Looking Forward to Planning Next Season
Somehow it’s November already, which means we have about one more month on the farm before we begin transitioning to yet another season. In the midst of bringing in the last of the winter storage crops, our focus will begin shifting toward the successes and failures of 2019 and planning for 2020. This is a process that I always look forward to, because we finally have the time to make sense of what in the moment can seem like such a blur. Although I myself may be ready to sit down and figure out how to finally grow weed-free carrots, perfect...
read moreVeggies and Conversation Flow from the Fields
November! Another month has been taken from us yet again. Swept away in a sea of harvesting, delivering, cleanup, washing, packing, planning, and navigating the frost that descends on us some mornings. Our crew is shrinking now that some of our summer-season crew have left for new adventures. But we still head to the field equipped with knives and crates and stories of what we had for dinner or that unnerving dream we had the night before. It seems as though we flow with more non-verbal communication these days, feeling comfortable with our...
read moreReturn of the Trumpeter Swans
Here at the farm, some of us would consider ourselves birdwatchers. (Maggie, the farm dog is more into chasing them down as they rest and feed in open fields, however.) This time of year, many of us are excited about the return of trumpeter swans. To classify this swan, look for an entirely white body with a black bill and black legs. These swans are the largest swans in the world and one of the heaviest flying birds. They can measure up to 62 inches in length, have a wingspan up to 79.9 inches, and often weight more than 25 pounds. So as...
read moreLoving Our Farmers Markets, Rain or Shine
I was originally only committed to work at Red Dog until the end of October, so this could have been a sappy end of (my) farming season reflection, but I’ve recently taken on the role of farmers market lead. This extends my work contract, and my reflection on this whole farming thing, through the middle of December. When I was interviewed and first expressed interest in working the farmer’s markets, I had visions of sunny, blue sky days, friendly faced customers wearing sun hats and skirts, and trading produce for ice cream and lemonade....
read moreReflecting on a Year of Farm-Fresh Food
If you were to wander into the fields of Red Dog Farm you’d probably hear us talking about food. Yes, obviously, we talk about food all the time. We grow food, after all. But we also cook a lot of food, partially because of our access to some of the best produce in the world, and also because we love to eat. I’m currently in my last week of work at Red Dog, after 2 great seasons here. My heart is filled with so much love and pride for the work I’ve done here. I’m so grateful for the mentorship and friendship, and I’ll remember this time...
read moreRacing the Frost for Squash
What does 15,000 pounds of winter squash look like? Yesterday we got to find out. We’ve been harvesting small quantities of winter squash for the last few weeks, but once we heard the frost was coming, we had to pull as much squash out of the field as possible to keep it from freezing. The squash harvest was an all-hands, all-day event, and all other projects on the farm were put on pause. We filled a whopping 32 macro bins (in the photo above) with pie pumpkins, acorn squash, spaghetti squash, kuri squash, hubbard squash, and multiple...
read moreFleeting Fall Feelings
Autumn, like springtime and unlike summer and winter, feels to me like a time of constant change, inquiry, and discovery. The slow tidal shift from summer to winter, vibrancy to dormancy, forces me to be observant and to carefully take stock of the world around me. My default mode during this season is questioning, and struggling to stay aware of all the changes happening around me. From the first cool late-summer day, I find myself wondering, is this it? Is it here now? This morning as I drove to work up Highway 19, I noticed that the...
read moreTeam Red Dog for the Win!
For the second year in a row, three of the Red Dog staff, including myself, decided to pose as runners during the recent half marathon down in Quilcene. I guess the challenges of full time farming during the height of the season wasn’t enough for this trio. We grudgingly went on a few after-work training runs leading up to the race, but decided that between lifting crate after crate of celery and spending our days walking from field to field, we were ready. With the arrival of fall, looming squash harvest and the fading of summer bounty I...
read moreAutumnal Observations from the Crew
Live from the (rain-saturated) field, it’s Flycatcher, bringing you the crew’s thoughts, emotions, and observations on the changing season. I found them down in Nanci Field, starting off the day with a wet strawberry harvest. Butternut, named for that fall classic, speaks to me about the sounds of the season: “I think of Canada geese flying overhead… the leaves rustling in the rain and wind, down by the creek. When there is rain across the valley, and it’s not quite hitting you yet but you hear it coming, and then it downpours, like...
read moreFarmer Wisdom Through the Ages
Farmers work on Labor Day. So this is my way of taking a day off, by letting others write for me today. “To forget how to dig the earth and tend the soil is to forget ourselves.” –Mahatma Gandhi “Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds you plant.” –Robert Louis Stevenson “One of the healthiest ways to gamble is with a spade and a packet of seeds.” –Dan Bennett “A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in.” -Old Greek proverb “Whoever makes two ears of corn or two blades...
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