It is disheartening for a farmer to hear rain falling for the second or third time in a given day. We have been receiving entirely too much rain and the dampness is taking a toll on our gardens. No more patty pan squash or zucchini for the foreseeable future and the potatoes seem to be rotting as quickly as I can bag them. WARNING: Eat the potatoes first! However, we do have tiny squash and zucchini plants emerging from the soil. We trust in a few weeks, there shall be more of these tasty delights for our CSA Boxes. And one can always hope the next variety of potato we attempt to dig will “hold up” better than this first variety. Hope springs eternal in the garden!
What saddens me even more is that people are so unable to show empathy for and respect for the opinions of others who are their fellow travelers on this journey called life. Consider where our world be if we did not have differences of opinions and a mutual respect for each other’s ideas and thoughts? We may as well be robots! I will not claim to have any answers to the current problems facing our world. I only know that without respect and empathy, there can be no discussion; and without discussion there can be no solutions.
Robert and I truly appreciate the empathy being shown by our CSA Members who are or have attempted to pursue gardening. Any one who has tried to grow anything has some idea of what an uphill battle it is to face Mother Nature day in and day out. And for those who “never gave it a thought” before joining the Local Food Movement, I trust getting a farm share of vegetables is proving to be a beneficial learning experience. We feel our veggie boxes have been awesome thus far; and we trust we shall be able to continue in this manner. Farming is not an easy vocation. However, the respect our members give to the fruits of our labor makes all the frustration worthwhile. Please eat with gratitude.
Our Grandson spent a night with us this week and I got him to eat a cucumber! It took a bit of creativity which I gleaned from a Japanese Food Artist. She swore this snack tasted like watermelon. Our seven-year old Grandson agreed! It must have been the combination of sweet strawberry jam and chocolate chip watermelon “seeds” mixed with the cucumber “rind” on bread that did the trick. Or perhaps it was making the snack all by himself? This is the first time he has ever liked “watermelon” with seeds!
In the upcoming boxes you will find the first eggplant (Italian globes and Japanese varieties), tomatoes, potatoes and onion, green beans or flat beans of yellow and green, cucumbers, and cabbage.
I went by Troyer’s Country Amish Blatz today just to walk through Bonnie’s Gardens. The sight of her many beautiful flower varieties was refreshing to my Soul. Small pleasures can mean so much. I ate a bit of chocolate from their store while on my stroll which also helped my mood.
Cane Creek Asparagus & Company CSA 