We are excited to give a little update about the goings on at the farm. After a long very very snowy Winter that involved lots and lots of digging out of snow and shoveling and shoveling and shoveling places like roofs that we haven’t shoveled before, we are finally soaking up these somewhat rare sunny, dry days and getting as much done as possible while the sun shines. It’s a late Spring again this year, but we have hoop houses planted with lots of goodies to get us going for the early CSA boxes.
Rama was awarded a Next Stage Grant by the Mill City Market Charitable Fund that allowed her to go to Vermont to study with Peter Dixon and Rachel Fritz Schaal of Parish Hill Creamery and Westminster Artisan Cheesemaking. It was a great opportunity to learn from some true masters and have lots of questions answered. Excitement is bubbling about ways to improve existing cheeses and develop a couple of new recipes!
Another big win for the farm is that we have a full returning crew for the 2023 season! Magdalen, Alayna, and Phil are back for year 3 and Ben is returning for his second year. We couldn’t be happier to be working with them all again! Calves are being born, grass is growing, cows are being milked, fences are being repaired, seeds are being planted, soil is being prepped, muscles are building strength, and plans are being hatched! We are committing to getting our on farm store open this season and are planning some on-farm events that will include a new very special treat from the farm… hint…. sweet, cold, and made from milk! Look out for announcements here on our CSA blog and on Instagram!
We are looking forward to the annual Kids at the Farm event at the end of the month. If you’d like to help to meet the goal, here’s a link to the gofundme, or you can donate when you sign-up for your CSA share!
Speaking of CSA shares, now is the time to sign-up if you haven’t yet! We still have several shares left and are again offering vacation holds to allow for flexibility (you can use holds for vacation weeks, or if you need to catch up on eating the veg in your fridge, or to skip times of year when the veggies aren’t your fave… like if you don’t like fresh and lovely greens in the Spring, or if you don’t like just picked sweetcorn and ripe tomatoes in the Summer, or comforting squash and root veg in the Fall). Of course, we also have the option to get the full season of 20 weeks of deliveries with no holds if you can’t get enough veggies!
And again this season, you can add-on Cosmic Wheel Creamery Cheese Shares, Northwoods Mushrooms, St. Croix Valley eggs, farmer direct Cafe Palmira Coffee, and responsibly raised meat from our farm. Follow this link to sign-up to join us again this season. Let us know if you have any questions. Enjoy the sunshine today!
the first calf
the new year nestles deep into straw
soft damp fur - a steady heartbeat - and a tiny cry
she is perfect! and hungry
born on the eve of a blizzard and blessed with careful attendance,
the fine-boned calf is the first of the season
and fifth to a most gentle mother
i interrupt and crouch to attend, in wonder, the most common miracle
the herd surrounds the pair in a protective shroud
and i am aware of how small i am
if i could grip this quiet in between my teeth i think
i might taste earth dust simplicity
how could anything be more important than this?
--
Magdalen Ng
