Looking forward
Week 50, 2021
Solstice week, the deepest dark of the year. Five inches of snow fell fast last night, blanketing the farm in silence. The preceding days
cleaning the sides of the roads for snowbanks, picking up and storing the many little pieces
water tubs and portable fencing, hoses and mineral feeders
Jane’s goats moved from their place around the pond to a stretch of brushy ground along the stream. They have two huts
a bale of good hay, but for now,
about gleaning the last interesting weeds – a wilted tower of yellow dock was apparently
The laying hens moved out of the pasture and into the shelter of the east barn.
When Miranda and I went riding on Friday (during a glorious last moment of bare fields, warm sun, blue sky) they squawked and scattered in front of us
Then we saw a redtail hawk mantled over a splatter of feathers, mid-field. The hawk flew off when we rode toward her, and Miranda’s sharp little eyes spotted her a few minutes later in the distance, on a fencepost, with a mate. They perched there, still and very beautiful,
waiting for us to leave.
Mary the English Shepherd to the field
and carried them four or five at a time back to the flock.
Now we’ve spent half the weekend trying to clean her up, and the house is littered with bits of burr and clumps of dog hair, but we’re getting close to finishing.
And that’s the news from Essex Farm for this snowy 50th week of 2021.
Stay safe and eat well!
December 3, 2021
It was a wild week here
The shift from fall to wintery weather always brings a big slug
, and it climaxes now,
fall into the teens for the first time.
Water systems must be secured
the animals switched from grass to hay
roots pulled from the ground before it freezes
Thanksgiving travels with Covid.
we face the logistical challenge of keeping everyone else safe while also getting the necessary work done shorthanded.
outside in the fresh clean air, and so far, nobody else
500 sheep two miles, from the lake to the top of the sugarbush
two public roads
unfenced fields
(Miranda’s pony had a minor injury and my mare still has her foal with her
It worked because our sheep flock together well
who would follow Anne to Timbuctoo, and they led the way.
On Wednesday, we set up the sorting equipment and selected 194 ewes and ewe lambs
easy on sheep and shepherds as possible by breeding
we have a scale now,
Our 100% grass-fed, grass-finished lambs averaged around 100 pounds
creating spreadsheets and is organizing all the data for us.
to dig into it this winter
It would be a shame to eat them. The rams are at work now, with raddle on their briskets to show their progress. We’ll be looking for lambs beginning April 26th.
I’m making potato leek soup today, which reminds me to tell you that the leeks are all in now, thanks
and the potatoes are in storage. Lots of the red potatoes have hollow heart, which comes from sudden change in the rate of growth due to stress. This growing season featured drought followed by flooding, so that’ll do it. Hollow heart is unsightly but the potatoes are fine to eat. Our butcher shop
for all the new cuts coming.
supporting what we do. And that’s the news from Essex Farm for this frosty 48th week of 2021. Find us at 518-963-4613, essexfarm@gmail.com, on instagram at essexfarmcsa, or on the farm, any day but Sunday.
-Kristin & Mark Kimball
Week 42, 2021
. . .
We have not had a frost yet, so there are still warm-season crops in the field, along with all the hardy greens that do just fine in the field until we hit a few hard freezes.
We just wrapped up the last chicken slaughter of the year, which means the end of the most arduous sets of chores on the farm. That was cause for celebration for everyone on the crew. (Don’t worry, we have a lot of chickens frozen for winter distribution.) And there are a dozen dairy heifers due to calve before the first of November, which will make us rich in milk.
In short, we are swimming in abundance right now, and eating some of the best food on planet earth.
..
Speaking of which, our team this year is made up of people from different places, with different backgrounds, but they come together around the challenge of
turning sunlight into soil into plants into animals into us,
and everyone takes great pleasure in the food we produce.
so it’s delightful and instructive to listen to their discussions in the field about what they are cooking for dinner.
..
The Amish house that’s been here for the last several years is leaving the farm today. Dan and Lovina are moving to Lovina’s father’s place in Reber. There are lots of men here helping, so the barn is full of horses and the barnyard is a parking lot for buggies. I just watched a pack of Amishmen cut the house in half, and jack the halves up five feet in the air, ready to load onto the truck that’s on the way. So now I have seen everything.
