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Monday, August 27, 2012

To Feel Nourished (is a good thing)




Nourish:
 -to provide with food or other substances necessary for life and growth; feed
 -to foster the development of; promote
 -to keep alive; maintain

Last Saturday I was excited to run into some CSA members that I have known now for six farm seasons!  We talked about recipes, weather, crop health, tomatoes and our summers.  And then the word, nourish, came up.  I was asked about how many people Powisset Farm is feeding this season.  I glanced out to the fields where children were chasing one another around flowers and weeds and tree stumps while I tried to calculate the answer in my end-of-the-week, tired brain.  I turned back to our member and responded that we were probably feeding over 700 people each week from what we are growing here.  Between our CSA members, farm stand, off-site CSA partnership with The ReVision Urban Farm and our four weekly donation commitments, there are many people tasting the harvest this season.  He looked thoughtfully around the barn and then back at me and remarked on how many people and creatures we are nourishing here.  People, animals, insects, land—all of us are growing and thriving on the farm community that is feeding us.  This farm is nourishing us just as we continue to grow and strengthen it.

I zipped out in the farm truck to pick more basil bunches soon after that conversation and witnessed a young hawk devour a small field mouse in front of me.  A mom picking in the fields with her young son called out to him to check out this amazing site! “I saw it!” he yelled back.  I moved quickly in the herb patch and a scared a baby bunny and watched it dart away from me into the tall grass.  I looked up to see CSA members scouring the drooping cherry tomatoes to fill their quarts for the week.  Life and nourishment was all around me.  I remembered in our second week of picking this season, one of our seven year-old members holding up a strawberry and declaring that, ‘if we were to look up heaven in the dictionary, we would find a picture of this strawberry!’  For me, hearing that comment nourished me as much as the berries did (maybe more).

Years ago, when I was 18 years old, I left Holliston, MA for the reds and browns of New Mexico, on my first every cross country road trip.  My trip was organized by driving from food co-op to food co-op, purchasing rice milk and dried fruit in as many states as possible.  Pulling into places where there was attention paid to both food and community, felt comforting and nourishing.  I wasn’t very aware of a local food movement or had much idea at all about what it meant to grow food, but I knew that it felt good to arrive in a new place and be able to eat well—to be fed, both body and spirit.  I feel proud to notice that our farm builds, supports and feeds our farm ecosystem—land, animals, insects, our farm crew, our volunteers, our visitors, our CSA members and our families.  We are nourishing many things.  I feel very full!

See you in the fields,

Meryl (on behalf of the farm crew)
ps...this week i'm on vacation!  So give a big high-five to our amazing crew and assistant manager, Tessa for running the farm while i'm away!


What's in the Share this week:

Up in the barn:  swiss chard, lettuce, arugula, tomatoes, bell peppers, squash, carrots (and maybe beets), eggplant, garlic and more.

Out in the fields:  take as many cherry tomatoes as you want--those plants are going down fast!  swiss chard, husk cherries, hot peppers


At The Farm Stand:

There are blueberries around for only one or two more weeks! So, come and pick up a pint when you come to the farm--available Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday!
And pick up some delicious fish from Jordan Brothers Seafood--at the farm every Tuesday from 1:30-6:30pm! 


Winter Shares!

Start thinking about winter shares! We will begin selling our shares, and announcing dates for the pick-ups next week!  Let's get excited about lots o' roots!



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