Here’s the news from Kristin Kimball at Essex Farm in Essex, New York:

“The solar panels are locked into their most horizontal position now, faces to the sun in its high-in-the sky trajectory. We’re here whenever you choose to appear, sun, they say, and very well washed, too. Yes, the rain hit us again this week. It poured on Sunday, and again on Tuesday and Wednesday night, with another significant storm predicted for this weekend.

Everyone’s a little sick of damp clothes under hot rubber pants and coats. We can transplant herbs and brassicas in the rain, move animals, slaughter chickens, and prune and trellis tomatoes, all of which was done this week. But we can’t make hay. Not in the rain, nor when it has recently rained, nor when rain is coming. That is the biggest problem at this point, because the more time passes, the more mature the grasses become, reducing the hay’s nutritional quality, and reducing the amount of precious second cut we can get before the sun loses its strength again in the fall. Let’s all hope for clear weather next week.

The vegetables in the field are still fine, though the cabbages, Brussels sprouts, and dry beans in the northwest section of the field, where the soil is heaviest, have yellowed just a bit. Strawberries are doing well, shell peas are fattening, celery is thrilled, corn is thriving, and it sure is a fine year for mushrooms….” Continue reading this Essex Farm Note.

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• Essex Farm: Quality (www.essexonlakechamplain.com)
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• Essex Farm: Thankful For Drainage (www.essexonlakechamplain.com)
• Essex Farm: Reminder from Nature (www.essexonlakechamplain.com)
• Notices From Town Hall: Holiday Observance Closings (www.essexonlakechamplain.com)