Since the years tend to meld together in my brain, there are a few tricks I use to keep track of how long we’ve been doing things around here. I can (usually) remember how old Eli is, so I just work back from that — we started farming a year before Eli was born, and we got married at the end of the first season of farming. So as Eli turns thirteen, it signals to me that we’re nearing the end of our fourteenth season farming, as well as celebrating our fourteenth wedding anniversary. Hard to imagine how much things have changed on the farm since making our first CSA home deliveries in our old blue Subaru station wagon, with the A/C on the fritz and an sweaty toddler Eli wailing away in the backseat and grasping wildly for any leafy green choking hazard within reach. Happy birthday on Sunday to our big thirteen year old, who still wants to be a farmer and also now a politician when he grows up. We’re so glad you survived the endless kale choking hazards we put near you in your earliest years.

Remember when Maple brought a backbone out of the woods a few weeks ago? We thought it must have been the bones of our long-last calves from last year. But the mystery deepens, because this week she proudly dragged in a full skull and attached eight-point rack of buck antlers. This time she didn’t actually seem to know what to do with it, and worriedly circled around until we took it away to hang in the barn. So now we’re back to not knowing what happened to the calves, and we wonder what Maple will bring home tomorrow. Can’t wait.

Remember that 1pm on Saturday, October 20th will be the annual Hatchet Cove Farm potluck/cider-pressing/garlic popping party. We hope to see you all there! I’ll send out more details as we draw near to the date.

Have a great week!

Reba and Bill

Fall Vegetables Week 2: Lettuce Mix or Lettuce Head, Big Tomatoes, Cherry Tomatoes, Green or Napa Cabbage, Beets with Greens, Kale, Garlic, Red/Green Peppers, Butternut Squash

Fall Week Two Add-ons: Cheese, Milk, Mushrooms, Oil & Vinegar, Bread, Apples

This week’s recipe: Pasta with Kale Pesto and Roasted Winter Squash

Fall Cheese Week Two, Fall Fiore Week Two