Let's Make Up

red and yellow onions waiting to go to their new homes

   I can sense it in the air, a slight sweetness with a hint of chill that makes the tips of my toes cool enough at night so they are pulled into the covers during most of my dreaming.  There is a golden hue settling into the forest and the soybean fields are brown patches waiting for the harvester to come through and give the last haircut of the season.  These things and more are signals to me that we are approaching fall, one my 4 favorite seasons.  Another signal is my father pulling out his bow and camouflage, maybe this year he will listen to my mother and bring home more does instead of the monster he has been tracking for a few years with his stealthy cameras which has been massively glorified by many a campfire story embellished by my brother.  This time of year a wave of reflection seems come to me again looking back on my life and ahead to my future.  Sometimes the entrepreneurial spirit in me is a curse more than a blessing and this year I am working to tame that voice that says "I can do that, I'll do that too" so that it instead whispers "This is enough and it is right where it all should be".
  OK OK, so maybe we are having a couple birthdays coming and that is the true reason for the poetic tone pouring out today.  I am going to be 38 next week and the farmer will be 40!  The American part of me is programmed to roll its eyes and act as though aging is actually suffering and a dreaded part of life but I should know better.  My years with hospice constantly remind me of this though the HUMAN part of me asks that I be more kind to myself and rejoice a bit in the gift of another year.  This fall I am working on healing from a 2nd surgery on the same foot which means I have a LOT of time on my hands and space in my mind to ponder all sorts of things while trying to ignore the itch to crawl across the floor and scrub that corner of all the grime (I'll clean better when I can walk).  I'm also hilariously spending time on Pinterest researching workouts that you can do with one leg-there are actually a lot out there!
So you are probably here to read more about what is going to be in today's make up box!  It was a very exciting day to decide that we actually had enough and then some of our OWN produce to make up the box that was postponed earlier in this wet season.

corn of the variation "FINALLY" :)

  Let's talk about corn.  "Knee high by the fourth of July" is a standard idea of where corn should be however we were planting our THIRD planting of corn when it was already supposed to be knee high.  Our first planting was growing amazingly ahead of schedule only to be drowned out.  The second planting followed the first planting so you can only imagine my excitement when I could see the browned corn silk from the kitchen window!  When it browns and dries it is a signal to the farmer that the corn is ready!  Sure you can buy corn at the grocery store year round, shipped from far away places and frozen in bags BUT you can never replace the taste of a fresh cob so I encourage you to think of the difference between the December corn and the corn you'll enjoy today.  You can eat it fresh without even cooking it, try it!
  Let's talk tomatoes, tomatoes and free range chickens...it happens every year and we haven't learned probably because we truly love that our hens are really freely ranging all over the farm.  SO, they know when the tomatoes are ripe before we do because they seek them out and eat them.  They rarely eat the entire glorious, heirloom, organic tomato but mostly a peck here and a peck there...which means that usually when they come ripe we don't have an abundance to share with members until the hens are put into their fall/winter home.  This is the time of year that we completely close off the flock from the farm and they move into their restored Girl Scouts cabin from camp Sacajawea; yet another signal of the changing seasons.

I love the art prints from Shavingkitvintage on ETSY

 Fennel!  This is an herb bulb that some of you will pull out of your box and say "what the heck is this?" but isn't it a beautiful work of art?  This plant has a flavor all its own, with tinges of anise.  The seeds are very flavorful and you've probably seen them inside of your Italian sausage.  Fennel also has some therapeutic properties and you can purchase the highest quality Fennel Essential Oil through me.  Fennel essential oil is steam distilled from the seeds and helps with nausea, colic, cramps, promotes milk supply for nursing mamas, relieves cough and calms flatulence :)

We are right back on track for the rest of the season.  Next week September 16th we will roll out box 8 as scheduled.  Please give us a call to make arrangements for the final chicken pick up and stay posted for harvest party plans for October!  Enjoy your fresh produce and thank you for supporting your local farm.