..
Please spread the word.
And if you know any prospective members, please tell them now is a great time to try out the share before we start taking sign ups for 2022. And that’s the news from Essex Farm for this warm 42nd week of 2021. Find us at 518-963-4613, essexfarm@gmail.com, or on the farm, any day but Sunday.
-Kristin & Mark Kimball
Week 41
picked up by the ton from the soft, good-smelling dirt
Last Saturday I filled the sleeves of my jacket with them on my way out of the field, and unfurled them into the sink when I got to the house. Whites, reds, purples, and fingerlings, a week’s worth of energy.
(and to Sofie who was with us for dinner, and is always polite) my girls took turns making fun of them, because of the color. Is this something the cat threw up, or moldy oatmeal? they said. So I clicked off the lights. By candlelight, we all agreed they were exquisite, and everyone is begging me to make them again, but with white potatoes.
by cutting through sod and depositing seed in the narrow grooves, in one neat pass
Liz Resnick is here again, putting up the fermented vegetables for the year.
Rain and cooler weather are on the way now, which should let us catch our collective breath
after the last two weeks of sprinting in the warm fall sun.
We’re at peak fall harvest now, with garlic planting on the near horizon. Any help in the fields this time of year is deeply appreciated!
this peak-leaf 41st week of 2021. Find us
Week 39, 2021｜Kristin Kimball｜October 1, 2021
First fire of autumn in the woodstove this week, to drive away the chill that settled on the house at night.
Simultaneously, we are trying to collect and store the last of the summer sun’s energy in the form of hay. It’s not going very well. The forecast was glorious --
eight days of bright sun and low humidity -- and we leaned into it, cutting everything we could. Then the forecast shifted to six days of showers.
We have delicious eating apples available this week and will plan to press cider next week. Thanks to the Patakis, Lewises and Beth Schiller for opening their orchards to us.
We’ve been laying plans for winter this week. Labor, money, and nutrients are the currencies we play with, because they are the ones we can control. Sun, rain, temperature, disease pressure, storms, all the wild systems that make up our field of play -- those are crucially important, but beyond our influence.
Farewelcomes! This is a hard goodbye to make. Isabelle Smith started farming with us when she was fourteen. Her roots here go even deeper than that. Her grandmother, Frisky, was one of the first people to welcome us to town when we moved here 18 years ago. Isabelle returned summer after summer, then went off to college, graduated, started her adult life. By then she had the experience and education to do anything she wanted in the wide world, but came back to work with us. She has done just about everything here, and in her last campaign she took on some of the most difficult parts of the farm, including the machine shop, which meant acquiring the hard skills and knowledge it takes to keep all our tools and engines running. Meanwhile, she makes us laugh, and think, and become better farmers. She’s off to other adventures and we will miss her enormously. Thank you Isabelle for these many years and all the good work in them.
She spent the week putting up our kimchi for the year, and tending to some other fermented vegetables bubbling away in barrels Thanks Liz!
so we need every jar every week. And that’s the news from Essex Farm for this crisp 39th week of 2021
wee 38
two years old now and not moving much closer to being a stand-up citizen. Miranda took him into the sugarbush on Saturday.
Fifteen minutes later she was back, leashless, and dogless.
out of her hand, and disappeared into the thick, thorny brush
She gamely dove through the prickly brush, sniffing, circling. We followed, listening. Finally, one high yip. Just one.
We were brush-blind, thorn-scratched, mosquito-bit and weary.
The answer to unanswered questions is always, be still.
We pressed through thorns and brambles and the blown wild lettuce with its million-hooked stems and the dry clinging hitchhikers which are in their moment of perfection and abundance . . .
We patiently untangled him. He must be glad to see us. Surely he’d be so happy to get home.
Home was the last thing on his young mind, apparently.
The deer. Of course.
We sat on the lawn in the last light, pulling thorns from our fingers, burrs from Mary’s fur, looking across the pond pasture and up the hill. Finally, the brush moved.
Besides the hitchhikers, sweet peppers are in their moment of perfection and abundance right now.
We’ve been loving them as a dip.
We’re on the lookout for a chore truck with a working heater, and some willing hands for harvest. Let us know if you have leads on either!
That is the news from Essex farm for this equinox
. . . .
