As this Tropical November continues to keep us warm and working outside, it seems all the harder to sit indoors...so just a few words this week.
We're still finding weeds that need pulling, trees that need mulching, and kale that needs harvesting. Although the daylight is increasingly short-lived, we're out there until the end, keeping our hands dirty and our backs seeking the sun's weak warmth until darkness really descends. Granted, that means we're indoors by 5:30, which leaves us with lots of time to think about all the food we've spent so many months growing, harvesting, and preserving.
We eat so well! so much flavor! so much health! For this we are effusively grateful, each meal akin to a mini-Thanksgiving. We are, nonetheless, looking forward to the real holiday with much excitement.
So a happy and healthy Thanksgiving feast to all! May you spend the day with folks you care about, eating food you care about, talking on topics you care about. May merriment and mirthmaking prevail, may we all be refreshed in the beauty and joy that is the act of sharing food with others.
-Beth
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Friday, October 23, 2009
Oh, how our garden grows
Harvest Mania has come and gone here at the farm. It started gradually, the cold nights pushing us on: rushing to scythe oats and rye in the dusk of one late afternoon, gathering all the remaining green tomatoes in a last minute assualt on the three-sided "greenhouse," a final day spent harvesting potatoes from morning to evening. Then suddenly, the tipping point.
Monday it happened. Our comings and goings with wheelbarrows, carts, buckets, and baskets were the clues to passer-bys that all our carrots, beets, radishes, turnips, rutabegas, cabbage, leeks, millet, flax, quinoa, chard, spinaches, lettuces, and asian greens were being taken from the dirt and stored in our root cellar, basement, and refrigerator, as need be.
It was an all-day affair, and one that wasn't properly finished until mid-week.
Two things still remain. One: weeds. Tenacious and persistent, weeds should rightfully be included with death and taxes on Ben Franklin's list of the things to be sure of in life. If rain and sub-freezing temperatures allow, these tough, vegetative intruders will be pulled out of the ground as gardens are put to bed for the winter. If not, the rematch will go down in the far-off spring.
The other thing remaining in our gardens, is, of course...KALE. We can't eat it fast enough, and the plant puts up a long last stand before the cold gets the better of it. So we're preserving it as fast as we can, yet still it dominates so much of our landscape. In garden beds, yes, but also on the side of beds, in the pathways, on compost piles, in animal pens, between logs, alongside rocks. Kale is remarkable. What can we say?
Well, for one...EAT MO'! KALE!
Better yet, plant some yourself. Such a tiny seed, and yet it produces so much food, all season long. Go ahead, get some while you're thinking about it. You won't regreet it come next season.
~Beth
Monday it happened. Our comings and goings with wheelbarrows, carts, buckets, and baskets were the clues to passer-bys that all our carrots, beets, radishes, turnips, rutabegas, cabbage, leeks, millet, flax, quinoa, chard, spinaches, lettuces, and asian greens were being taken from the dirt and stored in our root cellar, basement, and refrigerator, as need be.
It was an all-day affair, and one that wasn't properly finished until mid-week.
Two things still remain. One: weeds. Tenacious and persistent, weeds should rightfully be included with death and taxes on Ben Franklin's list of the things to be sure of in life. If rain and sub-freezing temperatures allow, these tough, vegetative intruders will be pulled out of the ground as gardens are put to bed for the winter. If not, the rematch will go down in the far-off spring.
The other thing remaining in our gardens, is, of course...KALE. We can't eat it fast enough, and the plant puts up a long last stand before the cold gets the better of it. So we're preserving it as fast as we can, yet still it dominates so much of our landscape. In garden beds, yes, but also on the side of beds, in the pathways, on compost piles, in animal pens, between logs, alongside rocks. Kale is remarkable. What can we say?
Well, for one...EAT MO'! KALE!
Better yet, plant some yourself. Such a tiny seed, and yet it produces so much food, all season long. Go ahead, get some while you're thinking about it. You won't regreet it come next season.
~Beth
Monday, October 12, 2009
The leaves let go
After nearly a month of the most brilliant fall colors, the leaves are starting to collect in droves. This morning saw a thin layer of ice atop every container of water, and frost on the plants. We've all been busy worker bees. So much to do as the harvesting season draws to a close.
