In reality, I shouldn't be awake right now. I should be sleeping every moment I can, my body exhausted from a week of blisteringly hot days with thick humidity in which I drank iced coffee instead of water (woops) and felt my skin burn each afternoon under layers of sunscreen and long sleeve shirts. I should be tired from being on my feet for 12 hours a day, running from field to field to complete the harvest, crawling on my hands and knees in the hot soil to pull weeds. But, on this Monday afternoon, despite my lack of sleep I find myself walking out to the tractor, firing it up, revving the engine until the mower blades are spinning with enough power to crush a boulder, and I'm out in the fields. And I feel alive and awake and carried by the farm's spirit to do this work. I am invigorated and am grinning ear to ear as the sun and the clouds and the upcoming rainstorm dance together in the sky over the fields, allowing rays of sun to drive down into the rows of onions, lighting them up like glow sticks.
I see Powisset's soul shine through when volunteers who have never met converge on a Saturday afternoon and hoe a half acre of peppers and eggplants, while laughing and sweating. I see the spirit carry our farm crew through a harvest with pelting rain or wicked heat. I see it in you, members, as you walk back to your cars after triumphantly scavenging that very last pint of strawberries for the season. I feel it when I sit down to Friday Feastival and fill my belly with fresh picked carrots and perfectly constructed coleslaw. I see it when I get a chance to sit with my friend Paul at the distribution barn while he bundles rubber bands and I hear stories from a CSA member about her wonderful, childhood fourth of July traditions on the farm she grew up on.
When I visit other farms I see their beauty, I envy their weed-free rows and perfectly twined rows of tomatoes. But I miss the spirit of this farm when I am away from it. Maybe it's the spirit of Amelia Peabody? Or the farmers who came before her? Or maybe it is what we are creating here with every seed we plant, every beet we bunch, every visitor that comes through our farm stand. Whatever it is, Powisset Farm's spirit carries me through these seasons with a joy and strength that I can see and feel when I am out in those fields.
See you in the fields,
(I'll be the one looking up at the sky wondering about souls...)
Meryl & The Powisset Farm Crew
New in the Farm Store this month
Jacqueline brought her delicious pie crusts to share at our Spring Fest this year, and now you can find a fresh batch in our freezer! just add (fruit) is all about using a few simple, high quality ingredients, and Jacqueline chooses to make sure everything's local to New England. She bakes with flour from Four Star Farms in Northfield, MA; butter from Kate's Homemade in Old Orchard Beach, ME; and honey from the Essex County Beekeepers Association in Topsfield, MA. Bring one home to fill with your CSA veggies!
Jam and Jelly
Our much loved jam producer, Angela of Fisher Brook Farm, will be relocating her business out of state at the end of the month. She has generously been cooking up her last few batches exclusively for the farm store, so stock up now before they are gone!
In the meantime, you can find new jams and jellies from Peter's Farm in the store. Peter, who also supplies our honey, cooks his jam and jelly with fruit he grows or wild fruit and flowers he forages!
Knife Sharpening by Nate Belcher (brother of famous Powisset Farm Apprentice, Jon)
This Saturday, July 13th, Nate Belcher will bring his mobile knife sharpening shop to Powisset Farm. Each knife is about $7 to sharpen. He can also do lawn mower blades and hedge trimmer blades as well. Bring your knives and get ready to cut those potatoes!
Powisset Farm Dinner In The Barn!
On Saturday, August 24, Powisset Farm will host "Dinner in the Barn"! You are invited to join this celebration of the great community that supports Powisset farm. Imagine the scene: one long table the length of the whole barn that could seat as many as 90 people! The dinner will be pot luck, family friendly, and we're allowed to bring beer & wine for the table. Part of the fun will be to incorporate farm produce in as many dishes as possible. But don't wait, spots at the table are limited, and first come, first served!
To put your name on the list:
email Tod Dimmick at tdimmick@tastingtimes.com with
the number of people attending.
What's in the share:
Up at the barn: potatoes, cucumbers or squash, lettuce, arugula, kale or kohlrabi, cabbage or chard, carrots (purple or orange), beets, onions, radishes
In the Field: fava beans, green or yellow beans, dill, parsley
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