43
I was driving to Plattsburgh to pick up tractor tires on Tuesday afternoon when a deer leapt onto the hood of my car just two miles from home. I watched it happen in slow motion, the deer’s sudden appearance on the tarmac, then the elegant limbs launching its large body into the air, impossibly close, then the thud of impact, and, in my rear view mirror, the sight of the deer twisting overhead, thrown high off the slope of the windshield. Unbelievably, the deer was nowhere to be found later, and must have managed to walk off into the woods.
hood is crushed, the radiator shot, and the lights broken, but I’m fine. It was my first deer wreck, which is pretty good for 18 years in the North Country
so good I vow to always have a jar of fresh pate in the fridge as long as we have chicken livers, ready for guests, snacktime or an easy appetizer. I linked to a recipe a few weeks ago but here’s my current adaptation:
and we can’t wait to cook some of these delicious things.
but we will try to keep things stocked all week in case you need to come by for extras
crisp
It was our 18th farm anniversary this week, on November 1st. This date always feels more significant to me than our wedding anniversary, not in an anti-romantic way but because once you’ve committed to a farm together, the rest feels pretty simple. Thank you to
been with us since that very first year. You were pioneers when this
supported the farm through all its growth and changes.
It’s a joy to see the newest pairs learning the routine at milking time, calves resting in front of their mothers’ stanchions.
experiment with raising dairy heifers on their mamas
with garlic planting on the near horizon and a flood of fresh dairy cows in the barn
we could quickly rotate the animals without damaging the wet fields. The end of the carrot harvest came in just as the rain began, and all the vegetables that were vulnerable to the cold have been harvested for storage.
to prepare for cold and rain, and got bales
the long stretch of soft fall weather is over
rain last weekend shifted the Boquet River from 150 cubic feet per second to 3500 cubic feet per second when it peaked at midnight
the frost is still painting the shadows white right now as I type, in late morning.
[ Begin ]
[ - grg ]
45 May the green world spin
A soaking rain is on the way and aside from the creatures that still graze at the surface the fields will sleep until spring.
a thousand pounds of garlic into the chilly ground this week, about 44,000 cloves
the 2022 garlic harvest should yield enough for planting and unlimited eating
we very much want to feed you in the coming year
In that spirit, I’m yielding the floor to our dear members Holly and Carol.
all of you who make our green world spin.
- k
this week to talk to you about how we can all ensure our beloved Essex Farm survives for 18 more years and then some
the cute lambs, mouthwatering recipes and beautiful prose of the usual Farm Note
the farm could sustain as many as 50 more households at its current production level.
from Essex and the Adirondacks to Albany to New York City - 20 new households can’t be that hard to identify. We are convinced that these 20 households can be found within our collective network of friends, co-workers and family
Earlier this fall, we visited the farm with friends and came away even more inspired
We need you to talk about the amazing food you get every week during Thanksgiving dinner.
That’s how both of us became converts, and there was no going back.
the team continued to harvest, pack and deliver those wonderful boxes to us, full of the freshest bounty.
give back by proselytizing about the easiest sell we can imagine: delicious, sustainably grown food that changes people’s lives.
Thanks for reading
Week 46, 2021
You think it’s Thanksgiving week, but that’s because you’re not a sheep.
for this deep and sparkling 46th week
huge thanks for countless hours in the vegetable fields this year
who bring fresh energy to the waning year
We should have the new contract ready very soon
who farms on his family’s bog in East Taunton, Massachusetts. They are so beautiful and delicious.
Homemade rolls and good gravy
drought followed by flood quashed our squash harvest
Members, given this, please communicate your feelings on unlimited pork and chicken versus the 100% grass-finished meats, beef and lamb, so we can use your input to make plans and set share prices for 2022.
We have 34 tons of certified organic roasted soybeans arriving today, at double the usual price, which comes to a shocking sixty cents per pound.
The team slaughtered 300 stew hens, 200 from our old layer flock and 100 certified organic hens from Philo Ridge Farm. These mature hens are not for roasting, as they would be tough as rubber, but they are the key to the best chicken stock on the planet, and you can’t buy them in a grocery store.
Fields are saturated now, but victory preceded the rain.