-kati
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Traditional Arts Fair 2009
September has brought us many days with beautiful clear skies and many visitors to the farm. We continue to move through this harvest season, putting food by for the winter and serving up the fresh foods to all who pass through the D Acre's doors.
On September 12th, we welcomed over 30 artists and nearly 100 fair participants for the 2009 Traditional Arts Fair. It was a unique celebration of traditional art and craft, as many local artists shared their skills with the wider community. Such workshops and demonstrations as bookbinding with Sheila Williams, fabric painting with Susan Wei, building with nature with Cynthia Robinson, dying wool using natural materials with Gary Hamel, blacksmithing with Rob Hudson, spoonmaking with Jim McHugh, and so much more! We went into the evening ready to enjoy a spectacular line-up of entertainment. We welcomed back The Modern Times Theater and their political Punch & Judy puppet show, as well as Bob Weick performing Howard Zinn's Marx in Soho. To end the night, nationally acclaimed barn dance callers and fiddlers, Jaqueline and Dudley Laufman, sent us swinging in each others arms and stomping the grass down under our feet.
All in all in was a wonderful event that is sure to keep buzzing around the area. We hope all who attended were able to take home a new skill or piece of knowledge about the simple time-honored skills involved in craft and art.
We hope to see you at the farm again soon.
-Regina
Monday, September 7, 2009
The Leaves, they are a-changin'
What a weekend here on the farm!
Hey there. Steph here, checking in on the recent happenings here at D Acres.
We hosted approximately 40-50 rock climbers in the hostel and on the grounds the entire weekend. It was like grand central station! We made sure everyone was well fed before hitting the crags every day, and I think it was much appreciated. On Sunday morning, we fed 30 or so guests from 7:30-8:30am before prepping for D Acres' monthly Farm Feast Breakfast for 72 people at 10am! We worked very well as a team
and completed the task with smiles on our faces.
I fed the pigs this morning and was greeted with grunts of satisfaction. Little Rocket was the first to begin tugging at my pants before I could get his meal to him.
Everyone has been so busy getting things together for the Traditional Arts Fair here at D Acres this Saturday (the 12th, be there or be square). Luckily, everything is falling into place nicely due to the dedication, motivation, and organization of on and all at the farm. I'm so excited! Check out our website at www.dacres.org to learn more about the Trad Arts Fair, including the schedule and presenter bios.
Karen has been working long and hard spear-heading the bulk of the harvest in time for fall. We are all doing our part weeding, preparing beds for the cold, and planting fall crops. You should have seen the size of the carrot that was harvested yesterday morning! Definitely a pounder, at least!
Hey there. Steph here, checking in on the recent happenings here at D Acres.
We hosted approximately 40-50 rock climbers in the hostel and on the grounds the entire weekend. It was like grand central station! We made sure everyone was well fed before hitting the crags every day, and I think it was much appreciated. On Sunday morning, we fed 30 or so guests from 7:30-8:30am before prepping for D Acres' monthly Farm Feast Breakfast for 72 people at 10am! We worked very well as a team
and completed the task with smiles on our faces.
I fed the pigs this morning and was greeted with grunts of satisfaction. Little Rocket was the first to begin tugging at my pants before I could get his meal to him.
Everyone has been so busy getting things together for the Traditional Arts Fair here at D Acres this Saturday (the 12th, be there or be square). Luckily, everything is falling into place nicely due to the dedication, motivation, and organization of on and all at the farm. I'm so excited! Check out our website at www.dacres.org to learn more about the Trad Arts Fair, including the schedule and presenter bios.
Karen has been working long and hard spear-heading the bulk of the harvest in time for fall. We are all doing our part weeding, preparing beds for the cold, and planting fall crops. You should have seen the size of the carrot that was harvested yesterday morning! Definitely a pounder, at least!
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Our hands show who we are
This week freshman orientation came to our compost piles. Shoveling through quite recognizable ox manure and rank chicken bedding, these students were remarkably willing and eager to get dirty. "No one will believe I did this! But I did!" - was the general sentiment.
Our potato beds and our ox pasture were transformed with similar well intentions.
