Surrender To Uncertainty

There is a philosophy which says for no anxiety one must surrender to uncertainty. And another that says good “luck” is preparedness. Your CSA Farmers attempt to follow both of these philosophies! We do our best to be prepared and the weather is definitely uncertain–so we surrender! This has been another busy week. A great many weeds were pulled and a bit of mowing was accomplished. One must exercise different sets of muscles to endure farming.

Someone called today looking for blueberries. I understand Cloud Nine Farm has some late blueberries to pick this year.  The late frost took care of most of the area blueberries which were in full blossom at the time. On the other hand, we had a bountiful spring garden which successfully tided us over until our summer garden began to produce! Cross your fingers that our “luck” will hold out a bit longer.

Baby Bear can for a visit one day last week. A friend and I were sitting at the kitchen table in the window extension part of the kitchen at the time. Baby Bear sat down outside the window upon a rock and watched us for several minutes. I felt that WE were the animals in the cage and he was the wildlife viewer–a reverse zoo experience of sorts! My friend was wanting to leave so I went to the garage and laid on my vehicle horn. Baby Bear turned his head and only snorted. Obviously, he was quite content where he was! My friend tried the Panic Button on her vehicle which was parked in the drive. The erratic sound and flashing lights caused Baby Bear to quickly scoot up the hill to the next human visitation area. He was way too comfortable to make me happy, but he was!

Last week Robert and I witnessed a red fox come up the hill and trot the length of our front walk, then around the peony circle in the courtyard before he disappeared up the hill. Again, wildlife acting as if it was at home! At least the Coyote Family that lives in our woodpile stays in the field areas.

Next year we have decided to invest in a second deer fence to go around no only the spring garden but also the winter squash gardens. For the first time in 27 years, the turkeys ate out winter squash sprouts as quickly as they erupted from the soil. Why this year? Robert tried various maneuvers to scare them away and dutifully replanted the squash seeds until they finally had their fill of sprouts. I fear this winter crop may be delayed which I suppose will dovetail beautifully into the summer crop being delayed. Wildlife . . . Gotta love ’em!

In the box this week and next week look for a variety of patty pan summer squash, zucchini (green, yellow and/or Italian), green cabbage, the best red garden beets we have ever grown, and the best carrots we have ever grown! The carrots come in two varieties. One is crisp and crunchier and the other variety is more tender. See if you can tell the difference. They will be all mixed together and I will take the tops off as they are looking a bit ragged. Also, we will have heads of broccoli and cauliflower (again, some of the best we have ever grown!), a smattering of broccoli florets, and green or yellow flat beans and cucumbers which are getting a start. We think we have the sweetest cukes in Buncombe County! There will be the last of the kohlrabi and romaine and endive. This is the first of what we trust will be many Summer Veggie Bonanza Boxes with 13 different veggies and 31 – 32 different possible varieties–OH MY!!

There will be some funny looking carrots in the mix, but all in all, these are best Robert has ever pulled from the ground. Sometimes one is just “lucky.”