July 28th, 2020
What’s in your share?
Celery
Salad Mix or Head Lettuce
Carrots
Italian Tropea Onions
Cucumbers
Heirlooms Tomatoes
Sungold Cherry Tomatoes or Shishito Peppers (not spicy)
Way back when, before I knew anything about growing food, what initially drew me to farming, was the lifestyle that I imagined farming implied. To farm went beyond any career choice; for us, to choose to farm meant to choose a way of life. While growing food for our community enables us to “make a living,” this way of life supports us in immeasurable ways.
A central element in our life here on the farm is the fact that we share this home with others. Currently there are eight of us living together in a very cozy space. We choose to live communally for many reasons, and we do so with intention. We rally around shared values that involve a commitment to self-sufficiency, communication, teamwork, ecology and well-being. We share nightly meals, weekly house meetings, conversations, laughter, adventures in the woods, and chores, while strategically occupying a small, unaccommodating kitchen, and one almost functioning bathroom (we did just build an outdoor composting toilet to carry some of the load). When everything happened with the virus, at first it didn’t seem as though much had changed here. We had food, we had each other, we felt grateful. Living this way doesn’t go without its challenges, to be sure. You give and you receive; there are sacrifices made, but so much gained.
While the three of us comprise the core farm crew, the farm couldn’t exist without the other members of this home. Orlee dedicates time helping in the field every week and is our onsite herbalist, who we seek out for her vast and ever-evolving knowledge of medicinal plants. Taryn also helps out processing and making the ferment each week; her laughter and lighthearted spirit are equally, if not more so, appreciated during those long days spent in the pack shed together. Clay may actually know more about plants than us farmers, working at the horticultural conservatory, taking care of more plant babies than we’ve ever even dreamed of. If there’s ever anything wrong or broken, Case can pretty much fix anything, and he’ll unhesitatingly drop whatever he’s doing to help. And Shaun seems to show up in the field when we need him most, sensing when our stress level is high and another hand is needed.
There wouldn’t be a farm without this crew. Together we care take the land and our home. And while this farm life isn’t exactly what I imagined, it’s actually more than I imagined possible, in so many ways.
It really does take a village, and that includes all of you, more than we can say.