All the compost we made here this year was spread on next year’s fields, and the last 16 acres were planted to rye for spring grazing.
All the cabbage is in storage. Rutabagas, turnips, and three types of storage radishes have been harvested.
Bode is a very nice Alpine from Asgaard Farm, and he’s for sale, so please help Jane spread the word. Her email address is goat.nostrils@icloud.com.
We had no bottle lambs to raise this year. And we did not treat any sheep for parasites during the whole grazing season. Those are both pretty remarkable facts that make me proud of the whole animal team and, of course, the sheep.
ever wondered about the heritability of parasite resistance, or if you want to finally understand the mechanics of how the small ruminant immune system fights off strongyles
JC’s genes are meant to improve muscling in our grass-finished system.
in the ewe flock, we have 200 mature ladies and 150 ewe lambs
he would probably have retired to the freezer by now
I have hope for JC
November 27, 2021
Come on over
everyone
I hope it was for you too
because the cows still have to be milked, the fires stoked, the animals fed, and the basic chores covered. Thanks so much for doing that good hard work
The girls and I are away
The weather is turning sharply colder tomorrow (Friday)
to clean, sort and move onions and potatoes into winter storage.
Anytime after 7:30am you should find a place to fit in to the jobs that need to be done. Dress warmly
Scott Hoffman has been at the farm building perimeter fence this week.
He’s finishing Field 10 right now, along Middle Road, just in time to fill it with sheep
They got engaged and are heading back to Colorado, and family.
The whole flock of 500 sheep will be making a mile and a half move on Monday, from the field close to the lake all the way along the farm road, up the sugarbush hill and into Field 10. The girls and I will be home by then.
I’d like to do the same, on my mare, but her crazy little foal who is now four months old might be too much
I’ll let you know how it goes.
And that is the news from Essex Farm for this grateful 47th week of 2021
any day but sun day
Awaken [ excerpt of farm note by kristin kimball ]
the Amish family who just moved here from Ohio, were a key part of that team. They are experienced vegetable growers, and are used to transplanting. They have fast, well-trained hands! Special thanks this week to Adam Hainer at Juniper Hill farm who has been giving us early greens in exchange for parsnips. And finally a reminder to everyone that we host outdoor meditation in the linden trees every other Sunday at 10:00, led by Paul Deal. All are welcome, and the next meeting is May 8th. Bring something to sit on, and meet at the electric car chargers if you don’t know where the lindens are.
That’s the news from Essex Farm for this lamb-tastic 17th week of 2022.
So far, all is well, which is promising, as we often see the most problems at the very beginning and very end of lambing.
just like this spring, slow and chilly. Small newborns get lamb jackets when the temps are low and the wind is whipping, which makes them look like little sports fans, bundled up for the game. We saw the first lambs last week, then a pause and a dribble until the crescendo began yesterday. Now we’re really in it, and the flow will continue to increase and then peak
about seven to ten days from now.
This spring has been especially slow and chilly. The soil is still cold, and the pastures are two to three weeks behind typical growth. Most years, we put cattle on grass the first week of May. Unless we see a big grass sprint from suddenly warm weather, it will
probably be May 15 this year.
You can find the sauce recipe at the end of this note. Keep it in your pocket for asparagus season, which is right around the corner!
When we eat seasonally, we trade ubiquity for quality, and for taste. The first year or two,
it might seem strange not to have asparagus in winter, or strawberries in fall, and then it becomes strange to have those things.
} - - {
I really believe there’s something more, too:
eating seasonally from our own climate matches what our bodies need for each given time of year.
https://www.kristinkimball.com/farm-note
. . . . grazing the last of the spring flush of grass. I can’t help but linger when I walk past the herd these days. Their delight in the comfortable weather and abundant delectable grass is like a halo around them right now, nearly visible.
...
On Thursday I waded through a fresh section of pasture thigh-deep in brush, sedge, clover, vetch, orchard grass, and trefoil, and it seemed infinite. Then the flock came in and put its collective head down and the next day the field was transformed, easily navigable, all the mature stemmy grasses trampled into the ground to store carbon and hold water, the tender leaves gone, converted to living energy: milk, meat, bone, blood, leap and baa. I love to watch sheep eat.
... you understand why goat milk is so interesting.
