The Farm Blog

Photo: Ben Sklar Greetings Friends and Neighbors, November dawns clear-skyed, cloud-speckled and blue-eyed. Swollen Brook and River remember recent heavy Rains. Lingering Aspens splash silver-brown hardwood hillsides with brilliant yellow. The smell of woodsmoke and the sound of wood-stacking drift down-valley on the drying breeze. The vet meets us in the pasture to examine sodden,…

Photo: Ben Sklar Greetings Friends and Neighbors, Come Frost. Paint the Meadow glitter-bright before Sun crests the Ridge. Come hard Frost. Turn frozen footsteps black by mid-day. Early morning movements marked for all to see. Bend down the leaves of Tomato and Basil, Nasturtium. Translucent, wilted. Cooked by cold. Come Rain. Come Cold Rain. Bend…

Photo: Dick Mitchell Greetings Friends and Neighbors, We say our final goodbyes as darkness descends on a bright day of gathering. The cider presses are sprayed down, soup bowls washed, chairs stacked, musical instruments clicked into carrying cases, feasting tables folded and put away. Rain arrives on cue, tapping the metal roof as I lay…

Greetings Friends and Neighbors, The fourth to last Friday Soup and Bread Gift Distribution arrives and turns into an extravagant affair. The Distro band forms a quartet to serenade Father Sun as he drops below the Western Hills. The bouquet on the table includes riotous red Sumac and bright purple Asters. Three-year-old Hamish asks Erika…

Photo: John Hadden Greetings Friends and Neighbors, South Wind howls in the treetops, ushering in unseasonably warm nights and mild, moist days. If not for the lengthening darkness and the autumnal display on the hillsides, one could mistake the season for another. The Valley is postcard perfect this time of year. Brilliant foliage, abundant wildlife,…

Photo: Ben Sklar Greetings Friends and Neighbors, The arrival of a terminal diagnosis in our midst grabs us by the shoulders and gives a shake. If you’re reading this you are most likely still breathing. I notice my own breath, moving quietly as I write. Can we ever give thanks enough for this privilege? And…

Greetings Friends and Neighbors, Here is the lineup: Soup and Bread Gift Distribution this Friday 9/24, 4-6pm. We will have hundreds of loaves of fresh Bread and two delicious Soups, made from carefully grown and gleaned ingredients, all offered as a gift to anyone who is hungry for any reason. The Brush Brook Soup is…

Greetings Friends and Neighbors, Nearly sixty neighbors of all ages gathered in a circle in the hay meadow last Sunday evening for our Community Conversation, where we took time to honor and give voice to what has been and also began the process of imagining what could be.  This is a constant dance for us…

Photo: Ben Sklar Greetings Friends and Neighbors, Three bits of logistical news: We return to weekly Soup and Bread Gift Distribution this Friday 9/10, 4-6pm. Join us each Friday this month for fresh Bread and homemade Soups, assembled from carefully grown and gleaned ingredients. The Brush Brook Soup this week includes hearty chunks of our…

Photo: Evan Hoyt Greetings Friends and Neighbors, Words are powerful business. In a time of digitally-distanced-living, could it be true that the words we choose to type and speak extend ever-more-potent influence upon the world? The word spell – invoking magical power and influence, even dark deception – means simply to make meaning by arranging…