A Farmer's Perspective

Last Tuesday night, as I was making dinner for the Farmers To You team, I chatted with our Lead Buyer about the onion crop this year. She asked if I thought our partner families would be disappointed in the small size of the onions this season. I knew exactly what she was talking about. Having just chopped four pounds of smaller sized onions, to add to the curry and rice dish I was making. And yes, chopping small onions is clearly a lot more work!

At Farmers To You we are lucky to partner with three smaller family owned Vermont dairies that produce a variety of milk. Strafford Organic Creamery sends us Whole, 2% and 1% homogenized milk among other offerings. While Rogers Farmstead and Larson Farm and Creamery both produce strictly what we refer to as creamline or cream top milk for us to enjoy year round. Some might recognize this type of milk as non-homogenized.

Every fall, around the autumnal equinox, I am always surprised by the sudden urgency to get my life in order.

Right now, I feel like a squirrel frantically gathering nuts, or a goose trying to eat everything in sight.

In the summer months, the days are longer, but the heat lulls me into a languid pace that comes with an “I’ll get it done tomorrow” frame of mind. Now that the days of summer wane, it is time to get caught up and meet the rhythm of the changing seasons. Leaves are turning, the weather is cooling, it’s time to stop lounging in the sun (something we don’t get to do enough in New England)

One of my special September elements is the apple, it seems to me that fruit production in general is a near miracle. What is remarkable about this is that plants and trees take the warmth and sweetness of the sun and concentrate it in a delicious package. A package that holds precious seeds, stones, and pits safe inside. Somehow these trees know that other species are drawn to intense sweetness. These packages are then taken, eaten, and then the seeds are dropped in a new place to start the cycle over again

This past Monday evening my partner, Martina, and I were walking through the fields of my farm property picking hypericum, also known as St. John’s Wort. Each summer I make a medicinal oil from this beautiful yellow flower. It was a beautiful late August early evening in Vermont with a cool breeze and a bright blue sky and golden light.