The 3 Bs: CSA Summer ” ’15 Week #14 (EO-B)

 In CSA Newsletter

1st Day of School

My weekly farm update can be summed up in 3 Bs: Back to School, Birthday, and Bounty.

Back to School:  Zea started kindergarten last Tuesday, and Edie began preschool.   Lazy summer mornings (for the girls) of lounging in pajamas and eating breakfast with the babysitter came to what seemed like an abrupt end. School supplies were purchased. Haircuts completed.  Lunches are packed the night before. Mom’s alarm is now set to make sure I can take care of the baby and get the older two to school on time. The days are much quieter when Mike and I come in for lunch or into the office. As the day goes on, more noise returns as first Edie and then Zea comes home. Edie and I now have special time with baby Juna where she is delighting in all the attention she gets from me while her big sister is away. Then at 3:58 we wait in the driveway for the schoolbus to round the bend. Another hour is spent lazing together, catching up on the day before it’s time for Mom to cook. The summer farm routine is now overlaid with the rhythms of school for the next couple of months – until it will change again into the winter routine.

Birthday: Edie turned 3 last Thursday.  So, mixed in with all the back to school hub bub, we squeezed in a birthday party, treats and a visit to school, and special surprises on her actual day. I like birthday number 3, as it seems to really burn into a kid’s brain that birthdays are officially awesome. Not only did Edie love having a party and cake and presents… she earned the all important rite of being allowed to deny nap-taking.  She has embraced this rite of passage wholeheartedly, exercising her new choice with great relish (and often through extreme exhaustion).

Bounty: Early September marks a very important point in the season – it’s bounty time.  All the crop planting is done, and almost all the weeding of crops is complete. At this point in the season, we get to exhale.  All the stressful times are past.  Now we get to focus purely on bringing in the bounty of what we have grown. All day long is focused on harvesting, post-harvest handling, and storage.  As crops come out of the beds, Mike preps the ground and plants the cover crop to replenish the nutrients we harvested.   Generally we get the one last blast of heat the first week of September, and then it cools down to general autumn awesomeness. It’s an absolutely lovely time of year.

Enjoy the bounty!

Sincerely,  Mike, Cassie, kiddos and crew

In the Box:

  • Broccoli
  • Beans, Green
  • Kale, Green Curly
  • Leeks
  • Pepper, Anaheim
  • Pepper, Carmen Pepper
  • Pepper, Bell Yellow or Red
  • Onion, Sweet
  • Tomatoes, various

REGs only:

  • Parsley

EOs only:

  • Potatoes, White

 

Weekly Recipes:

Wednesday, September 9th” EO Group B