47. Magically, It’s Almost December…
So the last time I hopped on this blog to write was in June.
Yikes.
A lot of life has happened since then.
The entire growing season zoomed by with hiccups in production because of water-drowned plants with major rains, then burned-to-a-crisp plants because of drought. But fear not! We did not suffer too terribly because we are diversified in what we raise: the more diversity of plant, insect, and microbe life, the more resilient the farm. To quote a watch commercial from the 1980s, “We take a lickin’ and keep on tickin’…”
Like I said, lots of life happened: my mom came to live with us for a bit, one of our barn cats (the Indominatable Diplomat, Midge) was crushed beneath a car that fell off a jack and had to have a leg amputated, and we welcomed a new pup into our home, Maeve.
Fall production went into full-on rush mode with bed prep, seeding, weeding, mulching, and then covering with row cover as the weather turned colder. Now, I have a lush couple beds of mesclun, lettuce mix, kale, carrots, broccoli, radishes, and late summer’s leftover carrots, which grew so slowly because of the complete lack of water from the sky, and my refusal to pour water from a hose into the ground. Watering, albeit necessary at times, feels so very backward to me. If I choose my varieties carefully, begin them with little water before I transplant them to teach them that life can be hard and dry and that they’ll need to reach deeply into the soil with strong roots to get the moisture they need, and plant into my clover cover crop (which keeps the soil cool and moist, and fixes nitrogen in the soil), or mulch with rotted straw, my watering chores are minimal, if nonexistent.
Now, as the weather has parked it in cold and gray, all I have to do is make sure the row cover is secure to keep the icy wind and snow off the plants themselves, and I should be able to harvest well into late winter when I begin planting again.
Next week is Thanksgiving, and while I find the narrative around the holiday to be problematic—you know, Pilgrim and Indigenous friendships abounding minus the side-story about murder and territory stealing and the history of colonization ideology which continues to persist, if not THRIVE in the U.S. among certain populations—I definitely love a holiday centered around good food and maybe a dog show on TV (see me about Best in Show predictions: I am amazing at picking, just saying…). And I want to acknowledge the Osage, Myaamia, Shawanwaki/Shawnee, Kaskaskia, Hopewell Culture, Adena Culture, and all peoples who stewarded the land and raised families here, long before European settlers invaded.
Interested in who lived where you do, before your ancestors claimed it for themselves or brought your people here against their will? Here is an excellent resource!
I leave you with a wish for a safe and plentiful holiday, cozy fires, perfect pies, and maybe the time to volunteer for those who may not have the same ability or freedom to curate the Rockwellian picture we immerse ourselves in each November and December.