I keep remembering the golden light of sunset on the grassy pastures at the farm, my shoulders warm with a light sun burn and sweat. I was completely covered in dirt, the heavy humid air, the hoot of an owl through my open window. I think of throwing my windows open each night to bring the cooler air in while I slept, of even one sheet being too much cover, of needing fans and trying to keep the bugs out. I remember the lazy upward motion of the fireflies. How long is it now? It can't be far.

It was a good summer, full of hard work and mud and flowers and cuts and cows and peppers and lettuce. I'm really starting to miss it.

A meal from our farm

Everything from this meal that Sam and I made a couple months ago was from our farm (besides the butter, salt, pepper and peach).

Travel

I spent two weeks at Not Back To School Camp, which was filled with love and fun and some sadness. It was beautiful, as demonstrated here:

I drove home to Philadelphia.

While there I had a consultation with the oral surgeon who will be taking out my wisdom teeth.

Now I am back on the farm, and I had the most beautiful sauteed boc choi and purple cabbage for lunch with Sam, but unfortunately I didn't take a picture.

Feeling summer slip away

The water droplets feel so freezing cold on an early harvest morning. But everything is slowing down, our non harvest days are much more relaxed. On harvest days it's been hard to pull what we need out of the garden because it was so rainy and cold for a long time. Everything was looking slimy and sad, but the garden has been perking up since it has stopped raining lately.

I'm excited to feel the air changing, it's become much dryer. Fall is my favorite season. I've felt a little sad that summer is ending, and knowing my internship is coming close to ending. But I do look forward to changing leaves and knitted scarves and having more free time and sleeping a bit later.

Delicious foods

Garlic braids

Three of the tomato varieties that we grow are Juliets, Sungolds and Persimmons.

I am so tired all the time. I am amazed that I am updating my blog. It is amazing.

A photo update

Our tomatoes are (so far, knock on wood) free of the late blight that has been plaguing the east coast, but the fruit is still green because it's been so cool and wet.

The flower row.

We're growing three varieties of cucumber, this is a pickling cucumber.

An edible flower, yum!

We've been getting some nice two pound heads of broccoli from this later variety.

We grow flowers in the garden mainly to attract beneficial insects (known as "beneficials"). We also sell the most perfect ones in bunches at market, and give them to our CSA members.

The chickens are being sent to the butcher tonight. The way they walk in the tall grass is funny and awkward.

All in all things are going well, we're getting a good harvest. It's been tiring and busy lately. I'm still enjoying myself and looking forward to the rest of the season.

Our Salad Mix

Yes, the flowers are edible!

Cover Cropping!

We're seeding wheat between rows of cash crops.  This prevents erosion and stops weeds from germinating.  Here are the rows seeded, then germinated. 

Erica said the tallest they'd get would be three feet.  But they'll probably stay shorter as we will be stomping on them as we harvest.  Wheat is also very easy to mow.  We also have a few daikon radish seeds spread between the rows because they grow pretty huge then die and leave a nice little empty hole in the soil when the decompose.   It's like tilling minus the tractor!

The white stuff is row cover, which we're using for pest control.  It can also be used to keep plants warm.

Our kale is doing very well!  I picked a bunch today and had it for dinner.

Open house, strawberries, kale

(This seems to be becoming more of a picture blog)

Wild Kitten

They still don't love me.  Sorry kittens for freaking you out! 

Cuteness on the farm

Just in case you hear a rumor that nothing cute ever happens on the farm.

Also there are two kittens but I haven't managed to get a photograph of either of them yet.  I had a dream that they loved me but they don't actually.

back from Florida

As you may know, I was just in Florida for a week on an island called Cayo Costa.  I think these two pictures sum it up nicely:

Actually it was nothing like LOST, thank goodness because that would have been horrible and bizarre. 

I've been oddly tired all week, but today I felt a bit peppier.  I don't have much to say but it was requested that I post more pictures.  Here they are!

We've been doing lots of planting, but not as much as we'd like because it's been too damp.

The strawberries are doing quite well!

The cows are happily out on pasture

Kaylyn sent me a goat!  He's very cute.  I think his name is Arnold.

Meet the Farmer day!

(click for a bigger size)

April 19th- Nikiah Adam and Rosie visited yay!

I explained to Adam and Rosie and Nikiah today, the way I feel mostly isn't "wow this is so exciting!"  It's more that I feel that what I am doing is exactly right, that it is the best thing I could be doing right now.  I feel a calm sense of purpose and contentedness more than nerves or excitement, because I feel more that I am finally doing what I wished I had been doing for the last fifteen years.

That said, I do get excited when I make a meal involving ingredients from the farm, or when there's a new baby cow.  My heart swells when I see the sun rise through the misty trees.  I feel satisfied at the end of a long day when my muscles are tired and I have the feeling that I really deserve to rest and to eat, that I really need it.

Finally.