Today, we say the first leaf turning color. Nooooooooooooooooooooooooo!
Late summer means early summer is over, and it’s true, fall is coming. Just a couple months ago weren’t we lamenting about the snow still being on the ground? This is a Midwesterner’s plight- constant complaining about the weather. We get to share this as a common thread, a community building exercise, really! Autmun is very exciting though, as it means harvest time on farms in the region. Tomatoes, garlic, cucumbers, peppers, cabbage, squash, beans, apples, etc all are measured by the eye for canning, cold storage and delightful ferments. Early spring’s busy work leads to early fall busy work, and it is a full circle, once again, on the farm. Work and be nourished.
the pavillion, with a mountain of garlic gleaned from our friend’s fields
the lady ducks on pasture- the eggs are still coming, just astounding girls we have!
All life comes to harvest moon time on a farm. Our 2nd group of broiler chickens are over a month old and will be harvested later in September. The turkeys are ravenous little babes, promising big fat Thanksgiving Turkeys in a few months. The group of 40 are now out in the big pasture, loping about and then lounging in the sun, eating grass, bugs and organic grains. The piglets are becoming pigs, and as the cool evenings come, so have their appetites grown.
Milking is still a twice daily routine, but as the peak of production has passed, the supply is limited for cheesemaking. When you have an abundance of milk in springtime, that’s when you need to make alot of hard cheeses to age for winter use. Hard cheeses are very labor intensive though, and during the springtime, time is short when you want to be outside enjoying the beautiful weather, and need to be gardening like a madperson. Ah, struggles and dilemnas.
Our wedding reception on the farm last weekend couldn’t have been more lovely. We had a giant tent rented by Andrew’s folks, tables and chairs and twinkle lights. The workshop pavillion was transformed into the buffet from heaven, all the guests brought amazing food and we had a delicious goat curry to share from the farm. It was a very special celebration of our marriage, with very special people who have helped us make our dream a reality here.
goat curry for 100 in the works
