September Thoughts

Greetings Folks,

Mid September into early October is really a favorite time for us on the farm. The oppressive heat and humidity of the summer is largely past. It feels like we can finally take a breath. All summer we have our single minded eye on getting through without heat stroke and taking care of the fields. We can't really spare mental energy for much outside of our farm bubble. September is the slow progression into fall clean up, and projects that didn't make the cut during the frantic hustle of the summer. Its also great eating time, fall greens, smattering of summer tomatoes, the beginning of roots & winter squash. 

It's also been really hard to watch the fires happening in California, Oregon, and Colorado. Seeing what farmers are dealing with when making decisions about evacuation is heart wrenching. Much of what we do is weather dependent, and we all try to make plans as we farm that will mitigate bad weather. But you can't plan your way out of with fire. I mention all this because it weighs heavily on our minds. We're building our family and farm business in the midst of all of this. It feels like weather and natural disasters are moving at a pace that we can't out maneuver forever. Farmers in New York had their earliest frost in years this week, others in WI have dealt with devastating hail, and lets not forget the incredible inland hurricane (derecho) that flattened parts of Iowa. Its a lot to take in. But its also that time of year when we have the mental space to try to figure out what it all means for our farm. What can we do at our scale, to keep moving forward. Much to ponder this winter.

Cheers,
Elisabeth & Steven