Nanci, Patsy, Joni, Loretta, Townes and Roscoe are all names that are frequently shouted over the radio and woven into daily conversations on the farm. These names are the landmarks to which we interact with each other and the many rows of vegetables. Each field expresses its own personality through the soil, the landscape, the size and the location.

Patsy and Nanci boast the best wildlife sightings. Sitting closest to the creek boundary and adjacent the kestrel box, we have appreciated many bird sightings. The furthest boundary of Patsy, mostly referred to as deep Patsy, to me feels the most expansive and endless. A walk down deep Patsy and Nanci feels like an expedition into uncharted territory. As we move into the winter months, the trips to see Patsy and Nanci are numbered and we have prepared their cover crops and bulked out the last of their crops as the puddles start turning into lakes and we see the last bits of its production before they sleep for the winter.

Moving east from Patsy and Nanci, we come across the humble fields of Joni and Loretta. Currently holding the last of our brassica greens and what now looks like a winter squash graveyard, bearing the weight of many months of nurturing our winter squash crops. These fields feel homey and comfortable to me, the epicenter of the farm. Your can hear the trucks making their way to other fields, tractors pulling out of the tractor shed, Maggie running around outside of Karyn’s house, John working in the workshop, the packshed listening to Fleetwood Mac or Neil Young.

Our final stop of the field tour is Townes and Roscoe, boasting a diverse and formidable collection of crops as we move on into the winter. Here we bunch kale and chard, pull leeks, dig potatoes, uncover celeriac, cut Brussels Sprout trees and bunch parsley. We spend much of our time in these richly soiled fields and it feels like the busiest part of the farm. Adjacent to the driveway and parallel to Center Road, there is always a certain kind of energy in these fields. We see and are seen and always appreciate a good friendly honk from passersby as eagles fly up above.

It has been a humbling experience to observe the transitions underwent by each field throughout the intense production months and I can’t help but think that they each have their own personalities, strengths and weaknesses. I hope they appreciate a much needed time to regenerate and re-energize, much like all of us farmers. So cheers to Nanci, Patsy, Loretta, Joni, Townes and Roscoe, we thank you for your ever-changing and evolving support and strength.

~ Julia