The ups and downs of the holidays are being matched by the up and down of the thermometer these days! It is bitter cold today in the wind and up here on the side of our hill. The horse and donkey are hanging out in their shed to have a windbreak and the pigs are resting inside the barn in the hay in the sunshine to soak up all the warmth they can. Yesterday Alan and Colin let the cows into the south shed to be out of the wind last night as they were wet from the snow and when the temperature started dropping and the wind picked up you just know it was going to be cold, cold, cold. After the warmth of the last week and the rain (which ruined all the snow that we had), our feeling of being acclimated was spoiled. Now we are wearing long johns and lined pants and about three shirts but chores are also abbreviated in the winter when you don't have to worry so much about the fencing, where to move the herd next, herd check for new calves and many other grazing season tasks. These last few days of the year you don't really want to work hard but there is always lots to do and catch up on. As a matter of fact, thanks to Colin for offering to attend both farmer's' markets this first January weekend, Alan and I had a whole day of chores only and then sleeping, reading, resting, brushing the dogs and doing nothing! We even were able to warm the turkey soup and not even cook! Nice change for the new year start.
Now a day later, we have 6 more inches of snow on top of the first 6 from Friday/Saturday. It is a lovely light, fluffy and fun to run through kicking up a wake snow. I had my new Christmas sled out for a run down the pasture and the dogs were joyfully running along beside me. My eyes got really big once when I really got going and I wasn't sure what lumps were under the surface to whack me good! Luckily the sled is a pretty hefty thickness. The skiers, snowshoers, sledders should all be thrilled with this lovely bonanza. The softness of the snow absorbs the sounds too and so it can be sooo quiet except for chickadees and an occasional snowplow far off on the main road. It is stilling snowing lightly. It seems like all outside is black, white and brown shades.
New free time in the next few months should offer us a time of planning and organization. Both Alan and I struggle with how to manage so many different topics. It seems hard to keep them up to date and not end up with multiple piles of paperwork all over your desk. We'll be working on trying different methods to stay ahead of the clutter and stay on top of the tasks at hand. I guess many of you also know the small business/organization blues of too much to do, and you do have to do it all and there are too few hands to make it all happen as you'd like it to be done. We are even ready to create a written strategic plan that is not just floating around in Alan's head and my head in different perspective versions. It is a little unbelievable when we realize how much we have accomplished in these last years of "making the farm self-sustainable" with few written procedures about anything - we would rather just do it. So a new decade and a new aspect to the business of farming.
Like ours, we hope your New Year is looking positive with opportunities for change, improvement, organization, and in January usually more exercise too. We resolve to better show our gratitude to our families, our friends, and our beautiful inspiring surroundings. Let the new decade begin! With many thanks for being part of our lives, Nancy and Alan
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Monday, December 28, 2009
December news from the farm,
We all finally feel a bit rested from the whirlwind of the 3 Thanksgiving deliveries one after the other. Our backs were pretty tired and we just wanted to do anything but work in the walk in freezer! So the holiday was a welcome respite from the hustle and our family dinner at Uncle Walt’s was a delicious and warm success. We all bring our “usual” dishes with the flair of different recipes each year. This year I made 2 cranberry delights; Mom’s fresh relish with oranges, lime, lemon, cranberries and maple syrup all finely chopped and mixed in the blender and my new blueberry, currant, cranberry and maple syrup compote cooked for about 10 minutes and deliciously juicy. It was a wonderfully warm day and a baseball game and a football game perked up the kids’ appetites.
The warm weather as been very welcome but it seems odd that the ground is still very soft and the big rain this week made for some pretty muddy tractor tracks up into the pastures. We are taking advantage of the lack of the warmth and began feeding the cows hay up in the hilly pastures by the house. Until a bit of snow and ice deter Colin from wanting to drive up the steep slope with a big round bale on the front and back of the tractor, we’ll be able to have the cows fertilize these fields and also introduce more varieties of forage from any leftover hay. When the snow arrives, the herd will move to the flatter fields at the Waite’s part of the farm.
The slow down of our pace has allowed me to get back to the local yoga class periodically to stretch out those back muscles and spend some time with my sister and niece over the holiday weekend. Alan has been keeping up a robust pace. He has been creating an acceptable Town of Jackson annual budget and trying to pare down the Washington County annual budget. In November he had to run for re-election for town supervisor against his first opponent in 15 years. He won! Only half of the 1000 voters turned out for the vote. Now the next month is filling up with holiday events and getting ready for the snow.
