Week 7 August 7th

In the age of internet oversharing, I've become resistant to doing what feel like cheesy gratitude posts. I even jokingly thought perhaps I should balance out all the rosy Instagram farm and homesteading content by doing a farm fail page. It would be all too easy and realistic, with some shots of the kids being uncooperative or screaming thrown in. Someone has probably already thought of this, I haven’t bothered to check. Having said that, last week we had such an overwhelming outpouring of unsolicited volunteer and friend help it feels necessary and with genuine gratitude that I share about it here. Joyce has been volunteering with us since Joni was born, and she is typically here with us twice a week for anywhere from 2-4 hours at a time helping with anything and everything we are doing. She was here Monday and Wednesday last week weeding holes and picking beans. Jay was here Monday as well and helped Kyle harvest all of our cabbage that now sits happily in our walk-in cooler. Jay used to participate in our CSA at the Earle farm, and for the last few years has driven all the way here to Cornish to help us, as well as at our Conway field. My friend Jane asked to and took Joni swimming for a number of hours Tuesday which left me free to do emailing and cleaning. Ruby showed up with 4 of her Pine Root Farm interns on Thursday and got all of our early potatoes that were planted here bagged and into storage. Friday, Jay, his wife Kim, and their daughter Paisley and a friend came back for the morning. Kim and Jay weeded carrots and beets, and Paisley and friend gave my two girls the endless amount of undivided attention they crave, which left me free to do random small farm tasks that never seem to get done. Ashlee was here twice doing her flower arranging and always surprises me by weeding perennial flower beds randomly. It was a week that made me feel very proud of the farm and all that we’ve created here, and it all demonstrated the support that is essential for keeping us going. Even after my first draft of writing this, more volunteer support is pouring in for this coming week in various ways from current csa members and friends. People often ask us how we do it all, and the answer is its hard and with a lot of help. We are so grateful. Thank you.

In the share: Please take 8 items and PYO Basil

• Sungold tomatoes

• Squash

• Carrots

• Yellow Onions

• Heirloom Tomatoes

• Kale

• Beans

• Cukes

• Sweet Peppers

• Jalapeno Peppers

• Eggplant

• Celery

• Summer Crisp Red Leaf Lettuce

• Green Cabbage

• Kohlrabi

• maybe husk cherries if we can get them picked