November Farmer Notes

Farmer Notes

“The desolate, deserted trees,

The faded earth, the heavy sky,”

Oh, I can’t help but quote Robert Frost’s My November Guest when one of my absolute favorite months settles in.  Indeed the trees are bare, and skies have turned heavy here right around the year’s earlier Thanksgiving.  This, however, only after weeks and weeks of stunning high pressure with crisp blue sky, lengthening shadows, and a quiet that stretched across these foothills.  Tis’ the time of year I swear I can hear the earth sigh as she begins a winters’ rest following the business of summer, and all of its demands

Seems we could have used more rain this fall. A few systems came through in early October but really we never ended up with the measures we would have liked, particularly following the dry summer.  I’ve mentioned before that we count on fall moisture here to open up the parched soils after a dry summer, so that the following (hopefully!) snow can percolate down into the profile come spring.  Our ground is not yet frozen, but we’ve very little snow cover so far and surely it could freeze any time.

Alas, a sure sign of the changing season: Waxwings in our elderberry bush, chickadees and finches back at the feeder while a few stubborn robins still prowl the creek bottom for chilly worms I suppose.  Owls hoot outcome dusk and a few hawks still sore along the hillsides but most, too, have left.

The extended good weather enabled Jolly and me to finish up fall tillage in pretty good shape. The winter peas enjoyed the cool, sunny days and should go into the winter at a solid growth stage to fix next years nitrogen.  We were able to get an extra tractor back up here to the granary to help with winters work: plowing, loading freight etc. Oh, and pulling people out of snowbanks!

This year’s crop continues to clean and mill very well. The granary has been steady all fall, and now with the end of the year holiday’s upon us, we are anticipating the usual bustle in our packaging room. We were delighted to see so many new faces at our annual Open House and Granary tours Thanksgiving weekend. One thing Brooke and I sometimes miss being in the day to day is the perspective from the outside. Smiles and very generous compliments from so many certainly helps sanctify what we’ve set out to do here at Bluebird. So, THANK YOU all!

Other big thanks or at least something I’m always grateful for is Mother Earth.  Mother always seems to give us what we need to survive.  We can’t always understand why Mother behaves the way she sometimes does.  With the recent violent fires in California, and heavy flooding on the East Coast and often times general “Mayhem”… understanding can be a stretch.  And acceptance even harder. My heart goes out to all and although these misfortunes shouldn’t be reason alone to count our own blessings, they certainly serve as good reminders of how fast things can change, and sometimes change for the worse.

So… be grateful! Be grateful for the gray skies, the blue skies, the snow the rain the withered fruits the soggy field. This is the season to rejoice in what we have and certainly to lend a hand for all those less fortunate. Enjoy this final season of the year by spreading peace.

Yours, Farmer Sam

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