The days are getting longer, and the paths around the farm, which have been treacherous running-water-over-ice, have almost turned to mud. I think that one of the most relieving things about farming is that there is absolutely nothing we can do to change the weather on a day-to-day basis. We are also happy to report that Elsie, Mark and Miriam have all repatriated to the farm and Tyler survived falling ice on the Penobscot Narrows Bridge (though the windshield did not). Seth has just returned home after a fruitless East Coast trip on the hunt for a Sprinter van…which means we’re still on the hunt. If anyone hears of a used Sprinter 3500 for sale, let us know! We’ve outgrown our little Toyota pick-up with the homemade insulated plywood cap, and we also need a vehicle that can help us keep the veggies above freezing in the kind of cold we’ve been having lately.
The root-cellared crops are surviving with a placid determination appropriate to dormant vegetables. Right now it’s developing into a kind of sci-fi zombie movie down there in which our little friend the red squirrel sneaks into the squash room in the night and bites many squashes, which go on to mold and rot and infect other unsuspecting neighboring squashes with their contagious mold spores. The differences are that 1. The squashes can’t see what’s coming, 2. They couldn’t scream and run away even if they could, and 3. Human lives are not at stake, only our ability to feed people squash and have a profit margin. BUT, if we happen to bring home a particularly victorious looking squash, we know why. The rest of the vegetables seem to be storing admirably well with only a slimy carrot or sprouty onion here and there. Today I plan to look into ways to deter and/or catch red squirrels.
In the life of the farm, ’tis the season for:
-Interviewing employees for 2014
-Speculating on whether or not the firewood in the woodshed will last the winter
-Wondering when the chickens will start laying a respectable number of eggs again
-Talking about wanting to trim and shingle the barn and waiting for the weather to agree
-Eating squash and butter, squash and butter, squash and butter. YUM.
Au revoir,
Anna
*This post has been shamelessly pilfered from this week’s CSA newsletter. Just so you know.
Love reading about your winter days on the farm. Thank you my dears! Miss you all.
– Kate, Loren and Ethan