This past week, with the help and encouragement of an amazing crew, we managed to disappear for a few days and catch our breath. For the four of us, this was a pretty big deal. Leaving the farm for any length of time during the growing season is a feat, so the fact that we accomplished our goal of camping for a few days near big water is a small miracle! Okay, so we didn't exactly skip town (several people knew we were leaving), but we did vanish for a spell and left the cares of the farm in the hands of a few reliable friends and employees.
We pulled into a campsite at Potawatomi State Park outside of Sturgeon Bay, and happily set up camp in the shade of a mixture of conifers and deciduous trees. Hemlocks, Sugar Maples, Yellow Birch and Basswood towered over our camp, rustling their leaves in the balmy late afternoon breeze. The cares and concerns of cows, crops and customers melted into the fire as we sat and waited for the stars to come out. Each day was punctuated by lavish campfire meals, bike rides around the park's wooded trails, and trips down to a pebbly limestone beach where we delighted in trying our hands at skipping stones. Truth be told, the vast majority of the time was spent in a seated position, just plain chillin'.
Back at the farm, things got interesting for the crew when a thunderstorm came rumbling through on Tuesday morning. After 2 months of drought-like conditions, the sky opened up and dumped a whopping 3.5 inches on the land! The harvest crew took a big hit, getting totally soaked to the bone, yet the rain was a relief and it made them almost giddy. Thunder, lightening and even some pea-sized hail put a temporary halt to the harvest, but in spite of the delay, they managed to get the crops in on time. Way to go, team! The only road bump they encountered during our 3 day absence, was an inability to harvest the purple carrots. What, no purple carrots?!? It seems that the dry conditions prevented these prized purple roots from growing as quickly and nicely as we had expected, so the decision was made to abort the mission and fall back on our trusty orange guys. (If you were one of the folks anticipating those purple carrots, do not despair!! They are still coming on, and will eventually make an appearance in your share.)
At the end of the day, your farmers returned to the farm both refreshed and rested. And it's a good thing too, because we still have a good stretch of weeks ahead of us for the CSA! Stay tuned, a late planting of sweet corn is on the horizon...!
