Week 5 July 24th

Kyle stayed on the farm yesterday and with the help from our volunteer Joyce tackled some early in the week harvesting and then weeding in what I call the “first garden”. Joni and I took off after dropping Ryah at Little Farm School and met up with Ruby who owns Pine Root Farm and her daughter Juni. Both of us are feeling hard July farmer burnout and needed some mountain scenery to re-ground. We carpooled up into Evans notch and spent the morning hiking the White Cairn Trail off the Stone House Road. It was a slow hike, lots of stopping for snacks and collecting items for fairy houses, and we kept re-motivating with the promise of chocolate chips at the designated turn around spot. We looked at fallen logs half rotten by rain and time, thick beech stands, funny rocks, and streams gone dry just to a trickle. We left some fairy objects in an old stump that might be home to a gnome and brought a few found trinkets home in a bag for later construction. Moon frolicked in the woods running back and forth amongst the kids and I absorbed his obvious joy of being in a new place taking in the peace of the weather and being off the farm. We didn’t make it as far as my original hope, but the kids ended happy and spent the whole car ride home chatting and giggling, a sure sign of a successful outing. Evan’s notch has always been a favorite spot of mine, having spent weeks working on the East Royce Trail during my trail work summers, as well as patrolling all the various loops and ridges the Appalachian Mountain Club maintains. The Baldface circle trail is a hike I try to do every year, something magical and appealing abouts its long open rock ledges and views. Last year my friend and I completed it on a perfect November day via the Slippery Brook Trail avoiding the steepest ledges so I could bring the dog, seeing no other humans for the entire 10mile loop. Today was a child sized hike but satisfying in its own way, a readjustment in expectations, the simple pleasure of sharing the mountains with friend, dog and children.

Please take 8 items and PYO Basil. If you took cucumbers last week please leave those for someone else as they are still not in full production yet.

• Green Beans

• Fennel

• Cucumbers

• Summer Squash/Zucchini

• Beets

• Carrots

• Sweet Green Peppers

• Green Yellow Onions

• Green Red Onions

• Parsley

• Kohlrabi

• Crisp Head Lettuce

• Kale

• Chard

• Sungold Tomatoes

• Red Radishes