Archives

Mary Oliver’s Blueberries The very first farmer I worked for used to quote Mary Oliver in the fields. I have never been much of a poetry reader, but this winter at an airport bookstore I [...]

Busted Knee & the Team Shines The longer I do this job, the more I consider myself a person who puts out fires. Aka problem solving. Farming is full of the unexpected and constantly requires [...]

Last week the first red berries (trash red lipstick is what we call them) became visible in the field. As I always do, I took out our new crew members and proceeded to do a training on how we [...]

I can still remember at my first farm job, 23 years ago, when my boss, Farmer Claire, said to me: Lettuce is dumb, but kale, I’ll make my million with kale. At the time, I didn’t really [...]

The other day I was walking with a dear friend whose husband is an apple farmer. In our life catch-up, she mentioned how November seems to be a really hard time for her partner. You ever have a [...]

Born to Corn It’s sweet corn season! This morning we started the day with a sweet corn picking training. Like all trainings, I cover both the system of how we do things to stay organized [...]

Dirt-Washed Jeans Fashion fads crack me up. I now love to wear what we used to call Mom jeans when I was a teenager. My teen now wears the same style of corduroy pants I wore in high school. [...]

Farm Family About a year ago, our 9-member, all-woman pack line volunteers started a book club. The boss doesn’t always get included in the social going ons of the farm, so I was tickled [...]

Where’s the Implement? The film, “My Old Ass” is a lovely film about growing up, living in the moment, the power of love and the passage of time. I passed part of the gloomy [...]

The Chip Trio: Barn Kittens! Last Wednesday morning, a fellow farmer posted a picture of 2 adorable kittens she’d lived trapped and asked if any other farmers would be interested in [...]

Squirrel Belly The high winds of last week denuded the colorful trees in just a couple of days. That, coupled with daylight savings, has made it feel almost instantly hibernate-y out there. [...]

Happy Accident At the farm we raise raise hogs for employees and family. This year I have joked that the pigs are of a cursed season. Usually we raise 4 hogs. This year, the day the hogs were [...]

The Sour Patch Time We have down-shifted into the fall shares, where much of the food you receive has already been harvested. We still have to wash and pack it, but the hardest of the work has [...]

The Generosity – Hurricane Help  Upon returning from wholesale delivery and site sweeps for CSA bins last Thursday, Seth Jake pronounced to Matt (our pack shed manager), “You are [...]

The Goldilocks Time  These dry, sunny, cooler days have been absolutely phenomenal. Words can’t describe, really, how amazing it is to work outside when it’s cool in the mornings and [...]

Green Spotted Potatoes?  Hello folks! Well the sun and wind has finally done its thing, and we are back to harvesting potatoes again. Woohoo! Our potato yields this year aren’t great. [...]

Pneumonia and Potatoes I have been procrastinating writing this newsletter, because there isn’t much creativity happening for me. My mind is completely preoccupied with pneumonia and [...]

Time with My Mind When I was young, I had long thick blonde hair. In high school teachers would ask me if I dyed it. I was very offended, as I have always been more of an au natural kinda person. [...]

The Yellow Time of Coasting The farm is like a quilt that we stitch together and unstitch season by season. Crop rotations mean that the patterns change every season. Each year the weather is [...]

Heirlooms and Pistachio Milk Recently I enjoyed a celebratory meal at Mint Mark in Madison. A menu item really piqued my curiosity – heirloom tomatoes with pistachio milk. I couldn’t [...]

The End of the Stratford Court Era! For 18 years, Jim and Gayle have opened their home on Stratford Court as a pickup site for our Middleton members. They have done so graciously and have always [...]

Honey Braised Turnips and Greens with Bacon

Learning Spanish for the Farm My goal is to farm for at least another 10 years – perhaps more if my body will allow me to do so. I have no idea how much things will change in another 10 [...]