Hello?!  Hello?!  Hello?!  Hello…o….o…o…?!

That is what you will hear if you happen to stick your head into our silo (see below) and call “Hello.”  You will be relieved to know this is now an OSHA-approved activity, since the giant metal silage-unloader that had been hanging by a rusty cable from the inside of the roof recently came down with a horrific bang at 6:30am about a week ago, all of its own accord.

It is also the sound of this blog calling out to its long-neglected readers.

Many things are happening on the farm this year and at this season within the year, as one might expect.  My days are spent for the most part in tending the young humans on the farm–Ada is four and a half years old and Elwyn is an awesome four months–which is an interesting, lovely, and occasionally hair-raising challenge.  Seth is tending the orchard, veggie crops and nursery and directing others in those areas.  Tyler and Elsie are still tending our dairy herd with excellent sense and caring.  We are milking seven cows once a day and raising up their calves–Claribel, Fennel and Delicata are the heifer calves and Mâche, Mustard, Mesclun and Potatoes are the steers.

A few of our sweeties with their human papa

Cheesemaking is underway, as you might have heard via facebook or our North Branch Creamery blog, so I won’t delve too much about that here.  Suffice to say that whenever I lay out the cash money at the co-op for what basically amounts to a cheese dependence, I am counting the days until I can eat myself satisfied on grass-fed, cave-aged hard alpine cheeses (aged Gouda, Gruyère, Tomme, and more).  On Monday (June 15) we poured the slab for the creamery-and-veggie building with a pro crew and today the first sills went down, so framing is officially underway.  This building will house the creamery, which includes a make room, brine room, and pack room, as well as an veggie section with cold storage rooms, washing, and packing areas.  Onward to a local food system!

Also out today is an article in the Bangor Daily that talks about many Millenial farmers, including us.  Danielle does a great job of laying out the aspirations and challenges of many farmers in our generation.

I would summarize the status of our farm to you if I could, but I can’t.  We are tuning up the vegetable and nursery operations, trying out new (to us) forms of labor, providing the dairy with long-needed purpose, letting Elsie forge herself a new role on the farm as prime cheesemaker, and looking forward to ever more fruit from the orchard and blueberry patch.  We are building a palace for food storage.  We continue to love each other dearly and find that we (still!) heartily enjoy each other’s company in those rare moments we get to spend all together.  Thank you for keeping us company along the way.