August- A Love Letter

August- A Love Letter

Dear Friends,

I’ve been steeped in a pool of love this month.  A few of our closest friends got engaged.  And while basking in the goodness of it all, a sacred feeling bubbled up in me…one that I had when Rich and I decided to commit to each other for life and beyond.  It is such a pure and unfettered feeling that when I allow myself to sit with it, leaves no room for stress or other blue feelings.  It’s like the best kind of medicine.  Anyway, I’ve been thinking a lot about how special it is to devote yourself to a relationship, and to build something rich and complex and strong…to agree to tangle yourself up with someone…which requires a certain amount of vulnerability and an incredible degree of trust.  But that kind of commitment if reciprocal, gives you such a shelter and a home.

Well, I guess what my reflecting in this past month has brought to my attention is that I love you.  I realize that I am not married to you (unless you are actually reading one of my newsletters, Rich ;)).  But I feel that just by choosing to follow our story, that of our Foxhole endeavor and life, you have committed to caring about our family in some capacity.  And in the whole ‘in sickness and in health, in good times and in bad’ spirit, I feel that you have stuck with me/us.  This year, I have been struggling with my health…a most disappointing development in life.  I’ve watched Rich take on a lot of my physical work as I try to get back to fully functioning and we’ve made tough decisions such as pulling out of our Sunday market.  Yet, each week when I go to Oakwood Market, admittedly a lot of times feeling disappointed by my lack of productivity that week, I feel such love from those that make it out.  Whether it’s a compliment about our produce, our work, or our newsletter…there is a tremendous amount of support there.  And it really confirms something that I know in my heart of hearts to be true. We are doing good work, putting our hands, hearts and minds into something that we like to think contributes to the greater good.  That is enough.  In time, when it is right, we will grow more, make more, serve more.  But in the meantime, we are doing enough and we are appreciated for what we are.


I’m finding that in any good relationship…whether between friends, those who work together, pets and their owners, members of a family, or partners, that the ‘for better or for worse’ thing is really central.  Thank you for reading and for the good energy and for being there in good times and in bad.


Yours Truly,


Sam


READY OR NOT, AUGUST IS HERE.

She’ll sweep you into her current either way.  For us this warm month is made of early harvest mornings and late wash and pack evenings with everything else in between.  Everything else…cultivation of this years crops, bed prep for next year’s crops, market and delivery, swim lessons for May (taught by yours truly) and cannon balls at Mimi’s pool, Jack’s required daily trips on his radio flyer bike down the bike path just after breakfast, and that precious few hours at night finally looking Rich in the eyes as we let our brains wind down for the night.  The deep breathing I had taken up earlier this spring has been lost amidst the overflowing cup of an agenda.  I’m going to pepper that in this month…to institute a change.  Though our year is lopsided in the way of workload, it’s the busy time that would be most appropriate to breathe deeply.  In through the nose…out through the mouth: ahhhhh.

This month we will be pulling in the best mix of produce: tomatoes, peppers, squash, salad, carrots, beets, micros, shoots, garlic, perhaps turnips and radish too…and spinach.  We will continue to see you at the Oakwood Farmers Market on Saturdays, and will forego This Old Farmers Market again this month as our plate is full.  Don’t forget that we deliver to all three Dorothy Lane locations, Gem City Market, and our Brookville IGA.  We still want to get you all out to the farm for order pick ups with the ability to see the garden and all.  The reality is with our time and other logistics, we just aren’t there yet.  Rest assured I will shout from the rooftops and over our email blast when that day comes.

Come see us at market this month.  The booth is always full of garden goodness, sourdough, and granola in August.