Summer tales
Apologies for such a long delay in writing… Summer’s abundance has not been limited to squash and eggs, but also to almost everything, and the theme of too much has also meant too little of precious things like time to sit and think and write.
But fall is upon us! I can feel the chill in the mornings and evenings even when the daytime temps are still in the 90’s, and that beautiful late summer golden light heralds the coming of shorter days and longer nights. I can’t wait. As an introvert, the darker days seem to give more permission to sit and read, sit and knit or spin, slow down and contemplate all that we are doing here. And as to what we are doing…
Summer has brought such fullness in so many ways, and I expect it will take many months and much writing to really unpack what we’ve been up to, but here are a few highlights.. First of all, WWOOFers! We embarked on a grand experiment this summer to invite folks here to Crookedhouse Ranch to work in exchange for food and housing. One of our favorite parts of the WWOOF program is also the teaching piece, and the exchange of knowledge and farm practices for youthful energy and strength. We have many stories of the wonderful helpers who came to work with us and who really brought so many of our projects to life this summer.
(Emma, Jesse, Aymeric and Kelsey, our wonderful WWOOFers!)
Another summer experiment has been our participation in the Yreka Community Farmer’s Market. Every Friday since May we have been packing up our veggies, herbs, eggs, and other homemade goodies to bring to historic Miner Street for our local market. Small but mighty, it is a sweet community gathering where we have met some wonderful locals and enjoyed hanging out with fellow farmers. A highlight is always getting a yummy drink at the Zephyr Cafe across the street and buying produce from our neighbors. We have weathered 100’ days, wind, smoke and a bit of rain, but it has been such a fun experience. Though we probably won’t be able to retire on our market earnings, we’ve made a bit of “petty cash” and it has been nice to share some of our homemade bounty with others.
Other summer projects have included our duck “pond” and expansion of our duck flock, the building of the small studio, the chicken tractor, county fair, rooster harvest and our new fiber sheep. We’ve also added herb gardens and started a dye garden, inspired by our natural dyeing WWOOFer, Emma. We’ve been sourcing local raw goatmilk from another local small farmer and have been enjoying some delicious homemade goat cheese.
So, this is just a teaser about the stories to come, where we can unpack a bit of our summer adventures as the cooler weather gives us time to reflect and take stock of the harvest. More soon!
