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Alan
and Nancy Brown About the farm |
The
haying is finally done! The last bale put in the barn. It is ironic that the
season began quite late when the early summer rains would not quit, and now we
wind up the last of the haying in a drought. The ground is very dry. The grass
on the hills where the soil is rocky and thin is burnt and brown. Certain
patches of the pastures seem green but re-growth after the last trimming by the
cows is very slow to come back. All the seasonal streams are dry and the streams
that generally run all year seem a trickle of their former selves. Luckily we
have 2 ponds to use for emergency watering. Today’s forecast included rain but
we have yet to see a rain cloud looming. Garden seeds planted for fall crops of
carrots, beets, lettuce, kale and kohlrabi are barely germinating. Let’s hope
for a couple of days of steady light rains to jump-start our transition to
fall. The leaves of some of the trees in dry locations are starting to turn
their fall colors and falling. This is the end of the dog days of summer. The
good thing is that the tomatoes love it, our swimming in our pond and tubing on
the Battenkill are extended, and there is plenty of war weather to come before
the chilly winds begin.
The Washington County Fair was a lot of fun and
brought a series of visitors to the farm. My sister Beverly and my niece Laura
came for the week and we went to the fair 3 times! I’m the only one who will go
on any rides with Laura and luckily there are some she will ride herself. We
also had a visit from Jayme our coordinator from Hellgate CSA and the D’Antonio
family from
Hope you all are looking forward to getting back to
the routine of fall. Take care and eat well, Nancy and Alan Brown