Hi Farm Friends!

It is our first Farm Journal Friday and I am so excited to make these weekly posts a staple in your Friday morning inbox. Perhaps you will enjoy it on your porch over a cup of coffee or tea?

It is finally spring over here on the farm and that means we have a lot of babies. We have baby spinach and baby pac choi growing in our hoop house and we hatched our very first baby chicks of the season yesterday. Beginning next week, we expect to have a good hatch of goslings and ducklings and are busy making more mobile coops for our newest additions.

In other areas of the farm, we are busier than ever finalizing our crop plan, grazing plans, and preparing for our newest expansion on the farm with the addition of heritage pigs and Katahdin sheep. In addition to the greens and root crops we have growing in our hoop house, we are also planning our outside gardens and will begin to plant our spring hardy crops in the next few weeks. Our hoop house is growing well and we will begin to start harvesting greens and radishes next week! I am so looking forward to a nice, fresh spring salad.

The hustle and bustle and the arrival of spring on the farm is by far my favorite time of year. With her boastful arrival I feel my soul reawaken from its long winter nap. Almost like as the snow is melting off the hills, exposing the green growth beneath, so am I shrugging off winter’s white coat and trading it for tanks and flip flops. While I love winter time here in the mountains because it is incredibly peaceful and forces me to slow down, when I see the first signs of spring and hear the meadowlarks and killdeer sing, it brings joy and excitement back to my life. The arrival of the majestic sandhill cranes back in our bare, newly melted fields solidifies that the seasons are changing and that new growth is just around the corner.

I sincerely hope you are doing well and enjoying the arrival of spring wherever you are. In challenging times, noticing how the earth cycles through the seasons, from one to the next, helps remind me that no matter what is going on in the world, there will be sun again. Even in the depths of the coldest, darkest winter night, there is a warm, bright spring day not too far off. All we have to do is be patient, breathe through those hard times, and turn our face towards the sun to remember the strength that we have and the beauty that tomorrow holds.

Thank you for reading. If you enjoyed this post, please share with those you love.

Farmer Kinzie