Over the weekend to our amazement, we had our first snow and it was a beauty. It was one of those light, fluffy, big flake afternoons with our dark colored dogs looking like reverse dalmations. The snow stuck to every surface, twig and windshield. It was just enough to cover everything and turn our little valley into a white snow bowl looking suitable for skiing. The cows were a bit surprised to find all their hay and grass had disappeared but were eating it and finding the grass underneath! It was a bit harder than usual for the tractor to make it up the steep hill but Alan, the expert driver that he is (on the tractor and in the delivery van!) made it to the top. Today it is all still here; not much melting happening and there will likely be more by Wednesday! I just wish the ground would freeze! Hope you are all staying warm on those windy streets!
We hope you all have a wonderful December season and stay warm and be healthy!
Best wishes, Nancy & Alan
We all finally feel a bit rested from the whirlwind of the 3 Thanksgiving deliveries one after the other. Our backs were pretty tired and we just wanted to do anything but work in the walk in freezer! So the holiday was a welcome respite from the hustle and our family dinner at Uncle Walt’s was a delicious and warm success. We all bring our “usual” dishes with the flair of different recipes each year. This year I made 2 cranberry delights; Mom’s fresh relish with oranges, lime, lemon, cranberries and maple syrup all finely chopped and mixed in the blender and my new blueberry, currant, cranberry and maple syrup compote cooked for about 10 minutes and deliciously juicy. It was a wonderfully warm day and a baseball game and a football game perked up the kids’ appetites.
The warm weather as been very welcome but it seems odd that the ground is still very soft and the big rain this week made for some pretty muddy tractor tracks up into the pastures. We are taking advantage of the lack of the warmth and began feeding the cows hay up in the hilly pastures by the house. Until a bit of snow and ice deter Colin from wanting to drive up the steep slope with a big round bale on the front and back of the tractor, we’ll be able to have the cows fertilize these fields and also introduce more varieties of forage from any leftover hay. When the snow arrives, the herd will move to the flatter fields at the Waite’s part of the farm.
The slow down of our pace has allowed me to get back to the local yoga class periodically to stretch out those back muscles and spend some time with my sister and niece over the holiday weekend. Alan has been keeping up a robust pace. He has been creating an acceptable Town of Jackson annual budget and trying to pare down the Washington County annual budget. In November he had to run for re-election for town supervisor against his first opponent in 15 years. He won! Only half of the 1000 voters turned out for the vote. Now the next month is filling up with holiday events and getting ready for the snow.
Over the weekend to our amazement, we had our first snow and it was a beauty. It was one of those light, fluffy, big flake afternoons with our dark colored dogs looking like reverse dalmations. The snow stuck to every surface, twig and windshield. It was just enough to cover everything and turn our little valley into a white snow bowl looking suitable for skiing. The cows were a bit surprised to find all their hay and grass had disappeared but were eating it and finding the grass underneath! It was a bit harder than usual for the tractor to make it up the steep hill but Alan, the expert driver that he is (on the tractor and in the delivery van!) made it to the top. Today it is all still here; not much melting happening and there will likely be more by Wednesday! I just wish the ground would freeze! Hope you are all staying warm on those windy streets!
We hope you all have a wonderful December season and stay warm and be healthy!
Best wishes, Nancy & Alan
We are always amazed at the beauty of the blend of colors in the foliage at this our favorite time of year. It is time to ready ourselves for the “resting period” of the winter. There are so many things to do before the ground freezes and the snow flies to prepare. As we prepare we can appreciate the fall colors, sleep longer in the morning, harvest the fall crops from our garden, and smell the first wisps of wood smoke from our beautiful old parlor stove in the kitchen. There are new smells under the sugar maple trees on the front lawn. The woods smell different too. I love the blend of hardwoods, hop hornbeam, witch hazel, maples, cherry, various oaks, poplars, shagbark hickory and their nuts with their own distinctive smell. We cut our own firewood from any dead trees along the edge of the woods where we can drive a truck so it can be harvested late and still be quite dry by the time we start having fires in the stove each day.
The less glamorous tasks also need to be done. We winterize all of the tractors and haying equipment and put them in the sheds. We make sure the 2 tractors that can feed hay all winter long are ready to go. We put up the storm windows on our old story and a half Greek revival home. We are STILL fixing fences – this work is never done! We clean up all the veggie and perennial gardens and the pigs rummage through all the remaining vines to look for delectable treats. We clean up the pig and cow barnyards and make our big compost piles to spread on the pastures early in the spring. We don’t like to rake leaves on the lawn so the mower chops them all up to provide nutrients for the grass.
