Week in Review - whew!

Sometimes things get crazy and when you finally take a breather, you realize it's Friday afternoon and you've got streaks of dirt on your face that you're sure have been there for days. I had one of those moments a little bit ago. It's a pretty good feeling, to have survived yet another hectic and crazy work week.

Here on the farm, we're in week 3 of our CSA and we're running at full speed. Things certainly didn't slow down after the squash fiasco on Monday morning. Contrary to our poor cucurbits, our tomatoes are alive and well - so well indeed that they needed a little tending to. We spent a few hours training their delicate vines around strings hanging from the top of the greenhouse. While we do this, we also pinch off any "suckers" that might be growing off the main stem. We do this because, as their name insinuates, they will only suck nutrients away and diminish the quality of fruit that the plant produces. The main stem continues to climb upwards, producing more "suckers" as well as other offshoots bearing yellow flowers which will then yield our desired fruit! There are already clusters of light green bulbs appearing on the vine, and soon these plant will be towering way high over our heads. I should start taking bets for when the first 'mater will be ready for eatin'!

Tuesday brought bouts and bouts of rain; nothing exceptional. Wednesday brought a bit of sadness as we lost a sweet Black Star chicken. This little lady had been with the farm since it's inception four years ago, and I guess she was just too worn out to keep going. Four years is a long time for a chicken. Thanks for all of your eggs, mama!

Wednesday was also the first day of the new farmer's market at Kendrick Park in Amherst, so that was a big deal for us. We had a lot of work- getting all of the produce ready for market as well as putting the Boston CSA shares together- but we got it done, and just in the nick of time! Jackie is our market maven and she set up a most beautiful display of our best turnips, salad mix, herbs, basil plants, garlic scapes, rainbow chard, and our delectable strawberries! It was great fun to walk around the park and check out the other great farms selling alongside us. My favorite was Bart's solar-powered ice cream stand. I was even able to trade a bag of spinach for a cup of amazing ice cream (double chocolate rasberry and local peach) - isn't that glorious?!Trading is probably my favorite thing about market. After a market has ended (or during, as it was in my case), vendors walk around and trade their goods for whatever they may desire. Jackie came away with an astounding amount of goat cheese from Sangha Farm, and there's really nothing else I could want more in the world. Good life.

The rest of the week was savoring the first snap peas of the season and taking on the big task of direct seeding winter squash to make up what we lost. I love the simple act of setting a seed down in the soil and covering it with dirt. It's raining now, so the seeds will get the moisture they need to germinate and make that magical transition from dormancy to aliveness. Simply magical!