Keeping connected

It was an eventful and productive winter.  Our bathroom is remodeled, the new deer fence is erected, a brooder house for baby chicks is built, our wash station is renovated, the barn roof is repaired, dead ash trees are felled and sawed.  We made our first foray into maple syrup making, which was promising and is sure to be revisited in future winters.  I went to a sustainable agriculture conference and picked up numerous ideas and mingled with inspiring farmers from the southeastern states.  My first farming employer/mentor, Ellen Polishuk of Virginia, was a presenter, and I was able to bring her to the farm for a day and employ her consulting skills.  It was an inspiring afternoon looking over the land and this operation with her.  It feels as if some of the scales have fallen from my eyes.

Also, I’ve begun experiencing an odd sensation in recent months.  After five years, there are no longer human babies to care for.  Clark and Campbell entertain each other endlessly and even now and again find time in their busy schedules (they take their play very seriously) to join in the work of farming.  It’s as if I am becoming a focused farmer again, somewhat freed from the consuming, mostly delightful work of being there for babies.  Our family farm is maturing.

Now it’s spring: the greenhouse population exploding, seeds in the field germinating, strawberry plants waking, garlic growing, baby chicks turning into teenagers, the color green enveloping the earth with its most vibrant, virginal verdure.  An electric, hopeful energy imbues each bird song and seed unleashed.  For the first time since we started planting them seven years ago, fruit trees of all kinds are awash in showy blooms.  Will this be the year tree fruits arrive?

Food is everywhere.  In this time and place, a panoply of food choices exist.  Small farms, however, are an endangered species.  We appreciate you having chosen to source some of your food from us, from this place on earth, from us stewarding this place on earth.  We hope that your connection to us and this place makes for a more meaningful experience, that this CSA adds up to something more than just a package of food.  In a dizzying world consumed with consumption, we are privileged to work with and for this community, creating a space dedicated to simplicity, love, and conscientious consumption.  Whether or not you participate in this CSA or any CSA (it’s not for everyone), we hope that you find ways to invest your food dollars directly in local farmers.  Although the reality-tv-circus is never-ending, we only vote for political parties on rare Tuesdays.  We vote numerous times every day for what kind of food system we want: fair wages or exploited labor, recycling or pollution, farm or factory, family or corporation, good or cheap.  Purity is not the goal so much as mindfulness.  We can’t necessarily choose local phones, shoes, or cars, but we can choose local food, real farmers, and a thriving countryside.  Thanks for your vote.

Happy spring!  See you soon with green goodies.