For Now, The Soup Is Ready
Dappled sunlight dances slight across the bulbous squash squished gently into their collective crates as they await their fortune, fated for the soups and stomachs of those rosey-cheeked hungry who are fresh from latching out the wind and the rain behind the heavy door of evening. Numb fingers fumble for warmth in the dying light as they weigh the welcome heft of orange and golden gourds the color of fire, ripened in the sweet soil of long summer days that have now given way to the autuminal nip. What future do these falling leaves hold...
read moreTurning Towards Autumn
Thanks to everyone who came out to the farm during the Jefferson County Farm Tour this past weekend and helped us have a great time! Thanks to Rodney Just for the photo of visitors young and old listening to live music, coloring, making seed mandalas, eating delicious Thai food made with Red Dog produce, and enjoying the day in the field. Autumn is approaching with haste; we are as busy as the animals preparing for winter. We frantically take our bounty from the field and store it for the lean times, as the clouds gather on the horizon and...
read moreAutumn Blinks Hello
Green bleeds of plantsDrenched on the edges of the eyesWhen tears fill and fall from the outsideNot to be confused with dew that paints them when autumn blinks helloThey are whispering to us againIt is time to let goWhat was in the spring crisp and plumpQuickly turns to mush from moisture that comes at this season of lifeSoon all will be still for what feels like foreverUntil flowers blink to life again like they never left ~Abby
read moreSeasonal Worker’s Dream
For three years, I have written poems on this land (here).With empty hands and busy hands.Occasionally people read them. They say there is a mountain, by the sea of stars and other...
read moreCaring for the Herd
Between the vast varieties of fruits & veggies, we have another treat growing at the farm. When we have the pleasure to harvest near them, their cuddle puddles make us giggle, and their snorts demand our attention. We feed them leftover veggies and they gobble their favorites up; right now, that’s napa cabbage and tomatoes. I often see big smiles on our harvest crew during these moments. They also like rooting around for grubs and other soil dwelling desserts. It’s not every season we raise these cuties, but this season was a special one....
read moreThe Taste of Summer
The season is transitioning slowly but surely. Crops are slowing down and new crops are coming on! I’m sad to see the raspberries go so soon, their time with us was short, sweet and a little tart. The raspberries were so fun to pick and very delectable. Bulk out season has commenced. Bulking a crop out means we harvest an entire crop once its fully mature and then store it in some fashion to then sell down over time. It’s usually a large undertaking with all hands on deck. We just bulked out all of our onions, which whoo man- it’s...
read moreWhen Was Summer
By the change of light, a hedge rose,if you ask,may wander the clouds and roads Dusty when not mistyWhereby the passers avoid a hidden Southern dropStill, angles are gentle here;no plain escarpment or lateral cascades. Tragic mishapsOnly two young ridgesin exchange, pace the soft roads between them Back and forth as the roses paleand the sunflowers swell to fallBack to the West, where strange forces bay the smog of disaster,most impossibly long days, until the gray...
read moreEvery Farm Needs a Rachel
Did you know that almost every produce farm in Jefferson County either has a person named Rachel working there currently, or has in the past year or so? There are so many Rachels in our farming corner of the world, which if you know some of these Rachels, you know this is a very lucky thing indeed! Our Rachel, here at Red Dog Farm, is a gem of a human and I am so lucky to know her and get to sing her praises. Rachel Covault started working at Red Dog Farm in 2019, just a month and a half before my daughter was born. She was a savior from the...
read moreTime Flies
Time flies when you’re having fun! And the fun rings throughout Red Dog on a daily basis. You can hear us roaring with glee in the fields as we connect ourselves to soil and plants. The joy emanates and takes us away as we sweep through the summer. I have to remind myself to look up and take in the essence of the season, trying to keep myself grounded as to not fly away. There is such passion here for what we do, it blows me away everyday I am out here. This summer has flown past me. August is here and I feel like I could do this all year...
read moreGoodbye July
What amazing abundance she brings us todayThe birds sing, the people swingThe plants plead for just a little moreBugs prance waiting to be buriedJean shorts fray from the wearHeads are buzzed to escape the heatFriends meet at the watering hole for a long, slow drinkSeed pods burst at the chance of another generationLove burns at the backs of throats for we are grateful to see another season of sunThese are the times we have waited forOnes with camaraderie, the song she sings as we sit at her bare feetThe crunch of a melonThe snap of a beanA...
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