the Crossroads Companion

Just like I followed the yoga wave that flowed off the west coast to the midwest mainstream in the early 2000s, I am joining the millions of Americans now trying to learn how to meditate. I’ve been at it for over a year now. After reading [...]

Sitting around a fire the other evening with some farm friends (social distancing of course!), we were talking about seasons and how we feel the rhythms and pulses of the natural world around us. For one friend, the visual changes are what [...]

There’s this Ani DiFranco song where she sings, “When I look down, I miss all the good stuff. When I look up, I just trip over things.” I have always loved this line. I don’t hear it in a pessimistic, the universe is [...]

The Mellowhood Connection For those of you who know about our efforts to provide families in Madison’s Meadowood neighborhood with free, healthy food, this newsletter will be redundant.But… if you haven’t heard and would [...]

Making it Through the Heat It’s hot. You know this. We know this. We thought you might be interested to hear how our crew makes it through the heat.  Here’s how we do it: Conversation. Lots of conversation to help pass the time and [...]

Leapfrogging Cells Recently my mother asked me to try and explain how and why farming can be so stressful this time of year. For years she’s heard me say it’s a crazy time of year, but she wanted more details. Here’s my attempt [...]

Our farm is made up of two parcels of land.  We commute ( a rough 4 minutes) between these two parcels. On the weekends, it means I drag our 3 children to the main farm operation to do all the watering chores and to feed the pigs. Usually they [...]

In mid April, as the the reality of the pandemic was setting in, we got worried. We knew veggie shares would be in high demand due to closed or restricted farmers markets, and for that we were (and still are!) very grateful. However, due to the [...]

Farm Steady Every week this season, I’ll be sharing with you a little sliver of my life here on the farm. Our culture has lost its connection to the process of growing food, to being deeply and daily tied to what sustains us. I share with [...]

COVID-19 & the Farm: FAQs and Updates To our 2020 veggie share members and folks considering joining: May you be well. We wanted to write and assure each of you that our veggie share program is still happening this season! People need to [...]

You all belong to the tribe of the farm faithful.  You are amazing.  You are committed to eating local AND organic in a real way. You’re not just in it for the sweet corn.  You have a developed pallet with the ability to cherish [...]

Frozen II & the Ho-Chunk Nation ****Spoiler Alert*** This newsletter contains references to the new Disney Frozen II film. Don’t read on if you wouldn’t like general plot references to the film. *** Over the Thanksgiving holiday, [...]

A growing buzz in the local farming community is that CSA isn’t remaining solvent. Whether it’s because the local and organic argument isn’t strong enough, pick-up windows are too short, organic vegetables are easier to obtain [...]

I want to describe a particular moment in the fields, a moment of wonder that brings me great joy. During this spell where the snow is no longer on the ground but the ground isn’t completely wet and soggy, is a perfect time to mulch our [...]

In the cold months, my work day changes pretty drastically. I go from constant stress, long days, people management, and physical labor outside to half days at a computer by myself and the other half spent with my small child. In the morning [...]

At a late September local harvest dinner at a nearby colleagues’ farm, I caught eyes with a man standing in front of a TV camera. Wisconsin Public Television’s Wisconsin Foodie was at this event recording. The man looked super [...]

On the way to the bus stop this morning, my 10 year old daughter was lamenting that she didn’t want snow and cold on Halloween. She wasn’t just complaining, she was weeping.  I acknowledged she was bummed about it, but I asked her to [...]

I can happily say that the list of things remaining to do in our fields this season all fits on a single sheet of paper. The season began in late February when we fired up the heaters and began seeding onions. We were in full greenhouse nursery [...]

Our fall brassicas, namely our broccoli and cauliflower at the new land, have been hit hard with a very common pest – the cabbage moth and their babies, the cabbage moth caterpillar. Brassicas are the vegetable family that include [...]

At book time tonight, my 4 year old came in wearing a striped black and white shirt, a green tank top on top of the shirt, brown striped pants, and pink shorts over her brown pants. It was adorable. I laughed at all her funny layers. Her layers [...]

A couple weeks back we had our annual crew meal. This is where we treat our hard-working field crew to a fancy meal at Sardine. We love going to Sardine because a) the food is delicious and b) they are the real deal in terms of farm to table [...]

Amongst the many awesome reasons to support local agriculture, particularly through a CSA membership, is one you may not think of often. You prevent food waste. First, by participating in a customizable CSA you help reduce waste by being able to [...]

As you may or may not know, our family moved residences this season. For a decade we lived at the farmhouse on Hwy J, at the Crossroads of Highway P and Highway J. When we first moved there, I obsessed about all the traffic that occurs from 4:30 [...]

One of the things I love about being a truly seasonal vegetable eater is that it makes me deeply appreciate certain meals and flavor combinations during certain times of year.  You know how that sweet potato dish you have at Thanksgiving, and [...]

This morning was back to school morning for us just as it was for many of you. As we were taking our morning dog walk in the fields, my eldest asked me how it could be that summer just seemed to go so much faster this year. I responded by saying [...]

Outside my office window, the goldenrods are blooming. Meanwhile I can hear the goldfinches flitting around as they enjoy the perennial sunflowers planted around the house. Chip chip chip. Chip chip chip. Goldfinches + goldenrod = good times at [...]

For the last 3 seasons, Mike has made it possible for me and the girls to take a week-long vacation in the middle of the summer.  This year, for the first time, I got to return the favor! Mike took the girls up north to the Bayfield area. They [...]

I am so excited to share this with you all! Growing for Market, a national farming trade publication, came to interview us. With permission from Growing for Market we are sharing the text of the article with you. It’s a dense one and you [...]

Green Life Philosophy One of our CSA members writes an inspiring blog on how to incorporate simple sustainable actions into everyday life. She also happens to meal plan with her CSA box every week. The plans are wonderful and really show how one [...]

Field Chat One of the things I love about farming is the field chat.  Some days we are moving from task to task fairly quickly, or I’m doing more managerial things, so I don’t get to be a part of the field chat. But sometimes, [...]