Our priority project is the new barn. We are outgrowing our space for collecting all the farm products and splaying them around us in the old milk house to pack all of your orders. I went on the 2 trips to the city this month and Alan and I spent the travel time planning the layout of the new space, the furnishing possibilities, and the deadline of getting the “new” used freezer hooked up before the turkeys arrive. We saved this freezer from demolition of an old diner that was in town for years and was being smashed for a new building. It is bigger than our existing walk-in freezer and will be a great thing to have ready soon. We are hoping for the time to make Adirondack style tables from our black walnut branch inventory to use for workspace. The closets are tucked under stairs. The closed foyer serves as a drop off point for the farms if we are not there. The doors all need to be wide enough to use carts for moving the coolers and boxes to save Sandy’s and my back from all that carrying. Alan and Colin and Herbie have done all the work so far beginning with the footings and slab foundation, framing, roofing and interior work of wiring, sheathing, installing windows, insulating and sheet rocking the pacing room. We will finally have lots of room, storage, and easy access freezers in a new barn without the cobwebs and combination hay storage area of the Waites Lane barn where everything is now.
enjoy, the Brown's
The less glamorous tasks also need to be done. We winterize all of the tractors and haying equipment and put them in the sheds. We make sure the 2 tractors that can feed hay all winter long are ready to go. We put up the storm windows on our old story and a half Greek revival home. We are STILL fixing fences – this work is never done! We clean up all the veggie and perennial gardens and the pigs rummage through all the remaining vines to look for delectable treats. We clean up the pig and cow barnyards and make our big compost piles to spread on the pastures early in the spring. We don’t like to rake leaves on the lawn so the mower chops them all up to provide nutrients for the grass.
Our priority project is the new barn. We are outgrowing our space for collecting all the farm products and splaying them around us in the old milk house to pack all of your orders. I went on the 2 trips to the city this month and Alan and I spent the travel time planning the layout of the new space, the furnishing possibilities, and the deadline of getting the “new” used freezer hooked up before the turkeys arrive. We saved this freezer from demolition of an old diner that was in town for years and was being smashed for a new building. It is bigger than our existing walk-in freezer and will be a great thing to have ready soon. We are hoping for the time to make Adirondack style tables from our black walnut branch inventory to use for workspace. The closets are tucked under stairs. The closed foyer serves as a drop off point for the farms if we are not there. The doors all need to be wide enough to use carts for moving the coolers and boxes to save Sandy’s and my back from all that carrying. Alan and Colin and Herbie have done all the work so far beginning with the footings and slab foundation, framing, roofing and interior work of wiring, sheathing, installing windows, insulating and sheet rocking the pacing room. We will finally have lots of room, storage, and easy access freezers in a new barn without the cobwebs and combination hay storage area of the Waites Lane barn where everything is now.
enjoy, the Brown's
fall raspberries
News from Lewis Waite Farm
We never seem to time it right to pick the last bowl of the late fall red raspberries. After a couple of frosts, they all are still hanging from the drooping canes looking way darker than they should be and some look a little grey. You would hope that the vibrancy of the berries that are left would be sucked back by the cane to the roots where the energy could be stored through the long cold winter. We love this raspberry that has two picking seasons! But by now all the annuals and some of the tender annuals have been frozen and are standing, browned, and waiting to be cut and piled and carried to the pigs to scavenge any goodness from their stalks. The garden and the perennial gardens cleanup is a big fall job done mostly on the warmer days so your hands don’t freeze trying to work the pruners all day. We still have golden leaves here on our hillside; many other places are bare of leaves except the golden tamarack tress that provide some of the last color of the season. Our maple trees were stunning this year, although way more yellow than their usual red, orange, yellow combination. It’s raining again today and the animals that have shelter, the pigs, horse, donkey, cats and dogs, are all inside curled up sleeping. Our newest batch of five small weanling piglets arrived this week. They are pros at sleeping in a heap, the proverbial pig pile. There are three pink pigs and two brown and black spotted ones. They are still learning the daily routine and getting used to us who visit them multiple times a day which so far scares them into a corner of their big farrowing pen. In a few days we’ll let them have a bigger area with another older pig that has an injured leg. Then they’ll have an older buddy to teach them the ropes. Right now all the fences in the pasture are set up for much bigger pigs so they’ll have to grow a bit before they can go outside ranging with the big ones or they will be trotting all over the place.
We are beginning to get ready for the onslaught of the turkeys. Consolidating all of the inventory into the tightest spaces possible to make room for the many boxes which will be arriving around mid November. Please check at your site in the next couple of weeks for the last vegetable delivery date, as some of the CSAs are ending before our Thanksgiving deliveries and you may be having a new distribution site for the week before Thanksgiving.
All of the turkeys and any regular orders for other foods for your holiday eating will be delivered on November 19 or November 21 or November 24.
