A Farmer's Perspective

Spring Hope, Spring Scarcity

If you are like me, and other farmers and gardeners in New England, you are starting to feel ridiculously excited about radishes. On the other hand, we understand if you don’t have the same exuberance for radishes as you do for tomatoes, cucumbers or broccoli.

Subsistence farmers (and those that only eat locally and with the seasons) are coming off a long winter of eating root crops and frozen or canned produce grown last year. It feels like a beacon of hope seeing the radish seedling sprout a few round, bright-green leaves. For chefs, cooking in season, it is a downright culinary breakthrough to nibble on a crunchy, sometimes spicy, pink radish!

Feeding Each Other

These past couple months our families are eating meals together. Even in Vermont, where the pace of our lives tends to be slower, we are finding more time to nourish our minds and bodies, together. We feel a bit guilty asking ourselves, are these family meals the silver lining of this pandemic?

Over dinner we create positive moments by sharing a joke, telling a story or reminiscing. We strengthen bonds and find comfort in a unique and special way. It is hard to believe just a few months ago we didn’t make time for this wonderful custom every day of our lives!

Simple Abundance

This COVID-19 health crisis has created stress and fear for all Farmers To You families, both in Boston and Vermont.  The situation, and emotion, demands me to reassess what is important and most valuable in my life.  

A dear friend, and mentor, said and showed me in his actions what is important. He was from a multi-generation family of farmers. He valued the traditions and habits of those who worked the land.

This farmer friend said all he needed was healthy, fresh food, his community of family and friends, and living with the rhythm of nature’s seasons. As he sat down to a meal of simple abundance, I remember his laugh and the twinkle in his eye as he said, “this is good enough.” It was a look of perfect satisfaction

Resilience

I’m not afraid to share with you that this past month has tested our resolve. We have quickly adapted to the changed landscape that COVID-19 brought with it. Ah, but my training as a farmer has come in handy. 

If you think about it, farmers are the eternal optimists. We must be. Each year we start from the beginning, with our seeds in the soil, and our harvest depends on forces completely out of our control – like the weather.

A Different Kind of Spring

As long as we can remember, the spring is a time of renewal and optimism. After a long winter in New England, the signs of spring raise our spirits. To state the obvious, this spring feels different.