A time for valuation and reflection

Sun after rain..

Thanksgiving day is just around the corner. We have so much to be grateful for, the rains have come, replenishing our drought plagued farm, we have hay in the barn for our winter needs, the cows are giving us buckets full of warm, creamy milk everyday. We have our health, the happiness of being with friends and family. To 'Be' is wonderful, yet to 'Be' in the midst of all this bountiful good, is a joy beyond wonder.

Our WWOOFer friend, Jesse, came and went. We had a great time and made cheese almost everyday, plus he helped us, with a host of other things as well, not the least of which, was helping get the metal building prepped for the indoor market project we have begun!

The geese take flight at my approach, in the frosty morn.

The wild geese have come back just in time for the first frost, they are already jousting for the best nesting spaces, honking and squabbling, night and day. over who will get the best places to nest in the spring. There is something so primal, about the noise they make and they inspire one with their beauty, as they come in to the pond, circling in flight, lower and lower to skid, gracefully along it's length, till they settle into its quiet waters, or taking off, with a noisy, flapping, spiraling out from it, in an ever widening span of cyclic spread, announcing to all their intent. Honk, honk...honk, honk, honk... 

The honk of the goose calls to the wild 'something' in me, and reminds me of all that is untamed and undomesticated in this world. We have our neat domestic rows, which are beautiful also, garden rows, labeled rows of canned goods, hay rows stacked in the barn, we make such perfect symmetries. The wild is asymmetrical, honking in flight, spiraling upward and outward, like the heart does, in its crazy way, toward the highest parts of ourselves. Compassion, and open warmheartedness does not come in neat rows, it comes forth, in the face of our own selfishness, in the face of our own covetousness, twirling love unconditionally and overwhelms our heart with generosity, pushing out of us, almost unasked for, what is best in our selves. Yes, the wild sound of the geese, reminds me of how connected we are to everything, and especially how connected we are to each other.

We find the wondrous, beauty of Nature, quiet and simple, echoing in our own heart, when we take the time to listen. 

We bought a beautiful turkey for thanksgiving dinner, produced and processed on a local farm, pasture, raised and fed organically. We paid much more for it than if we'd bought one on sale at a box type grocery, we paid what it was really worth. For the fact that it was allowed to live a life un-caged, scratching under trees, taking dust baths with its buddies, flapped its wings in joy, it was allowed to go roaming through sun and shade, in a big pasture, as it pleased. It was cared for, and valued by the people who raised it, it was not just a number, inventory... a meat weight to be sold. The money we spent on it goes into our community, to our neighbors, not to some huge impersonal corporation, looking ever, to increase bottom line at the expense of individuals, of family, of community. To understand that there is something very fortunate in being able to actually live somewhere where we have the opportunity to express a monetary, valuation for the individuals in our community, growing food for themselves and others. In this world it is a rare opportunity, where so many people, have so little choice, as to the quality of what they eat, or the way in which it was grown or processed. We are blessed by our local farmers, who dare to compete with subsidized, factory-grown food. Our local farmers challenge us, to see through the artificial low prices of such food, and pay fair prices so our local farmers survive. Understand the Truth behind cheap food...that subsidized factory food-stuff, has a higher hidden cost, than we imagine, for all it is priced so cheaply. A cost hidden in subsidies coming out of our wages, the cost of the loss of nutritional quality, the cost of the loss of our country's viable farm lands, due to shoddy factory farming practices, the cost of good, would-be farmers, who are forced out of business, unable to compete, with their local produce, in the market place, against the artificially, manipulated, lower costs of factory foods. In the end, everyone must bare the burden of these hidden costs, eventually. So we, at least, try to buy locally, when we can and encourage you to do so also...and to pay fair value. Value the local farmer, help them compete, pay fair value for the work he or she does! Better yet...become a farmer yourself! Embrace what is essential in yourself, for what can be more essential, than sharing Nature's bounty, with your friends? Happy Thanksgiving!

Daisy is looking forward to the new grass surge!

Fall is well underway. The annual rains have started. Hopefully the drought of the past four years is broken.  We have had two storms that have delivered over two inches of rain, enough to break 'seed dormancy'. Fall is like spring here, the annual grasses have sprouted, and are dusting the pasture with a coat of pale green as they push up through the gold of last years growth. Already the cream line on the milk buckets is deeper, from the cows being able to munch on the new grass.

My little dog 'Boosky' is keeping 
his eye on things!

Today is Thursday, farm-stand day. This one will be the last one for the season. It gets dark now, with the time change, and it's chilly and wet, not much fun to be outside in the weather. The local produce is also getting difficult to find, the tail-end of summer's gardens fade, the last of the tomatoes are going, going.... along with peppers and eggplant, squash and cuke. Soon we will have our first frost, which will take out the last of Summer's tender bounty. The mushrooms will pop up soon, to be made into hot soups or dried for next summer's use and the winter greens will flourish. All is well that ends well. We are tucked in for winter storms. Let them blow! We will welcome them in!

Next Sunday, WWOOFer Jesse comes! He is a tried and true farm lover, and has been here before. He is into learning more about cheese making, so we will be having some sessions. With the cool weather we will be switching from making mozzarella, to making bries and hard cheeses for home use. The temperature is perfect for hard cheeses and Brie, along with the humidity they will age well. If we start our Brie now, it will be just right for eating over the holidays...yum!

Brie in the process.

As the year comes to a close, we have made our compost piles, in anticipation of next years spring gardens. Saved seeds fill the seed cupboard, and jars fill the pantry. We've started the indoor market project, and including installing a cheese processing area in our out-door metal building, which will be the main work for this winter. It's exciting, to begin. Long hours of research pay off, plans finally begin to materialize.

Every season, on a farm is interesting. Pouring over seed catalogs, planning next summer's garden fare, pruning apple and pear trees, tending to the cows, with their great puffs of wintry breath, floating on the air...Soon we will be sitting around crackling fires, enjoying the yummy 'put-up' fruits of summer, having dinners with friends and family, sharing camaraderie and good cheer. Feasting and wine! The season of celebration is at hand! Hope you'll be there too.