Are you getting back into the swing of things? Summer vacation can get everyone out of rhythm. Now that school is back in session and the Chiefs are about to start playing, we can finally get some rhythm back in our lives, right? We were just discussing as a family how farming provides a lot of rhythm to our lives. Every day of the week is slightly different based upon the jobs that we need to do. The regular schedule is nice. Mondays we harvest carrots and radishes, Tuesday we are harvesting kale and bunching greens. Wednesday we harvest greens, wash produce and weigh and bag items. Thursday morning we are boxing CSA boxes and doing deliveries, Friday we're boxing more CSA boxes and preparing for market. Saturday it's up early for market. Sunday we're resting from our labor and participating at church. Then it's back to the Monday routine again.
As farmers we also have a rhythm of the seasons that marks out some times of the year from other times of year. We find ourselves fitting into something bigger than ourselves. Although we have some freedom in the tasks we undertake each day, there is a method to the madness and a structure imposed upon our lives. I think that's good. The idea of complete freedom without constraint or boundaries may sell Jeep Wranglers. TV ads will show a shiny Jeep parked on the pinnacle of a mountaintop flanked by a picturesque sunset, but in reality, complete freedom isn't healthy or even fun (And even that Jeep can't go up some mountains or cross some streams no matter what the ad may make you think....just read the fine print in the commercial). We need guide-rails to our lives. We need a direction. We need a mission. We need a rhythm. Don't believe me? Ask students who were so glad to get the summer off from school or the retiree after a couple months without an alarm clock. Listless? bored? aimless?
So it's a good thing school is back in session. And though it takes some time to get back into the groove. That groove can be healthy. Some call it a rut. I call it a blessing.
Farm Transitions
We are swinging into fall preparations. The farm fields are transforming and filling with final crops for the year. The last week of the CSA is October 13-16, so we are not at all winding things down. If anything we are winding things up for a strong finish and a good start to winter. Things are looking really beautiful and we're anticipating a good fall harvest. I love it when a plan comes together and we're blessed with good weather to make it happen. There are so many things that could go wrong with farming, and even though we had a tornado rip through, it has been a pretty good season so far.
Sad Ginger
I promised we'd start harvesting ginger in September so we're holding to that, but unfortunately the beautiful ginger has taken a turn for the worse. Some areas are doing well, but some is dying back. We've had this issue before and we thought we had solved the problem, but apparently not. We're going to first harvest the sick ginger to make room for other crops and to hopefully stop the spread of the sickness among the plants. So that means that these first few harvests of ginger will be imperfect ginger as we let the healthy stuff keep growing and thriving. You'll likely have to cut out some soft and rotten parts so we're knocking down the price so you can salvage something useful. It won't be the beautiful ginger you are used to quite yet.
Bread and Cheese
Farm to Market Rosemary Olive Oil Artisan Loaf
Hemme Brothers Garlic Dill Curds
Hope you can embrace "getting in a rut" with us,
Dave and Sheri
