The world did that magic thing this week—when suddenly you look out the window mid-day and realize that the grass has just turned green. It was definitely still brown and all shades of beige out there when the sun first came up and the day started, and then suddenly green. It begins with the most closely clipped pastures from last fall, followed by the low-lying, water-logged places, and takes weeks for the vegetation that had been left longer to finally catch up. It has sent me up the laneway, along the rushing creek, to check on the spinach that was left to overwinter, and to the rhubarb which is always the first to show its shiny new self above ground each spring. It’s too far from the barnyard for the cats to travel alone, but they are as happy for a spring adventure as the rest of us, and confident next to a tall friend to head towards the edge of the dark woods.

Winter hasn’t been quite ready to give up its hold on us yet, a couple of really cold nights and days dominated by chilly wind has reminded us of that. We’re expecting a good sap run today and tomorrow. We’re grateful for the late season syrup, dark and rich with caramel flavors. We’re working feverishly to wrap up our winter desk work—logos, marketing materials, budgets, and the supply and grain orders—knowing that we’ll want to be out in the fields soon, moving the cows and horses to spring pastures and tilling the ground in preparation for the first crops, spinach and peas, to be seeded. We’re well behind 2012’s planting dates, but not yet passed last year’s schedule.

In the Farm Shares

In the veggie share: Maple syrup, alfalfa sprouts and onion shoots, potatoes, cabbage, onions, garlic, shallots, carrots, beets, parsnips, celeriac, kohlrabi, radish, dried sage, wheat berries, whole wheat flour and dry beans.

In the meat share: All cuts of pork and beef, half and whole broiler chickens in the freezer. Lard and leaf lard are available.

Sara Kurak
Full and By Farm

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