SPRING (!?) IS IN THE AIR.
The weather, as I am sure you are aware, has been crazy lately. Spring (and SUMMER) like temperatures, trees and flowers blooming, everything growing much faster than we would perhaps like! We spent yesterday outside, setting out broccoli and cabbage transplants to make room in our crowded greenhouse. It is hard not to get ahead of ourselves when it is this warm - hard to remember that we could still have winter weather around the corner. Luckily, brassicas are pretty hardy, and just in case, we covered them up with row cover to protect them from cold and the inevitable cabbage moths.While we worked, I couldn't help but reflect on some of the words we had heard over the weekend from Wendell Berry, at the Organic Association of Kentucky conference. He had spoken about the "human" element in farming. How farming cannot become just an industry, or technology will replace farmers. If farming is first and foremost an art, then there must be humanity in it. Good farming is aesthetically pleasing and beautiful - a place where there is a balance between the product you are creating and the homeplace. As I kneeled beside my husband with my hands in the dirt, as Further played on top of the compost pile a few feet away, as we let the sun and cool air refresh our overwintered skin - I felt the truth of those words. Yes, we are creating a product. We are making money, trying to become more efficient and knowledgeable so we can do better always. But we are also building a family and a home and a life. And we are ready for another season, even if spring seems to have come a little earlier than we might have hoped!-Hannah.
SPRING BABIES.
Spring has definitely sprung over at Bugtussle Farm - 100+ lambs and one new, very sweet calf. We are lucky to be able to walk a few minutes up the road to soak up this cuteness.
FARMING WITH A TODDLER.
We have been slow to post on our blog lately because – I’m sure you can guess what I’ll say next – we’ve been busy! But truly, we have! January and February were so mild and warm, we were able to get almost one third of the garden planted. And then, we spent most of March keeping little seedlings covered and bringing tomato and pepper plants inside every night to keep them from freezing! As of right now, we have an almost eerie feeling of being caught up or maybe even ahead of schedule. I keep looking around thinking surely we must be forgetting something.Further and I have been able to work in the garden much more than last season – which may not always necessarily be helpful! Jesse and I are learning patience with Further – trying to let him “help,” which means slowing down our pace. It means sometimes having to replant things he has dug out, or stopping what we are doing to show him (and show him and show him) how to walk in the path and not on the bed. Like I said, we’re still learning how to be good at this, to be patient.But he is doing great! And the gardens look good! And the strawberries are sizing up! Here are some photos from the past month or so as a little catch up.- Hannah.
BACK AT IT.
Well, as you can probably tell by our blog and internet presence, or lack thereof, we are back at it here in Bugtussle. We're planting, and starting seeds and getting ground worked up. It's a lot of work, a little soreness and a very welcomed feeling. I've never suffered from any sort of seasonal depression, but I have to say that I come close to it towards the end of February. I get antsy to get back in the dirt, to correct my mistakes. I get cabin fever. I wait, with baited breath, for the first favorable forecast so that I may finally start working towards feeding people.And we're going to feed a lot more people this year, which is very exciting. Our CSA is filling up quick and we have many returning members, several new ones, all great families. We had a shiitake party/workshop a couple weeks ago! That was great––we'll likely do it again next year. We've got thousands of transplants in the greenhouse ready to go into the garden. And we've done a lot of garden work to get the season going. Anyway, here's a bunch of pictures of what we have going on. And as always, bare with the sparseness of the blog through the growing months––we'll do our best to give regular updates!