In our website for you at www.csalewiswaitefarm.com there is a menu option for you to see all the delivery dates. We are making our best effort to keep this up to date and accurate so use this to double check when and where your distribution will be.
Beginning in December we start our once per month deliveries again. Most of your CSAs are participating and have found locations for the winter distributions either at your same summer location or at the home of many of the coordinators. We will enter these schedules soon so you can see the dates on the website as well.
Just a few more weeks left to CSA season – boy did it fly by this year. Hope you all are getting acclimated to the chillier weather – my sister in Boston and my nephew in Maine have seen snow already! So take care, be well, have fun and come and see us when you have a weekend up north! Best wishes, Nancy & Alan
We never seem to time it right to pick the last bowl of the late fall red raspberries. After a couple of frosts, they all are still hanging from the drooping canes looking way darker than they should be and some look a little grey. You would hope that the vibrancy of the berries that are left would be sucked back by the cane to the roots where the energy could be stored through the long cold winter. We love this raspberry that has two picking seasons! But by now all the annuals and some of the tender annuals have been frozen and are standing, browned, and waiting to be cut and piled and carried to the pigs to scavenge any goodness from their stalks. The garden and the perennial gardens cleanup is a big fall job done mostly on the warmer days so your hands don’t freeze trying to work the pruners all day. We still have golden leaves here on our hillside; many other places are bare of leaves except the golden tamarack tress that provide some of the last color of the season. Our maple trees were stunning this year, although way more yellow than their usual red, orange, yellow combination. It’s raining again today and the animals that have shelter, the pigs, horse, donkey, cats and dogs, are all inside curled up sleeping. Our newest batch of five small weanling piglets arrived this week. They are pros at sleeping in a heap, the proverbial pig pile. There are three pink pigs and two brown and black spotted ones. They are still learning the daily routine and getting used to us who visit them multiple times a day which so far scares them into a corner of their big farrowing pen. In a few days we’ll let them have a bigger area with another older pig that has an injured leg. Then they’ll have an older buddy to teach them the ropes. Right now all the fences in the pasture are set up for much bigger pigs so they’ll have to grow a bit before they can go outside ranging with the big ones or they will be trotting all over the place.
We are beginning to get ready for the onslaught of the turkeys. Consolidating all of the inventory into the tightest spaces possible to make room for the many boxes which will be arriving around mid November. Please check at your site in the next couple of weeks for the last vegetable delivery date, as some of the CSAs are ending before our Thanksgiving deliveries and you may be having a new distribution site for the week before Thanksgiving.
All of the turkeys and any regular orders for other foods for your holiday eating will be delivered on November 19 or November 21 or November 24.
In our website for you at www.csalewiswaitefarm.com there is a menu option for you to see all the delivery dates. We are making our best effort to keep this up to date and accurate so use this to double check when and where your distribution will be.
Beginning in December we start our once per month deliveries again. Most of your CSAs are participating and have found locations for the winter distributions either at your same summer location or at the home of many of the coordinators. We will enter these schedules soon so you can see the dates on the website as well.
Just a few more weeks left to CSA season – boy did it fly by this year. Hope you all are getting acclimated to the chillier weather – my sister in Boston and my nephew in Maine have seen snow already! So take care, be well, have fun and come and see us when you have a weekend up north! Best wishes, Nancy & Alan
The crunch is on for the fall and winter preparations to begin. So far we have missed the couple of light frosts that the lower valleys have had already. Our basil however is being all picked today! We have been enjoying the late raspberries too – they are the best! Lots of tomatoes are still waiting to be made into sauce this week too. Luckily between our Tuesday and Thursday delivery weeks, we have a little extra time to focus on farm and garden tasks. So since we’ve had all kinds of time, we decided it was time to finally get that rescue dog we have been talking about so we spend time in training! Lucy, Lucille, Lacy, we are still trying out names for her; she’s a sweet “follow you everywhere” German Shepard with a little something else that makes her tail really long and her legs very prettily shaded. She has black stripes on the top of each toe!
There has been a little growling with Shadow and Maggie, mostly about food, but we think she is adapting quickly and will be a great pal on herd checks through the pastures.
I’ll make it short this month since there are other announcements to follow.
Please take care, enjoy this lovely weather and fall colors and as always, come and visit!
Nancy and Alan
There has been a little growling with Shadow and Maggie, mostly about food, but we think she is adapting quickly and will be a great pal on herd checks through the pastures.
I’ll make it short this month since there are other announcements to follow.
Please take care, enjoy this lovely weather and fall colors and as always, come and visit!
Nancy and Alan
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