennel and basil and another Strawberry planting for 2022 harvest! A […]
June Second I like to use the first Newsletter of the season to introduce ourselves. For many of you who have been returning CSA members for several years, it’s like hearing your Aunt Helga or your mother re-tell the same story you’ve heard them tell 1000 times before. Just call me Aunt Jill, humor me […]
“Spring, Spring, Spring”, sang the Robin Farmers are forever optimists. We have hard seasons, but we survive them and spend our winters recovering from them while dreaming of Spring and rebirth and renewal. Alas the Spring arrives and the farmer is filled with a renewed sense of hope and anticipation. Something primal comes alive from […]
Tuesday, March 9th, 2021 Spring on the Farm Winter unofficially ended on our farm this week. The snow is beginning to melt. The maple sap is running. The birds are singing (loudly!) Onions are being seeded and there is smoke coming out of of the greenhouse chimney. It is beginning to look, sound and smell […]
October Fourteenth On the final week of Summer Share deliveries I feel gratitude running thick in my blood. I feel thankful for a bountiful harvest that the good earth has offered us even through a challenging growing season of drought. I feel thankful for my health and the health of my small family. I feel […]
Octobrt Seventh Fall on the farm is turning into a glorious and smooth harvest season. Fall colors had their peak about a week ago, but with all of the sunshine this week we will continue to enjoy the array of colors as the sun lights up the leaves as they shimmer in the breeze when […]
September Thirtieth Fall on the farm feels very different this season. It feels different because we are getting many of our storage crops out of the ground a little sooner than in previous years. We are also not doing Farmer’s Markets this year due to the fact that the market that we usually attend on […]
September Twenty-Third We have a humble tradition in our farm house of holding hands and taking turns saying at least one thing that we are grateful for before we share food together. It provides a moment of pause in our fast-paced lives to see, feel and recognize one small thing that we have to be […]
September Sixteenth The kitchen on the farm this week has been steamy and warm and even a little sloppy. Momma Jane and I have been busy canning tomato sauce with the culled tomatoes from the farm this week. We’re peeling garlic, chopping onions, plucking herbs, cleaning jars and canning our little hearts out. It feels […]
September Nineth I knew from the very first time I worked on a farm at the ripe age of 18 that the countryside was where I belonged. The feel of plants and soil between my fingers, the feel of the breeze and sunshine on my skin and the subtle sounds of nature all around me […]
September Second Dear Adam, This is a letter for you because we don’t get all that much time to talk to each other these days between the sounds and needs of the children, the demands of the harvesting crew and the pressures of the farm. By the time the table is finally cleared and the […]