Distribution #19, Week of October 2nd

The News from Windflower Farm

What you’ll get this week

• Sweet potatoes
• Summer squash
• Potatoes
• Leeks
• Parsley
• Yellow onions
• Fennel
• Swiss chard
• Arugula
• Your fruit share will be Yonder Farm’s ‘Cortland’ apples.

This week, we’ll harvest the last of our sweet peppers, chiles, eggplants and summer squashes and we’ll send them to you next week, along with lettuce and arugula. We’ll send carrots, sweet potatoes, and onions for each of the final four weeks. And we’ll send more apples – ‘Ambrosia’ next week and ‘Empire’ the week after that.

*Winter share sign-ups are beginning! You can find out more information and register for a winter share using this link:  Windflower Farm’s 2023-2024 Winter Share (wufoo.com). The deadline for signing up is November 1^st or until we reach our limit.  

News from the farm

I’ve been asked about my trips to New York. Last week, I took my 18^th truck load of the season to CSA members in New York. The big Isuzu was loaded with vegetables, hand trucks were on board, and packing lists sat on my dashboard. I checked engine fluids and tires and loaded the truck with essentials: lunch, cash, and a good book on tape. At eight o’clock it was time to head out. None of those 4:00 am farm-to-market departures for me.

I test my brakes heading down Meeting House Road toward Cooke Hollow, turning south at the intersection where the Alleged Farm and MaryJane’s farm sit. I come out of Cooke Hollow, turning right, then left at one of four neighborhood wineries, continuing south. The road I travel runs along a ridge paralleling the Hudson River, one of dozens of farm-to-market roads. Adirondack foothills are to my right, and the distant Berkshires are to my left. I pass the Pratt’s sheep farm, Howard Gifford’s tractor parts shop, and the Schaghticoke Fairgrounds as I make my way toward Troy, 20 miles south of our farm. I plug my phone into the dashboard and start my book: A Gentleman in Moscow.  

I zig and zag down Route 40 as it makes its way through Troy, then cross the Hudson River for the first of what will be six times, catching I-787 southbound to Albany, and then I-90 eastbound, over the Hudson again, toward the Massachusetts border. I exit onto Route 9, heading into Columbia County, and the heart of fruit production in the Hudson Valley. I stop at Yonder Farm, where Pete, who I’ve known for more than 20 years, and I chat briefly about the difficult farm season. I head south in earnest once I leave Pete, passing friends at Roxbury Farm and Hearty Roots, both CSAs, as I make my way.

I monitor several fields over the course of the season. One is an organic soybean field along the road in Livingston that is part of the huge Rockefeller property. Although it has become weedy compared to surrounding conventional soybean fields, it looks like it will yield well. I find my way to the Rhinecliff-Kingston Bridge, crossing to the west side of the Hudson, taking in the incredible scenery: the river below and the Catskills beyond. From here, it’s two hours to midtown Manhattan, taking I-87 southbound to New Jersey, and commercial Route 17 south, where I catch my first glimpse of the Manhattan skyline. I then take Route 3 across the Meadowlands, finally crossing the Hudson for the 4^th time via the Lincoln Tunnel. I run early and pull over at 9^th and 29^th, where I’ve become friendly with a woman named PJ who waters the plants on an island at the intersection, where she and I talk gardening and I eat my lunch.

I offload CSA shares at the Google offices at 1:00, then travel to the First Presbyterian Church on Broadway, across from Columbia University, hoping to be there by 2:15. After that, it’s a 4:00 stop at the Cornerstone Center in Washington Heights and a 4:30 near Fort Tryon Park. I depart Manhattan via the George Washington Bridge, my fifth crossing, pleased if I’ve made it through the city without mishap. It takes some time during rush hour to make my way through New Jersey, but then I’m off on I-87 northbound, and the final leg of my journey. It is here that I’d like my audio book to keep me awake for the trip home. Three hours later, I find myself back on Route 40, and on the east side of the river after crossing it for the sixth and final time. I am north of Troy, nearing home, where for most of the summer I am welcomed home by a larger-than-life Dolly Parton on a billboard, reminding me to spread kindness and good cheer. I pull into the farmyard at 8:30, happy to be home.

Have a great week, Ted