Perhaps a piece of our life - the rhythms of working the land, living off of gardens and via hard work, aware of the sun and the seasons - stayed with these kids as well. Hopefully longer than the dirt they invariably washed off in the showers they were anticipating with great relief.
We, the residents of D Acres, got routinely dirty this week as well (though our dedication to showering is less reliable). Weeding (cabbage); cutting daises and yarrow; weeding (peppers); seeding daikon; weeding (squash); transplanting more cabbage; weeding (begone bindweed!); harvesting beans, carrots, turnips, beets, daikon, kale, cabbage, chard, tomatoes, greens; weeding (blueberries)...
...and that's just in the gardens. Henri and August stretched their legs pulling in brush, progress was made on the new greenhouse roof, spoons were carved, things repaired, animals fed, compost turned. Our hands bear the stains of our respective endeavors. We share in the pride of a calloused hand-shake.
Of course, it's not all work and no play. Last night was our monthly Open Mic event, at which guitars and bass strings pushed back our early bedtime. Tomorrow, Sunday, is our monthly volunteer day. Join us for a day, and enjoy a farm-fresh lunch! Next week, be sure to stop by for our combo Potluck/Pizza Night Sept.4, and our signature Farm Feast Breakfast on Sunday Sept 6.
And please don't overlook our Traditional Arts Fair. Sept 12, all day long - workshops, demonstrations, performances - check out our website or give us a ring for details. [www.dacres.org or 603-786-2366] From fiber arts to ceramics to woodworking to blacksmithing to music and theatrical performances, this is not an event to be missed. Promise.
Did I mention I've yet to be back a full week here at the farm?
That's right, all this work and excitement covers only the past six days. Yes, it's a busy place with lots going on. It's a beautiful, lush place - in the work being pursued, in the vibrancy of the people, in its verdant green-ness, in it's ideals. D Acres can be many things to many people, but you've got to make it here first. Come find out what D Acres means to you!
Merriment and wisdom to all ~
Beth
Our potato beds and our ox pasture were transformed with similar well intentions.
Perhaps a piece of our life - the rhythms of working the land, living off of gardens and via hard work, aware of the sun and the seasons - stayed with these kids as well. Hopefully longer than the dirt they invariably washed off in the showers they were anticipating with great relief.
We, the residents of D Acres, got routinely dirty this week as well (though our dedication to showering is less reliable). Weeding (cabbage); cutting daises and yarrow; weeding (peppers); seeding daikon; weeding (squash); transplanting more cabbage; weeding (begone bindweed!); harvesting beans, carrots, turnips, beets, daikon, kale, cabbage, chard, tomatoes, greens; weeding (blueberries)...
...and that's just in the gardens. Henri and August stretched their legs pulling in brush, progress was made on the new greenhouse roof, spoons were carved, things repaired, animals fed, compost turned. Our hands bear the stains of our respective endeavors. We share in the pride of a calloused hand-shake.
Of course, it's not all work and no play. Last night was our monthly Open Mic event, at which guitars and bass strings pushed back our early bedtime. Tomorrow, Sunday, is our monthly volunteer day. Join us for a day, and enjoy a farm-fresh lunch! Next week, be sure to stop by for our combo Potluck/Pizza Night Sept.4, and our signature Farm Feast Breakfast on Sunday Sept 6.
And please don't overlook our Traditional Arts Fair. Sept 12, all day long - workshops, demonstrations, performances - check out our website or give us a ring for details. [www.dacres.org or 603-786-2366] From fiber arts to ceramics to woodworking to blacksmithing to music and theatrical performances, this is not an event to be missed. Promise.
Did I mention I've yet to be back a full week here at the farm?
That's right, all this work and excitement covers only the past six days. Yes, it's a busy place with lots going on. It's a beautiful, lush place - in the work being pursued, in the vibrancy of the people, in its verdant green-ness, in it's ideals. D Acres can be many things to many people, but you've got to make it here first. Come find out what D Acres means to you!
Merriment and wisdom to all ~
Beth
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Ebb and Flow...
It's all an Ebb and Flow. I am here, here I am. Beautiful land, wonderful people with many gifts to share, whole foods to harvest, and cook, and eat together. Fall is approaching and it will be wonderful...
Jessica
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